Ten of the Best Films from the 1930s
by Merick Humbert
December 21, 2022
The first talkie (a film including synchronized audible dialogue) was The Jazz Singer (1927) but it only had limited sound sequences. The 1930s was the first true decade of talking pictures, and some of which are brilliant. The following are some of the best. (Notable exclusions, The Wizard of OZ and Gone with the Wind. I wanted to go with films that are not quite as well known.)
1. The Petrified Forest (1936)
Directed by: Archie Mayo - Based on the play by: Robert E. Sherwood
“What are you looking for?” Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis) asks inquisitively of Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), the penniless vagabond who stumbled upon the gas station/restaurant she runs with her father and grandfather, for a meal and a break from the harsh desert sun.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I suppose I was looking for something to believe in—worth living for, dying for.”
As they continue to make their acquaintance, it is clear that Alan has become disillusioned in his life as an unsuccessful writer, describing himself as having, “brains without purpose, noise without sound, shape without substance.” He relates his position to T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” and says that nature is fighting back by giving men like him neuroses, that “she’s deliberately afflicting mankind with the jitters.”
Gabrielle is taken with his philosophical musings; she is a painter and has dreams of her own, hopes of moving to France and becoming an artist. The Petrified Forest is centered around their relationship and the search for meaning and purpose. These motifs are explored, and the plot develops, as the wanted criminal, Duke Mantee, along with his gang, shows up and holds them hostage, with a small group of other characters, at this little restaurant in the middle of the desert. Duke had set this place as the rendezvous point to meet up with his girl, and he plans to wait there until she arrives, if the cops don’t come first. It is under these conditions that Alan attempts to find his purpose as the rest of the film plays out.
It is a beautiful story with great acting that brings the excellent writing to life and really makes you feel for all of the characters involved. From Alan Squier, the disillusioned writer, to Gabrielle Maple, the romantic dreamer hoping to break free from her position in life and explore the world and herself, to Duke Mantee, the cold-blooded crook, Gramp Maple, the funny old-timer, Boze Hertzlinger, the young jock and gas station attendant who is full of bravado and interested in Gabrielle but beneath her intellectual curiosities, and finally, to Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm, the rich couple with financial freedom but marital strife. All of these characters come together to create an amalgamation that represents different aspects of society in various ways. It is a wonderful film, full of moving quotes and passionate moments, all building to a fun and climactic ending. It is one of my favorites.
Robert E. Sherwood wrote this play, and it was published and produced in 1935. Leslie Howard, the much bigger attraction at the time, starred alongside Humphrey Bogart, who played the hardened killer, Duke Mantee, in his first leading role on Broadway. When it came time to make the film, a year later, the studio wanted someone more well-known to play the role of Mantee, but the part went to Bogart at the insistence of Howard. Bogart was grateful to Howard for the rest of his life, believing that he owed his career to his fellow actor. Leslie Howard died in 1943, at the age of 50, when his plane was shot down off the coast of Spain during World War II. In 1952, Bogart named his daughter with Lauren Bacall, Leslie Howard Bogart in his honor.
2. You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
Directed by: Frank Capra - Based on the play by: George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Winner of the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, You Can’t Take It with You is a heartwarming romantic comedy that touches on themes concerning social class and the value of benevolence and chasing your dreams.
As the film opens, we come to discover that Anthony P. Kirby, a successful and supercilious Wall Street Banker, has recently made a huge business deal that is certain to significantly add to his already considerable wealth. The catch is that he needs a certain plot of land in the city to do it, and there is one property on that plot that he is struggling to rassle away from its owner. This property is owned by Martin Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore) and in it, he lives with an eccentric group of characters including his daughter, Penny Sycamore, a playwright, her husband, Paul Sycamore, who manufactures fireworks in the basement, and their daughter, Alice (Jean Arthur), among others. Alice just so happens to be the secretary to Kirby’s son, Tony (James Stewart), the Vice President of the family business. Alice and Tony just so happen to be in love and it is time for Tony to meet the family. This is where the madness ensues.
It is Martin’s philosophy that people should experiment with life, that they should do the things that they want and pursue their interests, irrespective of financial necessity. Fortunately, he is in a position, and has worked hard enough in his life, to be able to afford that perspective, and to give that opportunity to his family and friends. Tony is taken aback as he first meets the family and sees the chaos that transpires at their home (slews of people running about, dancing, playing music, singing, fireworks going off, etc…).
After they leave, Tony says, “Your family knocked me for a loop. It just seems like, in their own way, they’ve found what everybody’s looking for. People spend their whole lives building castles in the air and then nothing ever comes of them… Wonder why that is… It takes courage. Everybody’s afraid to live.”
One of the best things about watching an older film, or reading an older book, is when they remind you that people have been grappling with the same issues for years, and that the things that you struggle with, the things that we sometimes feel are unique to our time, are in fact the very same human complications that people have been contending with for generations. Early in the film, Martin says, “Lincoln said, ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all.’ Nowadays they say, ‘think the way I do or I’ll bomb the daylights out of you.’” That line in particular felt relevant, and it is a little comforting to know, and perhaps, at the same time concerning, that this is nothing new. You have love those little gems.
The real trouble in this picture comes when it is time for Tony to introduce his parents to Alice’s family, and when Kirby comes to realize that Alice’s grandfather is the one who is holding back his deal. It is wonderful fun, and there are powerful moments and great laughs throughout. I would highly recommend.
3. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Directed by: Lewis Milestone - Based on the novel by: Erich Maria Remarque
Focusing on World War I, or what was known at the time as The Great War, All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war films of all time. Incredibly forceful, and with a clear antiwar message, this picture was an incredible feat for such an early period in the history of film. It is beautifully shot with sharp and powerful images that tell a story that is poignant and compelling.
The film opens with a title card that reads: “This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war.” From there we are taken to a high school classroom with teenage boys. Through the windows, we can see the parade of soldiers marching off to war with the crowds cheering them on, and at the front of the classroom stands their professor. He is telling them how much they are needed by their country, how it will take great courage, and how they will be patriots and celebrated as heroes by their countrymen for going off to fight in this war. How it is noble and gallant. The boys eagerly stand and commit to enlist.
The boys then face, and overcome, some minor difficulties in training before they are sent off to war, and reality quickly settles in as they find themselves at the front and in the trenches. The battle scenes are excellent and somewhat graphic, especially for the time. It really captures the horrors of combat and keeps the audience tense and engaged. We see relationships develop and many lives lost and the primary question that this picture seems to be asking is: what for? This isn’t a film to miss.
4. It Happened One Night (1934)
Directed by: Frank Capra - Based on a short story by: Samuel Hopkins Adams
Four years before he won the Best Director Academy Award for You Can’t Take It with You, Frank Capra won his first Oscar for It Happened One Night, which swept the major categories that year, winning, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Riskin), Best Actor (Clark Gable), and Best Actress (Claudette Colbert). It is an incredibly charming romantic comedy that is all too easy to fall in love with.
Claudette Colbert plays Ellie Andrews, a rich heiress who has recently eloped, in defiance of her father’s wishes, and Mr. Andrews plans to have it annulled, finding the marriage unsuitable, and in belief that her new husband’s primary interest is in her considerable wealth. Not having it, Ellie literally jumps ship and then hops a Greyhound bus to New York City, where her husband awaits.
Ellie’s father immediately alerts the papers and the media of his daughter’s absconsion and offers a reward of $10,000, in hopes of finding her before she makes it to New York. Along the way she meets Peter Warne (Clark Gable), a seasoned reporter who immediately recognizes Mrs. Andrews and seizes the opportunity to use her story to salvage favor with his boss.
At first, Peter finds Ellie naïve and ill-equipped to manage on her own in the real world, dubbing her with the moniker “brat” and castigating her with patronizing remarks. Likewise, Ellie finds Peter distasteful and brash, but in what has become somewhat formulaic for the genre, perhaps with this film leading the way, their combative banter soon leads to falling in love.
With some twists and turns along the way and a few iconic moments, It Happened One Night has become one of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time.
5. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz - Written by: John Wexley, Warren Duff, and Rowland Brown
“What we don’t steal, we ain’t got,” a young Rocky Sullivan says to his friend, Jerry Connolly, convincing him that they should rob a train car.
When the cops come upon the open freight, the boys make a run for it with Jerry getting away, and Rocky being caught as he attempts to hop a fence.
One of the main themes of this film is how this one incident really shaped these young boys’ lives as we see Rocky sent away to the “Society for Juvenile Delinquents” and how he becomes a recidivist, continuously entrenched in a life of crime, and how Jerry ends up straightening out his life, ultimately becoming a priest. Each character symbolizes each extreme—a life of good vs a life of evil, yet it still gives the audience a complex depiction of human nature, how people are not wholly one or the other, but some combination of each and that people always maintain the capacity for redemption.
In the main plotline of the film, Rocky (James Cagney) has just been released from prison and returns to his old neighborhood where he reconnects with Father Connolly (Pat O’Brien) and befriends a neighborhood gang of boys (the “Dead End Kids”) who idolize the notoriety that Rocky has achieved as a hoodlum, looking up to him as a hero of the neighborhood. Soon, Rocky falls back into the life he led prior to his latest prison stint, and he clashes with his former partner, James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart), all leading to a final moment that offers him an opportunity for an ultimate act of redemption.
In a fantastic ending that really ties this film up beautifully, the story of these characters’ lives all harks back to that moment when they were boys, with the final line of the film: Jerry referring to Rocky as the, “boy who couldn’t run as fast as I could.”
From the director that brought us Casablanca four years later, Michael Curtiz directs this brilliant cast in what has come to be one of the most memorable films from that decade.
6. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Directed by: Frank Capra - Written by: Sidney Buchman, Lewis R. Foster, and Myles Connolly
Undoubtably one of the greatest directors of his time, this is our third and final selection from Frank Capra. In what some might argue to be the best of the three, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has been captivating audiences for over eighty years.
When a US Senator dies unexpectedly, members of his party—backed by the political machine of the business mogul, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), whose power and influence seems to be unmatched in Washington—come together to find an impressionable stooge to appoint in the late senator’s place. They see it as an inopportune time for his passing, as they are in the midst of pushing through a bill that will allow them to build a dam on a piece of land that, in return, will make Jim Taylor and his cohorts a considerable amount of money.
The man they select to take his place is Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart), an unexperienced idealist from the Midwest who is a youth leader with the scouts. Jefferson Smith whole heartedly believes in his country, his government, and the idealist principles on which it was founded, but he will soon become aquatinted with the corruption and the graft, souring his perspective and causing him to question everything that he has been taught and believed in.
One of the main themes that this film explores is what effect a single person can have up against a vast and corrupt system and the power imbalance that comes along with it. Early in the film, when discussing his father’s death, shot in the back at the behest of a powerful mining company, Jefferson says, “I suppose, Mr. Paine, when a fellow bucks up against a big organization like that, one man by himself can’t get very far, can he?”
Despite his reflections on the power of the single individual, Jefferson remains quite optimistic about what is possible and what his country values. The one thing that he hopes to accomplish in his time as senator is to establish a federal summer camp for boys, to get them out of the city for a few months in the summer and teach them the idealistic principles and values that his country professes it stands for.
He tells his secretary, “Boys forget what their country means by just reading ‘the land of the free’ in history books. Then they get to be men and they forget it even more. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books, Mrs. Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say, ‘I’m free to think and to speak… my ancestors couldn’t… I can… and my children will.’ Boys ought to grow up remembering that.”
Mrs. Saunders (Jean Arthur) baulks at his wide-eyed optimism—what she refers to as “phony patriotic chatter.” She and her friend Diz Moore (Thomas Mitchell), a member of the capital press, refer to him as a “Don Quixote” figure, and “wonder if it isn’t a curse to go through life wised up like you and me.” Mrs. Saunders knows that Jefferson’s naivety is leading him towards trouble, disappointment, and possibly worse, and she asks herself, “Why do I care?” trying to display a hard-nosed self-interest, as if caring demonstrates weakness, but what is really being portrayed is a defense mechanism that is born out of the pain and disappointment that she has found in the real world, in her life, and in her experience. If you expect to be let down, you won’t be hurt when you are. When Jefferson becomes a thorn in the side of the corrupt, and finds himself in the crosshairs of Jim Taylor’s political machine, Mrs. Saunders ends up being as much of the hero of this story as Jefferson is. She is a brilliant character and Jean Arthur is fantastic.
There are incredibly moving and inspiring moments throughout. Absolutely beautiful writing and if you’re anything like me, you might want to get your tissues ready. The only reason it isn’t higher on this list is because the ending isn’t my favorite, but as a whole, this is a fantastic picture, and a must watch.
7. Stagecoach (1939)
Directed by: John Ford - Based on the short story by: Ernest Haycox
In what is considered as John Wayne’s breakthrough role, Stagecoach is widely considered to be among the first truly great films of the western genre. The story follows an outstanding cohort of characters as they travel from Tonto, of the Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico through the desert by stagecoach.
Doc Boone is being kicked out of town by the “Women of the League of Law and Order” on account of being a drunk. Likewise, Dallas is being made to leave on account of being a prostitute. Lucy Mallory is well into her pregnancy and is traveling to meet up with her husband, who is a cavalry officer in the army. Samuel Peacock is a traveling whiskey salesman. Buck, the stagecoach driver, and Marshal Curley Wilcox are riding up front. Upon hearing that Apaches have been spotted along route, and that they will be riding through dangerous territory, a southern gambler and ex-confederate soldier offers his protection to Mrs. Mallory and joins the group. When asked if anyone would like to get off, Dallas aptly states, “there are worse things than Apaches,” and the camera pans to the puritan “Women of the League of Law and Order” looking cold and angry. That was hilarious. Then, at the edge of town, a banker, absconding with money he stole from the safe, flags down the stagecoach and hops on board. Finally, after a short time traveling, they come across Ringo Kid, an escaped convict who broke out of prison to hunt down the men who killed his father and brother.
This road story has everything that one could hope for in a western—excellent characters, interesting commentary for the time, fun and nail-biting gun fights, romance, you name it. The acting and directing are top notch and the film has a brilliant arc and does a great job building to an exciting and climactic ending.
8. The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Directed by: Raoul Walsh - Written by: Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Robert Rossen, & Mark Hellinger
Released in the midst of World War II, The Roaring Twenties opens with a newsreel-type montage and a voiceover that says: “Today, while the earth shakes beneath the heels of marching troops, while a great portion of the world trembles before the threats of the acquisitive, power-mad men, we of America have little time to remember an astounding era in our own recent history […] April, 1918, almost a million American young men are engaged in a struggle which they have been told will make the world safe for democracy.”
Over 20 million people died during the Great War. This film is about those that made it home, and what they found waiting for them.
When Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) returns home after fighting in Europe, he has the humble aspiration of returning to the garage where he worked prior to being deployed, in hopes to eke out a living, maybe start a family, and live out a simple and honest life. When he does return to the garage, he finds that the job that had been promised to be waiting for him was no longer there. The garage foreman unwilling to fire his replacement, and Eddie, of course, understands.
Turned away from job after job, there seemed to be no place for Eddie back home. Eventually, he takes up driving a cab, and when prohibition starts, falls inadvertently into bootlegging and begins to work his way up the criminal hierarchy.
With memorable characters brought to life by a stellar cast, which includes: James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, & Gladys George; Raoul Walsh brings us one of the great gangster pictures of the 1930s. Aspiration & betrayal, action & suspense, moral complexities & a love story at the center of it all—The Roaring Twenties is a must see for all fans of the genre.
9. Holiday (1938)
Directed by: George Cukor - Based on the play by: Philip Barry
Johnny Case (Cary Grant) and Julie Seton (Doris Nolan) have fallen in love and have gotten engaged only a few days after meeting on a skiing holiday in Lake Placid. When it comes time to meet Julia’s family, Johnny discovers their exorbitant wealth. “You should have told me,” he tells her.
“Would it have made a difference?”
“Certainly,” he says. “I would have asked you to marry me in two days instead of ten.”
The truth is, money isn’t all that important to Johnny Case. He is a man who wants to make it on his own; he has created his own success from the bottom up; he has saved up and now he is more interested in traveling and experiencing all that he can, discovering all that he is, and all that this world has to offer. He isn’t all that interested in accumulating wealth, and it turns out, that might be a bit of an issue for Julia, who, more like her father, seems more interested in financial gain and societal perception and status.
Prior to making their engagement announcement to Julia’s father, Johnny wonders if they ought to keep it to themselves for a while. Julia says, “I can’t see what particular fun a secret would be.”
“Can’t you, dear?” he asks with a look of sadness and confusion on his face. There is a lack of connection between them that is apparent right away. You can see his disappointment.
And then, in walks Linda (Katherine Hepburn), her quirky older sister. The playful and fun-loving connection between Linda and Johnny is immediately clear and the way that they banter back and forth is full of allure. As obvious as his connection with Linda is to us, Johnny is still in love with Julia and we just have to wait and see how all of these dynamics play out. It is a fun and charming film, full of great laughs and smart dialogue. It all really begs the question: what is life all about?
The writing is great and has quick wit. The acting is top notch, and Lew Ayres is superb as Ned, the drunken brother of Julia/Linda, who uses the booze to cope with the feeling of being trapped in this ivory tower.
Holiday is a romantic comedy that will leave you feeling warm and full of smiles.
10. Dead End (1937)
Directed by: William Wyler - Based on the play by: Sidney Kingsley
It is New York City, the slums, and a new luxury building has just been built to cater to the wealthy, who want to soak in the picturesque views of the East River and the skyline of Manhattan. They are two different worlds, living side by side.
Dead End focuses on an amalgamation of wonderful characters. The “Dead End Kids,” led by Tommy (Billy Halop), who run around the streets partaking in rambunctiousness and impropriety, well on their way to a lifetime of petty crime and penal servitude—unless something gives. One of their neighborhood idols, Baby-Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart), notorious and wanted gangster, who has just returned to the old neighborhood after years on the run to visit his mother and an old flame. Joel McCrea plays Dave, the antithesis to Baby-Face Martin, a local handyman, hard worker, and honest man. And finally, Sylvia Sydney delivers an exceptional performance as Drina, Tommy’s older sister and caretaker, who hopes for nothing more than for her brother to not get caught up in the crime of the neighborhood, and to live an honest life.
Upon being turned away by his mother for living his life of crime, and discovering that his ex-flame has become a prostitute and contracted VD, Baby-Face Martin’s associate says, “I told you we shouldn’t have come back […] Never go back; always go forward.” That seemed to be a major theme of the story—a nostalgia for something that once was, but what will never again be. And then the strength to move forward and start anew. When Baby-Face Martin attempts to enlist the Dead End Kids in a new scheme, Dave and Drina have to do their best to stop him.
Dead End has everything that you could want in a story—romance, action, thoughtful dialogue, great acting and great writing. It is a fantastic film from the great William Wyler and definitely worth a watch.