Best Of...
American cinema: 1930s
Of Human Bondage (1934)
John Cromwell
For the past four years, clubfooted Englishman Philip Carey has been studying art in Paris. When he realises that his work will never amount to anything more than second rate, he returns to England to study medicine...
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John Cromwell
The Old Dark House (1932)
James Whale
Philip and Margaret Waverton are on their way to Shrewsbury by car with war veteran Roger Penderel when they are caught in a violent rainstorm...
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James Whale
The Old Maid (1939)
Edmund Goulding
America, 1861. Delia Lovell is about to marry the wealthy Jim Ralston when her former fiancé Clem Spender appears unexpectedly...
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Edmund Goulding
One Good Turn (1931)
James W. Horne
During the Great Depression, Stan and Ollie's worldly possessions amount to no more than a clapped out old car, a tent and the clothes they stand up in...
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James W. Horne
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Howard Hawks
In the South American port of Barranca, Geoff Carter runs a two-bit air freight company, employing a small but dedicated team who fly mail over the treacherous Andes...
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Howard Hawks
Our Relations (1936)
Harry Lachman
Stan and Ollie are two happily married men who, one day, are reminded of their twin brothers, Alf and Bert. These two were the black sheep of their respective families, ruffians who ran away to sea and were then hanged for mutiny... [More...]
Harry Lachman
Stan and Ollie are two happily married men who, one day, are reminded of their twin brothers, Alf and Bert. These two were the black sheep of their respective families, ruffians who ran away to sea and were then hanged for mutiny... [More...]
Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
George Marshall
When America enters WWI in 1917, Stan and Ollie try to avoid being drawn into the fray by pretending to be crippled war veterans... [More...]
George Marshall
When America enters WWI in 1917, Stan and Ollie try to avoid being drawn into the fray by pretending to be crippled war veterans... [More...]
Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
George Archainbaud
Gwen Parker meets Philip Seymour, an old flame of hers, at a New York aquarium to ask for money so that she can leave her tyrannical husband, stockbroker Gerald Parker... [More...]
George Archainbaud
Gwen Parker meets Philip Seymour, an old flame of hers, at a New York aquarium to ask for money so that she can leave her tyrannical husband, stockbroker Gerald Parker... [More...]
The Petrified Forest (1936)
Archie Mayo
Alan Squier, a failed British writer, ends up hitchhiking his way across North America. Whilst crossing the Arizona desert he comes across a diner when he strikes up an immediate rapport with Gabrielle, the daughter of the eatery's owner... [More...]
Archie Mayo
Alan Squier, a failed British writer, ends up hitchhiking his way across North America. Whilst crossing the Arizona desert he comes across a diner when he strikes up an immediate rapport with Gabrielle, the daughter of the eatery's owner... [More...]
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Frank Capra
When a chorus girl threatens to sue playboy Michael Schuyler for breach of promise of marriage, the newspaper hacks soon scent a scoop... [More...]
Frank Capra
When a chorus girl threatens to sue playboy Michael Schuyler for breach of promise of marriage, the newspaper hacks soon scent a scoop... [More...]
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Michael Curtiz
Content in having dealt the Spanish a resounding naval defeat at Cadiz, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, returns to England, expecting a hero's welcome... [More...]
Michael Curtiz
Content in having dealt the Spanish a resounding naval defeat at Cadiz, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, returns to England, expecting a hero's welcome... [More...]
The Public Enemy (1931)
William A. Wellman
Growing up in Chicago in the early 1900s, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle take to crime at an early age. Coerced by Putty Nose, their piano-playing fence, they start by stealing from department stores, and then move on to robbing warehouses... [More...]
William A. Wellman
Growing up in Chicago in the early 1900s, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle take to crime at an early age. Coerced by Putty Nose, their piano-playing fence, they start by stealing from department stores, and then move on to robbing warehouses... [More...]
Queen Christina (1933)
Rouben Mamoulian
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden becomes the pre-eminent power in Europe, under the reign of the warrior king Gustavus Adolphus... [More...]
Rouben Mamoulian
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden becomes the pre-eminent power in Europe, under the reign of the warrior king Gustavus Adolphus... [More...]
Rain (1932)
Lewis Milestone
Owing to a cholera outbreak, the passengers and crew of a ship bound for Apia, Samoa are forced to stop over at Pago Pago... [More...]
Lewis Milestone
Owing to a cholera outbreak, the passengers and crew of a ship bound for Apia, Samoa are forced to stop over at Pago Pago... [More...]
The Raven (1935)
Lew Landers
Dr Richard Vollin is a brilliant surgeon who has retired so that he may concentrate on his private research. Reluctantly, he is persuaded by Judge Thatcher to perform a life-saving operation on his daughter Jean, who has just been badly injured in a car accident... [More...]
Lew Landers
Dr Richard Vollin is a brilliant surgeon who has retired so that he may concentrate on his private research. Reluctantly, he is persuaded by Judge Thatcher to perform a life-saving operation on his daughter Jean, who has just been badly injured in a car accident... [More...]
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Raoul Walsh
Returning to New York after World War I, Eddie Bartlett has difficulty finding honest work. The introduction of Prohibition gives him his first break - he makes easy money by delivering illicit alcohol... [More...]
Raoul Walsh
Returning to New York after World War I, Eddie Bartlett has difficulty finding honest work. The introduction of Prohibition gives him his first break - he makes easy money by delivering illicit alcohol... [More...]
Safe in Hell (1931)
William A. Wellman
Gilda Karlson, a New Orleans call girl, finds herself accused of murdering Piet Van Saal, the man who drove her into a life of prostitution... [More...]
William A. Wellman
Gilda Karlson, a New Orleans call girl, finds herself accused of murdering Piet Van Saal, the man who drove her into a life of prostitution... [More...]
The Saint in London (1939)
John Paddy Carstairs
On his return to London, high class thief Simon Templar, alias The Saint, investigates the suspicious activities of Bruno Lang, a society gambler who appears to be implicated in a plot to print one million pounds in foreign currency... [More...]
John Paddy Carstairs
On his return to London, high class thief Simon Templar, alias The Saint, investigates the suspicious activities of Bruno Lang, a society gambler who appears to be implicated in a plot to print one million pounds in foreign currency... [More...]
Scarface (1932)
Howard Hawks
Chicago in the late 1920s. Alcohol prohibition has bred a new scourge - gangland crime - yet the authorities are helpless in preventing its spread... [More...]
Howard Hawks
Chicago in the late 1920s. Alcohol prohibition has bred a new scourge - gangland crime - yet the authorities are helpless in preventing its spread... [More...]
Seas Beneath (1931)
John Ford
In the summer of 1918, U.S. Navy Commander Bob Kingsley is given a special assignment: to pilot what appears to be an ordinary schooner into an area off the coast of Gibraltar that is patrolled by German U-boats... [More...]
John Ford
In the summer of 1918, U.S. Navy Commander Bob Kingsley is given a special assignment: to pilot what appears to be an ordinary schooner into an area off the coast of Gibraltar that is patrolled by German U-boats... [More...]
Shanghai Express (1932)
Josef von Sternberg
Amid the throng of Peking train station, passengers board the crowded Shanghai Express, blissfully unaware of the ordeal that lies ahead... [More...]
Josef von Sternberg
Amid the throng of Peking train station, passengers board the crowded Shanghai Express, blissfully unaware of the ordeal that lies ahead... [More...]
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Rowland V. Lee
After many years, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein returns to his family estate, accompanied by his wife Elsa and young son Peter, to claim his father's inheritance... [More...]
Rowland V. Lee
After many years, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein returns to his family estate, accompanied by his wife Elsa and young son Peter, to claim his father's inheritance... [More...]
Sons of the Desert (1933)
William A. Seiter
At a meeting of the Sons of the Desert, an all-male fraternal lodge, Stan and Oliver take a sacred oath to attend the forthcoming conference in Chicago... [More...]
William A. Seiter
At a meeting of the Sons of the Desert, an all-male fraternal lodge, Stan and Oliver take a sacred oath to attend the forthcoming conference in Chicago... [More...]
Stage Door (1937)
Gregory La Cava
Against the wishes of her incredibly wealthy family, society gal Terry Randall is determined to make her way as an actress... [More...]
Gregory La Cava
Against the wishes of her incredibly wealthy family, society gal Terry Randall is determined to make her way as an actress... [More...]
Stagecoach (1939)
John Ford
One day in 1880, a stagecoach leaves a town in Arizona, heading for Lordsburg, New Mexico. The passengers include alcoholic doctor Doc Boone, disreputable prostitute Dallas, gambler Hatfield, crooked banker Henry Gatewood, whiskey salesman Mr Peacock and a pregnant young wife Lucy Mallory, who is hoping to be reunited with her husband, a cavalryman... [More...]
John Ford
One day in 1880, a stagecoach leaves a town in Arizona, heading for Lordsburg, New Mexico. The passengers include alcoholic doctor Doc Boone, disreputable prostitute Dallas, gambler Hatfield, crooked banker Henry Gatewood, whiskey salesman Mr Peacock and a pregnant young wife Lucy Mallory, who is hoping to be reunited with her husband, a cavalryman... [More...]
Stella Dallas (1937)
King Vidor
Stella Martin is a modest working girl who lives with her parents and brother in a small Massachusetts mill town. She has fanciful notions of marriage and falls instantly in love when she meets Stephen Dallas, a handsome ex-millionaire who now has to earn his living after his father's suicide... [More...]
King Vidor
Stella Martin is a modest working girl who lives with her parents and brother in a small Massachusetts mill town. She has fanciful notions of marriage and falls instantly in love when she meets Stephen Dallas, a handsome ex-millionaire who now has to earn his living after his father's suicide... [More...]
Stolen Holiday (1937)
Michael Curtiz
In the early 1930s, Nicole Picot works as a model for a Paris fashion house. One day, she is selected by Stefan Orloff to pose as his wife at a dinner date so that he can persuade a wealthy investor that he is well up in French society... [More...]
Michael Curtiz
In the early 1930s, Nicole Picot works as a model for a Paris fashion house. One day, she is selected by Stefan Orloff to pose as his wife at a dinner date so that he can persuade a wealthy investor that he is well up in French society... [More...]
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
H.C. Potter
Vernon Castle is a vaudeville comic who makes a big impression on Irene Foote when he saves her dog from drowning in the sea one day... [More...]
H.C. Potter
Vernon Castle is a vaudeville comic who makes a big impression on Irene Foote when he saves her dog from drowning in the sea one day... [More...]
Svengali (1931)
Archie Mayo
In late 19th century Paris, Svengali ekes out a modest existence as a music teacher and pianist. He hopes that by marrying a wealthy woman he will be able to enjoy a more comfortable mode of living, but when his victim leaves her husband without a penny to her name he has no choice but to hypnotise her into drowning herself... [More...]
Archie Mayo
In late 19th century Paris, Svengali ekes out a modest existence as a music teacher and pianist. He hopes that by marrying a wealthy woman he will be able to enjoy a more comfortable mode of living, but when his victim leaves her husband without a penny to her name he has no choice but to hypnotise her into drowning herself... [More...]
Swing Time (1936)
George Stevens
When his friends play a practical joke on him, dancer John Garnett arrives too late for his wedding. His prospective father-in-law is unimpressed by this turn of events and tells Garnett that he will only consent to the marriage once he has earned $25,000... [More...]
George Stevens
When his friends play a practical joke on him, dancer John Garnett arrives too late for his wedding. His prospective father-in-law is unimpressed by this turn of events and tells Garnett that he will only consent to the marriage once he has earned $25,000... [More...]