Bette Davis became one of the most respected actresses in Hollywood during the 1930s, largely because she rarely played average heroines. Do the characters she created continue to challenge our expectations today? People who love 1930s cinema are familiar with the Pre-Code Era, which is roughly categorized as 1930–1934. These first few years of talking pictures have acquired a cult following in the 21st century because of their daring violence, flagrant immorality, and shocking risqueity. Then the lawless fun came to a screeching halt in July of 1934, when the Motion Picture Production Code began to be effectively enforced by Joseph I. Breen and the newly formed Production Code Administration. The loss that people mourn the most regarding the demise of pre-Code freedom is strong female characters. They resent how the complex female characters who challenged moral boundaries on the pre-Code screen were replaced by strictly traditional female roles under …