Tap! Filmography - The Feature Films
by bderoes-12985 | created - 30 Nov 2017 | updated - 09 Mar 2019 | Publicfrom Appendix B of Tap! The greatest tap dance stars and their stories, 1900-1955 by Rusty Frank, published 1990
"From the 1920s-1950s, there were very few musical films made that did not have tap dancing in some form. This appendix concentrates on "featured" tap dancers - solo, and groups. There are some entries listed here that have not been viewed since their original release. In these cases it is assumed that the tap dancer did perlorm a tap number in the film."
+ means information I added
++ is an entry from Jazz Dance: The Story Of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall & Jean Stearns, 1994
+++ is an entry that I added
View Page breaks:
1 ('29-'36) | 2 ('36-'39) | 3 ('39-'41) | 4 ('41-'47) | 5 ('47-'57)
Edit Page breaks:
1 ('29-'41) | 2 ('41-'57)
Companion list: Tap! Filmography - The Short Films
- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Broadway Melody (1929)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Eddie Kane
Votes: 8,001 | Gross: $6.12M
MGM/ Bessie Love, Anita Page
2. The Dance of Life (1929)
Passed | 115 min | Drama, Romance
When a vaudeville comic and a pretty young dancer have little luck in their separate careers, they decide to combine their acts; to save money on the road, they get married.
Directors: John Cromwell, A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Hal Skelly, Nancy Carroll, Dorothy Revier, Ralph Theodore
Votes: 354
Paramount/ Nancy Carroll, Hal Skelly
3. Glorifying the American Girl (1929)
Passed | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
The rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl".
Director: Millard Webb | Stars: Mary Eaton, Eddie Cantor, Helen Morgan, Rudy Vallee
Votes: 797
Paramount/ Mary Eaton, Dan Healy
4. Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
Passed | 101 min | Comedy, Musical
Three Broadway chorus girls seek rich husbands.
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Nancy Welford, Conway Tearle, Winnie Lightner, Ann Pennington
Votes: 213 | Gross: $5.54M
Warner/ Ann Pennington
5. The Great Gabbo (1929)
Passed | 92 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
An insanely, egocentric ventriloquist, even though he is possessed by his wooden dummy, is in love with a dancer who is in love with another. The dummy gives advice to the ventriloquist.
Directors: James Cruze, Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Donald Douglas, Betty Compson, Marjorie Kane
Votes: 1,002
SonoArt/ Marjorie "Babe" Kane
6. Hallelujah (1929)
Passed | 109 min | Drama, Musical
A sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray
Votes: 2,001
MGM/ Esvan Mosby
7. Happy Days (1929)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Margie, singer on a showboat, decides to try her luck in New York inspite of being in love with the owners grandson. She is successful, but suddenly she hears that the showboat is in deep ... See full summary »
Director: Benjamin Stoloff | Stars: Charles E. Evans, Marjorie White, Richard Keene, Stuart Erwin
Votes: 179
Fox/ Dixie Lee, Richard Keene, Tom Patricola, Ann Pennington, Slate Brothers, Martha Lee Sparks
8. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
Passed | 130 min | Comedy, Music
An all-star revue featuring MGM contract players.
Directors: Charles Reisner, Christy Cabanne, Norman Houston | Stars: Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer
Votes: 2,254
MGM/ Joan Crawford
9. Is Everybody Happy? (1929)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
This is the story of Ted Lewis, popular band leader and clarinettist.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: Ted Lewis, Alice Day, Ann Pennington, Lawrence Grant
Warner/ Ann Pennington
10. Night Parade (1929)
Passed | 71 min | Drama
Bobby Martin, a young middleweight champion boxer, is an honest and decent fighter. However, on the eve of his biggest fight, he becomes entangled in the snare of a dishonest woman and ends up framed.
Director: Malcolm St. Clair | Stars: Aileen Pringle, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Gulliver, Robert Ellis
Votes: 128
RKO/ Ann Pennington
11. On with the Show! (1929)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A musical advertised as the first 100% natural color, all-singing production. The plot concerns a wide-eyed former hatcheck girl who takes the place of a rebellious star.
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Arthur Lake, Betty Compson, Joe E. Brown, Sally O'Neil
Votes: 374
Warner/ Four Covans
12. Sally (1929)
Passed | 103 min | Musical
Sally was an orphan who got her name from the telephone exchange where she was abandoned as a baby. In the orphanage, she discovered the joy of dancing and has been practicing since. ... See full summary »
Director: John Francis Dillon | Stars: Marilyn Miller, Alexander Gray, Joe E. Brown, T. Roy Barnes
Votes: 415
First National/ Marilyn Miller
13. Show of Shows (1929)
Passed | 128 min | Comedy
In 1929, the studio gave the cinema its voice and offered audiences a chance to hear their favorite actors and actresses from the silent-screen era. For the first time, they can be heard in... See full summary »
Director: John G. Adolfi | Stars: Frank Fay, William Courtenay, H.B. Warner, Hobart Bosworth
Votes: 471
Warner/ Dancers, two choruses - one black one white
14. So This Is College (1929)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Biff and Eddie are the best of friends. They are college seniors, roommates at the fraternity, and star teammates on the USC football team. Then a flapper named Babs enters the picture. ... See full summary »
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Elliott Nugent, Robert Montgomery, Cliff Edwards, Sally Starr
Votes: 284
Fox/ Ann Pennington, Slate Brothers
15. Sweetie (1929)
Passed | 95 min | Music, Romance, Sport
A chorus girl inherits a men's college where her boyfriend is a star football player.
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: Nancy Carroll, Helen Kane, Stanley Smith, Jack Oakie
Votes: 99
Paramount/ Helen Kane, Jack Oakie
16. Thunderbolt (1929)
Passed | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl. ... See full summary »
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Eugenie Besserer
Votes: 880
Paramount/ Nina Mae McKinney
17. Chasing Rainbows (1930)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
The road-show troupe of a top Broadway show go cross-country while taking the audience along on the on-stage scenes as well as what happens and is happening back stage of the production. ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Reisner | Stars: Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny, George K. Arthur
Votes: 270
MGM/ Bessie Love, Anita Page
18. Check and Double Check (1930)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy
Typical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party.... See full summary »
Director: Melville W. Brown | Stars: Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich
Votes: 434
RKO/ Four Step Brothers
19. Dixiana (1930)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In antebellum New Orleans, two men vie for the affections of a beautiful young girl during Mardi Gras.
Director: Luther Reed | Stars: Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey
Votes: 423
RKO/ Bill Robinson
20. Just Imagine (1930)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
New York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love, and test tube babies have replaced ...... See full summary »
Director: David Butler | Stars: El Brendel, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Garrick, Marjorie White
Votes: 848
Fox/ Frank Albertson, Margorie White
21. King of Jazz (1930)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Musical
American Pre-Code color film starring Paul Whiteman and his Jazz orchestra.
Directors: John Murray Anderson, Walter Lantz | Stars: Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante, Jeanette Loff
Votes: 1,610
Universal/ Chorus tap
22. Let's Go Native (1930)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Dress designer Joan Wood, who's heavily in debt, has created costumes for a Broadway show that is exported to Argentina. With the money she wants to pay her debts, but there was a mistake: ... See full summary »
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Jack Oakie, Jeanette MacDonald, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, James Hall
Votes: 161
Paramount/ Jack Oakie
23. Mammy (1930)
Passed | 84 min | Comedy
A love triangle develops in a traveling minstrel troupe.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Al Jolson, Lois Moran, Lowell Sherman, Louise Dresser
Votes: 239
Warner/ Corbet Brothers
24. The March of Time (1930)
Musical
A musical revue scheduled for release in September 1930 but shelved midway through production when musicals fell out of favor at the box office. In the years since, film aficionados have ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Reisner | Stars: Albertina Rasch Dancers, Betty Brown, William Collier Jr., William Collier Sr.
MGM/ Barney Fagan (never released as a whole)
25. Paramount on Parade (1930)
Passed | 102 min | Comedy, Music
A musical revue that basically has Paramount stars and contract-players doing things some had never done on screen, and wouldn't again; such as Ruth Chatteron , in a French-café setting ... See full summary »
Directors: Dorothy Arzner, Otto Brower, Edmund Goulding, Victor Heerman, Edwin H. Knopf, Rowland V. Lee, Ernst Lubitsch, Lothar Mendes, Victor Schertzinger, A. Edward Sutherland, Frank Tuttle | Stars: Jean Arthur, Clara Bow, Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper
Votes: 378
Paramount/ Nancy Canoll, Mitzie Mayfair, Jack Oakie
26. Puttin' on the Ritz (1930)
Passed | 88 min | Music, Musical, Romance
A vaudeville and nightclub performer becomes successful and forgets who his friends really are.
Director: Edward Sloman | Stars: Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, James Gleason, Aileen Pringle
Votes: 189
UA/ Harry Richman, white and black choruses
27. Sunny (1930)
Passed | 78 min | Musical, Romance
To be near the fella she loves, an English bareback rider dons dungarees and cap to pass as a boy, stows away to America, gets caught, marries someone else...and finally ends up in the warm... See full summary »
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Marilyn Miller, Lawrence Gray, Joe Donahue, O.P. Heggie
Votes: 192
First National/ Marilyn Miller
28. They Learned About Women (1930)
Passed | 95 min | Musical, Drama
When Jack and Jerry are not playing professional baseball with the Blue Sox, they are packing them in on the Vaudeville circuit. Jack is engaged to Mary, but a gold digger named Daisy has ... See full summary »
Directors: Jack Conway, Sam Wood | Stars: Gus Van, Joe Schenck, Bessie Love, Mary Doran
Votes: 266
MGM/ Nina Mae McKinney
29. Top Speed (1930)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An order clerk poses as a millionaire.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Joe E. Brown, Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Frank McHugh
Votes: 257
Warner/ Joe E. Brown, lnez Courlney
30. Whoopee! (1930)
Passed | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Western sheriff Bob Wells is preparing to marry Sally Morgan; she loves part-Indian Wanenis, whose race is an obstacle. Sally flees the wedding with hypochondriac Henry Williams, who thinks... See full summary »
Director: Thornton Freeland | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta, Paul Gregory, Eleanor Hunt
Votes: 1,185
UA/ Eddie Cantor
31. Caught Plastered (1931)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Musical
Wheeler 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.
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Lucy Beaumont
Votes: 233
Radio Pictures/ Bert Wheeler
32. Laughing Sinners (1931)
Passed | 72 min | Drama, Romance
Cabaret performer Ivy Stevens in an affair with a low-rent traveling salesman is dumped in a 'Dear Jane' letter and finds solace in joining the Salvation Army.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Neil Hamilton, Marjorie Rambeau
Votes: 794
MGM/ Joan Crawford (tap charleston)
33. Peach O'Reno (1931)
Passed | 63 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
After 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 ... See full summary »
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Zelma O'Neal
Votes: 300
RKO/ Dorothy Lee, Bert Wheeler
34. Dancers in the Dark (1932)
Passed | 74 min | Drama
A bandleader tries to romance a dancer by sending her boyfriend, a musician, out of town. However, things get complicated when he finds out that a gangster has designs on her too.
Director: David Burton | Stars: Miriam Hopkins, Jack Oakie, William Collier Jr., Eugene Pallette
Votes: 176
Paramount/ Lyda Roberti
35. Girl Crazy (1932)
Passed | 74 min | Comedy, Musical
New York playboy Danny Churchill is sent to a small town in Arizona, where being sheriff is very dangerous, to keep away from girls, but he decides to open a dude ranch there. He asks his ... See full summary »
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Eddie Quillan
Votes: 304
RKO/ Mitzi Green, Dorothy Lee, Bert Wheeler
36. Harlem Is Heaven (1932)
69 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
The director and star of a Harlem theater troupe puts his feelings aside to help unite two lovers.
Director: Irwin Franklyn | Stars: Bill Robinson, Eubie Blake, John 'Spider Bruce' Mason, Putney Dandridge
Votes: 52
Lincoln/ Bill Robinson, and chorus
37. Midshipmaid Gob (1932)
84 min | Comedy
Sir Percy Newbiggin visits the fleet to find ways to economize Naval expenditures. Daughter Celia tags along, and organizes a morale-boosting show utilizing ship-board talent. Her fiancé shows up, and romantic complications ensue.
Director: Albert de Courville | Stars: Jessie Matthews, A.W. Baskcomb, Basil Sydney, Frederick Kerr
Votes: 67
Gaumont-British/ Jessie Matthews
38. Night World (1932)
58 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Story of the goings-on at a Prohibition-era nightclub.
Director: Hobart Henley | Stars: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier
Votes: 468
Universal/ Mae Clark
39. The Phantom President (1932)
78 min | Comedy, Musical
A presidential candidate is deemed to have a dull personality, thus a charismatic look-alike is hired as a front.
Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, Jimmy Durante, George Barbier
Votes: 187
Paramount/ George M. Cohan ++
40. The Sport Parade (1932)
Passed | 64 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Spoiled sports hero learns hard lessons.
Director: Dudley Murphy | Stars: Joel McCrea, Marian Marsh, William Gargan, Robert Benchley
Votes: 266
RKO/ Uncredited black tap dancers and chorus line tap
41. Ten Minutes to Live (1932)
Not Rated | 58 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
A movie producer offers a nightclub singer a role in his latest film, but all he really wants to do is bed her. She knows, but accepts anyway. Meanwhile, a patron at the club gets a note ... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Lawrence Chenault, A.B. DeComathiere, Laura Bowman, Willor Lee Guilford
Votes: 288
Micheaux/ Chorus line tap
42. Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933)
90 min | Drama, Musical
Racketeer Frank Rocci is smitten with Joan Whelan, a dancer at Texas Guinan's famous Broadway night spot. He uses his influence to help her get a starring role in the show, hoping that it ... See full summary »
Director: Lowell Sherman | Stars: Constance Cummings, Russ Columbo, Paul Kelly, Blossom Seeley
Votes: 241
UA Fox/ Barto and Mann, Frances Williams
43. Broadway to Hollywood (1933)
Approved | 85 min | History, Musical
A vaudeville couple quit to raise a son, then come back with their grandson in the act.
Directors: Willard Mack, Jules White | Stars: Alice Brady, Frank Morgan, Jackie Cooper, Russell Hardie
Votes: 349
MGM/ Mickey Rooney
44. Dancing Lady (1933)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An attractive dancer is rescued from jail by a rich man who helps her to have her first big opportunity at a musical play on Broadway.
Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, May Robson
Votes: 2,664
MGM/ Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford
45. The Emperor Jones (1933)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Music
Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.
Directors: Dudley Murphy, William C. de Mille | Stars: Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, Fredi Washington
Votes: 1,257
UA/ Harold Nicholas
46. 42nd Street (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 13,034 | Gross: $2.30M
Warner/ Ruby Keeler, Eddie Nugent, Clarence Nordstrom
47. Flying Down to Rio (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A bandleader woos a Latin flame who is already engaged to his employer.
Director: Thornton Freeland | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers
Votes: 4,023 | Gross: $2.01M
RKO/ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
48. Footlight Parade (1933)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
Votes: 6,087 | Gross: $3.49M
Warner/ Ruby Keeler, James Cagney
49. Going Hollywood (1933)
Passed | 78 min | Musical, Romance
A love-struck teacher pursues a radio singer to Hollywood.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin
Votes: 1,912 | Gross: $0.96M
RKO/ Marion Davies
50. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 9,139 | Gross: $4.80M
Warner/ Ruby Keeler
51. The Good Companions (1933)
95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Musical taken from J. B. Priestley's novel about three musicians joining together to save a failing concert party, the Dinky Doos.
Director: Victor Saville | Stars: Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, John Gielgud, Mary Glynne
Votes: 238
Fox GB/ Jessie Matthews, Uncredited Dancer
52. Hello, Everybody! (1933)
69 min | Musical
Kate and Lily Smith live on a farm with assorted relatives, and everyone at home--and in the whole town--depends on Kate to hold everything together. The power company wants to build a dam ... See full summary »
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Kate Smith, Randolph Scott, Sally Blane, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 90
Paramount/ Kate Smith
53. Mr. Broadway (1933)
63 min | Comedy
Ed Sullivan shows night spots all over New York in this movie, joking and listening to stories the patrons tell.
Directors: Johnnie Walker, Edgar G. Ulmer | Stars: Ed Sullivan, Jack Dempsey, Ruth Etting, Bert Lahr
Votes: 27
Broadway-Hollywood Productions/ Hal Leroy, Joe Frisco
54. Myrt and Marge (1933)
Approved | 62 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Myrt has a show chock-full of talented performers who deserve to be on Broadway, but can't raise the necessary money. Jackson, a lecherous "producer", provides the money in order to get his... See full summary »
Director: Al Boasberg | Stars: Myrtle Vail, Donna Damerel, Ray Hedge, Eddie Foy Jr.
Votes: 118
Universal/ Donna Damerel, Eddie Foy, Jr
55. Baby, Take a Bow (1934)
PG | 76 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Eddie Ellison is an ex-con who spent time in Sing-Sing prison. Kay marries him as soon as he serves his time. Five years later, Eddie and his ex-convict buddy Larry, have both gone straight... See full summary »
Director: Harry Lachman | Stars: Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Claire Trevor, Alan Dinehart
Votes: 1,043
Fox/ James Dunn, Shirley Temple
56. Dames (1934)
Passed | 91 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows.
Directors: Ray Enright, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Zasu Pitts
Votes: 2,429
Warner/ Ruby Keeler
57. Evergreen (1934)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Harriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era, has a guilty secret: She has a baby daughter, born out of wedlock. Harriet leaves her public and flees to South ... See full summary »
Director: Victor Saville | Stars: Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Betty Balfour, Barry MacKay
Votes: 633
Gaumont-British/ Jessie Matthews, Barry McKay
58. Flirtation Walk (1934)
Passed | 97 min | Musical
Musical-romance with Powell as private in Hawaii involved with general's daughter Keeler. Break up to avoid scandal but reunite years later when he produces play at West Point starring her.
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander
Votes: 870
Warner/ Ruby Keeler
59. The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 8,638
RKO/ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
60. George White's Scandals (1934)
Passed | 1 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Opening with a credit line that reads "Entire production conceived, created and directed by George White," a film evolves where the only plot line is a thin backstage romance between Jimmy ... See full summary »
Directors: Thornton Freeland, Harry Lachman, George White | Stars: Rudy Vallee, Jimmy Durante, Alice Faye, Adrienne Ames
Votes: 107
Fox/ Dixie Dunbar
61. Happiness Ahead (1934)
Passed | 86 min | Musical, Comedy, Romance
Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading as a working class girl and dating a window washer.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Dick Powell, Josephine Hutchinson, John Halliday, Frank McHugh
Votes: 313
Warner/ Paul Wing and Dorothy Toy and the Mahjongs
62. Harlem After Midnight (1934)
Drama
Gangsters in Harlem make plans to commit a kidnapping.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Lawrence Chenault, 'Slick' Chester, A.B. DeComathiere, Bee Freeman
Micheaux/ Ralph Brown, uncredited tap and chorus line
63. Harold Teen (1934)
66 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
Harold seems to flop at everything he tries: his schoolwork, his newspaper job--even his car is repossessed. It even looks like his girlfriend is losing interest in him, until a school ... See full summary »
Director: Murray Roth | Stars: Hal Le Roy, Rochelle Hudson, Patricia Ellis, Guy Kibbee
Votes: 141
Warner/ Hal Leroy
64. Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Musical
Two salesmen try to market a flavored lipstick.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd
Votes: 543
RKO/ Bert Wheeler
65. Kid Millions (1934)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy (Eddie Cantor) who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but must go to Egypt to claim it.
Directors: Roy Del Ruth, Willy Pogany | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, Ethel Merman, George Murphy
Votes: 590
UA/ Nicholas Brothers
66. Murder at the Vanities (1934)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Music, Musical
A homicide detective with an eye for the ladies, investigating a murder in Earl Carroll's Vanities, allows the music revue to continue during the investigation.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle
Votes: 974
Paramount/ Chorus line
67. Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A little girl's (Shirley Temple) toe-tapping musical numbers uplift the nation during the Depression in this charming classic that includes Temple's rendition of "Baby Take a Bow.
Director: Hamilton MacFadden | Stars: Warner Baxter, Madge Evans, James Dunn, Sylvia Froos
Votes: 577
Fox/ James Dunn, Shirley Temple
68. Wonder Bar (1934)
Passed | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores Del Río, Ricardo Cortez
Votes: 736
Warner/ Hal Leroy
69. The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
97 min | Comedy, Musical
Spud Miller hopes to save his struggling radio station by winning a broadcast competition, with the help of the Radio Eye, an invention that can display live events from anywhere in the world.
Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: Jack Oakie, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Lyda Roberti
Votes: 346
Paramount/ Bill Robinson, Nicholas Brothers
70. Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)
Passed | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Broadway producer is reluctant to hire his high school sweetheart for the leading role in a new show, so she decides to take advantage of a rumor started by a gossip columnist.
Directors: Roy Del Ruth, W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Una Merkel
Votes: 1,994
MGM/ Eleanor Powell, Buddy and Vilma Ebsen, Nick Long, Jr
71. Coronado (1935)
Approved | 77 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery
Southern California's Hotel Coronado caters to, and is frequented by, members of the social upper-crust. Although she lives on the wrong side of the San Diego tracks, in a tent-city with ... See full summary »
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: Johnny Downs, Betty Burgess, Jack Haley, Andy Devine
Votes: 47
Paramount/ Betty Burgess, Johnny Downs, Nicholas Brothers
72. Curly Top (1935)
Approved | 75 min | Family, Musical, Romance
Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones." As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.
Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Rochelle Hudson, Jane Darwell
Votes: 2,105
Fox/ Shirley Temple
73. First a Girl (1935)
Not Rated | 78 min | Comedy, Musical
Elizabeth dreams of being a music-hall singer. She gets to know Victor, that quite unexpectedly gets a female part in a music-hall number. He unfortunately finds himself voiceless, so, why wouldn't Elizabeth replace him in it?
Director: Victor Saville | Stars: Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Anna Lee, Griffith Jones
Votes: 508
Gaumont British/ Jessie Matthews
74. George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
Approved | 84 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Vacationing Broadway producer George White stops off in a small Georgia town to send a telegram and, seeing his name in lights on a local theater, is scandalized over the unauthorized use. ... See full summary »
Directors: George White, Harry Lachman, James Tinling | Stars: Alice Faye, James Dunn, Ned Sparks, Lyda Roberti
Votes: 189
Fox/ Eleanor Powell
75. Go Into Your Dance (1935)
Approved | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Al Howard may be a star on Broadway, but he is no longer welcomed by any producer. It seems that he just trots off to Mexico any time he wants causing shows to close and producers to lose ... See full summary »
Directors: Archie Mayo, Michael Curtiz, Robert Florey | Stars: Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane
Votes: 465
Warner/ Ruby Keeler
76. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady
Votes: 2,957
Warner/ Chorus (uncredited male trio)
77. Hooray for Love (1935)
Approved | 72 min | Comedy, Musical
A young man with money falls for singer Pat Thatcher, and her con man father makes the most of it.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Bill Robinson, Maria Gambarelli
Votes: 249
RKO/ Bill Robinson, Jeni LeGon
78. In Old Kentucky (1935)
Passed | 86 min | Drama
Horse trainer Steve Tapley is caught between the feuding Martingale and Shattuck families. He sides with young Nancy Martingale and her grandfather Ezra, and the feud is to be resolved by a... See full summary »
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Will Rogers, Dorothy Wilson, Russell Hardie, Charles Sellon
Votes: 153
Fox/ Bill Robinson
79. In Person (1935)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Romance
Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in disguise, meets a rugged outdoorsman who is unaffected by her star status.
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Ginger Rogers, George Brent, Alan Mowbray, Grant Mitchell
Votes: 516
RKO/ Ginger Rogers
80. Little Big Shot (1935)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A young girl endears herself to her caretakers after her father is murdered by mobsters.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Sybil Jason, Glenda Farrell, Robert Armstrong, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 351
Warner/ Sybil Jason
81. The Little Colonel (1935)
Approved | 81 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
In the post-Civil war south, a darling little girl attempts to restore the peace between her parents and her plantation owner grandfather.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, John Lodge
Votes: 1,883
Fox/ Bill Robinson, Shirley Temple
82. The Littlest Rebel (1935)
Approved | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Shirley Temple's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the ... See full summary »
Director: David Butler | Stars: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Jack Holt, Karen Morley
Votes: 1,677
Fox/ Bill Robinson, Shirley Temple
83. Millions in the Air (1935)
Approved | 71 min | Comedy
The daughter of a radio-program sponsor wants to get on the air too, but her father doesn't allow it, so she enters an amateur contest on his radio program under an assumed name.
Director: Ray McCarey | Stars: John Howard, Wendy Barrie, Willie Howard, George Barbier
Votes: 19
Paramount/ Eleanore Whitney
84. Music Is Magic (1935)
Passed | 66 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Aging star (Daniels) finally recognizes the truth when she is replaced in her new movie by a girl from the chorus (Faye).
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Alice Faye, Ray Walker, Bebe Daniels, Frank Mitchell
Votes: 140
Fox/ Two white, fwo black men
85. The Nitwits (1935)
Passed | 81 min | Comedy, Crime, Music
A would-be songwriter and a would-be inventor run a cigar stand and get mixed up in the murder of a song publisher.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Betty Grable, Hale Hamilton
Votes: 431
Radio Pictures/ Betty Grable, Bert Wheeler
86. Old Man Rhythm (1935)
Approved | 75 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
A businessman enrolls as a college freshman in order to break up his son's relationship with a gold-digger.
Director: Edward Ludwig | Stars: Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, George Barbier, Barbara Kent, Grace Bradley
Votes: 157
RKO/ Betty Grable, Sonny Lamont
87. Redheads on Parade (1935)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A film star finds herself in trouble with her co-star when she has to flirt with the backer to prevent him withdrawing his support. But all ends well.
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: John Boles, Dixie Lee, Jack Haley, Raymond Walburn
Votes: 44
Fox/ Dixie Lee
88. Roberta (1935)
Passed | 106 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott
Votes: 3,643
RKO/ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
89. Shipmates Forever (1935)
Approved | 109 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A successful crooner who doesn't want to join the Navy decides to prove to his father, a Navy admiral, that he has what it takes to make it in the fleet.
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Lewis Stone, Ross Alexander
Votes: 409
Warner/ Ruby Keeler, Meglin Kiddies
90. Sweet Music (1935)
Passed | 100 min | Musical
College band-leader "Skip" Houston keeps his band together after graduation, they turn professional, and they are a big hit on the radio and in nightclubs. He falls in love with Bonnie ... See full summary »
Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Rudy Vallee, Ann Dvorak, Ned Sparks, Helen Morgan
Votes: 132
Warner/ Ann Dvorak and chorus
91. Thanks a Million (1935)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Entertainers enter a political rally to get out of the rain and become part of the show. One of them (Powell) gives a speech in place of the besotted candidate (Walburn) and is chosen to be... See full summary »
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Fred Allen, Patsy Kelly
Votes: 272
Fox/ Ann Dvorak, Patsy Kelly
92. This Is the Life (1935)
Approved | 63 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
After obtaining her from an orphanage a couple exploit entertainer Withers till she runs away and later becomes a professional.
Director: Marshall Neilan | Stars: Jane Withers, John McGuire, Sally Blane, Sidney Toler
Votes: 60
Fox/ Jane Withers
93. To Beat the Band (1935)
Approved | 70 min | Comedy, Musical
An eccentric heir must marry a widow in order to collect the millions left to him in his aunt's will, so a suicidal neighbor agrees to marry the man's young fiancée before offing himself.
Director: Benjamin Stoloff | Stars: Hugh Herbert, Helen Broderick, Roger Pryor, Fred Keating
Votes: 79
RKO/ Nick Condos; found from What the Eye Hears. +++
94. Top Hat (1935)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes
Votes: 20,697 | Gross: $3.88M
RKO/ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
95. Banjo on My Knee (1936)
Passed | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Believing he has killed a guest, a groom flees on his wedding night.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen
Votes: 674
Fox/ Buddy Ebsen
96. The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936)
Approved | 100 min | Comedy, Musical
The employees of a failing radio station must put on a huge ratings winner to have any chance of continued operation.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bob Burns
Votes: 388
Paramount/ Louis DaPron and Eleanore Whitney
97. Born to Dance (1936)
Passed | 106 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
On 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.
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Virginia Bruce, Una Merkel
Votes: 1,934
MGM/ Buddy Ebsen, Eleanor Powell
98. Cain and Mabel (1936)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery
A talented boxer and a gifted dancer hope to increase their waning popularity by inventing a fictitious love affair for the benefit of the tabloids.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Marion Davies, Clark Gable, Allen Jenkins, Roscoe Karns
Votes: 2,068
Warner/ Marion Davies, Sammy White
99. Can This Be Dixie? (1936)
Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Musical
Withers and her father Summerville arrive at a Southern mansion and turn the cotton pickers into entertainers to raise money to save the place.
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Jane Withers, Slim Summerville, Helen Wood, Thomas Beck
Votes: 30
Fox/ Jane Withers
100. Captain January (1936)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
A little girl named Star lives with the lighthouse keeper who rescued her when her parents drowned. A truant officer decides she should go to boarding school, but she's rescued by relatives.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen
Votes: 1,493
Fox/ Buddy Ebsen, Shirley Temple
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