40 Essential Movies of the 1940s: #30-#26

30. Dressed To Kill (1941)

Comedy mysteries were a staple of the 1930s, from Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man movies to the Philo Vance series and many others. In the 40s, those mysteries turned into film noir and the lighthearted tone was replaced by a darker, more serious vibe. However, as one decade transitioned into another, there were a few holdovers of the comedy-mystery genre that made their way into the 40s. The best of these later genre entries is, surprising, not a big budget production, but a B-movie that was part of an otherwise unremarkable series of films fittingly featuring a B-list private detective: Michael Shayne. 

In Dressed to Kill Shayne, played by Lloyd Nolan, is trying to balance his private live with his professional, investigating a bizarre murder while also trying to find time to marry his fiancée. On the way to pick her up before their wedding, Shayne hears a scream from the apartment upstairs, and when he goes to see what it is, he finds two dead bodies sitting at a dinner table, both dressed in costumes, including a dogs head on one of them. Shayne's investigation uncovers a maze of blackmail, embezzling, jealous, and hatred. While all this may seem pretty heavy, it is handled with a light tone and injected with a ton of humor courtesy of Shayne's wisecracks, the frustrations of his continually ignored fiancée Joanne (Mary Beth Hughes), and the over-wrought Police inspector investigating the murder (William Demarest). Nolan, mostly a bit player throughout his career, really shines as the devil-may-care Shayne, who hides his intelligence behind a witty tongue. Hughes and Demarest are terrific and hilarious supporting characters, especially Demarest, who manages to maintain a consistent level of unhinged frustration at the machinations of Shayne. Surprisingly for a b-movie, Dressed to Kill is very well shot by director Eugene J. Forde and cinematographer Glen MacWilliams, who shoots apartment buildings in such a dark, foreboding way they seem scarier than back alleys. 

What Dressed to Kill lacks in star power it makes up for with a deep cast of character actors and a genuinely engaging mystery story, with plenty of twists and turns, but it is all handled with a light, cheerful hand with plenty of laughs along the way. 

29. Dead of Night (1945)

Horror films that weren't based on famous monsters (Dracula, the Wolfman, etc.) didn't become a big part of mainstream cinema until the 50s and 60s, but there were a number original horror movies prior to then, including the unique, seminal British horror movie Dead of Night. Though it may not be as well remembered today, Dead of Night was the first of what has become a horror tradition: the anthology film. Framed by the story of architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Jones) who gathers together a group of eight strangers at a country house to warn them of the terrible dreams he has been having about them. While at the house, the guests attempt to test Craig's premonitions while also regaling on another with the time honored tradition of telling one another ghost stories. These stories range from gothic horror ("The Haunted Mirror") to atmospheric ("The Hearse Driver"), disturbing ("Ventriloquist Dummy") chillingly creepy ("Christmas Party") and even humorous ("The Two Golfers"). The five segments are helmed by four different directors which gives each a different feel, just as ghost stories told in a haunted mansion would vary in presentation based on the teller of the story. The most famous section of the movie stars Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist who believes his dummy is not only alive, but evil. This idea has been aped many, many times since and established ventriloquist dummy as a classic horror archetype that still endures to this day. However, the scariest part of Dead of Night is the ending, which wraps up all the scary stories into the framing narrative, as we enter the mind of the dreaming Craig. 

With each tale bringing a different facet of scary story-telling, Dead of Night is a broad look at the genre, but in the end it is great because it is truly scary. That not something that can be said about many old movies, atmospheric yes, but not many give your the feeling of lingering dread that Dead of Night does, both with the scary stories and over-arching narative.

28. Rebecca (1940)

For Hitchcock's first American film, he delivered a powerful punch and one of the most atmospheric movies ever made. Adapted from the popular Daphne de Maurier novel, Rebecca had a tumultuous production, with Hitchcock battling producer David O. Selznick for control of the film, which is odd because the final film is so polish. Despite all these issues, the movie won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and was a huge hit at the box office. While his British films got Hitchcock on the map as a burgeoning talent, Rebecca announced his presence to the world as one of the best filmmakers working. 

Rebecca starts out like a straightforward romance between widower Max de Winter (Laurence Olivier) and a young woman (Joan Fontaine), who meet at Monte Carlo, fall in love and are married after only two weeks. However, the movie soon morphs into a Gothic horror story with some of the most unique characteristics of any film, past or present. As the newly weds return to Manderley, the de Winter's giant country home, the bride is faced with living up to the standards of her husband's deceased wife, Rebecca. Complicating matters is Manderley's vindictive housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) who is obsessed with Rebecca and resents the woman trying to take her place. She terrorizes the new bride and makes her life miserable, manipulating to the breaking point. The movie chronicles the unraveling both the mystery of Rebecca and the sanity of several characters. 

What makes the movie so singular is that of the five main characters in the movie, one is a house the other is dead. Manderley is a tremendous set, with amazing architecture, furniture, as well as something much more important and intangible: atmosphere. The house is a character in of itself, in almost every scene the amount of haunting and foreboding that it provides adds to every scene. Hitchcock uses a lot of zoomed out shots of Fontaine in Manderley's massive halls, giving you a sense of how isolated and overwhelmed she is. Like the house, Max's dead wife Rebecca dwarfs His new wife and is just as much, if not more, of a character. While the movie itself is named after her, and Rebecca is spoken of in almost every scene, Fontaine's character is never even given a name, credited only as "the second Mrs. de Winter." Rebecca haunts every scene, and the mystery and obsession of her is what drives the movie to it's dramatic conclusion.

27. The Naked City (1948)

The majority of Film Noir are told from the perspective of the darker side of life; criminals, private detectives, and low-lifes are the main characters. If the police are involved, it is usually of a corrupt kind, or operating outside the law. That isn't the case with The Naked City, which is told from the perspective of two by-the-books, New York homicide detectives.

These two detectives are veteran Detective Lt. Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) and rookie Detective Jimmy Halloran; the story follows them as they investigate the murder of a young woman named Jean Dexter. The investigation plays out through a very detailed, police procedural style; we see crime photographers, sketchers, witnesses interviewed, and suspects interrogated as well as the tremendous amount of trial-and-error legwork involved in tracking down leads. Suspects are introduced, including Jean's psychiatrist, the cagey Dr. Stoneman (House Jameson), her boyfriend Frank Niles (Frank Niles), and the mysterious Philip Henderson. Muldoon and Halloran slowly put the pieces together and track down the killer, leading to a climactic chase and shootout. However, neither of the two detectives, any of the suspects, or even the victim is the main character of this story, the main character is the city of New York. Shot almost entirely on location in the city, the movie makes great use of both famous locations as well as common city streets, alleys, and subway stations. The New York is alive with characters, and the movie takes time to give us little looks into common people as they go about their business, many of them portrayed by local non-actors.

Throughout the case, The Naked City is presented with purposeful realism, the movie wants you to feel as if you're watching a documentary about a murder investigation, not a dramatic rendition, something it does very well. Director Jules Dassin, who would soon be blacklisted out of Hollywood, masterfully arranged the movie, cross-cutting to different parts of the city at different times, successfully telling us one of the "eight million" stories in the naked city, as the film's closing line puts it. There is no earth shattering revelation, no corrupt political bosses are taken down, The Naked City simply covers one story over couple of day in the most famous city in the world.

26. Ministry of Fear (1944)

No event had a larger impact on the 1940s, and perhaps the 20th century, than World War II. The same can be said for the movies of the 40s, whether it be the influx of war and anti-war pictures, patriotic tear-jerkers, or of course spy movies, most movies made during war time were in response to the war. Some were trying to say something about it, others to support a certain party or side, and many were just plain attempting to turn a tidy profit, but without a doubt World War II was good for the movie business. As a result, all this financial success meant that there were many movies made in an attempt to exploit this, most of which were poorly made. The espionage genre especially suffered from an abundance of bad films, studios simply needed a rudimentary spy plot, and exotic local, and call the bad guys Nazis and you had a recipe for success. 

However, of all the movies influenced by the War, the best come from this genre, when they are well written and made. Ministry of Fear definitely has that, it is directed by a master, Fritz Lang, and takes it source material from novelist Graham Greene's same-titled novel. In the movie, Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) has just been released from two years in a sanitarium after "mercy-killing" his sick wife. On his way back to London, he stops at a village fair and visits the fortune tellers tent, where he is mistaken from someone else and given the correct number to bid on the weight of the cake. Winning the cake, he boards a train for London, but is soon attacked by a man pretending to be blind, who steals the cake and escapes. This sets in motion Neale's attempts to unravel a network of Nazi spies, with the help of brother and sister Willi and Carla (Carl Esmond and Marjorie Reynolds) he tracks the ring back to a charity and one of it's luminaries, Mrs. Bellane (Hillary Brooks). Mixed in with classic genre fixtures of intrigue and mistaken identity comes a creeping suspensefulness born of Neale's past and Bellane's use of mysticism and seances that give the movie just that creepy edge. This aspect of the character highlights one of the best parts of the movie: great side characters, particularly villains. In addition to Bellane, the mysterious Dr. Forrester (Alan Napier) and the sinister, slimy Travers (Dan Duryea) round out a great cast of shifty bad guys who are so much more interesting that traditional faceless, lifeless Nazi agents that dot other pictures or this type. Ministry of Fear is also exceptionally well made, shot in a noir style of stark contrast, Lang and cinematographer Henry Sharp film open fields and apartment buildings with the same level of darkness and shadow that underlies the theme of enemies and evildoers hiding in plain sight.

Released just a year before to the end of the war, Ministry of Fear is one of the best of the World War II espionage thrillers because it has a genuine mystery at it's heart, unique characters, and is crafted with both style and care by one of the noir masters.

40 Essential Movies of the 1940s: #35-#31

35. The Harvey Girls (1946)
In the 1940s, there was no bigger name in Hollywood than Judy Garland, she had ended the 1930s with a bang, starring in The Wizard of Oz, one of the most popular movies of the decade and of all time. She continued that momentum in the early 40s by continuing to star alongside Mickey Rooney in the very popular Andy Hardy musicals. However, by the mid-40s Garland was tired of playing juvenile roles and was ready to start playing adult roles. Her first big hit as a headlining grown up, and one that established her as superstar, was The Harvey Girls. Set during the 1890s, The Harvey Girls stars Garland as Susan Bradley, who is heading west to Arizona from Ohio to answer a "lonely hearts" letter. Along the way she meets the "Harvey girls," young ladies who are going to work as hostesses at the Harvey House restaurants. After arriving in Sandrock, Susan discovers that the man who wrote the letter doesn't want to marry her. Stuck with nowhere to go, Susan joins up with the Harvey Girls and gets embroiled in a battle between the Harvey restaurant and the local saloon and dance hall run by Ned Trent (John Hodiak), who eventually falls for Susan, in spite of the best efforts of sultry saloon girl Em (Angela Lansbury). Despite being paired with a fairly flat, b-level leading man in Hodiak, The Harvey Girls is bursting with life, excitement, and color due in no small part to Garland's magnetism as both a singer and an actress. While Garland has a lot to do with the movie's success, she doesn't have to do it completely on her own, it helps that she is performing some tremendous musical numbers, written by Johnny Mercer, Lennie Hayton, and Harry Warren, and featuring one of the all-time great numbers "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe." It is bursting with the chugging rhythms and exuberant hope, symbolizing the joy and excitement of an adventure westward on the trains of the late 1800s. It won the Academy Award for Best Song and was the biggest hit of the year. It isn't just the music either, The Harvey Girls features some great supporting performances by Ray Bolger, who delivers one of his signature goofy dance numbers; as well as deadpan Virginia O'Brien, surly Lansbury, and a young Cyd Charisse in one of her first films. The 1940s was the decade of decadent color musicals and The Harvey Girls is one of the best examples of a period musicals

34. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Do to his involvement in the production in many patriotic films during World War II, Frank Capra, who ruled the box office in the 1930s, only released  four Hollywood movies during the 1940s, after producing 15 the decade earlier. Towards the end of the 30s Capra's films, while remaining comedies, had grown more serious in tone; whether it be the scathing view of the rich, or government and political corruption, his movies always had an overlaying message. Not since It Happened One Night in 1934 had Capra truly given himself over to a comedy for comedy's sake, all the changed with Arsenic and Old Lace. Based on a popular Broadway stage play, Capra didn't collaborate his long time writer Robert Riskin to adapt the screenplay, instead working with twin brothers Philip and Julius Epstein who's most famous film, Casablanca, would be written the next year. The script they produced stayed close to the original play and utilized many of the best lines, while also tailoring it to suit leading man Cary Grant. In the movie, Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, a dramatic critic who falls in love with and marries Elaine (Priscilla Lane), the neighbor of his elderly Aunts, Abby and Martha (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) and uncle Teddy (John Alexander), who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt. After marrying Elaine, Mortimer visits his relatives while waiting for his bride to pack up so they can leave on their honeymoon. However, before he can depart he discovers a dead body in the window seat; he first suspects that his uncle Teddy has gone from harmlessly imitating Roosevelt to becoming a dangerous murderer. He is horrified to discover that it is actually his gentle, beloved Aunts did the deed and that they have been poisoning lonely old men for years as a charity to relieve them of their unhappiness. Mortimer has to keep it a secret from Elaine and others while trying to figure out what to do with his family. Complicating matters is the return of Mortimer's brother Johnathan, a criminal and murderer accompanied by his partner, the plastic surgeon "Dr. Einstein" (Peter Lorre) who are seeking a place to hide from the police. While this may seem like the plot of a horror story, it is in fact a comedy, one as black as pitch, but a comedy none the less. Capra has made movies featuring some notably eccentric families before, but nothing can top the insanity of the Brewster family, from the Aunts calm justification of murder, to Teddy charging up the stairs like San Juan Hill and Johnathan vindictive psychopathy, it is enough for Mortimer to question his own sanity. Grant plays the character perfectly, slowly unraveling from love-struck newly wed to a panicked, neurotic mess because of the antics of his crazy family. Much of Capra's trademark style makes it into Arsenic and Old Lace: his ability to blend physical and verbal comedy, as well as his gift for using faces and reaction shots to get laughs are all in a refined form. As always, Capra stocks his movies with interesting and humorous side characters, utilizing some of the best character actors in Hollywood so there is a perfect depth to his movies, even if a character is only on screen for a minute or two, the quality of the acting and humor never lags; In Arsenic and Old Lace, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, and James Gleason all appear in small roles, despite the fact they could get supporting billings in other movies, but things are always different with Capra, he was true Hollywood royalty. Unlike many of his films, Arsenic and Old Lace doesn't feature any grand message or moral, and it may not be the same level as his masterpieces, but it is Capra fully unleashing his comedic ability and the result is marvelously, and wickedly, funny.

33. The Major and the Minor (1942)
Throughout the 1930s, Billy Wilder and his writing partner Charles Brackett authored the scripts to some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed hits. However, instead of being satisfied with their success, the duo - Wilder in particular - was growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of control writers had at that time. What especially irked Wilder were the directorial decisions and changes made to his scripts. Because of this, Wilder decided to become a director himself so he never had to deal with these grievances again. Brackett and Wilder approached Paramount with a scrip he wanted to directed, they gave him the go-ahead, and the rest is history. That script eventually became The Major and the Minor, starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. Rogers plays Susan Applegate, a smalltown girl moves to New York City, but becomes disillusioned with her life their and decides to return home to Stevenson, Iowa. The only problem is she doesn't have enough money for the train ticket home. Susan does, however, have enough money for a child's fare, so she disguises herself as a 12 year-old and gets on the train. However, she runs into some incredulous train conductors who catch her smoking and is forced to take refuge in what she thinks is an empty room. In fact, the room is inhabited by Major Philip Kirby (Milland), the commanding officer at a boy's military school. Susan convinces Philip she is a little girl on her way home to her mother and he takes her back to the school after the train tracks get washed out. There she meets Philip's selfish, conniving fiancee Pamela (Rita Johnson) and he sarcastic younger sister Lucy (Diana Lynn), who is the only one to see through Susan's act, but the two become friends regardless. While at the school, Susan falls in love with Philip, but has to fight of the boys at the school who thinks she is their age, while also helping Lucy to foil Pamela's plans to ruin Philip's chance at returning to active service. The Major and the Minor was written by Wilder and Brackett with Rogers in mind as the star and it was an excellent decision. Despite being 31 at the time of it's release, Rogers is thoroughly convincing playing a 12 year-old, quite the feat for a recognizable face like Rogers. Her terrific performance and that of supporting players are only boosted by the script, which is full of classic Wilder and Brackett dialogue: sardonic and witty, but never unnaturally so. No one ever speaks in a way that doesn't fit their character. Though his writing was in peak form, Wilder's immense directorial talent is also very apparent, albeit in a raw form, but they style, rhythm and timing of  his cutting and close ups meshes with the dialogue. The Major and the Minor would be notable simply because it is the debut of the eight-time Best Director-nominated Wilder, but it is also a very funny movie starring one of the most charming and endearing leading ladies from Hollywood's golden age in one of her most unique and unforgettable roles.

32. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
In 1933, as King Kong climbed the Empire State Building, audience's fascination with special effects was born. With each successive decade, one or two movies continued to take steps forward pushing the limits of the technology at the time to bring bigger and more dazzling spectacles for audiences. The next movie after King Kong to really push forward effects is Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad. Like King Kong however, it is much more than just a pretty looking technical accomplishment. The Thief of Bagdad is set, obviously, in Bagdad during the time of Arabian Nights, and stars John Justin as Ahmed, the King of Baghdad, who is robbed of his throne by the wicked Grand Vizier Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). Ahmed escapes the clutches of Jaffar, to Basra, with the help of young thief Abu (Sabu). While in Basra he meets and falls in love with it's princess (June Duprez), who runs away when she finds out she must marry Jaffar instead of Ahmed. Throughout the rest of the movie, Ahmed, Abu, and the princess attempted to foil Jaffar's plans and retake the throne of Bagdad. Shot in sumptuous Technicolor, the first thing you notice about the movie is the gorgeous design of the city, evoking the look of a classic, Arabian fairy tale city. The extends to the extravagant interiors of palace throne rooms and gardens. The dazzling special effects aren't just an achievement, but they are beautifully and artfully created like the mechanical horse that flies over the city rooftops of Bosra, a grotesque overgrown spider, and the gigantic Djinn towering over Ahmed and Sabu as he holds them in his hands. These effect, which include the first green screen work, still hold up today and are as beautiful as ever. What the best movies offer - blockbuster spectacles or not - is entertainment, however what most large budget movies today miss is that special effects on their own don't equal entertainment of any lasting value on their own. Big explosions and computer-generated, large scale action sequences don't stick with the viewer years down the line, but an engaging story and interesting and likable characters are what makes movies last, and more than just a flash in the pan. Nothing defines this better than The Thief of Bagdad, which is an technical achievement full of beautiful imagery, set designs, and ground-breaking effects, but it also has great acting, memorable characters, a classic story, and a overarching feeling of fun and adventure. Most all though, it is just good plain fun.  

31. The Great Dictator (1940)
By the time the 1940s rolled along, Charlie Chaplin, the most iconic star of the silent film era, had been fighting against the inevitability of sound for over a decade, he produced three silent movies while the rest of Hollywood completely abandoned silent film. His only slight dalliance into sound was a couple of lines in Modern Times (1936). Finally though, a full thirteen years after the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, Charlie Chaplin finally entered the sound era of Hollywood and it took a maniacal dictator and a viewing of Triumph of the Will to get him there. The story goes that Chaplin, who had long been apposed to the Nazis treatment of the Jewish people, saw Leni Riefenstahl's famous propaganda film and found Hitler's over-the-top mannerisms so funny that it inspired him to make The Great Dictator. Of course, humor wasn't the only motivation for Chaplin, he also wished to bring to the attention of English speaking audiences the practices of fascist Germany and their Antisemitism. At the time of it's filming and release, America wasn't at war yet, and popular culture had yet to lock on to Hitler and Nazi's as bad guys or objects of ridicule, only a few films like Confessions of Nazi Spy (1939) had really taken aim at the Third Reich and none had been so brash as to impersonate Hitler himself, or featured a world-wide star like Chaplin. In The Great Dictator, Chaplin plays a dual role of "Adenoid Hynkel," dictator of Tomainia, as well as playing a Jewish barber who bears a striking resemblance to Hynkel. The barber lost his memory during World War I, and after waking up 20 years later, discovers where he used to live has been turned into a ghetto and his barbershop is now next door to the beautiful Hannah (Paulette Goddard) and her family. Chaplin and Goddard, who worked together on Modern Times and were married in real life, provide a sweet, tragic, and comedic love story set against the background of the persecution and violence in the Jewish ghetto. As Hynkel, Chaplin perfectly imitates Hitler's delivery in a famous portion of the film where he addresses the Tomainia people in half-German, half-gibberish. Also lampooned in the movie are Mussolini aka Napaloni (Jack Oakie), Joseph Geobbles aka Garbitsch (Henry Daniell), Hermon Gorring aka Herring (Billy Gilbert), who in one may or another are mocked. When you combine the caricatures of Hitler with Chaplin's signature brand of slapstick you get one of the funniest movies ever made, but the most important thing that the humor in The Great Dictator does is free up Chaplin to address subjects to dark for serious movie, as well give him a wider audience with which to deliver his crucial message. Towards the end of the movie, the barber is mistaken for Hynkel and taken to make a speech before the people of Tomainia. Seizing his opportunity, the barber pleads for democracy, peace, and the end of dictatorships, but really this is Chaplin breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience. Much like Joel McCrea at end Foreign Correspondent, the little Jewish barber transcends the medium in a passionate plea for the world to wake up to the evils of fascism.

40 Essential Movies of the 1940s: #40-#36

40. The Sea Hawk (1940)
As the 1930s were ending, Errol Flynn's career as a superstar was also coming to a close. His health was declining from a number of different medical issues, which began to take a toll on his signature lively, athletic performances. In addition to that, the tastes of America was changing; audiences were no longer as interested in historical adventures and fantasies. World War II had turned the 1940s into a decade of gritty realism and patriotic, America-centric movies; it was the decade of Film Noir and Sergeant York. Flynn also started moving in that direction with his 40s output: Santa Fe Trail (1940) is all about American unification, Dive Bomber (1941) and Desperate Journey (1942) featured Flynn as a U.S. Air Force Pilot, Flynn kills Nazis in Edge of Darkness (1943), Northern Pursuit (1943), and Uncertain Glory (1944) before transitioning to the Pacific Theater in Objective, Burma! (1945). Not until 1948's Adventure of Don Juan did Flynn make another costume adventure. In that way, The Sea Hawk is almost a bittersweet send off to the one of the most exciting actors in the screen has ever seen. Like many classic Hollywood movies, it is historical in setting and overall plot only, because no one watches to learn about Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada, they want to see sword fights, romance, costumes, and sea battles, all of which The Sea Hawk delivers in spades. Flynn stars as Geoffrey Thorpe, and English privateer serving Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) during one of the many periods of hostility between Spain and England during the 1500s. Mixed in with the classic Flynn swashbuckling, directed by Michael Curtiz, is a political intrigue featuring Elizabeth, Spanish Ambassador Don Jose (Claude Rains), and secret English traitor Lord Wolfingham (Henry Daniell). And, of course, their is romance between Flynn and Don Jose's niece, Dona Maria (Brenda Marshall). Accenting all this is a terrific score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold as well as beautiful set and costume design like only Hollywood can do. For better or worse, The Sea Hawk serves as a last hurrah for the lighthearted adventure/fantasy of the 30s as well as their most prominent star.    

39. Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
Of all the classic Hollywood studios, there was really MGM and everyone else, especially during the 1930s where MGM dominated the box office, mostly on the strength of their musicals. Audiences in the 30s wanted something to distract them from the rough times brought about by the Great Depression and MGM's musicals perfectly provided just that type of escapism. In the 40s, the adventure and fantasy genre started to fall out of favor as the movie industry turned towards darker genres like Film Noir and psychological thrillers, but there was no stopping the musical machine. If anything, MGM was stronger than ever in the 40s, they had an unmatched stable of stars at that time including Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse and so many more, basically all the biggest singing and dancing stars of the day. Musicals appealed to studios just as much as audiences because, not a lot was required from their scripts, but they had a large catalog of already written music to choose from, not to mention a very large collection on-staff musicians to pump out songs and Broadway musicals to choose from. Most musicals were very light on plot, which were frequently just used as an excuse to get to the numbers. Created as tribute of the forebearer of the musical film, Ziegfeld Follies completely drops any pretense of story and is simply a showcase of MGM's musical and comedy stars in the form of a musical revue like the original Follies created by Florenz Ziegfeld in the early 1900s. Ziegfeld Follies features dozens of performances by the like of Garland, Kelly, Astaire, Williams, and Charissee as well Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Fanny Brice, Williams Powell, Virginia O'Brien, James Melton and many others. Some of the notable musical numbers include Astaire, Ball, and Charissee performing a number of standards such "Here's to the Girls" by Roger Edens and Arthur Freed; O'Brien singing "Bring On The Wonderful Men" while on horseback, Williams in one of her classic bathing beauty numbers, and most notably, two of the greats, Astaire and Kelly dancing together for the first time during George and Ira Gershwin's "The Babbitt and the Bromide." In addition to that, Ziegfeld Follies also features several very funny comedic performance including Red Skelton as J. Newton Numbskull and Garland in a hilarious spoof of self-aggrandizing movie stars, written by Kay Thompson and showcasing Garland's underutilized comedic talent. In many ways, Ziegfeld Follies is a primer to musicals of the 1940s and a perfect way to introduce newcomers to the wacky and wonderful spectacle of the MGM musical and all their many stars.

38. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
All throughout the 1930s and early 40s, the predominant type of comedy film was of the screwball variety. If it wasn't Three Stooges-style slapstick or something wholly unique like the Marx Brothers, then it was a screwball. However, as the mid-40s began, screwball comedies faded out of fashion and the genre moved in another direction. However, even after it was less popular, Hollywood still produced a several screwball gems. One of these is The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, featuring veterans of the genre Cary Grant and Myrna Loy as well as nineteen year-old Shirley Temple. Grant stars as Richard Nugent, a well-known painter, socialite and bachelor who is gets involved in a night club fight and ends up appearing in court in front of Judge Margaret Turner (Loy), who disapproves of his lifestyle and tells him so. Later that day however, Richard is lecturing at the local high school where he fascinates the students, including Margaret's seventeen year-old sister Susan (Temple) who talks to him after the lecture and falls in love and deluding herself into thinking Richard wants to paint her. Susan sneaks off and gains entrance to Richard's apartment when he is out, Richard returns to find her just as Margaret and her district attorney friend Tommy Chamberlain (Rudy Vallee) show up and have him arrested. The sisters uncle (Ray Collins) believes Richard is innocent, but also that Susan believes she is in love with him that if he completely ignores her it will damage her. Therefore, Richard is sentenced to continue along "dating" Susan until she grows out of it, all the while he falls in love with Margaret. There is plenty of humor to be found in the situations themselves, such as Susan and Richard going on a date to a high school basketball game, but the best parts of the movie come from the dialogue. Grant and Loy particularly shoot back and forth their witty repartee with terrific fervor. One part of the script in particular has Grant infuriating various characters with slang and the now famous "You remind me of a man..." routine. The story and the script were written by Sidney Sheldon as his first major film credit, and were so good he would go on and win the Oscar for Best Screenplay. The whole movie is a terrific example of the signature screwball rapid-fire dialogue, comedic misunderstandings, and cockeyed romances. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is one of the last great additions to one of the funniest, cleverest, and most entertaining genres in movie history.  

37. Gaslight (1944)
Because of the new direction that the film industry was heading in during and after World War II, that also meant new stars were popping up all over. The Hollywood star machine was in top gear, but instead of looking for performers who could sing, dance, and tell jokes like in the 30s, they were looking for dramatic actors. All these new, darker movies didn't need vaudeville stars, they needed faces; visages that could convey emotion without a word then deliver the next, occasional over-wrought line of dialogue. During the 1940s, stars such as Lauren Bacall, Burt Lancaster, and Ava Gardner were discovered, bit players like Robert Mitchum got their big breaks while Orson Welles transitioned from stage and radio to the big screen. No star quite defined the new era of movies quite like Ingrid Bergman however, her roles in movies like Casablanca (1943), Spellbound (1945), and Notorious (1946) exemplified the darker themes of war, betrayal, and psychological instability that permeated the decade. Another sterling example of this is Gaslight, based on the the popular stage play, it is a psychological thriller set in the late 1800s about the systematic destruction of a woman's mental state. Bergman plays that woman, Paula Anton, who spent years abroad studying music as a way to recover from the mental scaring she received after walking in on her Aunt's murder by a burglar, who was attempting to steal the families priceless jewels. While abroad, Paula falls in love with Gregory (Charles Anton), and marries him. Against her better judgement, he convinces her to move back to the London house where the murder took place. Living in her childhood home has a negative effect Paula's mental state, but the situation is only exacerbated by the way that Gregory treats her, simultaneously coddling, manipulating, and humiliating to the point that Paula is on the verge of a complete mental collapse. The main course of the movie follows his attempts at breaking her down, director George Cukor does a terrific job using the dark, foggy London atmosphere and dim, gas-lamp lit drawing rooms of their house to create a feeling of isolation. Each room seems overstuffed with furniture and decorations, adding to Paula's feeling of claustrophobia. Indeed, the few times she is allowed to venture out of the house seem like emerging from under dark water just before your lungs are going to fail. Both leads give terrific performances, but Bergman especially shines towards the end of the movie when it becomes clear even if she escapes Gregory's clutches, she is never going to be right again, and in some ways is become just as twisted as her husband. In ways that would be unthinkable just ten years before, Gaslight, along with movies like Rebecca (1940) and Suspicion (1941) ushered in the genre of the psychological thriller, which are still popular to this day.

36. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Nowadays, new Christmas movies are a staple of holiday season, the industry releases several a year and most are forgotten in a couple years. In the golden age of Hollywood, however, it was a different story. Besides a couple of versions of A Christmas Carol, there wasn't anything in the way of a traditional Christmas movie before the 1940s. That is until, at the beginning of the 40s when slowly they started to trickle out to critical and financial success, The Shop Around The Corner (1940), Holiday Inn (1942), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) all utilized the holiday setting with terrific results. Therefore, when Miracle on 34th Street was released, the idea of Christmas movie wasn't completely novel, but was a relatively new concept. Perhaps that is why it resonated so much with audiences, but whatever the reason, resonate it did. The story is well known, Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) fills in for the intoxicated Macy's parade Santa and is eventually hired by Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) to as the store's full time Santa. Problems arise when Kris starts sending costumers to rival department stores for better toys. However, it gets worse when Kris tells Doris' daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) that he really is Santa Claus, and she believes him, upsetting her mother. His insistence that he is the real Santa escalates to the point that he has to battle in court to keep out of a sanitarium. Kris is helped by Doris and Susan's lawyer neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne), who also has to happens be in love with Doris, who likes Kris, but doesn't believe him, or in Santa, and is worried it will break her daughters heart to find out the truth, especially after her and her husband's divorce. The movie is as much about Doris learning to trust again and a little girls faith being rewarded as it is about Santa Claus. The heartbreak that divorce causes is also on full display, not something typically expected from a Christmas movie, but like all great movies it tackles serious themes head-on, but never becomes morose. These themes are what make the movie truly inspiring, and it has nothing to do with Christmas at all. Miracle on 34th Street was a huge success in the box office, making back it's budget five times over, and it was a critical success too, winning three Academy Awards and was also nominated for Best Picture, rare for a holiday movie. It continued to be a major part of the Christmas season, kicking the season of for many families when it is traditionally played on Thanksgiving night. Today, Miracle on 34th Street is an indelible part of the holidays and still has the power to touch the heart and fill you with Christmas spirit.

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #5-#1

5. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
For Alfred Hitchcock, the 1930s were a time of immense productivity (he made 15 movies), but it also marked the end of an important period in his career. For starters, Hitchcock left England for Hollywood in 1939 and released Rebecca, his first American movie, the following year. However, with the move to England came a more important change to a different tone in his movies. Starting with Rebecca and continuing on through the end of his career, Hitchcock's movies were much darker and more serious, lacking the lighthearted breeziness of his British productions. The best of Hitchcock's British films combine plenty of humor and charm with the mystery and suspense he is famous for; they are movies that don't just inspire to put you on edge, but also to bring a smile to your face as well. The Lady Vanishes does this better than any other of his films, and as well as any movie in history. The movie begins in a fictitious European country on the brink of World War II. As a train full of passengers are stopped by an avalanche, a young woman named Iris (Margaret Lockwood) who is on her way back to England to get married, meets Miss Froy, an elderly lady also on her way back to England. They form a friendship and sit together on the train, but after Iris dozes off, she awakes and not only has Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) disappeared, but no one else on the train seems to remember that she ever existed. Iris begins to investigate the disappearance, but find resistance at every turn, except for Gilbert, a young folk musicologist (Michael Redgrave, in his film debut). As with many of Hitchcock's films, it's not so much about reaching the solution to the mystery as it is about getting there. As Iris and Gilbert investigate they encounter diverse, eccentric characters such as the mysterious Dr. Hartz (Paul Lukas), or the duo of Charters and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne), a pair of English gentlemen who are more concerned with the cricket scores than the looming World War. The movie does that so well, taking an intrigue-laden espionage story and mixing in humor and romance without it ever feeling forced. Released just 11 months before war broke out, The Lady Vanishes is one last lighthearted, optimistic view of the world before the dark reality of the next years set in, yet the same optimistic spirit that permeates from the movie would be crucial for Britain's survival as they faced down hell the hell of World War.

4. King Kong (1933)
While Georges Mellies introduced them decades earlier, audience's obsession with special effects began in 1933 with a giant gorilla, some dinosaurs, and a girl who just couldn't stop screaming. When King Kong was first released, there really hadn't ever been anything like it before; movies like Metropolis (1927) and The Thief of Baghdad (1924) had huge, futuristic sets, while the horror films of the early 30s had great, terrifying makeup, but never before had the kind of larger-than-life, unbelievable sense of grand scale of King Kong been captured on screen before. While it may not look as realistic now, at the time Kong was both terrifying and awe-inspiring; previously impossible and unimaginable horrors of a giant monster were all of a sudden available for all to see. From that point on, movies could take you to anywhere you wanted to be, and show you any fantastical creature or spectacle a mind could imagine. King Kong isn't just an important landmark of special effects, it is also a terrific monster movie that still thrills to this day. The plot is well known, and often has been repeated in monster movies since, it follows film director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), as he heads out to shoot at an exotic jungle location on board a ship called the Venture. Denham can't secure an actress in time, so hires Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) a struggling, out-of-work girl off the streets to play the lead in his movie. Along the voyage, Ann meets and begins to fall in love with the Venture's first mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) as they head towards what is eventually revealed to be the lost Skull Island. On the island, Denham to shoot his movie around the island, featuring the beast of legend known only as "Kong." Of course, as is wont to happen in monster movies, everything goes to heck and Darrow is kidnapped by the natives and offered up to Kong, setting in motion the whole rest of the movie and it's iconic ending in New York City. What is interesting to note about the plot involving the movie crew is that, unintentionally, it revels the future of movies. The film crew is simply trying to capture the wonder of the great ape. The movie is smaller than the effects, dwarfed by Kong, the special effect is the focus, the movie is secondary. That is not a trap, however, that the movie itself falls into, but the same cannot be said for many movies. Ever since it was was released, movie studios have striven to go farther and farther to top the previous high of special effects, but unlike King Kong, so often they let the effects become the main selling point instead of the movie itself, which turn movie magic into the mundane. 

3. Duck Soup (1933)
The heart of comedy is, of course, finding the humor in a subject, whether it be a situation, an organization, or a person. The better known the subject of the humor, the more it will resonate with the audience. Groucho Marx's famous joke about an elephant and pajamas wouldn't make any sense to a person who didn't know what either was, while someone who didn't know much about westerns would miss a lot of the humor in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. Perhaps that is why, of all their movies, Duck Soup is the funniest Marx Brothers movie because it lampoons something every American has come to know and for the most part dislike: politics. It has become such a part of our lives, from the ads on TV, to the speeches, to news channels, politics are rapidly becoming inescapable. In Duck Soup, the Marx Brothers mock both politicians and policies, as well as mixing in plenty of humor on other subjects (or occasionally about nothing at all) as well. Groucho Marx plays Tufus T. Firefly, the newly appointed leader of "Freedonia" a fake European country who has strained relations with the neighboring Sylvania and their embassador Trentino (Louis Calhern). Trentino secretly wants to take over Fredonia and hires two spies, Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) to dig up dirt on Firefly, which of course doesn't work at all. Over the course of the movie, things go from bad to worse for the two countries and war is declared, giving the opportunity for the brothers to spoof that as well. One of the most impressive parts of Duck Soup is that despite the subject, there is no political statement being made, no sides are taken, left or right, everything is up for grabs. And exposing the silliness of politics isn't even the point either, they aren't even trying to be inappropriate for that's sake either, the point is to make fun of everything because it is all so funny. They more anarchic than republican or democrat. Even beyond the parodying, Duck Soup is all of the Marx Brothers at the top of their game, Groucho's wit, stream-of-consciousness and sarcasm are in top form as are Chico's particular turns-of-phrase, plus Zeppo as Groucho's eternal straight-man, and Harpo's unique brand of mime-like comedy. While each is great in their own right, when all three come together they deliver some of the funniest movie moments ever filmed, such as the famous mirror scene and the treason trial. Physical and verbal jokes, punch-lines and one-liners come flying so fast in every scene that it takes multiple viewings just to peel through all the layers of humor. As with all movies, words only go so far in description and in the end, the best thing to do is to just watch them. That goes doubly so for Duck Soup, it has to be seen, and multiple time at that, to be truly appreciated because of just how plain hilarious of a movie it is.

2. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Some movies strike you right away when you first see them, leaving an immediate impression in the first couple of moments that sticks with you through the rest of the movie and every subsequent viewing. Before an actor even appears on screen, you can't help being swept away by The Adventures of Robin Hood. It starts with the opening credits, displayed like medieval script on a parchment while the wonderful, joyous, heroic overture of Erich Wolfgang Korngold score stirs up an immediate sense of adventure. Then, after the credits, we get our first glimpse of the world of Robin Hood and what a wonderful place it is. Not in terms of the actual happenings in Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, things aren't going so well there, of course, but in the way it looks. After only a few scenes have appeared on screen, the beauty of the art design and cinematography will enthrall you, all the villages and stately castles are fantastically designed, but the amazing part of The Adventures of Robin Hood is the color and the light. Filmed in classic Technicolor, the whole movie is filled with the kind of vibrancy you can only get from the golden age of Hollywood. From the red of the wine Prince John spills early in the movie, to the green of Robin's forest clothes, and the silvery sheen of Maid Marian's dress, every scene in Robin Hood is flooded with a vivid pallet of color. It is only accentuated by the lighting, the flickering fire in Nottingham castle, the sunlight filtering through Sherwood forest, and the moonlight on Marian's castle balcony, light and color work together in perfect harmony in The Adventures of Robin Hood. With such aesthetic beauty, it would be hard for the rest of the movie to live up to the production values, but it does. First of all, it is probably the most perfectly cast movie of all time, no other actor could play the heroic, swashbuckling, lighthearted  roguishness of Robin Hood like Errol Flynn (and many have tried), while his frequent leading lady Olivia de Havilland plays the gentle and fair but strong-willed Maid Marian exactly how she should be. Eugene Pallette as the big-hearted and big-bellied and Alan Hale Jr. as gentle giant Little John also completely embody their characters. Then of course, you have the villains, veteran bad guy Basil Rathbone as the proud Sir Guy of Gisbourne with just the right amount of brains and cruelty, while Claude Rains gives Prince John both a sense of upper-crust royalty and base wickedness, and perfect comedic touches Melville Cooper adds to the bumbling Sheriff of Nottingham. And of course, there are exciting sword fights, romance, humor, and daring exploits by the heroes. In every possible way, from the music and the design, to the acting, characters, and story, The Adventures of Robin Hood checks every single box you could hope for from a great adventure movie and so much more.

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Contrary to popular belief, The Wizard of Oz was not a resounding success for MGM at the time of it's release. Despite rave reviews for critics, the studio had trouble making back it's budget, only turning a modest profit of less than $200,000, which was low even at that time, for example Mr. Smith Goes to Washington turned a profit of $7.5 Million later that year. However, despite that, The Wizard of Oz is one of the most well know and beloved movies ever made. Since it's initial release in 1939, it has been re-released six times, each time drawing more fans than the last. In addition to that, starting in 1959, The Wizard of Oz was played on the second Sunday of December every single year, becoming a family Christmas tradition for millions of families all over the country. So why is it so enduring and endearing? There are number of reasons, but at the heart of The Wizard of Oz is the very definition of movie magic, it exemplifies what the movies can do to the imagination of an average joe. The movie itself embodies this through it's story, Dorothy plays the role of the audience, going from the bland, sepia-toned Kansas to the wonderful Oz exploding in Technicolor via a tornado, just as movie-goers are transported by the magic of the movie screen from their comparatively mundane lives into a fantastical world of music, magic, and adventure. In addition to that, the story, based on the book by L. Frank Baum, doesn't have the same distant feeling as other fairy tales set in far away countries featuring a high-bred loyalty do, instead the heroine is a normal American girl from a plain America farm. Dorothy could be anyone from any small town in America. The greatness of the movie is found in it's ability to turn us all into Dorothys for 101 minutes. It isn't just the underlying aspects of The Wizard of Oz that makes it so appealing of course, the cinematography is gorgeous and the set design is some of the most creative in history, next time you watch the movie take some time to look at the amazing detail put into background sets that are never part of the camera's main focus. Then of course, their is the classic musical numbers, written by Hebert Stothart and Harold Arlen, many of which are pop culture staples, including of course, the most famous movie song of all time "Over the Rainbow." And these songs are forever tied to their performances in the movies: Judy Garland's wistful eyes as she belts out the famous tune, or Ray Bolger using his vaudevillian training to flop around during "If I Only Had a Brain," Garland, Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr skipping arm-and-arm while sing "We're Off To See The Wizard," and all of the Munchkin performers and their squeaking voices, it is impossible to separate the songs from the movie, the actors, and their performances because of how iconic they have become. That's without mentioning the grand Wizard himself, Toto, the Wicked Witch, Glinda the Good Witch, and that source of so many children's nightmares: The Flying Monkeys. Anyone who has seen the movie (who hasn't?) has vivid images immediately pop into their mind when reading that list, it's not just a part of movie history, it is a part of American history. So much of The Wizard of Oz has transcended the movies and become indelible parts of popular culture, but laying aside all that and taking it as pure entertainment, it doesn't get any better than this; from the ground up it has everything and more that defines a classic movie experience. Movies don't get any more magical.

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #10-#6

10. Stagecoach (1939)
When it comes to Westerns, there are two figures who loom larger over the genre than the mesas in Monument Valley: John Wayne and John Ford. Wayne and his mannerisms are synonymous with the genre, while Ford contributed more to the directorial aspects of Westerns than any other director in history. Interestingly, both can trace back to one movie as the start of the most important phases of their careers. Ford has made dozens of silent Westerns during the 1920s, most of which were B-pictures and now lost, but as of 1939 it had be 13 years since Ford dabbled in the genre, making just about ever other kind of movie before making Stagecoach, in which he cast Wayne in prominent role. Wayne had worked with Ford six other times before during the 20s, and had continued to make Westerns into the 30s, but they were all of the low-budget variety and Wayne was far from a star. All that changed with Stagecoach however, Wayne was now taken seriously as an actor and launched into stardom. After making the film, Ford found a renewed love for Westerns and went on to make dozens more, including some of the best the genre has to offer, including The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Rio Grande, all with Wayne. In Stagecoach, Wayne plays a fugitive on the run who is captured by a Marshall (George Bancroft) escorting a stagecoach from Arizona to New Mexico. Wayne is forced to ride along with the passengers of the coach, which include people from various stations and situations. including Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, and Donald Meek. The best parts of Stagecoach are the interactions that these characters have in the close confines of the coach, as each character is fleshed and their backgrounds are revealed. Of course there are sweeping vistas and blazing shootouts, but it is these personal stories and the rawness of their human emotions that take Stagecoach from surface popcorn entertainment to a truly great movie. Stagecoach isn't just notable because of it's impact on their careers however, it is also an outstanding film that stands up with the best Westerns ever made.

9. It Happened One Night (1934)
Throughout the 1930s and into the 40s, the top of the box office charts were dominated by romantic comedies, particularly of the screwball, battle-of-the-sexes variety. Audiences were understandably enthralled by watching beautiful movie stars who make falling in love look like the most fun, awkward, and humorous thing a civilized person could do. One of the first movies to take advantage of this fascination (as well as one of the last to take advantage of no production code) was It Happened One Night, which was not only a huge hit at the box office, (finishing forth for 1934) but it was also a critical success that gave legitimacy to a genre that was considered decidedly low entertainment up to that point. The main attraction of the movie for audiences were it's two stars: Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. Gable was a rising star very popular was fans, while Colbert was one of, if not the top leading lady at the time. In It Happened One Night, Gable plays Peter Warne, a street-smart, wise-cracking reporter looking for a big story to get him back in the good graces of his editor (Charles C. Wilson) when he meets Colbert's Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress who married against her father's wishes, and has now run away in rebellion. Peter offers to help her find her way back to her new husband (Jameson Thomas) if she will give him an exclusive story, which she accepts. In order to not attract attention, the pair travel by bus, hitchhiking, and foot through rural America in the style of a classic road story, moving from one humorous situation to the next along the journey. This part of the movie gives a beautiful glimpse into America at that time outside of the big cities, which was rare for the time. As they journey, Peter teaches (or attempts to teach) the sheltered Ellie about the ways of the common American, from hitchhiking, to scavenging food, and making a make-shift bed out of straw, while Ellie in turn enjoys taking the pompous Mark down a few pegs whenever she can. Naturally, when two movie stars share a screen for so long, they fall in love, which complicates things for Ellie, of course it all works out in the end, but not without the expected misunderstanding and hi-jinks. Though Gable and Colbert were the big draw for audience coming to see It Happened One Night, they left the theater impressed by the young director who had so deftly guided the film: Frank Capra. Critics also lauded Capra, awarding him with the Academy Award for Best Director (the first of six such nominations for him, three of which he won) while also giving Gable Best Actor, Colbert Best Actress, screenwriter Robert Riskin Best Screenplay, and the movie itself Best Picture, a clean sweep of all the major awards. Not bad for "low entertainment."   

8. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Despite the how popular and well regarded they may be today, many movies, actors, and filmmakers weren't quite as highly regarded in their own time as many today might think. Looking back, we can appreciate films as brilliant works of movie making, but at the time many of them weren't the critical, and particularly the financial successes that you'd expect of a high caliber film. One of the most famous examples of this is also one of the most inexplicable; Bringing Up Baby had all the ingredients of a box office hit (two big stars, a premier director), but it failed to make back its budget, which had repercussions for several member of the production. The fact that it wasn't even more of a hit is even more surprising because of just how great, and hilarious the movie is. Cary Grant plays a mild-mannered paleontologist David Huxley who is trying to get the funding to complete his assembly of a brontosaurus, of which he is one bone short. In addition David is a day away from his marriage to his stuff assistant Alice (Virginia Walker). While trying to persuade the rich Elizabeth Random (May Robson) to support his project, he encounters the zany Susan Vance (Katherine Hepburn), who through various humorous events, ruins David's chances of getting the money. However, it also turns out she is Random's niece, and she offers to help David get the money in exchange for his help delivering a leopard called Baby to her Aunt. However, things get more complicated when Susan falls in love with David, and begins to contrive to keep him around and delay his marriage to Alice. One of her attempts includes allowing Baby to escape and enlisting David to catch him, which makes up the second half of the movie. Bringing Up Baby throws non-stop hilarity at the audience, with one ridicules situation following another. The leads are on the top of their comedic game, especially Grant who slowly transforms from the shy and awkward to completely manic and unhinged because of Susan's machinations. The rhythm of the dialogue is directed to perfection by Hawks, as is the significant amount of physical comedy, something he mastered several years earlier with Twentieth Century. After its struggles at the box, Hawks was let go from his contract at RKO and Hepburn was considered box office poison and struggled to find work until 1940's The Philadelphia Story relaunched her career. Grant, on the other hand, emerged unscathed and was still on the rise in his career. Luckily for modern audiences, Bringing Up Baby is now held in high regard, and rightfully considered one of funniest, wackiest, and best comedies ever made.

7. Swing Time (1935)
Some movies aspire to make you ponder deep issues, while others try to open your mind to avenues of thought that you had not yet considered, some try to scare, some to thrill, some however, just want to sweep you off your feet. The films of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers collaboration that graced the cinema nine times during the 1930s are just such movies, and Swing Time is the best of the bunch. Like all of their pairings, it is a musical comedy with a heavy focus on the dancing of Fred and Ginger, with a screwball plot, entertaining supporting characters, and a charming love story. These are the basic elements of almost all their movies, which are all fun and entertaining, but Swing Time is on another level, not because it sports a more sophisticated plot or great acting performances outside of the leads, no it is the fact that the music and dancing are just so great. Technically, the dance numbers are some of the best of the pair's career, but it is the aesthetic quality of the dances that make them so special. One of the reasons for this is that Astaire and Rogers understood better than anyone that acting doesn't stop when the dancing begins, for instance when they two first meet and dance to "Pick Yourself Up," they dance tentatively, like two people who just met, while later on during they dance like a pair in love during "A Fine Romance," then at the end of the movie when Ginger's conflicted feelings for Fred come to a head, she dances that way. As great as the dances are, the music is just as good, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, Swing Time is filled with songs that are not only classics among movie music, but are standards of American popular music in general. From the bouncy "Pick Yourself Up," to the back-and-forth of "Never Gonna Dance", and the ultimate love song "The Way You Look Tonight," each of the six songs in Swing Time is among the best in movie music history. In addition to the music and dance, Astaire and Rogers are also on the top of their game, and the benefit from their on screen chemistry because the two are so perfect together and really seem to be in love, but when some misunderstanding invariably comes between them, it seems so wrong that the audience is upset. Then when they, of course, come back together it elicits great happiness from the audience. And that is what Swing Time is really all about, it is a movie made to make people happy, to bring a charming slice of cinematic euphoria to the audience. It is just as much of a fantasy as The Lord of the Rings, but instead of swords and magic battles, there is romance, music and magical dance numbers.

6. City Lights (1931)
After being the king of the box office for many years, the start of the 1930s brought Charlie Chaplin to a crossroads in his career in two respects. Firstly, by this time silent film was clearly on the way out and sound firmly entrenched, which was troublesome for Chaplin, who had made his living playing the Tramp, a completely silent character. Chaplin had to choose whether to stick with silent movies, or move on to sound. The other choice he had to make was to continue on with the straight slapstick of his earlier movies, which is what his fans loved, or give in to his growing creative side and add more serious, dramatic touches to his movies, which he started to embrace more in parts of The Gold Rush (1925). In City Lights, Chaplin answers both of those questions in the best way possible, with the best movie of his career. City Lights is silent, and Chaplin eventually wouldn't make a sound film until 1940, but it doesn't matter, in any era it would be a masterpiece, for the most part because Chaplin did decide to mix humor and drama, and does so to perfection. Also written and directed by Chaplin, City Lights features Chaplin's Tramp living in a big city, chronically his interactions with other residents of the city, two in particular. The first that he encounters is a beautiful, blind Flower Girl (Virginia Cherrill), with whom he falls in love and decides to find a way to raise the money needed for her to have surgery to regain her vision. This quest and his relationship with the Flower Girl make up the heart of the film, while the Tramp also meets a depressed, alcoholic millionaire (Harry Myers), whom he stops from committing suicide and the two develop a friendship, but only when the millionaire is drunk, when sober he doesn't recognize the Tramp. While a blind girl and a suicidal alcoholic might not seem like common comedy plot elements, Chaplin deft keeps the plot from becoming to dark, but also not irreverent either, thanks mostly to the Tramp's innocent and good-hearted nature; he becomes a true friend to two people who don't have many. Like all Chaplin films, physical comedy plays a huge role, as does the various outlandish situations he always finds himself trapped it. It is very funny and very touching, but it never exploits tragedy into comedy, it simply blends those elements in a way where both have their moments, but it never feels like two separate movies either. City Lights is the rare movie that can bring tears to your eyes through laughter, tragedy, and happiness. The Tramp is as funny as ever and his comedic scenes are some of the most creative of Chaplin's career, while the elements involving the Flower Girl and the Millionaire will both tug on the strings of your heart, and break it at times as well.

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #15-#11

15. The Thin Man (1934)

It is not uncommon for actors to be cast in roles to which they are very well suited. Whether it be in look or in style, casting decisions frequently turn out well. However, it is rare for an actor to be so well cast that they not only become synonymous with character, but actually improve on it. This is the case for William Powell and Nick Charles, Powell took Dashiell Hammett's Charles which was well written to begin with, and made it into one of the best characters in movie history. Powell embodies Charles' wit, humorous, sarcasm, class, and brains in The Thin Man, managing to make you believe that this wise-cracking man with a Wire Fox Terrier named Asta (Skippy) is also a brilliant private detective who solves the case of a missing man (Edward Ellis) and barely leaves has to leave his robe to do it. The Thin Man isn't a one man show though, Powell has a perfect foil in Myrna Loy, who plays Charles' wife Nora. The two have dynamic on screen chemistry and the scenes they are in together breeze by with such charm that you forget that you are watching a mystery. But then, The Thin Man is just as much a comedy as it's a mystery, with elements of slapstick along with zinging one liners as well as back-and-forth screwball elements. Powell especially is absolutely delightful firing verbals barbs way over the heads of wanna-be tough guy thugs. Like all great movies, The Thin Man defies labeling and is just an entertaining, funny, movie with two actors at the top of their game and one adorable dog. It also happens to have a pretty good mystery in it too.

14. The Awful Truth (1937)

Because sound in the movies allowed for spoken dialogue on the screen, screwball comedies, which are based mostly on verbal humor, exploded into Hollywood during the 30s. This was perfect for the time because audiences were desperate for lighthearted entertainment to take the minds off of the Great Depression. One of the best screwball comedies of the 1930s is The Awful Truth, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as a married couple who, after a misunderstanding, are determined to gets a divorce, disagreeing over who will get their dog Mr. Smith (Skippy again!). Dunne moves on to the kind-hearted Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy) while Grant turns to socialite Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont). However, their hearts aren't really in it and throughout the course of the movie they try to sabotage the other's relationship. It is a story that is as more about their love for one another than any vitriol after the misunderstanding, which is a welcome difference from the more negative turns most romantic comedies take these days. Though he was in two dozen or so movies before it, The Awful Truth marked the beginning of Grant's rise to stardom, a reign that would last for three decades, a run of hit after hit at the box office. It is easy to see why Grant became a star after this performance, his comedic ability and charisma are irresistible. And though Dunne never became as big a star as some of Grant's other leading ladies, the two make a terrific screen pairing that was repeated again two more times. The Awful Truth is one of the very best, and funniest screwball comedies that also manages to tug the heart strings at times as well.

13. The 39 Steps (1935)
In Europe during the lead up to World War II there was an abundance of political intrigue taking place as unrest grew. This led to an influx in spy fiction, which eventually invaded the movie theaters as well. The 39 Steps, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a prime example of this, containing mysterious women, secret organizations, spies, and vague stolen documents. It is also an early example of Hitchcock staples of the wrong man and a MacGuffin. The innocent man on the run is Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), plays a Canadian visiting London, who meets a mysterious woman named Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) who is clearly distressed. Richard brings Annabella back to his apartment where she explains she is a spy who has uncovered a plot to steal British intelligence plans, as well as mentioning something called "the 39 steps" in Scotland. The next morning, Richard finds Annabella dead and, knowing he will be accused of the murder, flees to Scotland to clear his name. Along the way, Richard becomes involved in the intrigue, first hindered and then assisted by the beautiful Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) as he attempts to thwart the enemy agents. Though it has a fairly grim premise and some pretty dark plot elements, The 39 Steps never gets too bogged down with its own seriousness. There is plenty of humor and a love story, which reflects a a common characteristic of  1930s cinema: most movies of that time, no matter how serious the overall plot, usually had some lighter parts. The 39 Steps manages this balance as well as any, as it is both charming and gripping at the same time.

12. A Night At The Opera (1935)
It would take much, much more than a couple of paragraphs to describe the comedic genius of the Marx Brothers, and then it would take up even more space describing their influence on comedy. Each one of the main three, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, had their own distinct comedic style, yet they could also play off one another in multiple different ways depending on the scene. Each one could effortlessly go from straight-man to comic, alternating between delivering the humor and being the butt end of the comedy. It's not just that they were uproariously funny, but also that they were experts at things the little things in comedy, like timing and rhythm, and revolutionary in their approach to humor. It also helped that they had been performing together since they were teenagers. A Night At The Opera is the best of their traditional comedies, almost all of which are completely hilarious. Groucho plays Otis B. Driftwood, who is trying to get money (and marriage) out of the rich widow Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont), though he has a rival for her affections in Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), the head of the New York Opera Company who wants to use her money to sign Opera star Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King). Also wishing for a big break with the Opera is bit player Riccardo Baroni (Alan Jones), who hires his friend Fiorello (Chico) to be his agent. Also kicking around the Opera house is Lassparri's dresser Tomasso (Harpo). To attempt to describe any of the multitude of humorous scenes would not only be futile, but also a disservice. The Marx Brothers are best enjoyed but just sitting back, watching, and hoping you aren't eating or drinking anything during certain scenes.  

11. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
After the collapse of the stock market in 1929, many were becoming disillusioned with the American Dream and patriotism was slowly dying throughout the 1930s. Corruption, whether real or not, was thought to be rampant in both business and government while rights and values were being trampled in the ground by greedy crooks. Enter Frank Capra, who placed the title of hero squarely on the shoulders common man willing to do what is right no matter the circumstances around him. Whether it's Longfellow Deeds or George Bailey, Capra's leading men are usually surrounded by corruption, but instead of letting that kill their spirit, it inspires them to stand up and fight for the American Dream. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is the clearest example of this, with it's hero, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), going from idealistic Boy Rangers leader to Washington D.C. Senator. He is selected by his state's governor (Guy Kibbee) to serve as junior Senator to the revered Sen. Joseph Paine (Claude Raines) but also to be the unknowing figurehead for corrupt political boss Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold). Smith arrives in Washington eager to see the monuments and make a modest difference, but soon discovers just how much corruption there is political structure of his state, and even the Senate itself. Smith begins, with the help of his secretary Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur), to do all he can to expose Taylor, but soon runs into more and more trouble as the crooked political machine keeps turning. Though it has some comedic parts, much of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is more drama and even turns tragedy as Smith is left a broken man after his last ditch filibuster fails, but in the end American values triumph. Released a month after the beginning of World War II and just two years before Pearl Harbor, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington provided a much needed shot in the arm to disillusioned Americans that would need all the fortitude they could muster for the next of four years of war.