Favorite Films from the 1930s
My favorite films from the 1930s.
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- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsJulian WestMaurice SchutzRena MandelA drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsReginald OwenGene LockhartKathleen LockhartAn elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinVirginia CherrillFlorence LeeWith the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
- DirectorJean VigoStarsDita ParloJean DastéGilles MargaritisNewly married couple Juliette and a ship captain Jean struggle through marriage as they travel on the L'atalante along with the captain's first mate Le père Jules and a cabin boy.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMarcel DalioNora GregorPaulette DubostA bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsGreta GarboJohn GilbertIan KeithQueen Christina of Sweden is a popular monarch who is loyal to her country. However, when she falls in love with a Spanish envoy, she must choose between the throne and the man she loves.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsStarsLupe VelezDonald WoodsLeon ErrolAn advertising executive goes to Mexico looking for talent and finds a hot-tempered singer, who goes to New York to stay with him, his aunt and uncle, and decides to steal him from his fiancée.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsWilliam PowellCarole LombardAlice BradyA scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsVictor MooreBeulah BondiFay BainterAn elderly couple are forced to live hundreds of miles apart when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinDita ParloPierre FresnayDuring WWI, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are eventually sent to a seemingly inescapable fortress.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFredric MarchMiriam HopkinsRose HobartDr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsWarren WilliamJoan BlondellAline MacMahonA wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEdward ArnoldPeter LorreMarian MarshMan is haunted by a murder he's committed.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichClive BrookAnna May WongA notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsPaul MuniGlenda FarrellHelen VinsonWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.
- DirectorRaymond BernardStarsPierre BlancharGabriel GabrioCharles VanelWorld War 1 begins and a young man enlists to fight for his country.
- DirectorJ. Walter RubenStarsDiana WynyardClive BrookBillie BurkeLeonard and Anne are taking the lovers road to Dover where they will board the boat and go to Paris. But the car breaks down and Saunders takes them to a nearby hotel. When they get there, it is a residence with servants owned by a Mr. Latimer. While it is comfortable, they are told they cannot leave for seven days so that they can see if the marriage between them will work. The next day, Anne begins to notice things about Leonard that she ignored before. There is one other couple in the house who are leaving after seven days and it turns out to be Leonard's wife Eustasia and Nicholas, her lover.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsAlexander GranachFritz KampersErnst BuschPlea against war and for friendship between peoples, through the story of French miners rescued by German colleagues after a firedamp explosion.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsRaymond CordyHenri MarchandRolla FranceSeeking better life, two convicts escape from prison.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardWendy HillerWilfrid LawsonA phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsAnne ChevalierMatahiHituOn the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperJean ArthurGeorge BancroftA unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsMarie DresslerJohn BarrymoreWallace BeeryAffluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.
- DirectorPare LorentzStarsThomas ChalmersThis documentary short film looks at the devastating and costly problems, including seasonal flooding and erosion of precious topsoil, associated with the Mississippi River system and promotes more Federal projects to remedy the situation.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsKay FrancisDavid MannersUna MerkelA female editor of a magazine falls in love with her male secretary.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxRufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneySpencer TracyWalter AbelWhen a wrongly-accused prisoner barely survives a lynch-mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to fake his death and frame the mob for his supposed murder.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsFrank McHughJoan BlondellGuy KibbeeA meek salesman with an uncanny ability to pick horses is virtually kidnapped by a trio of gamblers.
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsRobert ArmstrongHelen MackRoland YoungAn American in London stumbles on a criminal ring.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsMarian MarshDavid MannersWarren WilliamAn executive hires a mousy, plain woman as his secretary so she will not divert him from his work, but she still becomes determined to win his heart.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxQuincy Adams Wagstaff, Huxley University's new president, accidentally hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against their rival, Darwin University.
- DirectorJames CruzeStarsZasu PittsSlim SummervilleWilliam GaxtonA vaudeville magician act is hired to right a wrong. Some comedy relief.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsKenny BakerJohn BarclayMartyn GreenThe son of the Mikado of Japan, a wandering minstrel, falls for a girl who is engaged to her guardian.
- DirectorWilliam ClemensStarsBonita GranvilleJohn LitelFrankie ThomasNancy Drew, contest-reporter for the local newspaper, clears a young woman of murder charges.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsWarren WilliamGenevieve TobinPatricia EllisA con man who stages phony "lucky legs" beauty contests and leaves town with the money is found with a surgical knife in his heart by Mason.
- DirectorArthur Greville CollinsStarsArthur TreacherVirginia FieldDavid NivenErudite manservant Jeeves hopes to keep his frivolous employer Bertie out of new harrowing adventures, but a damsel in distress, carrying half of some mysterious plans, intrudes on their London flat one rainy night. Bertie follows her to country hotel Mooring Manor, prepared to do slapstick battle with crooks posing as Scotland Yard men.
- DirectorBenjamin StoloffStarsJack OakieAnn SothernEduardo CiannelliAn actor who plays a detective in films soon finds himself out of his depth when he tries to investigate a real crime.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsWalter HustonRuth ChattertonPaul LukasA retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam HarriganA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorLeontine SaganCarl FroelichStarsDorothea WieckHertha ThieleEmilia UndaAt an all-girls boarding school, Manuela falls in love with a teacher, to terrific consequences.
- DirectorRichard WallaceLewis MilestoneGilbert PrattStarsJanet GaynorDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Roland YoungThrown out of the Riviera, a family of grifters meets a lonely, vulnerable rich old woman and insinuate themselves into her life while they sponge off her.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsBert WheelerRobert WoolseyDorothy LeeAfter a quarrel at their 25th wedding anniversary, Joe and Aggie Bruno decide to divorce each other, and both leave for Reno. So do their daughters Prudence and Pansy, but they want to get their parents back together. Joe and Aggie, accidentally, are becoming clients at the same law firm, Wattles and Swift, which is the biggest and most successful in town. But being on the opposite sides in the same case is not the only problem for Wattles and Swift, the concurring law firm Jackson, Jackson, Jackson and Jackson, has started a price war and one of its member has just been appointed judge, furthermore, there's Ace Crosby, whose ex-wife got her divorce with the help of Wattles and Swift, who vowed to shoot Wattles for this. Wattles disguises as widow Hanover, Joe's co-respondent. Crosby, waiting at the office-turned-casino, wins too much at the poker table, so Wattles tries to lure him away, after he and Joe have been seen by Aggie. Aggie, who has met Judge Jackson, who told her that she and her husband are clients at the same law firm, switches to Jackson, Jackson, Jackson and Jackson, after Wattles disguise fails. So does Crosby's attempt to murder him. The Bruno daughters meanwhile have fallen in love with the lawyers, and now they are trying to prevent the divorce. In a crazy court session they try all their tricks.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsBert WheelerRobert WoolseyLupe VelezTwo men running a carnival airplane ride are hired to fly to retrieve what they think are photos for a reporter. Actually, they are retrieving diamonds stolen from a noted gem dealer.
- DirectorLothar MendesAlexander KordaStarsRoland YoungRalph RichardsonEdward ChapmanAn ordinary man suddenly finds that anything he says comes true. Or at least, almost anything.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsEdward G. RobinsonJames CagneyEvalyn KnappA Greek barber has uncommon skills in playing poker and soon rises in the seedy world of illegal gambling, but pretty blondes remain his Achilles' heel.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffElsa LanchesterColin CliveMary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsIsuzu YamadaYôko UmemuraChiyoko ÔkuraA young woman becomes a mistress of her boss in order to support her family.
- DirectorMarc ConnellyWilliam KeighleyStarsRex IngramOscar PolkEddie 'Rochester' AndersonGod, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are described supposedly using the perspective of rural, black Americans.
- DirectorWilliam C. McGannStarsRoss AlexanderBeverly RobertsJoseph CawthornA crafty salesman attempts to raise some quick cash to fund an inventor's development of a gasoline substitute.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsBert WheelerRobert WoolseyDorothy LeeWheeler and Woolsey play two unemployed vaudevillians who get involved in helping an old lady save her moribund drug store. Problems and laughs begin when the villain spikes the Lemon Sodas they are selling.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsKay FrancisWarren WilliamGeorge BrentTerry Parker (George Brent) is shattered by the crash of his airplane which killed his parents and sister, and adopts a listless attitude toward life. But romance enters in the person of Amy Prentiss (Kay Francis), the girl friend of his best friend, Gibraltar (Warren William), who graciously lets love take its course and even helps the couple get married and get located. Amy tries to steer Terry out of his irresponsible ways but fails and eventually leaves him, only to be reunited when called to Terry's side after he has been in an automobile crash.
- DirectorNiazi MostafaStarsNagib El-RihaniHusain ReyadhIbrahim Al JazzarEastern prince get a poor man to take his place to discover the real love.
- DirectorHugh HarmanStarsMel BlancJeanne DunneThe Hollywood Choir BoysTwo baby squirrels ask grandpa to explain what "men" are when they hear everyone singing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men". Grandpa tells the story of man's last war.
- DirectorLeigh JasonStarsGene RaymondWendy BarrieHelen BroderickIn order to raise money to produce a play (as well as prove that the plot isn't ridiculous), Michael McCreigh makes a bet with his Uncle Carlton that he can begin in Central Park in his underwear and, without paying or borrowing for transportation, get to California in 10 days with a decent suit, $100...and a fiance. If he wins, he gets $15,000 to produce the play; if he loses, he must accept a job in his uncle's packing plant.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTatsuo SaitôTomio AokiMitsuko YoshikawaTwo young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStory of distant mountainous region in Georgia that depicts folklore, lifestyle and daily routines of Svani people, focuses on the scarcity of salt in Svaneti region. Rich with documentary value, the movie also served for Soviet propaganda.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsWarren WilliamMay RobsonGuy KibbeeA gangster tries to make Apple Annie, the Times Square apple seller, a lady for a day.
- DirectorJean VigoStarsJean DastéRobert le FlonLouis LefebvreIn a repressive boarding school with rigid rules of behavior, four boys decide to rebel against the direction on a celebration day.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsAnnabellaRené LefèvreJean-Louis AllibertAn impoverished painter and his rival engage in a race across Paris to recover a jacket concealing a winning lottery ticket.
- DirectorErich von StroheimRichard BoleslawskiStarsGloria SwansonWalter ByronSeena OwenA convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleMax ReinhardtStarsJames CagneyDick PowellIan HunterTwo couples and a troupe of actors have an encounter with some mischievous fairies in the forest.
- DirectorGeorge MelfordStarsCarlos VillaríasLupita TovarBarry NortonCenturies-old vampire Dracula preys upon the innocent Eva and her friends.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn GielgudMadeleine CarrollRobert YoungAfter three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowChester MorrisLewis StoneLillian (Jean Harlow) relentlessly attempts to seduce a married man (Chester Morris).
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsRobert TaylorMargaret SullavanFranchot ToneThe close friendship of three German soldiers is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman, who is dying of tuberculosis.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsCharles LaughtonMary BolandCharles RugglesAn English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJoe E. BrownBernice ClaireJack WhitingAn order clerk poses as a millionaire.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsColman 'Tiger' KingMaggie DirraneMichael DirraneIn this blend of documentary and fictional narrative from pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty, the everyday trials of life on Ireland's unforgiving Aran Islands are captured with attention to naturalistic beauty and historical detail.
- DirectorAleksandr DovzhenkoStarsStepan ShkuratSemyon SvashenkoYuliya SolntsevaIn the peaceful countryside, Vassily opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsGreta GarboFredric MarchFreddie BartholomewThe married Anna Karenina falls in love with Count Vronsky despite her husband's refusal to grant a divorce, and both must contend with the social repercussions.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsGreta GarboRobert TaylorLionel BarrymoreA Parisian courtesan must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRamon NovarroLupe VelezWilliam B. DavidsonLaughing Boy, a young Navajo, falls in love with Slim Girl, a Navajo girl who has been raised by white men and has a different way of thinking from her people.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsGlenda FarrellBen LyonMary BrianTwo sassy gold-diggers stranded in Palm Beach become involved in the case of a fellow chorine who goes missing on her wedding night.
- DirectorSidney FranklinVictor FlemingGustav MachatýStarsPaul MuniLuise RainerWalter ConnollyAlthough married Chinese farmers Wang and O-Lan initially experience success, their lives are complicated by declining fortunes and lean times, as well as the arrival of the beautiful young Lotus.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinDmitriy VasilevStarsNikolay CherkasovNikolai OkhlopkovAndrei AbrikosovThe story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsKay FrancisGeorge BrentPatricia EllisA construction engineer with a heart of steel courts a social worker with a heart of gold, while fighting a protection racketeer that tries to derail the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
- DirectorRalph SteinerShoreline images: first small breakers and the swirls they leave, then water running up the shore on a sandy beech, then water hitting pebbles and rocks. The second half is a close look at a sluggish eddy of seaweed, moving to and fro on the surface, like sodden twigs. The ocean's tide creates patterns of small surges and circles. The music of the soundtrack is more dramatic than the more gentle movements of the seaweed. Final closeups show the bulbs and leaves of the plants, then the tide takes over.
- DirectorPare LorentzStarsThomas ChalmersBam WhiteThis documentary is about what happened to the Great Plains of the United States when a combination of farming practices and environmental factors led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsDiana WynyardClive BrookUna O'ConnorA portrayal of the triumphs and tragedies of two English families, the upper-crust Marryots and the working-class Bridgeses, from 1899 to 1933.
- DirectorJack GlennStarsJackson BeckJoseph GoebbelsAdolf HitlerA newsreel made to condemn the militarization, oppressiveness, and ideology of the Nazi regime - using reedited stock footage of Nazi rallies in both Germany and the United States, with added narration to drive home its points.