20 of my favorite films from the 30-50's era
by ReaperAP | created - 10 Apr 2011 | updated - 10 Apr 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Top Hat (1935)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes
Votes: 20,685 | Gross: $3.88M
This is the first movie I ever saw when I was little and it still is my favorite movie of all time.
2. My Man Godfrey (1936)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick
Votes: 26,420
3. The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 8,635
4. Swing Time (1936)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Roguish gambler/dancer "Lucky" Garnett is challenged by his fiance's father to come up with $25,000 to prove he's worthy of her hand. But after he falls in love with a dance instructor, Lucky'll do anything to keep from earning the bucks.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick
Votes: 14,575
5. Shall We Dance (1937)
Approved | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore
Votes: 7,846
6. Carefree (1938)
Passed | 83 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A psychiatrist falls in love with the woman he's supposed to be nudging into marriage with someone else.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy, Luella Gear
Votes: 4,315
7. Kitty Foyle (1940)
Passed | 108 min | Drama, Romance
A hard-working white-collar girl from a middle-class family meets and falls in love with a young socialite, but she soon clashes with his family.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Eduardo Ciannelli
Votes: 4,047
8. The Thin Man (1934)
TV-PG | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton
Votes: 32,484
9. After the Thin Man (1936)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Private detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora are back home at last and hoping for a quiet New Year when there is a murder. The obvious suspect is his wife, Nora's cousin, Selma.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Elissa Landi
Votes: 12,106 | Gross: $4.34M
10. Another Thin Man (1939)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
An explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in new parents Nick and Nora to sort things out.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger
Votes: 8,149 | Gross: $3.32M
11. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Passed | 97 min | Drama, Mystery
A jockey has been shot dead at the race track. Famous detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora happen to be on the scene and Lt. Abrahams asks for Nick's expert help.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed
Votes: 6,872
12. The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
Approved | 100 min | Film-Noir, Mystery
Nick and Nora head to Nick's hometown of Sycamore Springs to spend some time with his parents. His father, a prominent local physician, was always a bit disappointed with Nick's choice of ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven
Votes: 6,261 | Gross: $3.86M
13. Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Nick and Nora Charles are on a gambling boat when someone is murdered. The two main suspects are at large and come to Nick for help. Nick turns them in to the police but then sets out to figure out the mystery.
Director: Edward Buzzell | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell
Votes: 5,727 | Gross: $3.06M
14. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey
Votes: 73,775
15. Harvey (1950)
Approved | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six foot-tall rabbit for a best friend, a whimsical middle-aged man is thought by his family to be insane - but he may be wiser than anyone knows.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: James Stewart, Wallace Ford, William H. Lynn, Victoria Horne
Votes: 58,204
16. Wonder Man (1945)
Approved | 98 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
After being murdered by gangsters, an exuberant nightclub entertainer returns as a ghost to persuade his meek twin brother to help bring his killers to justice.
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone | Stars: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Donald Woods
Votes: 2,493
17. A Song Is Born (1948)
Approved | 113 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
With her gangster boyfriend under investigation by the police, a nightclub singer hides out in a musical research institution staffed by bachelor professors - one of whom begins to fall for her.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey
Votes: 2,798
18. The Inspector General (1949)
Approved | 102 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A town's corrupt officials think a fool is actually an investigator in disguise.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 3,559
19. Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
Passed | 112 min | Biography, Family, Musical
The opening scene of the movie describes it best: "Once upon a time there lived in Denmark a great storyteller named Hans Christian Andersen. This is not the story of his life, but a fairy tale about the great spinner of fairy tales."
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Danny Kaye, Farley Granger, Zizi Jeanmaire, Joseph Walsh
Votes: 4,215
20. Lili (1953)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
An orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Votes: 3,930
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