Top 100 Films of the 1930s
Here we have the second to last list, and man, I have to tell you guys I am getting tired. I’m not going to lie making it through this one was tough. The 1930s by far has been my least favorite overall decade and a lot of the films are outright slogs. I don’t know if it’s a continuation of the generational thing I talked about in the 40s list, if it’s because they figured out sound around this time and didn’t know what to do with it, or some other reason. All I know is that I had a hard time getting to the end of this decade. And it would be dishonest if I didn’t say this list is certainly “Nikki watch ~120 movies from the 30s and left off the 20 worst” and not so much the best of a decade list. That said there are some absolutely phenomenal movies that I did love and are (or should be) legendary masterworks.
The decade of discovery. The 1930s was an overcrowded decade. The studio system, still feeling its way through a relatively new business, was trying to find its voice—literally. Sound was one of the more recent innovations in the industry, arriving in the late 20s, and films didn’t really know what to do with it quite yet (besides remaking a lot of old silents). Additionally color was slowly coming on the scene most notably with technicolor. These innovations greatly expanded what movies could do and also added to the explosion of feature-length movies. These feature-length films were often fantastical in nature or larger than life productions—think Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, or Gone With the Wind.
Economically speaking, the world was hurting. World War I, the stock market crash of 1929, and The Dust Bowl created a strained environment both domestically and abroad and people were looking for a distraction. The theater provided them with this and many people escaped into the cinematic world and it became an immensely popular pastime. Cartoon shorts (and eventually longer works) were frequently attended (and appreciated!) by audiences of all ages. This became the birth of Disney, and one of the most iconic films ever to come from the brand, Snow White, was released during this decade.
Ultimately, though, the 30s haven’t aged well. Absolutely psychotic titles like Gabriel Over the White House or Reefer Madness may stand out ironically today but at the time they were just another crazy attempt to figure out the medium and its power. It is worth noting that the Hays Code came about halfway through this decade as well. That changed the visions of many filmmakers as well as halted so much creativity and social exploration, resulting in the sexist, racist, and homophobic stereotypes that have lived on decades after the Code fell. With that in mind, I just want to say that most of the bottom half of this list consists of films that I don’t really find particularly memorable or I don’t really like much, sometimes due to quality and othertimes due to the restrictions forced upon the movies with no fault to the filmmakers. The top 10 though—those films are absolute masterpieces. Almost all of them are shockingly socially conscious and thoughtful creations, creatively working their way around codes, censorship, or conventional wisdom. They cover class inequality, the inhumanity of prisons, anti-war sentiments, and activism; and they remain relevant today. These works of art absolutely deserve to be remembered and I really hope that you choose to watch them.
Click here for the Letterboxd list.
100. Reefer Madness
99. Freaks
98. Zero For Conduct
97. Queen Christine
96. Quick Millions
95. The Little Princess
94. Boys Town
93. The Cat and the Canary
92. Safe in Hell
91. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
90. Of Mice and Men
89. The Front Page
88. Anything Goes
87. Rain
86. Westfront 1918
85. I Graduated, But…
84. The Prince and the Pauper
83. The Old Dark House
82. ‘G’ Men
81. Bullets or Ballots
80. The Story of Temple Drake
79. She Done Him Wrong
78. Alice Adams
77. Liliom
76. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
75. You and Me
74. Jezebel
73. The Gay Deception
72. A House Divided
71. Baby Face
70. Dead End
69. Wuthering Heights
68. The Four Companions
67. Gulliver’s Travels
66. A Woman’s Face
65. A Farewell to Arms
64. I’m No Angel
63. Imitation of Life
62. Mädchen in Uniform
61. Seventh Heaven
60. Of Human Hearts
59. The Shopworn Angel
58. You Can’t Take it With You
57. Stella Dallas
56. Song at Midnight
55. I Accuse
54. Boudu Saved From Drowning
53. Young Mr. Lincoln
52. People on Sunday
51. L’Atalante
50. Island of Lost Souls
49. The Man Who Knew Too Much
48. The Devil Is A Woman
47. The Baker’s Wife
46. The Scarlet Empress
45. King Kong
44. Shanghai Express
43. Three on a Match
42. Scarface
41. Blonde Venus
40. Possessed
39. Morocco
38. Only Angels Have Wings
37. Gone With the Wind
36. Holiday
35. My Man Godfrey
34. Dancing Lady
33. The Black Cat
32. 42nd Street
31. By the Bluest of Seas
30. Little Caesar
29. Frankenstein
28. The Invisible Man
27. Japanese Girls at the Harbor
26. Each Dawn I Die
25. Gold Diggers of 1933
24. The Adventures of Robin Hood
23. Drácula
22. Fury
21. A Story of Floating Weeds
20. The Wizard of Oz
19. The Blue Angel
18. Bringing Up Baby
17. It Happened One Night
16. Design For Living
15. The Public Enemy
14. Of Human Bondage
13. You Only Live Once
12. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
11. Stage Coach
10. City Lights
9. The Rules of the Game
8. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
7. Vampyr
6. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
5. Modern Times
4. Make Way For Tomorrow
3. M
2. All Quiet on the Western Front
1. I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang
The massive jump in quality of films from the 1930s to the 1940s was absolutely nuts to me. I think it goes to show just how quickly artists were able to master this medium’s steep learning curve. Only one more decade to go and then we get to the all-time lists—something I’m really looking forward to!