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Notable Film Franchises, 1930- 1939
- Andy Hardy
- A Family Affair (1937)
- You're Only Young Once (1937)
- Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
- Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
- Out West with the Hardys (1938)
- The Hardys Ride High (1939)
- Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
- Judge Hardy and Son (1939)
- The Astaire and Rogers musicals at RKO:
- Flying Down to Rio (1933)
- The Gay Divorcee (1934)
- Roberta (1935)
- Top Hat (1935)
- Follow the Fleet (1936)
- Swing Time (1936)
- Shall We Dance? (1937)
- Carefree (1938)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
- The Busby Berkeley Gold Digger's Series
- Gold Diggers of 1933
- Gold Diggers of 1935
- Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
- Gold Diggers In Paris (1938)
- Charlie Chan
- The first four films in the Dr. Kildare series.
- Internes Can't Take Money (1937)
- Young Dr. Kildare (1938)
- Calling Dr. Kildare (1939)
- The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)
- Ellery Queen
- The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935)
- The Mandarin Mystery (1936)
- The first two Flash Gordon film serials
- Flash Gordon (1936)
- Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938)
- The Marx Brothers star in their classic early comedies
- Animal Crackers (1930)
- Monkey Business (1931)
- Horse Feathers (1932)
- Duck Soup (1933)
- A Night at the Opera (1935)
- A Day at the Races (1937)
- Room Service (1938)
- At The Circus (1939)
- The "Pete Smith Specialties" for MGM
- Audioscopiks (1935)
- Menu (1933)
- Penny Wisdom (1937)
- Romance of Radium (1937)
- Strikes and Spares (1937)
- Swing High (1932)
- WantedA Master (1936)
- Tarzan
- Johnny Weissmuller series
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
- Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
- Tarzan Escapes (1936)
- Tarzan Finds a Son (1939)
- Other Tarzan films:
- Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
- The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935)
- Johnny Weissmuller series
- The first three films in the Thin Man sextet:
- The Thin Man (1934)
- After the Thin Man (1936)
- Another Thin Man (1939)
- Universal Horror series
- The Dracula Series
- Dracula (1931)
- Drácula (1931) — same script done again on the same set. But with a different crew and in Spanish.
- Dracula's Daughter (1936)
- The Frankenstein Series
- Frankenstein (1931)
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- Son of Frankenstein (1939)
- The Dracula Series
1930
- Abraham Lincoln
- L'Age d'Or
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Anna Christie — GARBO TALKS!
- The Big House
- The Big Trail
- The Blue Angel
- Bright Lights
- City Girl
- The Dawn Patrol
- The Divorcee
- Doughboys
- Earth
- Free and Easy
- Hell's Angels
- Just Imagine
- King of Jazz
- Ladies of Leisure
- Loose Ankles
- Madam Satan
- Min and Bill
- Monte Carlo
- Morocco
- Murder!
- Our Blushing Brides
- Outward Bound
- Paid
- Sin Takes a Holiday
- The Unholy Three (Talkie Version; Lon Chaney's only sound film)
- Way for a Sailor
- Westfront 1918
1931
- Ambassador Bill — Starring Will Rogers
- An American Tragedy
- À nous la liberté
- Arrowsmith
- Bad Girl
- Blonde Crazy
- The Champ
- La Chienne
- Cimarron
- City Lights
- Creation
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The Finger Points
- Five Star Final
- The Forgotten Frontier
- A Free Soul
- The Front Page
- Gentleman's Fate
- Illicit
- Limite
- Little Caesar — One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Made Edward G Robinson a star. "Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Rico?"
- M — By Fritz Lang
- Mädchen in Uniform — the first movie to explore the subjects of lesbian romance and Teacher/Student Romance.
- Man of the World
- The Maltese Falcon — nope, not the one with Humphrey Bogart
- Mata Hari
- Millie
- Le Million
- The Miracle Woman
- Night Nurse
- Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood
- The Phantom of Paris
- Possessed
- The Public Enemy — One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Made James Cagney a star. Pass the grapefruit.
- Safe in Hell
- The Secret Six
- Sidewalks of New York
- Skippy
- Smart Woman
- The Smiling Lieutenant
- The Squaw Man
- Street Scene
- Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
- Tabu
- Tokyo Chorus
- Trader Horn
- Waterloo Bridge
1932
- The Animal Kingdom
- Arsene Lupin
- Big City Blues
- Blonde Venus
- The Blood of a Poet
- Boudu Saved from Drowning
- Call Her Savage
- The Dark Horse
- Doctor X
- Downstairs
- Divorce In The Family
- A Farewell to Arms
- Forbidden
- Freaks
- Frisco Jenny
- Grand Hotel
- The Greeks Had a Word for Them
- High Pressure
- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
- Island of Lost Souls
- I Was Born, But...
- Jewel Robbery
- Kongo
- Lawyer Man
- Little Orphan Annie
- Love Me Tonight
- Man Wanted
- The Mask of Fu Manchu
- Merrily We Go to Hell
- Miss Pinkerton
- Movie Crazy
- The Most Dangerous Game
- The Mummy Another product of the Universal Horror factory.
- Murders in the Rue Morgue
- No Man of Her Own
- The Old Dark House
- One Hour with You
- One Way Passage
- The Phantom of Crestwood
- The Purchase Price
- Rain
- Red Dust
- Red-Headed Woman
- Scarface — Not the one with Al Pacino; the ORIGINAL. One of the three early talkie gangster films that in essence established the genre. Look for Boris Karloff in a supporting role.
- Shanghai Express
- Sherlock Holmes (1932)
- The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case
- Smilin' Through
- So Big!
- Strange Interlude
- Taxi
- Thirteen Women
- This is the Night
- Three on a Match
- Three Wise Girls
- Trouble in Paradise
- Union Depot
- Vampyr
- Virtue
- What Price Hollywood?
- Where Now Are The Dreams Of Youth
- White Zombie
- Wild Rose
1933
- Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
- Baby Face
- The Barbarian
- Bed of Roses
- The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- Blondie Johnson
- Bombshell
- Brief Moment
- The Bowery
- Cavalcade
- Design for Living
- Dinner at Eight
- Double Harness
- Dragnet Girl
- The Eagle and the Hawk
- Ecstasy
- The Emperor Jones
- Employees' Entrance
- 42nd Street
- Female
- Footlight Parade
- Gabriel Over the White House
- The Ghoul
- Havana Widows
- Heroes for Sale
- Hold Your Man
- The Invisible Man — Yet another product of the Universal Horror factory.
- The Kennel Murder Case
- King Kong — The original, and the most famous "giant monster" movie until Godzilla. NOT a product of the Universal Horror factory.
- Ladies They Talk About
- Lady for a Day
- Lady Killer
- Little Women
- Mary Stevens, M.D.
- Man's Castle
- Midnight Mary
- Murders in the Zoo
- Mystery of the Wax Museum
- Passing Fancy
- The Power and the Glory
- The Private Life of Henry VIII
- Queen Christina
- Secrets
- She Done Him Wrong
- The Silver Cord
- The Sin of Nora Moran
- Sons of the Desert
- State Fair
- The Story of Temple Drake
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
- Topaze
- The Vampire Bat
- When Ladies Meet
- Wild Boys of the Road
1934
- L'Atalante
- Babes in Toyland
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street
- The Black Cat Still another product of the Universal Horror factory.
- Bright Eyes
- Broadway Bill
- The Captain Hates the Sea
- The Case of the Howling Dog
- The Cat and the Fiddle
- Cleopatra
- Dames
- Death on the Diamond
- Death Takes a Holiday
- Dr. Monica
- Evelyn Prentice
- Fashions of 1934
- Flirtation Walk
- Fog Over Frisco
- Forsaking All Others
- The Girl from Missouri
- The Goddess
- Heat Lightning
- Here Comes the Navy
- He Was Her Man
- The House of Rothschild
- Imitation of Life
- It Happened One Night
- It's a Gift
- Java Head
- Jew Süss
- Jimmy the Gent
- Liliom
- Little Miss Marker
- The Lost Patrol
- Mandalay
- Maniac — completely bonkers Exploitation Film
- The Man with Two Faces
- The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Manhattan Melodrama
- Men in White
- The Merry Widow
- Merry Wives of Reno
- Of Human Bondage
- One Night of Love
- Our Daily Bread
- The Private Life of Don Juan
- The Rawhide Terror
- Sadie McKee
- The Scarlet Empress
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
- Smarty
- A Story of Floating Weeds
- Treasure Island
- Twentieth Century
- Viva Villa!
1935
- The 39 Steps
- Alice Adams
- Anna Karenina
- Becky Sharp
- The Black Room
- Bordertown
- Broadway Melody of 1936
- Captain Blood
- The Case of the Curious Bride
- China Seas
- Dangerous
- David Copperfield
- The Farmer Takes a Wife
- The Ghost Goes West
- The Girl from 10th Avenue
- Hands Across the Table
- The Informer
- The Little Colonel
- The Littlest Rebel
- The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
- Mad Love
- Mark of the Vampire
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- The Murder Man
- Mutiny on the Bounty
- Naughty Marietta
- The Phantom Empire
- Pillars of Society
- Public Hero Number 1
- The Raven And yet another product of the Universal Horror factory.
- Reckless
- Ruggles of Red Gap
- She
- She Shall Have Music
- Star of Midnight
- Sylvia Scarlett
- Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) — Like The Birth of a Nation, a landmark of cinematographic art... which was also propaganda for a hate group. Unlike Birth, the propaganda was intentional.
- The Whole Town's Talking: Edward G. Robinson Playing Against Type 9 years before Double Indemnity.
- Werewolf of London — Botanist is bitten by a werewolf in Tibet and returns to London to wreak havoc unwittingly. Yes, another product of the Universal Horror factory.
1936
- Anthony Adverse
- The Bohemian Girl
- The Bold Caballero
- Camille
- The Case of the Velvet Claws
- The Charge of the Light Brigade
- Craig's Wife
- Desire
- The Devil-Doll
- Dimples
- Dodsworth
- The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
- Fury
- Glückskinder
- The Great Ziegfeld
- The Green Pastures
- The Invisible Ray And still another product of the Universal Horror factory.
- Keep Your Seats, Please!
- Libeled Lady
- Love Before Breakfast
- The Man Who Could Work Miracles
- Mary of Scotland — Narm that nearly sank Katharine Hepburn's career
- The Milky Way
- Modern Times
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- My Man Godfrey
- The Only Son
- The Petrified Forest
- Reefer Madness — Probably the original So Bad, It's Good movie
- Romeo and Juliet — Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard version
- Sabotage
- San Francisco
- Satan Met a Lady — loose adaptation of The Maltese Falcon
- Secret Agent
- Show Boat
- The Story of a Cheat
- The Story of Louis Pasteur
- Stowaway (1936)
- Suzy
- Theodora Goes Wild
- Three Smart Girls
- Things to Come — adapted to the screen from H.G. Wells' novel, by Wells himself
- Trouble For Two
- Die Unbekannte
- Undersea Kingdom
- Wife vs. Secretary
- Winterset
1937
- The Awful Truth
- Captains Courageous
- Daughter of Shanghai
- Dead End
- Double Wedding
- The Dybbuk
- Easy Living
- Fire Over England
- The Good Earth
- The Grand Illusion
- La Habanera
- History Is Made at Night
- It's Love I'm After
- Jungle Jim — a 12 part movie serial
- Kid Galahad
- King Solomon's Mines
- Knight Without Armour
- The Last Gangster
- The Last of Mrs. Cheney
- The Life of Émile Zola
- Lost Horizon
- Make Way for Tomorrow
- Murder at the Baskervilles
- The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen
- Night Must Fall
- Nothing Sacred
- One Hundred Men and a Girl
- Pepe Le Moko
- Personal Property
- The Prince and the Pauper
- The Prisoner of Zenda
- Saratoga
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — Few movies can legitimately claim to have single-handedly established a genre. This film did (the animated feature).
- Stage Door
- Stand-In
- A Star Is Born
- Stella Dallas
- Swing High, Swing Low
- The Toast of New York
- True Confession
- Topper
- Tovarich
- Way Out West
- Wee Willie Winkie
- Wild West Days
1938
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Alexander Nevsky
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Algiers
- Angels with Dirty Faces
- The Baker's Wife
- La Bête Humaine
- Boys Town
- Bringing Up Baby
- Carefree
- Child Bride
- A Christmas Carol
- The Citadel
- The Divorce of Lady X
- Fools for Scandal
- The Four Companions
- Four Daughters
- Four's a Crowd
- Gold Is Where You Find It
- Hard to Get
- Having Wonderful Time
- Holiday
- In Old Chicago
- Jezebel
- The Lady Vanishes
- The Lone Ranger Serials
- The Mad Miss Manton
- Olympia
- Pygmalion
- Secrets of an Actress
- The Shopworn Angel
- The Terror of Tiny Town
- Test Pilot
- Under Western Stars
- Volga-Volga
- A Womans Face
- You Can't Take It with You
1939
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- Ask a Policeman
- Babes in Arms
- Bachelor Mother
- Beau Geste
- The Cat and the Canary — starring Bob Hope
- Dark Victory
- Destry Rides Again
- Dodge City
- Drums Along the Mohawk
- Each Dawn I Die
- Five Came Back
- The Flying Deuces
- Golden Boy
- Gone with the Wind — Adjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing film of all time. Still a cultural icon today.
- Good Girls Go to Paris
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips
- Gulliver's Travels — Max Fleischer's forgotten masterpiece.
- Gunga Din
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame — The Charles Laughton version.
- Idiot's Delight
- In Name Only
- It's a Wonderful World
- Jamaica Inn
- Le jour se lève
- Juarez
- The Light That Failed
- The Lion Has Wings
- The Little Princess — The Shirley Temple version.
- Love Affair
- Made for Each Other
- Midnight—Starring the forever classy, Claudette Colbert.
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Ninotchka
- Of Mice & Men
- The Old Maid
- Only Angels Have Wings
- Raffles
- The Roaring Twenties
- The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu) — Considered by many critics to be the "French Citizen Kane" (appears regularly on best-ever-made film-lists).
- Stagecoach — Another good example of the typical western.
- The Spy in Black
- Susannah of the Mounties
- Tevya
- They Made Me a Criminal
- Union Pacific
- The Wizard of Oz — Equal to GWTW as a cultural icon.
- The Women
- Wuthering Heights
- Young Mr. Lincoln
Cartoons
The Golden Age of Animation took off in this decade as Walt Disney and others stepped up their game.
- Andy Panda debuted 1939
- "Balloon Land" (1935)
- Barney Bear debuted 1939
- Betty Boop
- "Minnie the Moocher" (1932)
- "The Old Man of the Mountain" (1933)
- "Snow White (1933)" — the Betty Boop version
- Classic Disney Shorts
- "The Band Concert" (1935)
- "Brave Little Tailor" (1938)
- "Building a Building" (1933)
- "Clock Cleaners" (1937)
- "The Cookie Carnival" (1935)
- "The Country Cousin" (1936)
- "Ferdinand the Bull" (1938)
- "Flowers and Trees" (1932)
- "The Golden Touch" (1935)
- "Good Scouts'' (1938)
- "Lonesome Ghosts" (1937)
- "The Mad Doctor" (1933)
- "Magician Mickey" (1937)
- "Mickey's Orphans" (1931)
- "Mickey's Polo Team" (1936)
- "Mickey's Rival" (1936)
- "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (1938)
- "Moving Day" (1936)
- "Music Land" (1935)
- "The Old Mill" (1937)
- "The Pointer" (1939)
- "Pluto's Judgement Day" (1935)
- "Sea Scouts" (1939)
- "The Three Little Pigs" (1933)
- "Three Orphan Kittens" (1935)
- "Thru the Mirror" (1936)
- "The Tortoise and the Hare" (1935)
- "The Ugly Duckling"
- "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (1935)
- "The Worm Turns" (1937)
- Color Classics (1934-39)
- "Educated Fish'' (1937)
- "Hunky and Spunky" (1938)
- "Poor Cinderella" (1934)
- Comi Color Cartoons
- Happy Harmonies (1934-38)
- "The Calico Dragon'' (1936)
- "Good Little Monkeys" (1935)
- "The Old Mill Pond" (1936)
- "Holiday Land" (1934)
- "Jolly Little Elves'' (1934)
- "The Little Match Girl" (1937)
- Popeye cartoons (1933-39)
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937)
- Popeye the Sailor in: Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939)
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies
- "Sinkin' in the Bathtub" (1930)—the first Looney Tunes film
- "Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land" (1931)
- "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!" (1931)
- "It's Got Me Again!" (1932)
- "Gold Diggers of '49" (1935)
- "I Haven't Got a Hat" (1935) (debut of Porky Pig)
- "I Love to Singa" (1936)
- "Page Miss Glory" (1936)
- "Sunday Go to Meetin' Time" (1936)
- "Pigs Is Pigs" (1937)
- "Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937) (debut of Daffy Duck)
- "Porky's Hero Agency" (1937)
- "Porky's Railroad" (1937)
- "Uncle Tom's Bungalow" (1937)
- "Cinderella Meets Fella" (1938)
- "The Daffy Doc" (1938)
- "Daffy Duck and Egghead" (1938)
- "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" (1938)
- "A Day At The Zoo" (1939)
- "Have You Got Any Castles?" (1938)
- "Jungle Jitters" (1938)
- "Porky & Daffy" (1938)
- "Porky in Egypt" (1938)
- "Porky in Wackyland" (1938)
- "Porky's Naughty Nephew" (1938)
- "Wholly Smoke" (1938)
- "Porky in Wackyland" (1938)
- "Porky in Egypt" (1938)
- "Detouring America" (1939)
- "The Lone Stranger and Porky" (1939)
- "Old Glory" (1939)
- "Thugs With Dirty Mugs" (1939)
- MGM Oneshot Cartoons (1937-39)
- "Peace on Earth" (1939)
- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons at Universal (1930-38)
- "The Merry Old Soul" (1933)
- Screen Songs (1930-38)
- Talkartoons (1930-32)
- "Bimbo's Initiation" (1931) — guest-starring Betty Boop
- "Swing, You Sinners!" (1930)
- "The Three Bears" (1939)
- Van Beuren Studios (1928-1936)
- Aesop's Fables, AKA Aesop's Film Fables (1929-1933)
- Cubby Bear (1933-1934, sub series of the Aesop's Fables cartoons)
- Tom & Jerry (1931-1933): No relation at all to the cat and mouse duo of the 1940's!
- The Little King (1933-1934)
- Sentinel Louie (1933) Two shorts based on a companion strip to the Little King comics that Van Beuren adapted, released as Aesop's Fables shorts.
- Amos' N Andy (1934): Two shorts based on the famous radio show of the day.
- Toddle Tales (1934)
- Parrotville Parrots (1934-1935): A 3 short gag series centered around a group of bumbling parrots, released as part of the Rainbow Parade series.
- Molly Moo Cow (1935-1936): A 7 short pantomime series centered around a nimble, friendly bovine, who helps out whoever she can. Released under the Rainbow Parade banner.
- The Sunshine Makers (1935)
- Felix the Cat (Classic) (1936): A very short lived revival of the classic cartoon character as part of the Rainbow Parade series. Lasted three shorts, with a fourth one in the planning stages before Van Beuren went belly up in 1936.
- Toonerville Trolley (1936); An adaptation of Fontaine Fox's classic comic strip, lasting three shorts, with the third being the very last cartoon released by the studio. Released as part of the Rainbow Parade series.
Live-Action Short Films
- A Bronx Morning (1931)
- Catching Trouble (1936)
- MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series
- Buried Loot (1935)
- Drunk Driving (1939)
- The Public Pays (1936)
- Torture Money (1937)
- They're Always Caught (1938)
- La Cucaracha (1934)
- A Day in the Country (1936)
- Declaration of Independence (1938)
- Gai dimanche! (1935)
- Give Me Liberty (1936)
- The Great Heart (1938)
- How to Sleep (1935)
- Inside Nazi Germany (1938) — edition of the "March of Time" newsreel series
- Laurel and Hardy made a lot of short films before switching to features in the latter part of the decade
- The Music Box (1932)
- Going Bye Bye (1934)
- Tit for Tat (1935)
- The Little Rascals series ran throughout the decade
- Pups Is Pups (1930)
- Bored of Education (1936)
- The Man Without a Country (1937)
- A Night at the Movies (1937)
- Our Day (1938)
- The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) — documentary short about the Dust Bowl
- Prophet Without Honor (1939)
- Rose Hobart (1936)
- Sons of Liberty (1939)
- So This Is Harris! (1933)
- A Study In Reds (1932)
- Swingtime in the Movies (1938)
- That Mothers Might Live (1938)
- The Three Stooges first hit it big during this decade.
- Men in Black (1934)
- Punch Drunks (1934)
- Wings Over Everest (1935)
- Zero for Conduct (1933)


