The Best of 1936
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- 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.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWarner BaxterGloria StuartClaude GillingwaterThe story of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned after innocently treating President Lincoln's assassin in 1865.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandPatric KnowlesA major countermands orders and attacks to avenge a previous massacre of men, women, and children.
- 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.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLeslie HowardHumphrey BogartBette DavisA waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsClark GableJeanette MacDonaldSpencer TracyA Barbary Coast saloonkeeper and a Nob Hill impresario are rivals for the affections of a beautiful singer, both personally and professionally, in 1906 San Francisco.
- 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.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowWilliam PowellMyrna LoyWhen a socialite sues a big paper for libel, the editor responsible calls in the help of his ignored fiancée and a former employee to frame her and make the false story seem true.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyJames StewartPrivate detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora are back home at last and hoping for a quiet New Year when there is a murder. The obvious suspect is his wife, Nora's cousin, Selma.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BlondellBarton MacLaneWhen a crusader against rackets is murdered, a grand jury battles the rackets by promoting McLaren to be in charge of the cleanup. He fires NYPD Detective Blake, who punches him and joins the racket.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsClark GableJean HarlowMyrna LoyThe wife of a publishing executive mistakenly believes that her husband's relationship with his attractive secretary is more than professional.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperJean ArthurJames EllisonWild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody attempt to stop an Indian uprising that was started by white gun-runners.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorMack V. WrightStarsJohn WaynePhyllis FraserLew KellyThe arrival of the telegraph put Pony Express riders like John Blair and his pal Smoky out of work. A race will decide whether they or Stageline owner Drake get the government mail contract.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsMargaret SullavanHenry FondaCharles ButterworthA comedy about marriage and everything relating to it. New York novelist Henry Fonda meets up with an actress, Margaret Sullavan, and the two date and later marry, though neither knows of the other's fame. The real adventure begins on the honeymoon, when this screwball comedy really heats up with insults and arguments.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLionel BarrymoreMaureen O'SullivanFrank LawtonAn escaped convict uses miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those who framed him.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsGary CooperMadeleine CarrollAkim TamiroffAmid the anarchy of China, an American mercenary tangles with a ruthless warlord.
- 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.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsMarlene DietrichGary CooperJohn HallidayAn automotive engineer bound for a holiday in Spain meets a sultry jewel thief.
- DirectorStephen RobertsStarsWilliam PowellJean ArthurJames GleasonA wealthy mystery writer uses her doctor ex-husband's non-payment of alimony to coerce him into a reconciliation.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyLuise RainerThe ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersVictor MooreRoguish gambler/dancer "Lucky" Garnett is challenged by his fiance's father to come up with $25,000 to prove he's worthy of her hand. But after he falls in love with a dance instructor, Lucky'll do anything to keep from earning the bucks.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsRené LefèvreFlorelleJules BerryThe boss of a publishing company is a womanizer and a jerk, but what would happen if he suddenly disappeared?
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartRay MillandA young married couple's relationship becomes strained when he is assigned overseas as a foreign correspondent and she becomes a major stage star.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinSuzy PrimLouis JouvetA charismatic thief makes friends with a bankrupt baron who comes to live in the thief's slum. Meanwhile the thief seeks the love of a young woman, who is held emotionally captive by her slumlord family.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChôko IidaShin'ichi HimoriMasao HayamaA widow sends her only son away to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him, finding him a poor school teacher with a wife and son.
- DirectorAlbert de CourvilleStarsEdmund LoweConstance CummingsThomy BourdelleA wise cracking American P.I. traveling abroad with his love interest and sidekick, stumbles on to a dead body. After it disappears again, he starts to unravel a devious crime ring.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsIsuzu YamadaYôko UmemuraBenkei ShiganoyaTwo geisha sisters lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto. After one of them feels obliged to support a bankrupt businessman, the other sister sets up various schemes to get rid of him.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsRosalind RussellJohn BolesBillie BurkeA domineering woman marries a wealthy man for his money, and then uses her position to further her own ambitions for money and power.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsJean ArthurJoel McCreaReginald OwenA reporter meets an actress whose producer is a presumed-dead thief, and stakes his reputation on predicting the next crime.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMiriam HopkinsMerle OberonJoel McCreaTwo schoolteachers and the man they both love face ruin when a malicious student cooks up a lie.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBoris KarloffRicardo CortezEdmund GwennAfter hapless pianist and ex-con John Elman is framed for murder, he is resurrected by a scientist after his execution.
- DirectorEmilio Gómez MurielFred ZinnemannStarsSilvio HernándezDavid Valle GonzálezRafael HinojosaA story of burgeoning labor rights amongst poor fishermen in a small village in Mexico.
- DirectorWilliam C. McGannStarsHumphrey BogartBeverly RobertsLinda PerryA radio network manager's boss makes him air a serial based on a murder, tormenting a woman involved.
- DirectorSacha GuitryStarsSacha GuitryAdolphe BorchardMarcel LucienA charming scoundrel reflects on his exploits, from childhood through to manhood.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsIrene DunneAllan JonesCharles WinningerDespite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.
- 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.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniJosephine HutchinsonAnita LouiseThe biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsIrene DunneMelvyn DouglasThomas MitchellThe author of a controversially racy best-selling book tries to hide her celebrity status from her provincial small-town neighbors, who would be scandalized if they knew.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanRobert Z. LeonardStarsJanet GaynorRobert TaylorBinnie BarnesKay lives in a small rural time and thinks that her life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night she meets young, handsome, rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk, then proceeds to take her out for a night on the town. Kay likes the stranger, and when he decides--while drunk--that they should get married, Kay hesitates little before consenting. The next morning, Bob, once he sobers up, regrets his mistake. His strict and upright parents, however, insist that the young couple pretend marriage for six months before divorcing, in order to avoid bad publicity. Bob resents Kay for standing in the way of him and his fiancée Priscilla, but Kay still hopes that he'd have a change of heart.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceStarsJean HarlowFranchot ToneCary GrantBelieving that a German spy has killed her new husband (Franchot Tone), a struggling chorus girl (Jean Harlow) flees to Paris where she meets and marries a World War I pilot (Cary Grant), whose carefree ways bring unexpected results.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsDick PowellJoan BlondellWarren WilliamBroadway dance director George Randall (Dick Powell) is stuck with staging a Broadway show starring Peggy Revere (Joan Blondell), a wealthy but untalented performer who is starring only because she is backing the show. Tempers flare during rehearsals, but suave producer Fred Harris (Warren William) smooths things over by pretending to each combatant that each one secretly loves the other. Trouble is, Randall really has eyes for chorus girl Ruth Williams (Jeanne Madden). On opening night, the tempestuous Peggy storms out of the production, leaving Ruth to play the lead and carry the show. Can she pull it off?
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsJoan BennettCary GrantGeorge BancroftWhen Charlie Mason is promoted from irresponsible reporter to hard-nosed city editor, it costs him his girlfriend, ace reporter Rusty Fleming. After he hears she's engaged to another, he quits and tries to win her back.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsEleanor PowellJames StewartVirginia BruceOn leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but their relationship is jeopardized by an established Broadway star, who is also enamored by him.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsRobert TaylorLoretta YoungBasil RathboneA maid secretly marries the son of her wealthy boss.
- DirectorLothar MendesAlexander KordaStarsRoland YoungRalph RichardsonEdward ChapmanAn ordinary man suddenly finds that anything he says comes true. Or at least, almost anything.
- DirectorMarcel PagnolStarsRaimuPierre FresnayOrane DemazisHonoré Panisse is dying, cheerfully, with friends, wife, and son at his side. He confesses to the priest in front of his friends; he insists that the doctor be truthful. But, he cannot bring himself to tell his son Cesariot that his real father is Marius, the absent son of César, Cesariot's godfather. Panisse leaves that to Fanny, the lad's mother. Dissembling that he's off to see a friend, Cesariot then seeks Marius, now a mechanic in Toulon. Posing as a journalist, Cesariot spends time with Marius and leaves believing tales he is a petty thief. Only after the truth comes out can Marius, Fanny, César, and Cesariot step beyond the falsehoods, benign though they may be.
- DirectorHoward HawksWilliam WylerRichard RossonStarsEdward ArnoldJoel McCreaFrances FarmerAn ambitious lumberjack abandons his saloon girl lover so that he can marry into wealth, but years later becomes infatuated with the woman's daughter.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinCharles VanelRaymond AimosFive unemployed penniless workers win 100,000 Francs with the national lottery. Instead of sharing the money, they buy a ruin and build an open-air cafe. But difficulties come to split their friendly group apart.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsFreddie BartholomewDolores CostelloC. Aubrey SmithAn American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trust.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyMichael CurtizStarsFredric MarchOlivia de HavillandDonald WoodsIn 18th-century Italy, an orphan's debt to the man who raised him threatens to separate him forever from the woman he loves.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsRandolph ScottBinnie BarnesHenry WilcoxonDuring the brutal French and Indian War, the legendary scout Hawkeye is prevailed upon to escort Major Duncan Heyward, and the two daughters of Fort William Henry commander Colonel Munro -- Alice and Cora -- to safety through.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersRandolph ScottA Navy sailor tries to rekindle a romance with the woman he loves while on liberty in San Francisco.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJames CagneyPat O'BrienJune TravisWar veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline in Newark. Dizzy is flirting with the girlfriend of a younger pilot and, due to this, he feigns illness to get Texas to take his flight assignment to Cleveland. Returning from Cleveland to Newark, Texas' plane crashes attempting to land on the airfield under extremely bad weather circumstances and he dies from this accident. Dizzy feels guilty for his friend's death and takes the next flight to Cleveland under even worse circumstances, testing a new anti-ice device on the plane.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerMadeleine CarrollFreddie BartholomewAn honest broker saves the day.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsOtto KrugerGloria HoldenMarguerite ChurchillWhen Countess Marya Zaleska appears in London, mysterious events occur that lead Dr. Von Helsing to believe that the Countess must be a vampire.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerLeslie HowardJohn BarrymoreYoung love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.