Superb Films of the 1930's (35 titles)

A selection of superb films from the 1930's. They have appeared in many 'best films' lists, and for me, are particularly funny, moving or exciting. Each film listed is a 'satisfying watch'.

by: adrest adrest from Maidenhead

92.2% from 9 members

All Quiet On The Western Front

1930 (1st of 2 films): A classic inhumanity to man story, but not sentimental. The soldiers tale is told with black humour and both pace and sensitivity. My favourite film of 1930.

All Quiet On The Western Front on DVD (1930)
Starring: Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray
Director: Lewis Milestone
Certificate:
A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

Rate this: 70% from 2,933 members

1930 (2nd of 2 films): The film features Emil Jannings as Dr. Immanuel Rath, a provincial prep school teacher who becomes incensed when he learns his boys have become infatuated with Lola Lola (Dietrich), a cabaret singer. Visionary, haunting, and emotionally unrelenting.

- our price: £14.93
The Blue Angel (2 discs) on DVD (1930)
Starring: Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron
Director: Josef Von Sternberg
Certificate:
This Josef Von Sternberg film, based on Heinrich Mann's novel PROFESSOR UNRAT, made Marlene Dietrich a celebrity and began a tumultuous relationship between star and director that spanned Sternberg's most creative period. The film features Emil Jannings as Dr. Immanuel Rath, a provincial prep ..read more »

Rate this: 66% from 1,046 member

Dracula

1931 (1st of 4 films): Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) arrives in London and immediately works to enrapture and transform into vampires young Lucy Weston (Frances Dade) and her friend Mina Seward (Helen Chandler).

Dracula on DVD (1931)
Starring: Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler
Director: Tod Browning
Certificate:
This is the first screen version of Bram Stoker's famous tale based on the smash hit stage production. Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) arrives in London and immediately works to enrapture and transform into vampires young Lucy Weston (Frances Dade) and her friend Mina Seward (Helen Chandler). After he ..read more »

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Frankenstein

1931 (2nd of 4 films): Scientist Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked assistant, Fritz (Dwight Frye), embark on an unholy mission by stealing a body from a graveyard and a human brain from a medical college. My favourite film of 1931.

Frankenstein on DVD (1931)
Starring: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Mae Clarke
Director: James Whale
Certificate:
Director James Whale's definitive Frankenstein's monster movies from the 1930s.FRANKENSTEIN: (1931)This is James Whale's first stylish, expressionist film to grace the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s and 1940s (DRACULA, THE MUMMY). Scientist Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked ..read more »

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M

1931 (3rd of 4 films): In Fritz Lang's startling and exquisite film M, fear stalks the streets of Berlin in the form of a serial child murderer whose grisly accomplishments are so heinous even the criminal minds of the underworld want him dead.

M (1931)
Starring: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke
Director: Fritz Lang
Certificate:
In Fritz Lang's startling and exquisite film M, fear stalks the streets of Berlin in the form of a serial child murderer whose grisly accomplishments are so heinous even the criminal minds of the underworld want him dead. Filmed in post-Weimar Germany during the infancy of the Nazi state, this tale ..read more »

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Not currently released

The Public Enemy

1931 (4th of 4 films): Tale of two brothers following two walks of life. Thrilling performance by James Cagney as the hoodlum out of control.

The Public Enemy on DVD (1931)
Starring: James Cagney, Edward Woods, Jean Harlow
Director: William A. Wellman
Certificate:
Tale of two brothers of two walks of life

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Freaks

1932 (1st of 2 films): This ccntroversial classic tells the story of a collection of 'sideshow' performers and how they react to the cynical exploitation of 'one of their own'. A daring film that was banned in some parts of the world for three decades.

- our price: £3.93
Freaks on DVD (1932)
Starring: Wallace Ford, Olga Baclanova, Leila Hyams
Director: Tod Browning
Certificate:
When released theatrically in 1932, FREAKS was met with near universal disgust by critics and audiences alike, lasting in theatres for only a short time in the states and banned in England. The film stars Harry Earles as Hans, a suave midget who belongs to the sideshow of a seedy circus and who ..read more »

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Laurel And Hardy - A Job To Do - Classic Shorts - No. 14

1932 (2nd of 2 films): "The Music Box" Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy decided to reorganize and resupervise their entire financial structure- so they took the $3.80 and went into business. This is the one with the Piano and the flight of steps - a classic slice of comedy. My favourite film of 1932.

- our price: £3.93
Laurel And Hardy - A Job To Do - Classi... on DVD
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
Certificate:
More classic shorts from Stan and Ollie.

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King Kong - The Eighth Wonder Of The World

1933 (1st of 3 films): Fortune-hunters travel to Skull Island in search of the fabled giant ape King Kong. Enticing him with the lovely Fay Wray, they capture the savage beast and bring him back to New York. The original and the best. My favourite film of 1933.

King Kong - The Eighth Wonder Of The World on DVD (1933)
Starring: Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong
Director: Merion C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Certificate:
A cinematic masterpiece and one of the top moneymakers of the 1930s. Fortune-hunters travel to Skull Island in search of the fabled giant ape King Kong. Enticing him with the lovely Fay Wray, they capture the savage beast and bring him back to New York where he escapes and ransacks the city ..read more »

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Laurel And Hardy - Sons Of The Desert

1933 (2nd of 3 films): Classic comedy duo Laurel and Hardy star in this classic tale of of two husbands who convince their wives they need to take a sea cruise to recuperate from illness. One of the best of their comedies.

- our price: £3.93
Laurel And Hardy - Sons Of The Desert on DVD (1933)
Starring: Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Mae Busch
Director: William A. Seiter
Certificate:
Classic comedy duo Laurel and Hardy star in this tale of of two husbands who convince their wives they need to take a sea cruise to recuperate from illness. But when the wives see their husbands in a cinema newsreel--whooping it up on board the ship--their homecoming proves to be more than the lads ..read more »

Rate this: 71% from 1,862 member