Highlights from the pre-code picture era
by holly-s | created - 04 Apr 2018 | updated - 13 Dec 2020 | PublicMy favorites from American cinema 1929-1934
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1. The Iron Man (1931)
73 min | Drama, Romance
Prizefighter Mason loses his opening fight so wife Rose leaves him for Hollywood. Without her around Mason trains and starts winning. Rose comes back and wants Mason to dump his manager Regan and replace him with her secret lover Lewis.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lew Ayres, Robert Armstrong, Jean Harlow, John Miljan
Votes: 343
2. Baby Face (1933)
Approved | 71 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.
Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Alphonse Ethier
Votes: 8,151
3. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 9,138 | Gross: $4.80M
4. Night Nurse (1931)
Passed | 72 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell, Clark Gable
Votes: 4,489
5. Three on a Match (1932)
Passed | 63 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Bette Davis, Warren William
Votes: 4,392
6. Broadway Bad (1933)
Passed | 61 min | Drama, Music
Showgirl Joan Blondell, supported by her friend Ginger Rogers, fights for the custody of her son during a divorce hearing.
Director: Sidney Lanfield | Stars: Joan Blondell, Ricardo Cortez, Ginger Rogers, Adrienne Ames
Votes: 229
7. Der blaue Engel (1930)
Passed | 104 min | Drama, Music, Romance
An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti
Votes: 16,285 | Gross: $0.08M
8. Call Her Savage (1932)
Passed | 88 min | Drama
Sexy Texas gal storms her way through life, brawling and boozing until her luck runs out, forcing her to learn the errors of her ways.
Director: John Francis Dillon | Stars: Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe Owsley
Votes: 901
9. The Wild Party (1929)
Passed | 77 min | Drama, Romance
Wild girls at a college pay more attention to parties than their classes. But when one party girl, Stella Ames, goes too far at a local bar and lands in trouble, her professor must rescue ... See full summary »
Director: Dorothy Arzner | Stars: Clara Bow, Fredric March, Marceline Day, Shirley O'Hara
Votes: 553
10. Shanghai Express (1932)
Approved | 82 min | Adventure, Drama, Film-Noir
A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland
Votes: 10,315
11. Footlight Parade (1933)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
Votes: 6,083 | Gross: $3.49M
12. Three Wise Girls (1931)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Cassie moves to New York and jumps from one job to another until she lands a modeling gig.
Director: William Beaudine | Stars: Jean Harlow, Mae Clarke, Walter Byron, Marie Prevost
Votes: 721
13. Manhattan Tower (1932)
Not Rated | 67 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The lives of a number of the workers and executives in a Manhattan skyscraper are affected by the actions of a philandering and crooked company boss.
Director: Frank R. Strayer | Stars: Mary Brian, Irene Rich, James Hall, Hale Hamilton
Votes: 268
14. La maternelle (1933)
83 min | Drama
When her father files bankruptcy and then dies, Rose's fiancé jilts her; she takes a job as a maid in a Montmartre kindergarten with 150 poor children. Rose gives each child loving ... See full summary »
Directors: Jean Benoît-Lévy, Marie Epstein | Stars: Madeleine Renaud, Alice Tissot, Paulette Élambert, Sylvette Fillacier
Votes: 133
15. 42nd Street (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 13,029 | Gross: $2.30M
16. 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: 32,504
17. Bombshell (1933)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, Franchot Tone
Votes: 3,133
18. Dinner at Eight (1933)
Passed | 111 min | Drama
Affluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow
Votes: 9,005 | Gross: $4.58M
19. It Happened One Night (1934)
Passed | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
A rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns
Votes: 112,147 | Gross: $4.36M
20. Imitation of Life (1934)
Approved | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A struggling widow and her daughter take in a Black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter; the two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
Director: John M. Stahl | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Ned Sparks
Votes: 5,640
21. Fashions of 1934 (1934)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the Manhattan investment firm of Sherwood Nash goes broke, he joins forces with his partner Snap and fashion designer Lynn Mason to provide discount shops with cheap copies of Paris couture dresses.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert
Votes: 2,014 | Gross: $0.86M
22. Fog Over Frisco (1934)
Approved | 68 min | Crime, Mystery, Romance
The lifestyles of Arlene and Valkyr Bradford, half-sisters from a respected San Francisco family, diverge markedly as Arlene takes up with criminals.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Bette Davis, Donald Woods, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot
Votes: 1,751
23. Havana Widows (1933)
62 min | Comedy
Two golddiggers go fishing for millionaires in Havana.
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Guy Kibbee, Allen Jenkins
Votes: 532
24. Going Hollywood (1933)
Passed | 78 min | Musical, Romance
A love-struck teacher pursues a radio singer to Hollywood.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin
Votes: 1,912 | Gross: $0.96M
25. Zou Zou (1934)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Musical, Romance
Zou Zou tries to help her childhood friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murder.
Director: Marc Allégret | Stars: Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Pierre Larquey, Yvette Lebon
Votes: 660
26. Night After Night (1932)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy, Drama
A successful ex-boxer opens a high-class speakeasy in what once was the childhood home of a formerly rich society girl.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: George Raft, Constance Cummings, Wynne Gibson, Mae West
Votes: 1,062
27. The Beast of the City (1932)
Passed | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it.
Director: Charles Brabin | Stars: Walter Huston, Jean Harlow, Wallace Ford, Jean Hersholt
Votes: 1,419 | Gross: $0.89M
28. Big Business Girl (1931)
Passed | 75 min | Comedy, Romance
Thanks to her ability and her legs, Claire McIntyre rises in the business world.
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Loretta Young, Frank Albertson, Ricardo Cortez, Joan Blondell
Votes: 432
29. The Big Shakedown (1934)
Not Rated | 64 min | Crime, Drama
Racketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies.
Director: John Francis Dillon | Stars: Charles Farrell, Bette Davis, Ricardo Cortez, Glenda Farrell
Votes: 1,062
30. Dancing Lady (1933)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An attractive dancer is rescued from jail by a rich man who helps her to have her first big opportunity at a musical play on Broadway.
Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, May Robson
Votes: 2,664
31. Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
After the death of her father and loss of the family fortune, Bonnie (Joan Crawford) gets a job as a cub reporter while her brother (William Bakewell) becomes involved in bootlegging.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Joan Crawford, Cliff Edwards, Lester Vail, William Bakewell
Votes: 1,239
32. The Public Enemy (1931)
Passed | 83 min | Crime, Drama
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell
Votes: 23,008 | Gross: $1.01M
33. Flying Down to Rio (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A bandleader woos a Latin flame who is already engaged to his employer.
Director: Thornton Freeland | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers
Votes: 4,020 | Gross: $2.01M
34. Scarface (1932)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
Directors: Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson | Stars: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins
Votes: 30,273
35. Working Girls (1931)
77 min | Drama, Romance
Two sisters, May, older, naive, and June, younger and worldly, arrive in New York straight from the country and settle down in a boarding house. Their search for jobs leads them to find beaus and romantic trouble.
Director: Dorothy Arzner | Stars: Judith Wood, Dorothy Hall, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Paul Lukas
Votes: 267
36. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.
Director: Dorothy Arzner | Stars: Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Adrianne Allen, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
Votes: 1,932
37. I'm No Angel (1933)
Passed | 87 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Circus performer Tira seeks a better life pursuing the company of wealthy New York men with improbable comic complications along the way.
Director: Wesley Ruggles | Stars: Mae West, Cary Grant, Gregory Ratoff, Edward Arnold
Votes: 3,977 | Gross: $6.21M
38. Hoopla (1933)
Passed | 85 min | Drama
A hula dancer at a carnival sets out to seduce the son of the show's manager.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Clara Bow, Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell, Herbert Mundin
Votes: 312
39. Paid (1930)
Passed | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Mary Turner goes up for three years on a crime she didn't commit. Once out she and former prison mates plan a scam in which old men can be sued for breach of promise - the "heart balm" ... See full summary »
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, Marie Prevost, Douglass Montgomery
Votes: 804
40. Belle of the Nineties (1934)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Ruby Carter, the American Beauty queen of the night club-sporting world, shifts her operations from St. Louis to New Orleans, mostly to get away from prizefighter Tiger Kid. Installed as ... See full summary »
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Mae West, Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown, John Miljan
Votes: 915
41. Born to Be Bad (1934)
Approved | 62 min | Drama, Romance
An immoral mother blackmails a wealthy businessman after he accidentally hits her delinquent son with his truck.
Directors: Lowell Sherman, Jack Conway | Stars: Loretta Young, Cary Grant, Jackie Kelk, Marion Burns
Votes: 1,260
42. Ladies of Leisure (1930)
Passed | 99 min | Drama, Romance
An upper-crust artist hires a 'party girl' as a model; romance follows.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Ralph Graves, Lowell Sherman, Marie Prevost
Votes: 1,387
43. Midnight Mary (1933)
Passed | 74 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An abused orphan sinks into a life of crime.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Loretta Young, Franchot Tone, Ricardo Cortez, Andy Devine
Votes: 1,614
44. Night World (1932)
58 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Story of the goings-on at a Prohibition-era nightclub.
Director: Hobart Henley | Stars: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier
Votes: 468
45. Ladies They Talk About (1933)
Approved | 69 min | Drama
Attractive Nan, member of a bank-robbery gang, goes to prison thanks to evangelist Dave Slade...who loves her.
Directors: Howard Bretherton, William Keighley | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess
Votes: 1,824
46. Picture Snatcher (1933)
Not Rated | 77 min | Crime, Drama
Ex-convict Danny Kean decides to become honest as a photographer for a paper. He falls in love with Patricia, the daughter of the policeman who arrested him. Mr Nolan, her father, doesn't ... See full summary »
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Patricia Ellis, Alice White
Votes: 1,745
47. Shopworn (1932)
Passed | 72 min | Drama, Romance
A poor woman and a man from an upper-class family fall in love, but his mother will go to any lengths to stop their marriage.
Director: Nick Grinde | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Regis Toomey, Zasu Pitts, Lucien Littlefield
Votes: 879
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