Katharine Hepburn finds herself in some queer situations while disguised as a young man in gay director George Cukor’s 1935 film SYLVIA SCARLETT.

The 1931 pre-code Hollywood film PALMY DAYS features a “Pansy” buying a cake, drag, and two queer-coded leads

Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart star in iconic gay director James Whale’s 1933 pre-code Hollywood horror film THE INVISIBLE MAN.

The 1935 Hollywood Hays Code-era Astaire & Rogers musical TOP HAT features three queer-coded side characters.

The 1933 pre-code adaptation of Eugene O'Neill’s 1920 play “The Emperor Jones” features a queer-coded character named Marcella, played by queer actor/comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley.

The 1939 British romantic comedy OVER THE MOON features two gay characters.

The 1935 British drag comedy FIRST A GIRL, Victor Saville’s adaptation of VIKTOR UND VIKTORIA (1933).

Newsreel footage of transgender athlete Zdeněk Koubek, filmed during his trip to America, on August 12, 1936.

Hiroshi (Kōji Mitsui) and Tokiko (Kinuyo Tanaka) are queer-coded characters in Yasujirō Ozu’s 1933 Japanese silent film HIJŌSEN NO ONNA (aka DRAGNET GIRL).

The French film UN CHIEN QUI RAPPORTE (1932) features a coded lesbian character in the Countess of Noyant, played by Laure Diana.

Rico (Edward G. Robinson) and Otero (George E. Stone) are queer-coded gangsters in Mervyn LeRoy’s 1931 pre-code Hollywood film adaptation of W.R. Burnett’s 1929 novel “Little Caesar.”

Warner Baxter’s character, Julian Marsh, in the 1933 pre-code musical 42nd STREET was originally written as gay - but only a brief glimpse of subtext remains in the film adaptation.

The 1932 pre-code Hollywood film CALL HER SAVAGE was one of the earliest mainstream American films to feature a glimpse inside what is likely a gay bar.

Rex O'Malley plays the queer-coded gay best friend in queer director Mitchell Leisen’s 1939 screwball comedy MIDNIGHT.

The French film CINDERELLA, directed by Pierre Caron in 1937, features a scene ambiguously showing the homosexuality of the character of Mr. Jolibois, a choreographer of music hall dancers - played by the actor Jacques Josselin.