1930s in film

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The decade of the 1930s in film involved many significant films. 1939 was one of the biggest years (and still is one of the greatest years) in Hollywood.

Events

Many full-length films were produced during the decade of the 1930s. The 1930s were a decade of political turmoil and economic problems; the great depression had affected the entire world, and Europe was dealing with both the fallout of World War I and the economic hardships of the time, both of which resulted in the rise of fascist political movements. The uncertainty of the era resulted in widespread popularity of fantastical, escapist fare. Swashbuckling adventures and the safe scares of the Universal Horror films were highly successful during this period.

The studio system was at its highest with studios having great control over a film's creative decision. This included the creation of the Hay's Code, which was the first large scale attempt at organized censorship of Hollywood films.

This was also a decade in which many memorable stars made their careers and saw their earliest starring roles.

1930 also marks the beginning of what is considered to be the 'golden age' of Hollywood, a period which lasted through at least the 1940s.

• Remakes: Following the switch to talking movies c. 1926/1927, many classic films were remade in the 1930s (and later), including Alice In Wonderland (1933), Cleopatra (1934), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937).
• Monsters: Among the numerous remakes and new films were the monster movies, with a wide spectrum of stereotypical monsters. Given that many of these films were produced by Universal, they are regarded as part of the 'Universal Horror' genre. The first of these films debuted in 1931, and consisted of Dracula, Frankenstein, plus Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, then a 1932 trio with The Mummy, Vampyr, and White Zombie, followed by a 1933 trio of King Kong, The Invisible Man, and Mystery of the Wax Museum. In 1935 appeared Werewolf of London and The Raven leading to 1939's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Sequels/spin-offs: Within 5 years of sound-films, sequel films and spin-off plots appeared, with The Son of Kong (same year, 1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Dracula's Daughter (1936), etc.
• Stars: The 1930s saw the rise of some of the best known performers in acting and film history. A number of actors launched their careers in the 1930s, while others from the previous decade continued to be well regarded. The aforementioned Dracula and Frankenstein films both launched the careers of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, respectively. The two men would spend much of the decade starring in Universal Horror films. Actor Errol Flynn, best known for his role as Robin Hood, saw his first starring role in Captain Blood. The Marx Brothers, making their debut at the end of the silent era, rose to fame in the 1930s. Other stars of this era included Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, and child star Shirley Temple.
• The Hays Code and the end of the Pre-Code era': In response to a number of scandals in the 1920s, the studios adopted a series of guidelines known as the "Hays Code", after its creator Will H. Hays. Hays was the head of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association, which would later be renamed as the Motion Picture Association of America in 1945. Starting in 1927, Hays began compiling a list of topics which he thought Hollywood should avoid. The code was revealed and implemented in 1930, but it was not until 1934, with the establishment of the Production Code Administration, that it was significantly enforced. Due to this delay in enforcement capability, the Pre-Code era of Hollywood is technically considered to last until 1934, despite the code itself being unveiled in 1930.

The specific date in which the Pre-Code era ends could be considered July 1, 1934. According to an amendment made on June 13, 1934, all films released after July 1 of that year had to receive a PCA certificate of approval.

After this, the code was stringently enforced, though various forbidden subjects became less taboo and thus regulations regarding them were gradually relaxed. The code would remain in effect until 1968, when it was abandoned entirely. It was then replaced by the familiar letter rating system.

List of films

The following is a partial list of films made from 1930 through 1939. (For more detail see each individual year in film.)

0–9

• 42nd Street (1933)

A

• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
• The Alamo: Shrine of Texas Liberty (1936)
• Alexander Nevsky (1938)
• Alexander Ragtime Band (1938)
• Algiers (1938)
• Alice in Wonderland (1933)
• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
• Animal Crackers (1930)
• The Animal Kingdom (1932)
• Anna Christie (1931)
• Anna Karenina (1935)
• Anthony Adverse (1936)
• Anything Goes (1936)
• At the Circus (1939)
• The Awful Truth (1937)

B

• Babes in Arms (1939)
• Babes in Toyland (1934)
• Beau Geste (1939)
• La Bête Humaine (1938)
• Bezhin Meadow (1935–1937)
• The Big Trail (1930)
• The Black Cat (1934)
• Blonde Venus (1932)
• The Blood of a Poet (1930)
• The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) (1930)
• Borderline (1930)
• Born to Dance (1936)
• Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Bright Eyes (1934)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• Broadway Bill (1934)
• Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)
• Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
• The Buccaneer (1938)
• Bullets or Ballots (1936)

C

• Camille (1936)
• Captain Blood (1935)
• Carefree (1938)
• The Cat Creeps (1930)
• Cavalcade (1933)
• The Champ (1931)
• Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
• Child Bride (1938)
• China Seas (1935)
• Cimarron (1931)
• City Lights (1931)
• Cleopatra (1934)
• Clive of India (1935)
• Come and Get It (1936)
• The Crusades (1935)

D

• Dames (1934)
• Dancing Lady (1933)
• Danger Lights (1930)
• Dante's Inferno (1935)
• Dark Victory (1939)
• David Copperfield (1935)
• The Dawn Patrol (1938)
• A Day at the Races (1937)
• The Dentist (1932)
• Destry Rides Again (1939)
• Dinner at Eight (1933)
• Doctor X (1932)
• Dodge City (1939)
• Dodsworth (1936)
• Dracula (1931)
• Dracula's Daughter (1936)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
• Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
• Duck Soup (1933)

E

• Easy Living (1937)
• Ecstasy (1933)
• The Emperor Jones (1933)

F

• A Farewell to Arms (1933)
• The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933)
• Feet First (1930)
• Flying Down to Rio (1933)
• Follow the Fleet (1936)
• Footlight Parade (1933)
• The Four Feathers (1939)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Freaks (1932)

G

• The Gay Divorcee (1934)
• George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
• Gift of Gab (1934)
• Go Into Your Dance (1935)
• Going Hollywood (1933)
• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
• Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
• Gone with the Wind (1939)
• The Good Earth (1937)
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
• The Gorilla (1939)
• Grand Hotel (1932)
• Grand Illusion (1937)
• The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
• Gunga Din (1939)
• Gulliver's Travels (1934

H

• Hell's Angels (1930)
• History Is Made at Night (1937)
• Honolulu (1939)
• Horse Feathers (1932)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
• The House That Shadows Built (1931)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
• Heidi (1937)

I

• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
• I'm No Angel (1933)
• Imitation of Life (1934)
• In Old Chicago (1937)
• The Informer (1935)
• Intermezzo (1939)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• Island of Lost Souls (1932)
• It Happened One Night (1934)

J

• Jesse James (1939)
• Jezebel (1938)

K

• Kid Galahad (1937)
• King Kong (1933)
• The Knife of the Party (1934)

L

• Ladies in Love (1936)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Libeled Lady (1936)
• The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
• Little Caesar (1931)
• Little Women (1933)
• Lost Horizon (1937)
• Love Affair (1939)
• Love Me Tonight (1932)
• The Lower Depths (1936)

M

• Mad Love (1935)
• Madam Satan (1930)
• Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
• Mata Hari (1931)
• Maytime (1937)
• Men in White (1934)
• Méphisto (1930)
• Metropolitan (1935)
• Midnight (1939)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
• The Milky Way (1936)
• Min and Bill (1931)
• Modern Times (1936)
• Monkey Business (1931)
• Morning Glory (1933)
• Morocco (1930)
• The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
• Movie Crazy (1932)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• The Mummy (1932)
• Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

N

• The New Gulliver (1935)
• A Night at the Opera (1935)
• Ninotchka (1939)
• À nous la liberté (1931)

O

• Of Mice and Men (1939)
• The Old Dark House (1932)
• One Hour with You (1932)
• One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
• One Way Passage (1932)
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

P

• The Painted Veil (1934)
• Pépé le Moko (1937)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• The Plainsman (1937)
• Platinum Blonde (1931)
• The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)
• Port of Shadows (1938)
• The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
• The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
• The Public Enemy (1931)

Q

• Q Planes (1939)
• Queen Christina (1933)
• Queen High (1930)
• Quick Millions (1931)

R

• Ramona (1936)
• The Raven (1935)
• Reefer Madness (1936)
• Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
• The River (1938)
• Roberta (1935)
• Romeo and Juliet (1936)
• Room Service (1938)
• Rosalie (1937)
• The Rules of the Game (1939)

S

• San Francisco (1936)
• Scarface (1932)
• Scarlet Dawn (1932)
• Seventh Heaven (1937)
• Sex Madness (1938)
• Shall We Dance (1937)
• Shanghai Express (1932)
• She (1935)
• She Done Him Wrong (1933)
• The Sign of the Cross (1932)
• Skippy (1931)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
• Son of Frankenstein (1939)
• The Son of Kong (1933)
• Stagecoach (1939)
• Stanley and Livingstone (1939)
• State Fair (1933)
• A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
• The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)
• The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
• Swing Time (1936)

T

• A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
• Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
• Tarzan Escapes (1936)
• Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
• Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
• Tevye (1939)
• Thank You, Jeeves! (1936)
• The Thin Man (1934)
• Things to Come (1936)
• Three Texas Steers (1939)
• Top Hat (1935)
• Tower of London (1939)
• Treasure Island (1934)
• Trouble in Paradise (1932)

U

• Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
• Union Pacific (1939)

V

• Vampyr (1932)

W

• Werewolf of London (1935)
• White Zombie (1932)
• Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• Wuthering Heights (1939)

Y

• You Can't Take It With You (1938)
• Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Film, History of film, List of lists of films
• Years in film 1930-1939:
  • 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

External lists

• Best/Worst 1930s Titles at IMBD