The 85+ Best Movies of 1930
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1John Wayne, Frank Albertson, Kenneth MacKennaMen Without Women is an American 1930 drama film directed and written by John Ford, from the script by James Kevin McGuinness. The film also starred Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, and J. Farrell MacDonald. The sound version is now lost. Only a print of the "International Sound Version," held by the Museum of Modern Art, survives.
2John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El BrendelUpstart fur trapper Breck Coleman (John Wayne) agrees to lead and protect a group of pioneers trying to make their way on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Amid a harrowing series of trials, including an Indian raid, a blizzard, scorching desert sands and nearly unnavigable woods, Breck attempts to begin a romance with frontier woman Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill). Meanwhile, he searches for the men who killed his mentor -- and who may be members of another wagon train traveling westward.
3The Little Rascals: Collector's Edition III
Jackie Cooper, George McFarland, Matthew Beard
4Jackie Cooper, Norman Chaney, Creighton HaleSchool's Out is a 1930 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 102nd Our Gang short to be released.
5Stan Laurel, Oliver HardyThe Laurel-Hardy Murder Case is a Laurel and Hardy comedy film released in 1930. It is one of a handful of three-reel comedies they made, running 28 minutes. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by MGM.
6Jackie Coogan, Jane Darwell, Tully MarshallTom Sawyer is a 1930 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Jackie Coogan. The screenplay by Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, and Sam Mintz is based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. The film was the third screen adaptation of the Twain novel, following silent versions released in 1907 and 1917. The picture was made on location at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura, California. The film grossed $11 million and was the top box office attraction of the year, prompting the studio to release Huckleberry Finn, directed by Norman Taurog and featuring most of the Tom Sawyer cast, the following year.
7Mickey's Champs
Mickey Rooney, Billy Barty, Delia BogardMickey's Champs is a 1930 short film in Larry Darmour's Mickey McGuire series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Albert Herman, the two-reel short was released to theaters on February 2, 1930 by RKO.
8Jackie Cooper, Edgar Kennedy, Norman ChaneyShivering Shakespeare is an Our Gang short film directed by Robert A. McGowan under the pseudonym "Anthony Mack". Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 95th Our Gang short to be released.- Charlie Chan Carries On is the fifth novel in the Charlie Chan series by Earl Derr Biggers.
10Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John WrayThe film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War I by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals.- #24 of 262 onThe 200+ Best War Movies Of All Time
- #34 of 96 onThe Very Best Oscar-Winning Movies For Best Picture
- #135 of 191 onThe Best Movies For Men
11Mae Questel, Margie HinesDizzy Dishes is an animated cartoon created by Fleischer Studios in 1930, as part of the Talkartoon series. It is famous as the first cartoon in which Betty Boop appears.
12The Navy
The Navy is a short animated film produced by Walter Lantz and as part of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons.
13Captain Thunder
Victor Varconi, Fay Wray, Charles JudelsMexican bandit Captain Thunder (Victor Varconi) is known for his daring and his vow never to break a promise, but that oath is tested as he is charmed by young Ynez (Fay Wray), who wants to marry poor Juan (Don Alvarado), not the rich rancher her father prefers. Thunder had previously promised a favor to the rancher, who now asks the bandit to stop Ynez from wedding Juan. Complicating matters is the fact that Juan hopes to earn the money needed to marry Ynez by capturing Thunder for a reward.
14Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dorothy GrangerHog Wild is a 1930 sound film starring Laurel and Hardy and directed by James Parrott.
15Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico MarxThe well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont) when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.More Animal Crackers
- #207 of 704 onThe All-Time Greatest Comedy Films
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- #10 of 17 onThe Funniest Famous Movie Speeches Of All Time
16Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Baldwin CookeBlotto is a comedy film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
17Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Shemp HowardSoup to Nuts is an American feature film written by Rube Goldberg and directed by Benjamin Stoloff, which marks the film debut of the original four members who would later, minus Ted Healy, go on to become known as comic trio, The Three Stooges. Goldberg made a cameo appearance in the film as himself, opening letters in a restaurant.
18Bela Lugosi, Walter Pidgeon, Louise FazendaViennese Nights is an American all-talking pre-code musical operetta film photographed entirely in Technicolor and released by Warner Brothers. Viennese Nights was the first original operetta written especially for the screen by Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg. The movie was filmed in March and April 1930, before anyone realized the extent of the economic hardships that would arrive with Great Depression, which began in the autumn of that year. Although not a box office hit in the USA, the film had long box office runs in Britain and Australia. It is one of the earliest sound films to have a short pre-credit sequence. The film starred Vivienne Segal, Alexander Gray and Walter Pidgeon.
19Bing Crosby, Douglas Fairbanks, Edward Everett HortonReaching for the Moon is a 1930 film directed by Edmund Goulding.
20Walter Huston, Kay Francis, Kenneth MacKennaThe Virtuous Sin is a 1930 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the play The General by Lajos Zilahy.
21Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Sidney BlackmerThe Bad Man is an all-talking pre-code western film starring Walter Huston which was produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The movie is based on Porter Emerson Browne's 1920 play of the same name and is a sound remake of the 1923 silent version of the same name. The film stars Walter Huston, Dorothy Revier, Sidney Blackmer and James Rennie.
22Hugh Herbert, Bert Wheeler, Stanley FieldsHook, Line and Sinker is a 1930 slapstick comedy directed by Edward F. Cline from a screenplay by Ralph Spence and Tim Whelan. It was the third starring vehicle for the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey, and also featured Dorothy Lee. It would be one of the largest financial successes for RKO Pictures in 1930.
23Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie DresslerAgents of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force track down criminals.
24Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Adolphe MenjouWorld-weary chanteuse Amy Jolly (Marlene Dietrich) arrives in Morocco on the same ship as wealthy playboy La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou). Amy gets a job at a local club and attracts the attention of womanizing Legionnaire soldier Tom Brown (Gary Cooper), who visits her later. Discouraged by Amy's melancholy demeanor, Tom departs for another rendezvous. When Amy follows and is attacked by locals, Tom defends her -- which has consequences for him, Amy and the romantic hopes of La Bessiere.
25Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings, Roland VarnoThe Blue Angel is a 1930 German tragicomedic film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann – with uncredited contributions by Sternberg. It is based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat, and set in Weimar Germany. The Blue Angel presents the tragic transformation of a man from a respectable professor to a cabaret clown, and his descent into madness. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film, and brought Dietrich international fame. In addition, it introduced her signature song, Friedrich Hollaender and Robert Liebmann's "Falling in Love Again". The film was shot simultaneously in German- and English-language versions, although the latter version was thought lost for many years.
26Stan Laurel, Oliver HardyBelow Zero is a 1930 short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James Parrott and produced by Hal Roach. The film was the first to use some background music in a portion of the film and had a few early Leroy Shield pieces. Still the film did not feature a substantial amount of music.More Below Zero- #271 of 704 onThe All-Time Greatest Comedy Films
- #25 of 47 on45+ Movies And Shows With Below In The Title
- #46 of 143 on140+ Movies And Shows With Zero In The Title
27Josef Swickard, Lafe McKee, Bob KortmanThe Lone Defender is a 1930 American Mascot movie serial starring Rin Tin Tin. This was Mascot's first all sound serial. This was Rin Tin Tin's first serial at Mascot, after being dropped by Warner Bros. when they decided animal pictures would not work with "Talkies". He also starred in the later serial The Lightning Warrior, which would be his last appearance. Mascot made a third serial, The Adventures of Rex and Rinty, but that Rin Tin Tin was not the same dog. The plot revolves around Rin Tin Tin as "Rinty" and a secret gold mine fought over by the criminal "The Cactus Kid" and the legitimate owners. Material from this serial was edited into a feature film version and released under the same name in 1934.
28Ginger Rogers, Frank Morgan, Eleanor PowellQueen High is the title of an early musical-comedy produced by Paramount Pictures in 1930. Based upon the 1926 stage musical Queen High that Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler, and Laurence Schwab had adapted from Edward Peple's 1914 farce A Pair of Sixes. The storyline loosely concerns a rivalry between two businessmen that results in a game of poker. Whoever loses the game becomes the winner's servant for a year. The film stars Charlie Ruggles, Frank Morgan, and Ginger Rogers in an early film appearance. Making her very first film appearance in an uncredited bit part is famed tap dancer Eleanor Powell, whose career in musicals wouldn't take off for another five years. Powell was appearing on Broadway in a show entitled Follow Thru at the time, and a segment of the show was filmed for the movie.
29The Apache Kid
The Apache Kid is a cartoon short distributed by Columbia Pictures and features Krazy Kat. The film is the character's 149th film.
30Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Charlie RugglesYoung Man of Manhattan is a 1930 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Monta Bell, and starring Claudette Colbert, Norman Foster, Ginger Rogers and Charles Ruggles. It had been filmed in New York City.
