Can a defendant move for acquittal on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case at the close of the prosecution's case-in-chief?

Prior to the passage of present sections 1118 and 1118.1, ⁴ California had no procedural method by which the defendant could move for acquittal on the ground that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case at the close of the prosecution's case-in-chief. Limited [23 Cal.3d 521] protection for the defendant was provided by section 1385 which permitted the court on its own motion or on the motion of the prosecution to dismiss an action in the furtherance of justice. However, this section did not "confer upon the Defendant the privilege of moving to dismiss . . . ." (People v. Shaffer (1960) 182 Cal.App.2d 39, 44, 5 Cal.Rptr. 844, 847, emphasis added.)