1930s CLASSICS : UNDER THE RADAR
Excellent films that I enjoyed which didn't make it on the Classic 100 List
(Nothing is rated lower than a 6)
(*excludes non-english language and Christmas movies)
(Nothing is rated lower than a 6)
(*excludes non-english language and Christmas movies)
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- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellLouis CalhernThe adventures of an egoistic con man and his glamorous accomplice.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJoan CrawfordGene RaymondFranchot ToneA working girl's fortunes improve when she marries into money, but happiness is not so easily won.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsJoan CrawfordFranchot ToneRobert YoungA lounge singer is sent by a count to pose as a wealthy socialite.
- DirectorLansing C. HoldenIrving PichelStarsHelen GahaganRandolph ScottHelen MackA group of explorers search of the legendary "flame of life," a mysterious force that bestows immortality.
- DirectorFrank CapraAllan DwanRoy William NeillStarsWalter HustonPat O'BrienKay JohnsonSocially-conscious banker Thomas Dickson faces a crisis when his protégé is wrongly accused for robbing the bank, gossip of the robbery starts a bank run, and evidence suggests Dickson's wife had an affair...all during the same day.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsKay FrancisBasil RathboneIan HunterAging down on her luck cabaret singer murders a respectable composer. On trial she slowly gives in and explains her crime. They had a complicated history.
- DirectorRay EnrightBusby BerkeleyStarsJoan BlondellDick PowellRuby KeelerA multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsBette DavisDonald WoodsMargaret LindsayThe lifestyles of Arlene and Valkyr Bradford, half-sisters from a respected San Francisco family, diverge markedly as Arlene takes up with criminals.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLeslie HowardBette DavisOlivia de HavillandAn actor of the stage finds himself pursued by a lovestruck fan while trying to patch up a tempestuous relationship with his actress lover.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsRobert MontgomeryRosalind RussellMay WhittyWhen a rich but cantankerous dowager on an isolated estate hires an engaging handyman, her niece/companion becomes suspicious of his motives.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMargaret SullavanHerbert MarshallFrank MorganA naive girl just out of a cloistered orphanage finds that being a 'good fairy' to strangers makes life awfully complicated.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsMiriam HopkinsJoel McCreaFay WrayAn heiress switches places with her secretary in order to find a man who will love her for who she is and not for her money.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneyGeorge RaftBarton MacLaneAn altruistic department-store owner hires ex-convicts in order to give them a second chance at life. Unfortunately, one of the convicts he hires recruits two of his fellow ex-convicts in a plan to rob the store.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsMargaret SullavanHenry FondaCharles ButterworthA comedy about marriage and everything relating to it. New York novelist Henry Fonda meets up with an actress, Margaret Sullavan, and the two date and later marry, though neither knows of the other's fame. The real adventure begins on the honeymoon, when this screwball comedy really heats up with insults and arguments.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsWarren WilliamLoretta YoungWallace FordA working girl is menaced by her tyrannical employer.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsWalter HustonKaren MorleyFranchot ToneA political hack becomes President during the height of the Depression and undergoes a metamorphosis into an incorruptible statesman after a near-fatal accident.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsWarren WilliamBette DavisGuy KibbeeJailbird is hired to lead a dimwitted candidate's campaign for governor.
- DirectorRowland BrownStarsGeorge BancroftJudith AndersonFrances DeeBill Bailey (George Bancroft) is a Los Angeles, California bail bondsman who lives in a world of complete, casual corruption, where all he has to do is pick up the phone to get the charges against a client dismissed. He falls in love with a slumming socialite who bluntly and startlingly declares her sexual preferences with this immortal line: "If I could find a man who would be my master and give me a good thrashing, I'd follow him around like a dog on a leash."
- DirectorJames FloodElliott NugentStarsWarren WilliamSidney FoxAline MacMahonProsecutor becomes a defense attorney after an innocent man is sent to an electric chair.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsPhillips HolmesSylvia SidneyFrances DeeA poor factory worker employed by a wealthy uncle falls in love with a beautiful heiress, but his happiness and promising future are jeopardized by a previous affair with a coworker he impregnated.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJoan CrawfordClark GableFranchot ToneAn 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.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsClark GableLoretta YoungJack OakieDuring the Klondike Gold Rush, a traveler purchases a dog to lead the way toward the treasure, but reconsiders his journey when he finds a stranded widow.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCarole LombardJames StewartCharles CoburnWhile on a business trip, an ambitious young lawyer meets and immediately falls in love with a stranger. They wed the following day, and tragedy soon strikes.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRobert MontgomeryJoan CrawfordClark GableDill leaves Mary standing at the altar in order to marry his old flame, Connie, instead. Knowing that Mary still has feelings for Dill, Jeff keeps quiet about his own love for her.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonMarian MarshH.B. WarnerThe City Editor of a sleazy tabloid goes against his own journalistic ethics to resurrect a twenty year old murder case... with tragic results.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsClark GableMyrna LoySpencer TracyJim is a test pilot. His wife Ann and best friend Gunner try their best to keep him sober. But the life of a test pilot is anything but safe.
- DirectorLloyd BaconMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisHumphrey BogartLola LaneA crusading district attorney persuades a clip joint hostess to testify against her mobster boss after her innocent sister is accidentally murdered during one of his unsavory parties.
- DirectorHarold S. BucquetStarsLionel BarrymoreCedric HardwickeBeulah BondiA cantankerous old man takes in his beloved, orphaned grandson, whom he must protect at all costs with the help of an agent of Death and a magical apple tree.
- DirectorThornton FreelandStarsDolores Del RíoGene RaymondRaul RoulienA bandleader woos a Latin flame who is already engaged to his employer.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRuth ChattertonLouis CalhernHelen Jerome EddyThe San Francisco earthquake shakes up the life of Jenny, a madam who gives birth to an illegitimate son and gives him up to protect him.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsCarl BrissonVictor McLaglenJack OakieA homicide detective with an eye for the ladies, investigating a murder in Earl Carroll's Vanities, allows the music revue to continue during the investigation.
- DirectorPhil GoldstoneStarsZita JohannJohn MiljanAlan DinehartA young woman with a difficult past is sentenced for a murder she didn't commit, but revealing the truth could hurt people she loves.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLew AyresRobert ArmstrongJean HarlowPrizefighter 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.
- DirectorCharles BrabinCharles VidorStarsBoris KarloffLewis StoneKaren MorleyEnglishmen race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan before the sinister Fu Manchu does.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJohn BarrymoreKatharine HepburnBillie BurkeA man, Hilary Fairfield returns home after fifteen years in a mental asylum. However, he finds things are not the way they were when he left.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsSylvia SidneyFredric MarchAdrianne AllenA 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.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge BrentLyle TalbotA torch singer becomes a farmer's mail-order bride.
- DirectorSidney FranklinStarsNorma ShearerRobert MontgomeryReginald DennyDivorced couple unexpectedly meet each other during their honeymoon and rekindle their love.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsJohn BarrymoreMarian MarshDonald CrispThrough hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsBette DavisWarren WilliamAlison SkipworthA double-crossing woman, the two-timing P.I. she hired, the corpulent "empress of crime", and a gentleman thief are all after a legendary priceless eighth-century ram's horn.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontRobert Z. LeonardStarsAnn HardingRobert MontgomeryMyrna LoyMary, a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher. Her suitor Jimmy is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife without telling Mary who she is.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsSylvia SidneyHenry FondaFred MacMurrayA railroad man from the city befriends a mountain girl in a Kentucky family feud.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettBrian AherneAlan MowbrayDizzy society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome "tramp" who shows up at her doorstep and soon ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of her pretty Geraldine.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRobert MontgomeryMaureen O'SullivanEdward ArnoldFarmers take in an injured racketeer and try to reform him.
- DirectorJ. Walter RubenStarsLionel BarrymoreJean ArthurChester MorrisA G-man goes undercover to infiltrate a gang, helping the group's leader escape from prison to gain his trust.
- DirectorRowland BrownJohn CromwellStarsRichard DixRochelle HudsonTom BrownChain gang prisoners forced to construct a "liberty highway" for their overseer chasten under his brutal stewardship, causing Duke Ellis to mastermind a mass riot.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsWalter HustonPhillips HolmesConstance CummingsAfter a failed attempt at running for governor, D.A. Mark Brady is appointed warden of the state prison where many of the criminals he prosecuted are incarcerated.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsClark GableCarole LombardDorothy MackaillAn on-the-lam New York card shark marries a small-town librarian who thinks he's a businessman.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleGuy KibbeeSlim SummervilleA little girl named Star lives with the lighthouse keeper who rescued her when her parents drowned. A truant officer decides she should go to boarding school, but she's rescued by relatives.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsAdolphe MenjouDorothy DellCharles BickfordBookie Sorrowful Jones receives a little girl as an IOU.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandLewis StoneAndy has problems raising the last payment for a used car and juggling three pretty girls with an upcoming country club dance scheduled.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsJohn GarfieldClaude RainsThe Dead End KidsA champion boxer on the lamb, believed to have committed murder while drunk, takes refuge and finds redemption at a farm for delinquent youths.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleJames DunnJane DarwellAn orphaned girl is taken in by a snobbish family at the insistence of their rich, crotchety uncle, even as her devoted aviator godfather fights for custody.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsJean HarlowLee TracyFrank MorganA glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsRichard BarthelmessBette DavisDorothy JordanA tenant farmer's son is caught in the middle of owner-tenant disputes when he falls for the plantation owner's seductive daughter.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsNorma ShearerRobert MontgomeryChester MorrisWhen a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisHelen VinsonA gentleman thief charms a Viennese baron's wife and also conducts a daring daylight robbery of a jewellers.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonWilliam KeighleyStarsWarren WilliamLili DamitaGlenda FarrellUnscrupulous Paul Kroll, starting as a Chicago janitor, uses graft to finance a trip to Sweden where by trickery he gains control of his uncle's small match factory. By expert manipulation of everyone and employment of femmes-fatale, he parlays this into a match monopoly, expanding over many countries. Finally he meets a woman so gorgeous she turns his head away from a business that needs constant financial manipulation to survive. Based on the real career of Ivar Kreuger.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsLoretta YoungFranchot ToneRicardo CortezAn abused orphan sinks into a life of crime.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsWarren WilliamConstance CummingsAllen JenkinsCon-man Chandler and his partner Frank decide to start a clairvoyant act. Chandler falls for Sylvia, one of their marks, but their relationship is challenged when his deception impacts others' lives and Sylvia urges him to reform.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGrant WithersMary AstorRegis ToomeyEvents take an unhappy turn for two Bill and Jack, two locomotive engineers, after Bill is attracted to his best friend's wife.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsJoan BlondellWarren WilliamEdward Everett HortonVicki Wallace (Joan Blondell) takes great pleasure in teasing her husband,Tony Wallace (Warren William), who takes no pleasure at all in being teased and it isn't long before he ups and clips her on the chin. Vicki's friend and attorney, Vernon Thorpe (Edward Everett Horton), secures a divorce for her, and Vicki and Vernon are soon married. Vicki's yen for wearing revealing clothes and a penchant for inviting ex-husband Tony to dinner soon provokes the easily-provoked Vernon into belting one on her himself. She goes to Tony's apartment, where Tony is entertaining Bonnie (Joan Wheeler), who is not all that entertained by the presence of Vicki, especially after Vicki shows every intent of moving in and staying. Vernon shows up with George (Frank McHugh) and Anita (Claire Dood), evidently along so F. Hugh Herbert's lines can be spread among five players instead of three, and Vicki more or less tells Vernon that as long as she is going to be slugged by a husband, she will just go back to Tony because he is a better slugger...or something. A pre-production code film and one of the reasons for the creation of same.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsMarian MarshAnita PageRegis ToomeyA poor seamstress girl sours on her engagement to a grocery deliveryman after seeing her sister's abusive marriage. Trying to help her sister pay for a divorce lawyer, she turns to a rich playboy she met at work.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsBela LugosiSidney FoxLeon AmesA mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsCharles RugglesLionel AtwillGail PatrickA monomaniacal zoologist is pathologically jealous of his beautiful but unfaithful wife Evelyn and will not stop short of murder to keep her.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLionel BarrymoreElizabeth AllanBela LugosiWhen a nobleman is murdered, a professor of the occult blames vampires, but not all is what it seems.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsJohn ClementsRalph RichardsonC. Aubrey SmithA British Army officer resigns, burning his last-day summons to war in the Sudan. Accusing him of cowardice, his girlfriend and three friends give him white feathers. To gain redemption, he shadows his friends to save their lives.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsOtto KrugerGloria HoldenMarguerite ChurchillWhen Countess Marya Zaleska appears in London, mysterious events occur that lead Dr. Von Helsing to believe that the Countess must be a vampire.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMargaret SullavanJohn BolesEdna May OliverA one-night fling during World War I results in a young girl getting pregnant. Years later, she meets him again. Now a successful businessman, he doesn't even remember her, but tries to seduce her.
- DirectorMarion GeringStarsSylvia SidneyCary GrantEdward ArnoldA European princess arrives in New York City to secure a much-needed loan for her country. She contracts the mumps, and an actress who looks exactly like her is hired to impersonate her.
- DirectorErich von StroheimRichard BoleslawskiStarsGloria SwansonWalter ByronSeena OwenA convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsClaudette ColbertGary CooperEdward Everett HortonAfter learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsFredric MarchEvelyn VenableGuy StandingThe Grim Reaper takes the form of a Prince in an attempt to relate to humans and, along the way, also learns what it is to love.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBarbara StanwyckAdolphe MenjouRalph BellamyA librarian takes a cruise and falls for an unobtainable man, a district attorney married to an invalid.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisFrank McHughA terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBette DavisIan HunterColin CliveA lawyer impulsively marries a stranger after his fiancée dumps him.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiDavid MannersAmerican honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
- DirectorStephen RobertsStarsWilliam PowellJean ArthurJames GleasonA wealthy mystery writer uses her doctor ex-husband's non-payment of alimony to coerce him into a reconciliation.
- DirectorHobart HenleyStarsConrad NagelSidney FoxBette DavisMarianne falls in love with a con artist who has a hidden agenda.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsAnn DvorakLee TracyRichard CromwellMolly Louvain's plans for a respectable marriage with her sweetheart Ralph fall through so she takes to the road with a two-bit crook and becomes wanted by the police in connection with a high-profile crime.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJoan CrawfordClark GableOtto KrugerA mistress of one man has a shipboard romance with another and is torn between both men.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsAl JolsonKay FrancisDolores Del RíoHarry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out, that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane she kills him.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsBarbara StanwyckAdolphe MenjouWilliam HoldenA poor young Italian man, who is a virtuoso on the violin, wishes to become a champion boxer to make a fortune for his family. But what is the road to success and happiness, and what is the price?
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsAdolphe MenjouMayo MethotRichard 'Skeets' GallagherNew York Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt must save a wealthy socialite from a rendezvous with death on New Year's Eve.
- DirectorLothar MendesAlexander KordaStarsRoland YoungRalph RichardsonEdward ChapmanAn ordinary man suddenly finds that anything he says comes true. Or at least, almost anything.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Joan BlondellGuy KibbeeTravelers of different and varied backgrounds meet and interact on one night in a metropolitan train station and its environs.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsAline MacMahonAnn DvorakPreston FosterA lady gas station attendant gets mixed up with escaped murderers.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsRochelle HudsonCesar RomeroBruce CabotThe title refers to the government's plan at the time for putting an end to a lucrative racket, kidnapping. When Hudson and Norris enter a country house to get out of the rain it turns out to be a kidnapper hideout.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsSpencer TracyBette DavisArthur ByronBrash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsGary CooperHelen HayesAdolphe MenjouAn American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
- DirectorMarion GeringStarsTallulah BankheadGary CooperCharles LaughtonA man sets out for revenge after learning of his wife's affair.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsSylvia SidneyChester MorrisRobert CooganA gang of crooks evade the police by moving their operations to a small town. There the gang's leader, John Madison, encounters a faith healer and uses him to scam the gullible public of funds for a supposed chapel. But when a real healing takes place, a change comes over the gang.
- DirectorIrene StarewiczWladyslaw StarewiczStarsClaude DauphinRomain BouquetSylvain ItkineWhen Renard the Fox's mischievous pranks go too far, King Lion is forced to attempt to bring the trickster to justice.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCary GrantCarole LombardKay FrancisAfter a wealthy man finds out his wife is a gold digger, he meets and falls for a widowed mother, and complications ensue.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsClaudette ColbertDon AmecheJohn BarrymoreA chorus girl stranded in Paris is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man, while being romantically pursued by a cab driver.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsClaude RainsGloria DicksonEdward NorrisA politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.
- DirectorEdgar SelwynStarsWarren WilliamMaureen O'SullivanGregory RatoffAn entrepreneur will let nothing stand in his way of acquiring a 100-story office building.