The Good... of the 1930s
After creating my Best-Of-Lists for every decade I felt like some pretty good movies were still left out. To change that here is my The Good... of the 1930s list. Mind you, as the heading implies the movies on this list are not bad. I just do not feel that they belong on a Best-Of-List.
As ususal, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
As ususal, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
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- DirectorRoland WestStarsChester MorrisUna MerkelWilliam BakewellA master criminal terrorizes the occupants of an isolated country mansion.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsRichard BarthelmessDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Neil HamiltonWorld War I ace Dick Courtney derides the leadership of his superior officer, but Courtney is soon promoted to squadron commander and learns harsh lessons about sending subordinates to their deaths.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGary CooperMarlene DietrichAdolphe MenjouA cabaret singer and a Legionnaire fall in love, but their relationship is complicated by the results of his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who wants her for himself.
- DirectorHoward HughesEdmund GouldingJames WhaleStarsBen LyonJames HallJean HarlowBrothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.
- DirectorH.P. CarverStarsChief Yellow RobeChief Buffalo Child Long LanceChief AkawanushA documentary about the life of Indians in Northern Canada.
- DirectorVictor HeermanStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxMayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanHarold LloydStarsHarold LloydBarbara KentRobert McWadeAn ambitious shoe salesman who unknowingly meets his boss's daughter and tells her he is a leather tycoon has to try to hide his true circumstances.
- DirectorJohn G. AdolfiStarsGrant WithersEvalyn KnappJames CagneyMa Delano (Lucille LaVerne) runs a boardwalk penny arcade and lives upstairs with her sons Harry and Joe (James Cagney and Ray Gallagher) and daughter Jennie (Evalyn Knapp); their story involves rum-running, accidental murder, and a frame-up.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsCharles FarrellMary DuncanDavid TorrenceA Chicago waitress falls in love with a Minnesota farmer, and decides to face a life in the country.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsMonte BlueLila LeeWilliam 'Stage' BoydA policeman doubles as a gunman to get in with the mob.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsWallace BeeryJackie CooperIrene RichAn alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.
- 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.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Glenda FarrellA small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsJohn BarrymoreMarian MarshDonald CrispThrough hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJoan CrawfordClark GableWallace FordAn ambitious factory girl meets a handsome, wealthy lawyer, but he's interested in her as a mistress, not a wife.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichVictor McLaglenGustav von SeyffertitzThe Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsMae ClarkeDouglass MontgomeryDoris LloydA prostitute's self-loathing makes her reluctant to marry an idealistic soldier during World War I.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsDorothy MackaillDonald CookRalf HaroldeAfter accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a New Orleans woman flees to a Caribbean island. While she awaits her fiancé, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellLouis CalhernThe adventures of an egoistic con man and his glamorous accomplice.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckBen LyonJoan BlondellA nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsGloria SwansonMelvyn DouglasAlison SkipworthA young opera singer finds her career stalled because of her cold and passionless performances, until she finds romance with a handsome admirer.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsRudolf ForsterLotte LenyaCarola NeherThe Gangster Macheath secretly marries the daughter of beggar king Peachum. When Peachum finds out, he instructs the police chief Brown to arrest and hang Macheath. If not, all the beggars of Soho will disturb the upcoming coronation.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsMarion DaviesLeslie HowardRichard BennettAfter her businessman father moves her family from Kansas City to New York, a woman falls in love with an engaged man.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsWalter HustonPhillips HolmesConstance CummingsAfter a failed attempt at running for governor, D.A. Mark Brady is appointed warden of the state prison where many of the criminals he prosecuted are incarcerated.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsSylvia SidneyWilliam Collier Jr.Estelle TaylorTwenty-four hours elapse on the stoop of a Hell's Kitchen tenement as a microcosm of the American melting pot interconnects during a summer heatwave.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsBebe DanielsRicardo CortezDudley DiggesA lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.
- DirectorJames ParrottStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJune MarloweTwo guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeLionel BarrymoreStarsLionel BarrymoreKay FrancisMadge EvansA district attorney commits the perfect murder when he kills his daughter's womanizing fiancé and then tries framing the fiancé's lover.
- DirectorJohn S. RobertsonStarsJohn GilbertLeila HyamsLewis StoneCheri-Bibi is an escape artist wrongly imprisoned for murdering the wealthy father of his admirer Cecile. The real murderer is Cecile's fiancé, so how will Bibi escape his death sentence and win back Cecile?
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsJohn BolesGenevieve TobinLois WilsonBart is a clerk for a publishing company. He has written a novel. He and his wife Peggy have five children. Bart's former girlfriend Mildred manages the company's Paris office. She manages to get the novel published and talks Bart into marrying her after he divorces Peggy. Initially successful, Bart must turn to writing trash to keep Mildred in money. When he sees how well his four sons and daughter Margaret have grown without his help, he asks Peggy to let them all come live with him and Mildred. Peggy agrees, but the arrival of Bart's beloved children puts Mildred's future in jeopardy.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsNorma ShearerLeslie HowardLionel BarrymoreAn alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.
- 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.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMichel SimonJanie MarèseGeorges FlamantMaurice Legrand, a meek cashier married to a nagging wife, has a secret passion: he's a Sunday painter. He falls in love with Lulu, a young woman dominated by Dédé, the pimp who she works for. Dédé pushes Lulu into a relationship with him.
- DirectorLeontine SaganCarl FroelichStarsDorothea WieckHertha ThieleEmilia UndaAt an all-girls boarding school, Manuela falls in love with a teacher, to terrific consequences.
- 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.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx BrothersOn a transatlantic crossing, The Marx Brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsHarry BaurRobert LynenLouis GauthierA red-haired boy is his mother's punching bag ; only his father's presence is a great comfort to him,but this weak man is under the shrew's thumb. His pain is so great he feels suicidal.
- DirectorJean CocteauStarsEnrique RiveroElizabeth Lee MillerPauline CartonTold in four episodes - an unnamed artist is transported through a mirror into another dimension, where he travels through various bizarre scenarios.
- DirectorVictor HalperinStarsBela LugosiMadge BellamyJoseph CawthornA young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsBela LugosiSidney FoxLeon AmesA mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments.
- DirectorStephen RobertsStarsClive BrookFrances DeeCharles RugglesElna Curry, once a concert pianist, develops an unfounded jealousy of neighbor, Trudie Morrow. Elna who suffers from neurasthenia, believes that Trudie is having an affair with her husband, John, and vows revenge on Trudie. John explains to Trudie Elna's condition and plan. Trudie, being good-hearted tells John that she'll move. One evening, John returns late from work to discover Elna dead. John burns Elna's suicide note to protect Trudie. This results in John being charged for murder and put on trial.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungDudley DiggesA hatchet man is ordered to kill his close friend for the sake of Tong.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichClive BrookAnna May WongA notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
- DirectorJames FloodElliott NugentStarsWarren WilliamSidney FoxAline MacMahonProsecutor becomes a defense attorney after an innocent man is sent to an electric chair.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJohn BarrymoreLionel BarrymoreKaren MorleyA detective is tasked to capture an elusive thief called Arsene Lupin.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlBéla BalázsStarsLeni RiefenstahlMathias WiemanBeni FührerWhen the moon is full, young men die attempting to reach the mysterious blue light in the mountains.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'SullivanRay MillandA man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsJohn BarrymoreHelen TwelvetreesJill EsmondAttorney Tom Cardigan is the discontented "mouthpiece" for Vanny Powers' mob. When Tom takes sweet June Perry as his mistress, she tries in vain to redeem him. But Powers decides Tom would be even more useful to him as District Attorney, which he arranges with surprising ease...despite Tom's warning that "if I go on the other side, I'll stay there." Soon, Tom's ambition leads him to ditch June for the daughter of political boss Ulric. The crisis arrives when Powers goes on trial for a killing...witnessed by June.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsLionel BarrymoreNancy CarrollPhillips HolmesFrench soldier travels to Germany to find a family of a man he killed during World War I.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasErich von StroheimAn officer tries to convince an amnesiac bar entertainer that she is his long-lost lover.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMichel SimonMarcelle HainiaSévérine LerczinskaA bookseller saves a tramp from drowning and shelters him, but the tramp's odd behavior starts to wear everyone down.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJoan BlondellAnn DvorakBette DavisAlthough Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsRichard DixMary AstorRobert ArmstrongIn hard times just after World War I, three ex-fighter pilots manage to land jobs as Hollywood stunt fliers working for dictatorial director Von Furst.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowChester MorrisLewis StoneLillian (Jean Harlow) relentlessly attempts to seduce a married man (Chester Morris).
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsCarole LombardPat O'BrienMayo MethotA relationship gradually develops between a savvy New York street girl and a good-hearted cab driver, but other matters keep getting in their way, including financial problems and a murder.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsWilliam HainesMadge EvansAnita PageA radio writer/producer accidentally kills his wife, then attempts to escape the on-air hunt for him.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsEdward G. RobinsonBebe DanielsAline MacMahonYates and Sarah Martin are barely getting by in a Colorado boom town grocery store. Sudden wealth leads to greater prosperity and political power. In Denver Yates buys a mansion and builds an opera house. He leaves Sarah for glamorous Lily and, when he makes it to Washington as Senator, marries her. When the gold standard is introduced, he's ruined.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRuth ChattertonLouis CalhernHelen Jerome EddyThe San Francisco earthquake shakes up the life of Jenny, a madam who gives birth to an illegitimate son and gives him up to protect him.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsSpencer TracyDoris KenyonTommy ConlonAlready in trouble with the law, Arthur and his friend Nutty break into a drugstore to get medicine for Nutty's grandmother. The druggist's wife, Mrs. Doray, asks for custody. When he hears them arguing over him, Arthur runs away. When he returns Mr. Doray is being held up by bandits at the drugstore.
- DirectorGeorge CukorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldGenevieve TobinAn unhappily married couple try to come between a happy one.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisHelen VinsonA gentleman thief charms a Viennese baron's wife and also conducts a daring daylight robbery of a jewellers.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisFrank McHughA terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Joan BlondellGuy KibbeeTravelers of different and varied backgrounds meet and interact on one night in a metropolitan train station and its environs.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsClara BowGilbert RolandThelma ToddSexy Texas gal storms her way through life, brawling and boozing until her luck runs out, forcing her to learn the errors of her ways.
- DirectorMarion GeringStarsTallulah BankheadGary CooperCharles LaughtonA man sets out for revenge after learning of his wife's affair.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBarbara StanwyckNils AstherToshia MoriA Chinese warlord and an engaged Christian missionary fall in love.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFredric MarchClaudette ColbertElissa LandiA Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.
- DirectorCharles BrabinCharles VidorStarsBoris KarloffLewis StoneKaren MorleyEnglishmen race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan before the sinister Fu Manchu does.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsEdna May OliverRobert ArmstrongJames GleasonShady stockbroker and abusive husband Gerald Parker is found dead in the penguin pool of a NYC aquarium after being knocked cold by his wife's boyfriend.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsPierre RenoirGeorges TérofWinna WinifriedInspector Maigret investigates the mysterious murder of a Dutch diamond dealer, found dead in a stolen car. The car belongs to an insurance agent, Michonnet, and has been abandoned in the garage belonging to Carl Andersen.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonVivienne OsborneGuy KibbeeA condemned murderer, in the process of being executed, relives the events that led to his being sentenced to die in the electric chair.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldCharles RugglesA Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsLee TracyMary BrianDick PowellAl Roberts writes a gossip column for the Daily Express. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets into a little difficulty with a hood named Goebel who sends Frankie to talk to Alvin. But Al has the confession of Frankie on cylinders so Frankie becomes his own bodyguard and information line. One person Al is always taking digs at is crooner Bunny Harmon, because he hates crooners. When he writes a story about Dorothy's blessed event, he comes to regret destroying her life. But more importantly to Al and Frankie, her man may end 'Spilling the Dirt' permanently.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsMarie DresslerRichard CromwellJean HersholtAfter decades of raising the motherless Smith children, housekeeper Emma Thatcher is faced with resentment when she marries their father.
- 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.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsWilliam PowellEvelyn BrentGeorge SidneyGar Evans is a "high pressure" promoter who tends to be unrealistically optimistic about his projects and exaggerates the chance of success. He sets up the "Golden Gate Artificial Rubber Company", and persuades a lot of people to invest. He believes that the process to produce artificial rubber exists, but does it?
- DirectorClyde BruckmanHarold LloydStarsHarold LloydConstance CummingsKenneth ThomsonAfter a mix-up with his application photograph, an aspiring actor is invited to a test screening and goes off to Hollywood.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyRalph BellamyPatricia EllisEx-convict Danny Kean decides to become honest as a photographer for a paper. He falls in love with Patricia, the daughter of the policeman who arrested him. Mr Nolan, her father, doesn't like that relation at first, but McLean, Kean's boss, convinces him of Kean's good nature. But Kean uses his relation to Patricia to make a photo of an execution. Due to this, Nolan loses his stripes and Kean isn't allowed to see Patricia any longer. But when one of his former friends kills two policemen, Kean sees his chance....
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge BrentDonald CookA young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsKay FrancisLyle TalbotGlenda FarrellMary Stevens (Kay Francis) and her old friend Don Andrews (Lyle Talbot) graduate from medical school at the same time and decide to set up their respective medical offices in the same building. Mary builds her reputation despite many patients refusing to be treated by a woman. Don, however, starts dating Lois Cavanaugh (Thelma Todd), whose family is rich and influential, and neglects his practice for the privileges of a social life. Despite Mary's love for Don, he marries Lois and sets up a new office with a high-class clientele. He also gives Mary a new office right next to his; while she ends up making a name for herself in the medical community, Don begins to pilfer funds from his practice. Jealousy and mistrust drive Mary and Don apart, seemingly for good. Two years later, Mary, now a famous doctor, takes a much-needed vacation and runs into Don, who is on the lam from the authorities. Mary and Don have an affair and Don tries to get a divorce. Lois is willing but her father doesn't want the Cavanaugh name mixed up in any scandal. He clears Don's name and gets all charges against him dropped--on the condition that Don will not divorce Lois for at least six months. When Mary finds herself pregnant by Don and he's unable to marry her, she must decide whether to tell him or raise the child on her own; he can't divorce Lois and their baby dies while on the ship. Very harsh. Mary is caught in the act of suicide and saves a child in the final scene. Mary gains her confidence back and all is good.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenrietta CrosmanHeather AngelNorman FosterA possessive mother pushes her son into World War I service rather than see him get married.
- DirectorStuart WalkerMitchell LeisenStarsFredric MarchCary GrantJack OakieThe pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.
- DirectorHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsJohn BarrymoreMyrna LoyReginald MasonAn honest and naive schoolteacher gets a lesson in how the world works outside the classroom, when a rich Baron and his mistress use the teacher's name and outstanding reputation in a crooked business scheme.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsMarie DresslerWallace BeeryRobert YoungAnnie the tugboat captain tries to help two young lovers come together.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMargaret SullavanJohn BolesEdna May OliverA one-night fling during World War I results in a young girl getting pregnant. Years later, she meets him again. Now a successful businessman, he doesn't even remember her, but tries to seduce her.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsEdward G. RobinsonMary AstorHelen VinsonWhen Prohibition ends, a beer baron sees the writing on the wall, quits the rackets, and tries to break into California society.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsWarren WilliamLoretta YoungWallace FordA working girl is menaced by her tyrannical employer.
- DirectorGustav MachatýStarsHedy LamarrZvonimir RogozAribert MogEva has just got married to an older gentleman. She leaves him, and one day, she meets a young man, and they fall in love. Fate brings the husband together with the young lover that has taken Eva from him.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsWarren WilliamMay RobsonGuy KibbeeA gangster tries to make Apple Annie, the Times Square apple seller, a lady for a day.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsAnn HardingWilliam PowellLucile BrowneA woman tricks a playboy into marrying her and then tries to make him legitimately fall in love with her.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsEddie CantorRuth EttingGloria StuartA kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.
- 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.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyMae ClarkeMargaret LindsayA former gangster makes it big in Hollywood, but his old life catches up with him.
- DirectorArchie MayoMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyMadge EvansArthur ByronFive members of a teen-age gang, including leader Jimmy Smith, are sent to the state reformatory, presided over by the melodramatically callous Thompson. Soon, Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed deputy commissioner as a political favor, arrives - complete with hip flask and blonde. Gargan falls for activist nurse Dorothy and, inspired by her, takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. But Thompson, to conceal his years of graft, needs a quick way to discredit Gargan.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsLoretta YoungRichard BarthelmessAline MacMahonA veteran fights drug addiction to make his way in the business world.
- DirectorPaul SloaneStarsNancy CarrollCary GrantJohn HallidayDuring a three-day pleasure cruise, a murder victim's friend (John Halliday) tries to trick a new bride (Nancy Carroll) into admitting her guilt.
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsCharles LaughtonRobert DonatFranklin DyallKing Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.