Lou Sabini - Sex In the Cinema: The ‘Pre-Code’ Years (1929-1934)

There are countless individuals and organizations I would like to thank for making this book a reality. Through social media, I have become acquainted with so many talented people who have helped me with their postings on Facebook, not to mention my own classic film page called MY REEL LIFE. Thanking all the members (as of this writing, there are over 1,000) would be ludicrous, so for starters, I will give honorable mention to my new friends, who have posted some vital facts that have been incorporated into this book, namely Richard Adkins, one of my oldest pals, Richard W. Bann, Marie Behar, Ralph Celentano, Andy Dzamba, Hal Erickson, Karen Latham Everson, who is always there to lend an ear (or suggestion), Robert Fells, the late Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, John Giriat, Eric Grayson, David Lord Heath, Jeff Heise, Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project, Bill Knotts, Rick Lertzman, Annette DAgostino Lloyd, Don J. Long, Scott and Jan MacGillivray, Steve Massa, Robert McKay, Gary McNerney, Gerry Orlando, Jenny Paxon of the Library of Congress, Nick Santa Maria, Rick Scheckman, Randy Skretvedt, my good pal, Stan Taffel, Frank Thompson, Mark Alan Viera, Melanie Wyler and Jordan Young.

Also, for making suggestions and helping me through this undertaking, I would like to thank my good friend, Bill Levy, who I met when I wrote Behind the Scenes of They Were Expendable. Also, to my very good pal of over forty years, Daniel S. Burke, who kick-started MY REEL LIFE on Facebook, which has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2012. To my mentor, the late William K. Everson, a man who gave my life a definite direction and introduced me to the wonderful world of the Pre-Code era back in the early eighties, when he showed my wife, Sue and I, his prints of Baby Face and Three on a Match. After this initial experience, we couldnt get enough and Bill kept loaning us more and more 16mm prints from his vast archive. Also, I would like to thank Robert M. (Mike) Cline, who provided me with so many great prints back in the day along with John McElwee, who was always there when I needed help (he even helped me acquire prints of Hard to Handle and Platinum Blonde ). My sincerest gratitude to my oldest (and dearest) friend, Jack Roth, who provided me with a rare 16mm print of By Candlelight.

Special thanks to my publisher, Ben Ohmart, who believed in this undertaking and one of my dearest friends, the late Carol Rugh, always there to give me assurance when after 35 years in sales, she convinced me to pursue my dream of becoming a writer of the history of motion pictures. To Aureo Brandao, who helped me to acquire some rare photographs (which are identified with AB following each caption) for this volume and to Richard Finegan, a man who is a wealth of information when it comes to classic cinema, who provided me with the bulk of the rare stills seen in this book from his vast collection (identified with RF following the caption). No words can express my sincere thanks for sharing these cinematic treasures. I am deeply indebted to Kim Krause, who went over the entire manuscript making various corrections and additions. Words cannot describe my deep appreciation. Also, I would like to thank film historian/author/scholar Richard Barrios for writing the foreword. I met Richard about ten years ago at Cinefest, a film festival for classic film buffs, which was held annually in Syracuse, New York. Richard was doing a presentation of vintage movie musicals, based on his superb book, Song in the Dark. I cant tell you how impressed I was with Richards knowledge and I am honored to have him as my friend.

Lastly, I would like to thank the woman who has lived through all of lifes happy times with me (and the darker ones, too), my wife of over forty-one years, Sue. Ever since we started dating in 1973, she has watched virtually thousands of movies with me, providing some excellent commentary and being not only the perfect wife, but a lady who has inspired me and made watching these movies an incredibly captivating experience.

Lou Sabini June 2016