Lost Movies From 1931
by Crabhain | created - 06 Feb 2014 | updated - 18 Aug 2014 | PublicUS movies from 1931 (third year of the "pre-code" era) which are listed as lost on IMDB. Many of these films have user ratings and reviews. The mere existence of reviews didn't cause a film to be excluded from this list. Some reviews could be from people who saw the film before it was lost. On the other hand, some reviews seem based not on actually having seen the movie, but on something the reviewer has read elsewhere, or that the reviewer does/doesn't like an actor/the director, doesn't like old movies, or whatever, and wants to chime in based on that. And frankly, some reviews I have read come across as fabrications ("I had an exclusive showing of this otherwise lost film in the home of a private collector").
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1. Spell of the Circus (1930)
Passed | 240 min | Action
The manager of The Big Circus plots to marry the owner's daughter and gain control of the outfit.
Director: Robert F. Hill | Stars: Francis X. Bushman Jr., Alberta Vaughn, Tom London, Walter Shumway
2. Damaged Love (1931)
69 min | Drama, Romance
Director: Irvin Willat | Stars: June Collyer, Charles Starrett, Eloise Taylor, Betty Garde
3. The Primrose Path (1931)
71 min | Drama
A naive high school girl (Helen Foster) falls for the school's star football player. Her ignorance in the matters of sex leads to pregnancy and heartbreak.
Director: William A. O'Connor | Stars: Helen Foster, John Darrow, Dorothy Granger, Lane Chandler
Votes: 15
4. Trails of the Golden West (1931)
58 min | Western
A wagon train of "Forty-Niners" heading for the California gold fields includes a girl, her father and an old black servant, who have hidden their family jewels and life savings in their ... See full summary »
Director: Leander De Cordova | Stars: Jay Wilsey, Wanda Hawley, Tom London, George Reed
5. Women Men Marry (1931)
76 min | Drama
Director: Charles Hutchison | Stars: Natalie Moorhead, Sally Blane, Randolph Scott, Kenneth Harlan
Votes: 28
6. Hell's Valley (1931)
55 min | Drama, Western
Texas Rangers Captain Wally is leading a troop of Rangers in pursuit of the Valdez brothers, border bandits. There is an encounter with a portion of the outlaw band in which Jose Valdez is ... See full summary »
Director: Alan James | Stars: Hal Taliaferro, Virginia Brown Faire, Walter Miller, Franklyn Farnum
7. Wild West Whoopee (1931)
Passed | 57 min | Western
A young cowboy is in love with the ranch owner's daughter. When they learn that the girl's father plans to send her to a nearby city to live with her aunt, the two decide to elope. The girl... See full summary »
Director: Robert J. Horner | Stars: Jack Perrin, Josephine Hill, Buzz Barton, Fred Church
8. Swanee River (1931)
55 min | Musical
A power company floods a sleepy Tennessee Valley for a dam to run a hydraulic power plant. Garry, a Northern engineer on the project, falls in love with Caroline, Colonel Bradford's adopted... See full summary »
Director: Raymond Cannon | Stars: Grant Withers, Thelma Todd, Philo McCullough, Walter Miller
9. Finger Prints (1931)
Passed | 210 min | Action, Adventure
The Secret Service sets out to break up a smuggling ring.
Director: Ray Taylor | Stars: Kenneth Harlan, Edna Murphy, Gayne Whitman, Gertrude Astor
Votes: 37
10. Woman Hungry (1931)
Passed | 65 min | Western
Judith Temple has come West to Arizona for some excitement. As she says goodbye to her brother and his wife, who are returning to the East, Dr. Neil Cranford, who is in love with her, is ... See full summary »
Director: Clarence G. Badger | Stars: Sidney Blackmer, Lila Lee, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler
11. Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
76 min | Mystery
Charlie steps in to solve the murder of a wealthy American found dead in a London hotel. Settings include London, Nice, San Remo, Honolulu, and Hong Kong. Fast-paced with lots of wisecracking.
Director: Hamilton MacFadden | Stars: Warner Oland, John Garrick, Marguerite Churchill, Warren Hymer
Votes: 545
Before dubbing in alternate languages became common, films were sometimes shot simultaneously in different languages, using the same sets, but with different casts. The Spanish language version of this film survives, although the English version is lost.
12. White Shoulders (1931)
Passed | 80 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
After years of wilderness living, multi-millionaire Gordon Kent, who has made his fortune as a mining engineer, returns to New York City for good times and "white shoulders." There he meets... See full summary »
Director: Melville W. Brown | Stars: Mary Astor, Jack Holt, Ricardo Cortez, Sidney Toler
Votes: 16
13. The Sheriff's Secret (1931)
Passed | 58 min | Western
Jack, an outlaw but innocent of the crimes he is being accused of, is running from a posse when he discovers a baby whose parents have been killed by raiders. He takes the baby and tends it... See full summary »
Director: James P. Hogan | Stars: Jack Perrin, Dorothy Bauer, Fred Hargreaves, Joe Smith Marba
14. Ships of Hate (1931)
Passed | 63 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A cruel sea captain (Charles Middleton) oversees a rough crew.
Director: John P. McCarthy | Stars: Lloyd Hughes, Dorothy Sebastian, Charles Middleton, Lloyd Whitlock
Votes: 23
15. Salvation Nell (1931)
84 min | Drama
Young Nell loses her job and home and her father is sent to prison. She joins the Salvation Army and tries to redeem him when he comes out bent on continuing his life of crime.
Director: James Cruze | Stars: Ralph Graves, Helen Chandler, Sally O'Neil, Jason Robards Sr.
Votes: 32
16. First Aid (1931)
Passed | 82 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Buddy Hollins (brother of Lil Hollins), a young dance-hall girl, gets involved with a gang of crooks, led by Michael Rush. He double-crosses them on a safe-cracking job by stealing the loot... See full summary »
Director: Stuart Paton | Stars: Grant Withers, Marjorie Beebe, Wheeler Oakman, Donald Keith
17. Riders of the Cactus (1931)
Passed | 60 min | Western
This film and "Flying Lariats,1931" were filmed in a week on location in Sonora, California (interiors shot at Universal) with the exact same cast in both films. Both were produced (for Big... See full summary »
Director: David Kirkland | Stars: Hal Taliaferro, Buzz Barton, Fred Church, Lorraine LaVal
18. Two Crowded Hours (1931)
43 min | Short, Drama, Mystery
A murderer is out for revenge on those who gave evidence against him.
Director: Michael Powell | Stars: John Longden, Jane Welsh, Jerry Verno, Michael Hogan
Votes: 12
19. Hell-Bent for Frisco (1931)
Passed | 65 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
San Francisco newspaper reporter Jimmy Gray turns detective to bring the killer of the brother of his sweetheart, Ellen Garwood, to justice. His city editor is so confident that he will ... See full summary »
Director: Stuart Paton | Stars: Charles Delaney, Vera Reynolds, Carroll Nye, Wesley Barry
Votes: 28
20. Ex-Bad Boy (1931)
Passed | 76 min | Comedy, Romance
A man gets in trouble with his girlfriend when a beautiful movie star and her fiance come to his small town.
Director: Vin Moore | Stars: Robert Armstrong, Jean Arthur, Jason Robards Sr., Spencer Charters
Votes: 48
The one review says the film is not lost. The film does have many ratings, may be so, although I haven't seen it.
21. Enemies of the Law (1931)
76 min | Crime, Drama
The Lady cop Florence Vinton goes undercover to get the goods on rival gangsters Eddie Swan and Larry Marsh. Just at the point in which Florence looks like she's going to be rubbed out, Swan and Marsh shoot each other down.
Director: Lawrence C. Windom | Stars: Mary Nolan, Johnnie Walker, Lou Tellegen, Harold Healy
22. Enemies of the Law (1931)
76 min | Crime, Drama
The Lady cop Florence Vinton goes undercover to get the goods on rival gangsters Eddie Swan and Larry Marsh. Just at the point in which Florence looks like she's going to be rubbed out, Swan and Marsh shoot each other down.
Director: Lawrence C. Windom | Stars: Mary Nolan, Johnnie Walker, Lou Tellegen, Harold Healy
23. Children of Dreams (1931)
78 min | Musical
While picking apples in her father's orchard, Molly Standing and her girl friend, Gertie, meet Tommy Melville and Gus Schultz. Molly and Tommy fall in love, as do Gus and Gertie. Wealthy ... See full summary »
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Margaret Schilling, Paul Gregory, Tom Patricola, Bruce Winston
Votes: 21
24. Women Go on Forever (1931)
Passed | 64 min | Drama
Daisy Bowman runs a boarding house in New York City and becomes romantically involved with new boarder Jake. Among the other boarders are shopgirl Betty and her taxi-driver fiance Eddie. ... See full summary »
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Clara Kimball Young, Marian Nixon, Paul Page, Thomas E. Jackson
25. Dancing Dynamite (1931)
Passed | 67 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A fisherman on Catalna Island tries to break into "society" and winds up helping a rich young girl mixed up with kidnappers.
Director: Noel M. Smith | Stars: Richard Talmadge, Blanche Mehaffey, Robert Ellis, Richard Cramer
26. Lightnin' Smith Returns (1931)
Passed | 59 min | Western
John Smith is a writer of western novels but has never been west of the Hudson River. Hlen Parker invites him to visit her Texas ranch and get a real feel of the real west. Once he arrives,... See full summary »
Director: Jack Irwin | Stars: Buddy Roosevelt, Barbara Worth, Tom London, Nick Dunray
27. Fifty Fathoms Deep (1931)
Passed | 70 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A shady lady has an affair with one deep sea diver, marries his buddy and breaks up their friendship. Ere long, she cheats on her husband and runs off with an oily yacht owner. Shortly ... See full summary »
Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Jack Holt, Mary Doran, Richard Cromwell, Loretta Sayers
28. The Bargain (1931)
68 min | Drama
Director: Robert Milton | Stars: Lewis Stone, Evalyn Knapp, Charles Butterworth, Doris Kenyon
Votes: 49
29. Shanghaied Love (1931)
Passed | 75 min | Drama
Captain Angus Swope (Noab Beery), known as The Black Yankee, skipper of the Golden Bough, treats his crew shamefully and he treats women no better, as evidenced by his handling of a woman ... See full summary »
Director: George B. Seitz | Stars: Richard Cromwell, Sally Blane, Noah Beery, Willard Robertson
Votes: 20
30. Hobson's Choice (1931)
65 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Henry Hobson runs a successful boot-maker's shop in nineteenth-century Salford. A widower with a weakness for the pub opposite, he tries forcefully to run the lives of his three unruly ... See full summary »
Director: Thomas Bentley | Stars: James Harcourt, Viola Lyel, Frank Pettingell, Belle Chrystall
Votes: 33
31. Is There Justice? (1931)
63 min | Crime, Drama
Stern district attorney John Raymond sentences innocent June Lawrence to prison along with her guilty husband Dan. After she dies in prison, her brother, reporter Jerry Heath, vows revenge.... See full summary »
Director: Stuart Paton | Stars: Rex Lease, Henry B. Walthall, Blanche Mehaffey, Robert Ellis
32. The Age for Love (1931)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Romance
A wife does not want children, her husband leaves her and marries a woman who does.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Billie Dove, Charles Starrett, Lois Wilson, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 39
33. Honor of the Family (1931)
Passed | 66 min | Drama
Honor of the Family is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film released by First National Pictures (a subsidiary of Warner Bros.), starring Bebe Daniels and Warren William. It was based on the ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Bebe Daniels, Warren William, Alan Mowbray, Blanche Friderici
Votes: 17
34. Stranglehold (1931)
66 min | Drama
A novelist living in a boarding house imagines a murder that involves his fellow boarders.
Director: Henry Edwards | Stars: Isobel Elsom, Garry Marsh, Derrick De Marney, Allan Jeayes
35. Forgotten Women (1931)
67 min | Drama
A drama set in filmland, following the triumphs and heartaches of women who try to succeed in the movie industry.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Marion Shilling, Beryl Mercer, Rex Bell, Virginia Lee Corbin
Votes: 48
36. In Line of Duty (1931)
Passed | 59 min | Action, Drama, Romance
An RCMP officer is on the trail of a woodsman accused of murdering a man who wronged him. Circumstances arise in which the fugitive saves the Mountie's life, and the Mountie falls in love ... See full summary »
Director: Bert Glennon | Stars: Sue Carol, Noah Beery, Francis McDonald, James Murray
37. Compromised (1931)
65 min | Drama, Romance
Poor working-class girl Stella marries wealthy Sidney Brock, recently jilted by his fiancée and social equal Connie. The two go through contentious times with the Brock patriarch, but when ... See full summary »
Director: John G. Adolfi | Stars: Rose Hobart, Ben Lyon, Florence Britton, Claude Gillingwater
38. Galloping Thru (1931)
Passed | 58 min | Western
The local express agent, the father of Tom McGuire, is killed during a robbery. In the chase that follows Tom is wounded and taken by his friend, Sandy Thompson, to the home of Janice ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Nosler | Stars: Tom Tyler, Betty Mack, Al Bridge, Si Jenks
Votes: 29
39. The Devil Plays (1931)
Passed | 63 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A murder mystery evolves during a weekend at an exclusive mansion.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Jameson Thomas, Florence Britton, Thomas E. Jackson, Richard Tucker
Votes: 190
40. Two-Gun Caballero (1931)
Passed | 58 min | Western
Filmed before the MPPDA production code was instituted (1934), and this one is filled with dialogue and situations that go beyond innuendo and cut right to the chase on a couple of trails ... See full summary »
Director: Jack Nelson | Stars: Robert Frazer, Consuelo Dawn, Carmen Laroux, Bobby Nelson
Votes: 43
41. The Secret Menace (1931)
Passed | 59 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
An old prospector discovers a bonanza mine of gold on the Diamond Dude Ranch. He tells two men about it and they kill him, and then make plans to acquire the ranch. The property is owned by... See full summary »
Director: Richard C. Kahn | Stars: Glenn Tryon, Virginia Brown Faire, Arthur Stone, Margaret Mann
Votes: 30
42. The Bells (1931)
75 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Mathias, an Alsatian innkeeper, murders a rich Pole staying at his inn But Mathias' conscience will not let him rest, and the murdered man's spirit drives the innkeeper nearly mad. The ... See full summary »
Directors: Harcourt Templeman, Oscar Friedrich Werndorff | Stars: Donald Calthrop, Jane Welsh, Edward Sinclair, O.B. Clarence
Votes: 31
43. The Ridin' Kid (1931)
50 min | Western
An undercover marshal battles a power-mad cattle baron.
Director: Jack Irwin | Stars: Buddy Roosevelt, Jean Kay, Fred Church, William Bertram
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