Films of the 1930s

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See also: Early Films, Films of the 1920s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.

Notable Film Franchises, 1930-1939

• Andy Hardy
  • A Family Affair (1937)
  • You're Only Young Once (1937)
  • Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
  • Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
  • Out West with the Hardys (1938)
  • The Hardys Ride High (1939)
  • Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
  • Judge Hardy and Son (1939)
• Charlie Chan
• The Cat and The Canary -- Got three versions in the 30's.
  • The Cat Creeps (1930) -- Sound remake of the 1927 film by Universal.
  • La Voluntad del Muerto (1930) -- Spanish version of the former.
  • The Cat and the Canary (1939) -- Produced by Paramount and starring Bob Hope.
• Ellery Queen
  • The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935)
  • The Mandarin Mystery (1936)
• The first two Flash Gordon film serials
  • Flash Gordon (1936)
  • Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938)
• Universal Horror series
  • The Dracula Series
    • Dracula (1931)
    • Drácula (1931) -- same script done again on the same set. But with a different crew and in Spanish.
    • Draculas Daughter (1936)
  • The Frankenstein Series
    • Frankenstein (1931)
    • Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
    • Son of Frankenstein (1939)
• The Marx Brothers star in their classic early comedies
  • Animal Crackers (1930)
  • Monkey Business (1931)
  • Horsefeathers (1932)
  • Duck Soup (1933)
  • A Night At the Opera (1935)
  • A Day At the Races (1937)
  • Room Service (1938)
  • At The Circus (1939)
• Tarzan
  • Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
  • Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
  • Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

1930

• All Quiet On the Western Front
• The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel)
• Just Imagine
• Sinkin in The Bathtub

1931

• Ambassador Bill -- Starring Will Rogers
• City Lights
• M -- By Fritz Lang
• The Public Enemy -- One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Made James Cagney a star. Pass the grapefruit.
• Little Caesar -- One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Made Edward G Robinson a star. "Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Rico?"

1932

• Doctor X
• Freaks
• Grand Hotel
• The Greeks Had a Word For Them
• I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang
• The Mummy
• Murders in The Rue Morgue
• The Old Dark House
• Scarface -- Not the one with Al Pacino; the ORIGINAL. One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Look for Boris Karloff in a supporting role.
• Trouble in Paradise
• White Zombie

1933

• Female
• Gabriel Over the White House
• 42nd Street
• Gold Diggers of 1933
• Footlight Parade
• The Invisible Man
• King Kong -- The original, and the most famous "giant monster" movie until Godzilla
• Lady for A Day
• Mystery of the Wax Museum
• Queen Christina
• Things To Come -- adapted to the screen from HG Wells' novel, by Wells himself

1934

• Babes in Toyland
• The Black Cat
• It Happened One Night
• L Atalante
• The Man Who Knew Too Much
• The Scarlet Pimpernel
• The Thin Man
• Manhattan Melodrama

1935

• The 39 Steps
• Captain Blood
• Mutiny On the Bounty
• The Phantom Empire
• The Raven
• Roberta
• Top Hat
• Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) -- Like The Birth of a Nation, a landmark of cinematographic art...which was also propaganda for a hate group. Unlike Birth, the propaganda was intentional.
• Werewolf of London -- Botanist is bitten by a werewolf in Tibet and returns to London to wreak havoc unwittingly.

1936

• The Great Ziegfeld
• The Invisible Ray
• Mary of Scotland -- Narm that nearly sank Katherine Hepburn's career
• Modern Times
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
• My Man Godfrey
• Reefer Madness -- Probably the original So Bad Its Good movie
• Rogues Tavern
• Show Boat --One of the versions

1937

• The Awful Truth
• The Dybbuk
• Fire Over England
• The Grand Illusion
• Jungle Jim -- a 12 part movie serial
• Lost Horizon
• The Prisoner of Zenda
• Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs -- Few movies can legitimately claim to have single-handedly established a genre. This film did (the animated feature).
• Stage Door
• A Star Is Born

1938

• The Adventures of Robin Hood
• Alexander Nevsky
• Angels With Dirty Faces
• Bringing Up Baby
• The Lady Vanishes
• You Can't Take It With You

1939

• Gone With the Wind -- Adjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing film of all time. Still a cultural icon today.
• Goodbye Mr. Chips
• Gulliver's Travels -- Max Fleischer's forgotten masterpiece.
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- The Charles Laughton version.
• Ninotchka
• The Rules Of The Game (La règle du jeu) -- Considered by many critics to be the "French Citizen Kane" (appears regularly on best-ever-made film-lists).
• Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
• Stagecoach -- Another good example of the typical western.
• The Wizard of Oz -- Equal to GWTW as a cultural icon.
• The Women
• The Roaring Twenties
• Wuthering Heights

Cartoons and Live Action Shorts

• Classic Disney Shorts
  • "The Band Concert" (1935)
  • "Brave Little Tailor" (1938)
  • "Clock Cleaners" (1937)
  • "Flowers and Trees" (1932)
  • "The Golden Touch" (1935)
  • "Lonesome Ghosts" (1937)
  • "The Mad Doctor" (1933)
  • "Moving Day" (1936)
  • "The Old Mill" (1937)
  • "Plutos Judgement Day" (1935)
  • "Three Little Pigs" (1933)
  • "The Tortoise and The Hare" (1935)
• Happy Harmonies and other classic shorts from Metro Goldwyn Mayer
  • "Good Little Monkeys" (1935)
  • "Peace On Earth" (1939)
• The Little Rascals
• Betty Boop, Popeye and other classic shorts from Max and Dave Fleischer
  • "Bimbos Initiation" (1931)
  • "Minnie the Moocher" (1932)
  • "Snow White" (1933)
  • "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor (1936)
  • "Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Babas Forty Thieves" (1937)
• Looney Tunes
  • "Porkys Duck Hunt" (1937)
  • "Porky in Wackyland" (1938)
• Merrie Melodies
  • "Daffy Duck and Egghead" (1938)
  • "I Love to Singa" (1936)
  • "Lady Play Your Mandolin" (1931)
• The Three Stooges
• Laurel and Hardy
  • "The Music Box" (1932)