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. 

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #20-#16

20. The Public Enemy (1931)

In 1934, distress over the luridness (for its time) of movies led to the creation of the Motion Picture Production Code, which put severe restrictions on what content could be put in movies. Movies released prior to this are referred to as "Pre-Code" and were, while very tame by today's standards, much loser morally than the films that came after the Code. A perfect example of this are the gangster films that were hugely popular during the early 1930s. These films glorified the life of gangsters, often reveling in their crimes, a big no-no post-Code, but a big hit with audiences before it became taboo. The Public Enemy is one of a number of seminal pre-Code crime films, along with the likes of Little Caesar (1931) and Scarface (1932), that centered around a small-time gangster's rise up the ranks of the crime world. Due to the presence of James Cagney, who became synonymous with gangster films, The Public Enemy is the best the genre has to offer. His ability to play a hardened criminal, yet still remain appealing to the audience is crucial to the success of the film; it also helps that Cagney is a tremendous actor. Cagney plays Tom Powers, who begins a life of petty crime along with his best friend Matt Doyle (Edward Woods) during the Prohibition era. The two eventually start a bootlegging syndicate and the money starts rolling in, with women not far behind. Tom especially goes through women quickly, from Kitty (Mae Clarke) to Mamie (Joan Blondell) before finally meeting Gwen Allen, played by pre-Code superstar Jean Harlow, who is perfect for the salacious nature of a crime drama. While The Public Enemy does a great job showing both Tom's rise and downfall in the crime world, the way his personal life collapses, particularly his relationship with his family, is even more intriguing. Between Cagney, Harlow, and the exciting shoot-outs directed by William A. Wellman, The Public Enemy is still thrilling and entertaining today.

19. Modern Times (1936)

During the Silent era, there was no bigger star than Charlie Chaplin and his Tramp character, so much so that he was annually the top paid actor in Hollywood and highest earn for his studio. However, so much of the Tramp was tied to silent film and Chaplin had trouble embracing sound, to the point that he didn't create a fully talking picture in The Great Dictator in 1940, thirteen years after talkies debuted. Despite this fact, several of his best pictures came after the advent of sound, including Modern Times, which has a couple of lines of spoken dialogue, but none by any of the principle characters. Chaplin, one of the first auteur directors, was almost completely responsible for the creative process surrounding his movies, frequently writing, producing, directing, scoring, and starring in his movies. Such is the case with Modern Times, where Chaplin's Tramp appears as a hapless assembly line worker, marking the character's last appearance on the screen. Much of the movie's humor is derived from the Tramp attempting to operate the assembly line and fix the various machines in the factory where he works. He is also arrested a number of times for various humorous reasons and tries to get a new job as a waiter, with typically hilarious results. An underlying theme of the movie is the Tramp's relationship with a gamine (Paulette Goddard) and their attempts to make a living for themselves during the turbulent times of the Great Depression. Chaplin mixes in a saccharine love story between the Tramp and gamine that, like most of Chaplin's movies is just as likely to touch your heart as it is to split your sides with laughter. Modern Times is a master at work in all facets of film-making and proof that great visual humor will always be funny, talking or not.

18. Gunga Din (1939)

One of the best things a movie can do is to transport you to a different place and a different time, fill you with a sense of adventure and dangerous unknown. These are often the most entertaining films because they allow you to escape your daily life for an hour or two and live the life of an hero or adventurer in a far-off land. Gunga Din, based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, is exactly that type of movie. It's impossible not be swept was away with the sense of adventure that absolutely permeates spirit and charm. Set on the Indian frontier in the late 1800s, Gunga Din stars Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a trio of British army Sergeants and best friends who, along with Indian water carrier Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), investigate a Thuggee murder cult. This leads to all sorts of small skirmishes, before ending with a giant, rip-roaring battle at the movie's climax. A subplot involves Fairbanks Jr's relationship with Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine), who he intends leave the army and marry her, much to the chagrin of his two friends, who do every thing they can to get him to stay in the army, even resorting to trickery. For a movie that deals with some pretty serious subject matters like war, sacrifice, and a murder cult, Gunga Din is surprising lighthearted and downright humorous at points. Part of the reason for this is the writers (Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur) and the director (George Stevens), all three veterans of comedy films. This provides a much-need levity to the some of the dark elements of the film. Gunga Din is a terrific adventure movie that is both fun as well as a stirring drama.

17. The Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Most horror movies in the 1930s and 40s focused on a singular monster as it's main attraction, from Frankenstein's monster, to the Wolfman, Dracula, and the Invisible Man, it is usually that one character that holds the audience's fascination. An unfortunate side-effect of this is that those movies tend to suffer when these characters aren't on screen, leading to uneven films. This is one of the reasons that The Island of Lost Souls really stands out and above those movies because it successfully incorporates numerous terrifying characters and horror elements while creating a terrific sense of atmosphere, keeping the audience engaged and on edge throughout the movie. Based on The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells, the movie stars Richard Arlen as Edward Parker who, after his ship is wrecked, is picked up by a boat that is transporting animals to a remote island in the South Seas. Parker ends up stuck on the island and finds out that is inhabited by Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton) and his hideous creations, human-like creatures created through the vivisection of various animals. These creatures have rudimentary abilities to function as humans, including speech, and include the Sayer of the Law (Bela Lugosi) and M'ling (Tetsu Komai), Moreau's servant. Also inhabiting the island is beautiful, yet simple minded Lota (Kathleen Burke) who Parker falls in love with, despite being engaged to another woman (Leila Hyams), who is desperately trying to find him. The special effects and makeup for the beast-men is a touchstone for monster makeup, equal parts twisted and grotesque, yet also believable. The Island of Lost Souls is chock-full of shocking and horrifying moments, while also carrying over some of the more philosophical themes in Wells' novel. 

16. Top Hat (1935)

When it comes to on-screen pairings, it doesn't get any better than Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Like many screen-teams, they co-starred in many pictures together (nine total), yet there is something special about the pair. Perhaps the most important part of their partnership was the fact that not only could Ginger dance, but she could dance just as well as Fred. It's one thing for an actor and actress to have screen chemistry, which they had in spades, it is quite another when the two of them could go literally go toe-to-toe during the frequent song-and-dance numbers. Add to that the fact that they dance like a couple in love and you've got a dynamic pairing. For the most part, Astaire/Rogers movies have a flimsy plot that serves as the framework for the musical elements, a few, however, are more complete movies with good, entertaining stories. Top Hat, which was the pair's biggest hit, is one of those that transcends trivial entertainment and becomes a very good movie, regardless of genre. Astaire plays Jerry Travers, a dancer who accidentally disturbs Ginger's Dale Tremont while practicing for his next show. He immediately falls in love with her, yet through a case of mistaken identity she believes that he is already married and refuses to ever see him again. Besides an entertaining plot, Top Hat also includes some of their best loved songs (written by Irving Berlin and Max Steiner), including "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and "Cheek to Cheek," which are now considered classics of American music. Even the cheesier of the Fred and Ginger's movies are worth watching because of the songs, dances, and the pair's magnetism, but when these a combined with a great story, they become absolutely essential viewing. 

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #25-#21

25. Freaks (1932)
Though the silent film era had it's share of classic horror cinema, the 1930s saw a rapid growth of the genre beginning in 1931 when Boris Karloff's Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi's Dracula were released to huge successes. After these successes, Dracula director Tod Browning took an even bolder step in the genre the following year with Freaks. Set in the carnival, particularly among the sideshow, Freaks doesn't use professional actors in makeup. Instead Browning, who worked at a carnival before his time in Hollywood, took the remarkable step and cast real sideshow performers to play their screen counterparts. Real people with real genetic deformities. Like so man horror films have, it would be easy for Freaks to be exploitative of these people, instead it does the exact opposite, exposing the wickedness of those "regular" circus members who take advantage of the "freaks," and even murder one for personal gain. Despite how scary and occasionally disturbing it can be, Freaks never loses sight of the humanity of it's characters, which is rare in the horror genre. After it was cut by 26 minutes because of disastrous test screenings, Freaks was a critical and commercial failure that effective ended the career of Browning. Despite this, Freaks is one of the best horror films of the all time, able to not only terrify, but also send a message of unparalleled depth for it's time.

24. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Today, most animated movies and TV shows are made with computers and the classic animation styles are slowly disappearing from the screen. This is a shame because there is nothing quite like cel-animation, it has such a distinct, beautiful look; the way the color pops from the screen and movements flow is wholly unique to the medium. No matter how much computer power you put behind it, nothing can replace the care and detail that goes into each hand-drawn animation cel. The first full-length cel-animated feature film was Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is not only a beautiful piece of animated art, but also a hugely influential movie that opened the door for for ever single animated movie after it. Snow White deviates from the classic fairy tale only to make itself more family friendly (the original story is a little darker) and to add some musical numbers, written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. Walt Disney himself produced the film, which helped lead to a unified look the film, despite the presence of six different directors, seven writers, as well as the numerous animators who worked on it. Though today some who watch it might find the animations simplistic compared to the more advanced techniques that marked later animated films, however this minimalism in many ways makes it more beautiful as the colors are purer, less diluted by detail lines. Even 75-plus years after it release, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a timeless, beautiful piece of classic animation that influenced countless artists since it was first released.   

23. 42nd Street (1933)
If Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were the king and queen of musicals in the 1930s, then Busby Berkeley was the prime minister. His visual style as both director and choreographer shaped the genre for the decade and those that followed. While many filmmakers were content to just transpose Broadway to the screen, Berkeley was the first to utilize the camera as a tool for his creative vision. Instead of just planting the camera where the audience would be during a stage performance, Berkeley's shots slither in and out of the action, track through the legs of the chorus line, rise up to shoot from straight above, and use dramatic angles for perspective tricks. If Berkeley's direction went against the norm, then his choreography was downright revolutionary. From his psychedelic kaleidoscopes of dancers and the fluid undulation of the chorus lines to the many times downright ludicrous costumes, Berkeley pushed the creative envelope with each dance sequence he designed. As with most of Rogers and Astaire's movies, the appeal with Berkeley's pictures isn't the story, characters, or acting, it is the terrific musical numbers. 42nd Street, which stars Rogers, Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powell is the best of Berkeley's pictures (Lloyd Bacon directed the non-musical parts) but also has a credible and entertaining story of the life behind a Broadway musical, while also having great music, written by Harry Warren and Al Durbin, and choreography courtesy of Berkeley. In a genre that usually follow a tried and true formula, Berkeley's creativity and downright weirdness can be a breath of fresh air and all his movies are worth watching.      

22. The Four Feathers (1939)
One of the most important figures in British cinema during the 1930s 40s, and 50s, was director and producer Alexander Korda. After mostly flopping as a director in Hollywood during the 1920s, Korda returned to Britain in 1932 and started London Films, which became one of the biggest British movie studios of the cinema's Golden Age. Korda either directed or produced most of the studios biggest films, the former in the case of The Four Feathers, which is directed by his younger brother Zoltan, though Alexander was certainly more hands on with the film than more producers. The story, about a disgraced British army officer who goes to Sudan during the Mahdist War (1981-1899) to regain his honor, was adapted by R.C. Sheriff, Lajos Biro, and Arthur Wimperis' from A.E.W. Mason's novel. John Clements stars as Harry Faversham, the shamed officer, who is given four white feathers (a sign of cowardice) by three of his fellow officers (Ralph Richardson, Donald Grey, and Jack Allen) and his fiancée (June Duprez) after he resigns his commission on the eve of war. Haversham travels to the Sudan on his own to regain their respect, finding himself in the middle of a vicious war. Shot in beautiful Technicolor on location in the Sudan, The Four Feathers it looks even today and doesn't look dated at all. From the small, touching moments of courage to the large set-piece battle sequences, The Four Feathers never stops thrilling and entertaining. It is one of the best adventure movies of all time because of the way it mixes exciting action, beautiful desert visuals, and a tremendous story that stirs the heart with a tremendous sense of adventure.

21. Twentieth Century (1934)

With the advent of sound, filmmakers were able to transport the dialogue of the stage onto the screen in a way that Silent film never allowed. This development led to a new genre of movie: the screwball comedy, which was highlighted by witty, rapid fire lines, slapstick, and an element of the ridicules. Twentieth Century was one of the first screwball comedies to grace the screen, and as much as any of the genre, it owes a debt to the romantic comedy stage plays the preceded it because it was lifted directly from Broadway. Adapted for the screen by the original authors, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, Twentieth Century centers around a manic Broadway producer Oscar "O.J." Jaffe (John Barrymore) who tries to convince his former star and girlfriend Lily Garland (Carole Lombard) to star once again in one of his plays. The bulk of the action occurs on a train, the 20th Century Limited from Chicago to New York, which takes the place of a stage as a backdrop to the performers. Both Barrymore and Lombard are excellent, going back and forth with scathing insults and explosions of hilarious temper and emotion. Barrymore especially gives the best comedic performance of his career. Director Howard Hawks would eventually go on to direct two of the best screwball comedies ever made, Bringing Up Baby (1938) and His Girl Friday (1940), and much of the greatness of those two movies, particularly the rhythm of the dialogue, can be seen here as Hawks masterfully balances Barrymore and Lombard's over-the-top theatrics while still keeping everything coherent despite the speed of of the verbal tete-a-tete's.

30 Essential Movies of the 1930s: #30-#26

30. Grand Hotel (1932)
Looking at the cast of Grand Hotel, it's easy to forget just how large a confluence of star power the movie brought together. Grand Hotel straddled the end of the Silent era and the birth of sound and because of this, many people today are not familiar with just how popular the cast members were individually. Much of their hay was made in silent movies and as a result of this, modern audiences are unfamiliar with their popularity. Greta Garbo was arguably the biggest star in Hollywood at the time, while brothers Lionel and John Barrymore were both critical and popular successes, including Lionel winning the Academy Award for Best Actor the year before (A Free Soul). Today, Joan Crawford is better known for her later movies, but her star burned the brightest in the early 30s. Even Wallace Beery, a relative afterthought now, was a big star who had billing over Clark Gable earlier that year, and had won Best Actor for The Champ in 1931. All of this is to say that Grand Hotel was, to that point, the biggest collection of stardom in movie history. Grand Hotel uses the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin to unfold the encounters of several, previously unacquainted. Each character arrives at the hotel at a different point in their life, John Barrymore is a bankrupt Baron who supplements his income with an occasional jewel theft. Lionel plays an accountant who has recently discovered he is dying and befriends the Baron, who plans on stealing a the jewels of a burned out ballerina (Garbo). Beery plays an industrialist, who hires Crawford to be his stenographer. Each comes to the hotel unaware of each other, but by the end of the movie each is intertwined in the lives of one another. The great joy of Grand Hotel, along with watching great actors on the screen together, is seeing how each life is affected by the other through the kind of random encounters you can have on a daily basis.

29. My Man Godfrey (1936)

Sandwiched between the affluent "Roaring Twenties" and World War II, America in the 1930s were a distinct period of culture. The Great Depression had a profound affect on the movies of the 30s especially, with no movie being a better example of this than My Man Godfrey. Not only is it a screwball comedy, the genre that defined the decade in an attempt to provide lighthearted entertainment to masses, but it also highlighted the big class differences of the decade. Based on the short story "1011 Fifth" by Eric Hatch, My Man Godfrey stars William Powell as Godfrey Smith, a penniless man living in the New York City dump. His fortunes change when he is taken, as part of a scavenger hunt looking for a "forgotten man," to a party of the wealthy by socialite Irene Bullock (Carol Lombard). Bullock takes a fancy to Godfrey, a sentiment that is only added to by the way he irks her older sister Cornelia (Gail Patrick). Irene employs Godfrey as the new family butler, where he must deal with Cornelia's attempts to get him fired, as well that the eccentric antics of the rest of the Bullock family, including the frustrated patriarch, (Eugene Pallette), his nutty wife Angelica (Alice Brady), and her preening protege Carlo (Mischa Auer). Another hurdle for Godfrey is that Irene has seemingly fallen in love with him, and idea that makes him uncomfortable. Through it all, despite his lowly state at the beginning of the movie, he keeps his dignity and respect, sending a clear message that being poor isn't a disgrace, a notion that would certainly appeal to the masses that would have seen it. My Man Godfrey provides plenty of the laughs and escapism for the poor, struggling lower class people who populated the movie halls during the Great Depression, but what it also provides a little bit of hope as well. Why not, like Godfrey a man who lost his life to the Depression, couldn't any one of the unfortunate souls out in the audience also be picked out of the squalor and taken into the rich, extravagant life of the upper class? Something to dream about at least.

28. Captain Blood (1935)

One of the defining aspects of the 1930s were the "screen teams," from musicals with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, to The Thin Man series with Myrna Loy and William Powell, and the comedies of Laurel and Hardy, the 1930s were rife with movie pairs. One of the most enduring of these duos are Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, who over the course of six years produced eight different pictures, mostly of the adventure variety, with Flynn playing the dashing hero and de Havilland his love interest. The first of these movies, the one that introduced the two to the world, was Captain Blood. Flynn plays the titular role as the Dr. Peter Blood, who is sold into slavery in the West Indies, as a punishment for treason. He is convicted because he treated a wounded leader of the failed Monmouth rebellion. While in the Indies, he is mistreated and abused, but eventually escapes, but not after earning the affection of his owner's daughter Arabella (de Havilland). Blood, along with many of his fellow slaves, take to a life of piracy and do battle with both British and private forces, including the villainous Captain Levasseur, who double-crosses Blood and his crew. Both Flynn and de Havilland were appearing in a starring role for the first time, with Flynn only being a bit player up until this point. The chemistry between the two is apparent from the start, and it is what drives many of the lesser movies the two made. In Captain Blood however, it is more than just a vehicle for the two, with tremendous sword fights and sea battles directed by a master of the genre, Michael Curtiz, as well as terrific acting by the supporting players, particularly Rathbone. Captain Blood is not only a great adventure movie, but it sparked a return to the adventure movies of the early 1920s with Flynn as the heir-apparent to Douglas Fairbanks.    

27. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Alfred Hitchcock is best known for his movies in the 40s, 50s, and early 60s but between The Man Who Knew Too Much, Young and Innocent, The 39 Steps, and The Lady Vanishes, he produced a decade of movies that any director would be jealous of. All of Hitchcock's films in the 1930s and earlier were made in England and have a very different tone and style than his later work. The Man Who Knew Too Much, which would later be remade by Hitchcock himself in 1956, has the kind of intrigue you'd expect from one of his movies, but it is a little bit darker in tone than his later work, yet also with a kind of British charm that is missing from the remake and other later Hitchcock films. It tells the story of an English couple (Leslie Bank and Edna Best) trying to find their kidnapped daughter (Nova Pilbeam) while also investigating an planned assassination of an European official. The assassins are led by Abbott, played by Peter Lorre in his first English language film. Lorre, already an accomplished actor in Germany, gives a tremendous performance, at first appearing as a charming foreigner but eventually morphing into the conniving and vicious criminal. The fact that Lorre wasn't yet fluent in English only adds to the effect. The tension and suspense created during attempted assassination at the Royal Albert Hall rivals any of the big set-piece moments in later Hitchcock films, but the movie doesn't peak there. The aftermath of the failed assassination attempt leads into a dramatic standoff and shootout in the London docks. The 1930s were an important time for Alfred Hitchcock, who was going from the "gifted amateur" he described himself as at this time, to one of the most successful filmmakers of all time. It's is not a coincidence that this shift coincided with the advent of sound in movies, which gave Hitchcock more tools to create his patented suspense with.   

26. You Can't Take It With You (1938)

No director was more synonymous with the 1930s than Frank Capra. During the decade, he had three movies finish in the top 5 highest grossing for their years, five times he was nominated for Best Director, winning three, while six of his movies were nominated for Best Picture, with two winning. Sufficed to say that Capra was the premier director of the 30s. You Can't Take It With You was his biggest hit of the decade, topping the box office in 1938 as well as winning Best Picture and Best Director for Capra. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, it is a typical charming Capra romantic comedy that he became famous for. Obviously the base script, adapted for the screen by frequent Capra collaborator Robert Riskin, is fantastic and only enhanced by an all-star cast of James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold, and a young Ann Miller. Stewart plays Tony, the son of a wealthy banker, Anthony Kirby (Arnold) who falls in love with Alice Sycamore (Arthur), who is part a large family that is just as poor as it is eccentric. The class differences between the Kirby's and the Sycamore's make up the bulk of the humor as the two vastly dissimilar families interact. Barrymore plays the patriarch of the family, Grandpa Martin, while the rest of the supporting cast is filled out with a multitude of eccentric and amusing ancillary characters, another staple of Capra and the screwball comedy genre in general. Capra was a master of pacing, often cutting his films in a way that enhanced both the appeal and the humor of the scene, particularly using timed reaction shots, because he understood the charm of the human face as well as any director in history.

Top 25 Films Noir: #5-#1

5. The Big Heat (1953)

During his years in Germany, Fritz Lang made many dark, emotionally intense, yet distant and brutal pictures that fitted the tone of pre-war Europe. After fleeing his home country, Lang came to Hollywood and slowly began to incorporate his style to America movies. This coincided with the advent of Film Noir, which was greatly influenced by Lang's German films such as M (1931) and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933). Lang was able to slip easily into Film Noir, and made some very good ones in the 1940, but it wasn't until the genre was showing the first signs of wane the Lang made his masterpiece Noir.

In The Big Heat, Glenn Ford plays Detective Sergeant Dave Bannion, who begins investigating the suicide of Tom Duncan, a fellow officer. While Bannion is investigating, he interviews Duncan's on-the-side girlfriend, Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green) an action which leads to her death. Driven by guilt over Lucy's death, he begins a war against the corrupt officials and crime network running the city. Bannion's primary antagonist is mob boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and his muscle Vince Stone (Lee Marvin), who is equally intimidating and psychotic. Also involved is Stone's girlfriend, Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame), who turns informer and helps Bannion. Throughout the course of the picture, Bannion is presented as the classic hardboiled Noir hero, punching and shooting his way inside and out of the law for what is right. However, Lang focused on the negative aspects of that and turns into a twisted version of a cliche. Bannion's persistence only brings death, pain and terror to the innocence around him. Chapman, Debby, Bannion's wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando), his daughter Joyce all suffer in one way or another because Bannion is unwilling to give up the case. We are taught by movies to admire those who hardheadedly do whatever it takes for "justice," but The Big Heat shows the consequences of taking the law into your own hands.

The Big Heat is unflinchingly brutal, from the very first scene of Duncan's suicide throughout the whole movie it portrays violence as gritty and scaring, both literally and figuratively. This is very different from the romanticizing of violence and killing that many films, mostly modern, revel in. Nor is it gleeful or stylized, it is presented as what it is, horrible.

4. Double Indemnity (1944)

By 1944, Film Noir had been around for a couple years, but had yet to produce a true masterpiece, not just of the genre but in general. This all changed with the release of Double Indemnity, which turned out to be one of the best movies ever made and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, bringing critical legitimacy to the genre.

The plot is simple and his been imitated countless times since. Insurance salesmen Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is seduced by housewife Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) who convinces him to help her murder her husband (Tom Powers) so they can be together and collect the insurance. Neff's actions bring about the suspicion of his friend, insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), who begins to look into the case. While by today's standards this plot may not seem all that unusual, in 1944 it was unheard of, and controversial. Double Indemnity brought together a tremendous collection of talent. It is based on a novel by James M. Cain (Mildred Peirce, The Postman Always Rings Twice), co-written by Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely) with director Billy Wilder (Ace in the Hole, Sunset Boulevard) and shot by John F. Seitz (This Gun For Hire, Sunset Boulevard). Interestingly enough, Wilder chose to have his three leads playing against type: MacMurray and Stanwyck were usually cast as heroes and heroines, while Edward G. Robinson was a gangster, not a hero. Stanwyck especially was a huge star, and not only did she play a villain, but did so in a blond wig, covering, her signature red hair, which many people complained made her look cheap, but that was purposeful: Phyllis is a cheap character. Wilder was unafraid of portraying his main characters in a bad light, which is key to the seedy world of Noir, where heroes are hard to come by.

There isn't a movie that exemplifies classic Noir more than Double Indemnity: the voice over narrations, Stanwyck's femme fatale, the razor sharp back-and-forth dialogue, moody black and white cinematography, and a plot so bawdy that Wilder had trouble getting it past the censors. It is a shinning example of when a great story is turned into a great script and executed by a master director with pitch-perfect actors. While some movies simmer under the surface, Double Indemnity wears it's salaciousness on his sleeve.

3. Touch of Evil (1958)

It can be argued that Orson Welles both began and ended the classic Noir period, Citizen Kane's influence started it off and Touch of Evil brought it to a close. As film advanced into the 60s, the studio system was dying and filmmakers were starting to get more and more creative freedom. Unfortunately for Welles, the studio was still in control when he made Touch of Evil and it's final cut was taken out of his hands, as had happened so many times in his career. Whether in it's butchered theatrical version or the (mostly) restored 1998 cut based on Welles notes, Touch of Evil is an amazing movie.

The story is set in a Mexican-American border town, as Mexican drug enforcement officer Mike Vargas (Charleton Heston) investigates a bombing on the American side of the border. His investigation puts both himself and his American wife (Janet Leigh) in danger from the local gangs. Vargas also begins looking into the local police captain Hank Quinlan (Welles), who he suspects may be corrupt. Based on  the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson, Touch of Evil is full of great side characters, which are portrayed by numerous great character actors like Ray Collins, Joanna Moore, Akim Tamiroff, and Joseph Calleia while big stars of the past (Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Joseph Cotten) and the future (Dennis Weaver) fill in for minor roles. Aesthetically, Welles, the production crew, and veteran cinematographer Russell Metty create a gritty, dirty, dark border town that is devoid of Hollywood flash and polish. As always, Welles is a master of the camera and continued to experiment with long takes and drastic angles. In all respects, it is a very well crafted movie. Touch of Evil is the last of Welles big pictures, but it is a high point not only in his career but in the history of film.

Touch of Evil is the last great Film Noir and it is a fitting close to the era because of how well it captures the themes, vibe, and look of the genre while also being in the upper-echelon of production, direction. writing, and acting standards.

2. The Third Man (1949)

Despite the big influence of German expressionism in Film Noir, and the fact that the name itself is French, it seems to be a predominantly an American genre. While streets of Los Angeles and New York City became synonymous with Noir, it is not a genre that is restricted to those places, or even America. Case and point is The Third Man, which is set and shot in post-World War II Vienna, Austria, yet is one of the truest-to-it's-roots Noirs ever made.

Written by novelist and screenwriter Graham Greene, The Third Man focuses on American pulp-western writer Holly Martins as he arrives in Vienna to accept a job offer from his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). He is disappointed to find Lime was supposedly killed recently in a traffic accident, yet Martins doesn't buy it and begins to look into it, attempting to find the mysterious "third man" at the scene of the accident. Martins begins to dig into the case, where he encounters Lime's suspicious friends Baron Kurtzu (Ernst Deutsch), Popescu (Siegfried Breuer), and Dr. Winkle (Erich Ponto), as well as his girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Also complicating things is Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), who was looking into Lime's black market connections and wants Martins out of the way before he can muddle up the investigation. Whether Lime is alive or dead is the mystery of the first half of the movie, while the second half takes the plot in a different direction. The story is well crafted and the dialogue perfect, both capture the moral ambiguity of post-War Europe while the lesser know European actors filling the ancillary roles adds to the immersion in the setting. The on-location shooting and terrific use of local scenery also aides this. Director Carol Reed liberally uses harsh camera angles and unbalanced shots to give the viewer a feeling of the uneasy atmosphere of Vienna at that time. The Third Man makes you feel like Martins, like a foreigner in a strange city, by using Anton Karas's famous and bizarre zither music and putting in a lot of dialogue in non-English languages without subtitles. The audience is just as confused as Martins. Reed and cinematographer Robert Krasker (Brief Encounter, Odd Man Out) create the most terrifically shot Noir in movie history, using the natural shadows of the bombed out Vienna rubble and wet stone streets for a completely unique looking visual experience. This includes the outstanding final chase scene in the sewers below the city which uses shadows and sound as well as any movie in history.

The Third Man is not only a unique Noir, but unique in all of film, it has all the vibes of a Noir but is transplanted to a new, fascinating local that is taken full advantage of by Reed and Greene. Both the big American stars and the lesser known foreign actors give terrific performances which gives the movie an international feeling, much like post-War Vienna, divided by the Allies.

1. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Whether it be in the hardboiled fiction that inspired it, or the films themselves, nothing quite says Noir like Los Angeles and Hollywood. The city produced so many of the films as well as serving as their setting. They are as much a part of the genre as the femme fatale. No Noir captures this better than Sunset Boulevard, where the city of Los Angeles and the world of Hollywood are as much characters as William Holden and Gloria Swanson.

Holden plays Joe Gillis, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who can't sell a script and is on the run from repo men after his car. He takes refuge in an old, seemingly abandoned, mansion from Hollywood's old days. He soon discovers that it is not empty, but is in fact inhabited by former silent movie star Norma Desmond (Swanson), who has now faded into obscurity, and her loyal butler Max (Erich von Stroheim). Desmond hires Gillis to clean up the script she has write as her comeback film, though he soon moves into the house and become more than just an employee to Desmond, who dotes on him with both love and gifts. Gillis soon desires escape from Norma's clutches, something he finds in fresh-faced screenwriter Betty Schaefer (Betty Olson), who wants to collaborate on a screen play with him. Gillis tries to keep both women ignorant of the other, but Desmond eventually finds out and descends into a jealous madness, aided by the stress of her "comeback." Expertly directed by Billy Wilder and written by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and D.M. Marshman Jr, Sunset Boulevard is full of classic, crackling dialogue and cynicism. It is one of the most quotable movies in history, though it never sacrifices meaning for a clever line. One of the things that makes the movie special is the depth Wilder goes to in add realism to the story. For example, When Desmond shows one of her old movies, it is Queen Kelly (1929), which starred Swanson and was directed by von Stroheim, who plays Desmond's former director and current butler in the movie. When Desmond plays cards with her old silent movie friends, they are real silent stars Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, and H.B. Warner. Director Cecil B. De Mille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper also play themselves in the movie. Wilder puts this and many more touches into the film, including using real life Los Angeles locals and the actual Paramount lot for scenes at the studio. It is a film that wants you to believe the story it is telling, and does a perfect job executing it.

Sunset Boulevard attacks much of the Hollywood structure and was not well received by the parts of the industry it criticized. By those within the industry who could relate to the harshness of Hollywood, it drew passionate praise. Barbara Stanwyck kissed the hem of Swanson's dress after the premier and many old silent film stars were so overcome they didn't appear in public after seeing it. Today, it is still one of the best looks into Golden Age Hollywood while also chronicling the unraveling of a fragile mind and the effects the cold-hearted industry has on those it discards.