MOFO Top 10: The 1930's

[rauldc14]

Lets go to the golden ages of film: the 30's.

This is an interesting decade for me, mainly because though I haven't seen a lot, I've definitely liked what I've seen.

[Tyler1]

1. M (Lang)
2. The Grand Illusion (Renoir)
3. All Quiet On The Western Front (Milestone)
4. Trouble In Paradise (Lubitsch)
5. Story Of The Last Chrysanthemum (Mizoguchi)
6. Stagecoach (Ford)
7. Scarface (Hawks)
8. Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Lang)
9. L'Age d'or (Bunuel)
10. The 39 Steps (Hitchcock)

In fact, i have only seen about 3 dozen movies from the 30s. Hopefully this thread will bring up some good gems for me.

[Godoggo]

1. Bringing Up Baby
2. Angels With Dirty Faces
3. Frankenstein
4.The Wizard of Oz
5. The Grand Illusion
6. Scarface
7. Holiday
8. The Public Enemy
9. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
10. Little Women

[re93animator]

1. M
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Frankenstein
4. Bringing Up Baby
5. Vampyr
6. Modern Times
7. Angels with Dirty Faces
8. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
9. The Roaring Twenties
10. A Night at the Opera

[ash_is_the_gal]

hokay, i feel better because Tyler said he's only seen 3 dozen films. anyway, here's mine-

Baby Face
Jezebel
Dark Victory
Of Human Bondage
City Lights
It Happened One Night
Freaks
The Petrified Forest
Marked Woman
Born to be Bad

lots of pre-code and Bette Davis.

[mark f]

My choices (at least today and in close to order):

Gone With the Wind
Pygmalion
The Wizard of Oz
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
My Man Godfrey
The Young in Heart
Modern Times
The Baker's Wife
Bringing Up Baby
Love Me Tonight

[linespalsy]

1. Freaks
2. King Kong
3. Olympiad
4. City Lights
5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
6. Hell's Angels
7. You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
8. My Man Godrey
9. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
10. The Devil-Doll

[mark f]

I meant to include Olympia, but I knew that nobody would include The Baker's Wife or Love Me Tonight.

[Aniko]

Here are my top ten for the 1930's (at the moment)...

Top Hat (1935)
City Lights (1931)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Love Affair (1939)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Stage Door (1937)
The Young in Heart (1938)


.......
Again, I know theses doesn't count, but the 30's and 40's are my favorite years, so these are my ten that almost made it to the top and are worth sharing.

The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Captain Blood (1935), Bachelor Mother (1939), A Slight Case of Murder (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Women (1939), (1936), Holiday (1938), Topper (1937), A Night at the Opera (1935), Merrily We Live (1938)

[wintertriangles]

1. Vampyr
2. The Rules of the Game
3. l'Age d'Or
4. M
5. Threepenny Opera
6. Blood of a Poet
7. City Lights
8. l'Atalante
9. Island of Lost Souls
10. Port of Shadows

[linespalsy]

I meant to include Olympia, but I knew that nobody would include The Baker's Wife or Love Me Tonight.

I figured both Olympia and City Lights were covered by your "at least today" clause.

Gone With the Wind was on my "some other time" list, along with several others.

[rauldc14]

Well I was going to watch some more 30's, but I'll just submit now:

1. It Happened One Night
2. Wizard of Oz
3. Bringing Up Baby
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
6. M
7. Horse Feathers
8. Duck Soup
9. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
10. You Can't Take it With You

[Thursday Next]

1. The Thin Man
2. Camille
3. La Regle du Jeu
4. It Happened One Night
5. Gone With the Wind
6. Ninotchka
7. The Wizard of Oz
8. Freaks
9. King Kong
10. The Bride of Frankenstein

[rauldc14]

I'm glad that nobody mentioned Shanghai Express. I just watched that film, and it's literally unwatchable ever again.

[mark f]

There are similar threads elsewhere at the site, but the above list of mine should have included James Whale's best film, Show Boat.

[Tyler1]

I'm glad that nobody mentioned Shanghai Express. I just watched that film, and it's literally unwatchable ever again.

I've not seen any Josef Von Sternberg film (due to my lack of interest), so I can't give my opinion. But anyway, what was so terrible about it?

*And I just realised that I had Trouble In Paradise at no. 4 on my list?!?!:eek: It's definitely the best of the decade.

[rauldc14]

Just personally thought it was dull. I really couldn't attach myself to any of the characters. The storyline could have worked, but it just wasn't intricate enough for me. And, even for an 80 minute film, it dragged in some spots.

[rauldc14]

I think if I saw some repeated viewings of Stagecoach, it could crack my top 10. I'm sure, as always through the first viewing I missed a lot.

[mark f]

Re: Shanghai Express, von Sternberg is all about exotic atmosphere, sets, costumes and some kind of sexual power stuggle between the stars. His films have very little plot or action, but they're often quite kinky. I think his best are The Blue Angel and The Last Command.

[Upton]

On the hypothetical all-time Oscars ballot, von Sternberg's Scarlett Empress would get a nom from me for best art direction


http://oi47.tinypic.com/5plndg.jpg


L'ATALANTE
PORT OF SHADOWS
HEROES FOR SALE
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
THE RULES OF THE GAME
THE LADY VANISHES
NOTHING SACRED
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY

[rauldc14]

Re: Shanghai Express, von Sternberg is all about exotic atmosphere, sets, costumes and some kind of sexual power stuggle between the stars. His films have very little plot or action, but they're often quite kinky. I think his best are The Blue Angel and The Last Command.


Just not that exciting to me. Maybe it is more stunning from an artistic point of view, but I've seen plenty more films that I believe excelled better in that category.

[will.15]

Just to be different, ten best by studio:

Warner Brothers (no order)

I Am s Prisoner in a Chain Gang

Jezebel

Public Enemy

Angels with Dirty Faces

The Roaring Twenties

The Petrified Forest

The Mystery of the Wax Museum

The Adventures of Robin Hood

42nd Street

Svengali

[mark f]

Just not that exciting to me. Maybe it is more stunning from an artistic point of view, but I've seen plenty more films that I believe excelled better in that category.

I agree with you. I'm not defending the guy. He made two or three good flicks, but most of his stuff I give 2 or 2.5. It still has the stamp of an auteur and is pretty easy to identify as his even if somebody is not into his aesthetic.

[rauldc14]

It's a shame because when I read a brief description of the film I thought it would have potential

[rauldc14]

Updated top 10 of the 1930s

1. It Happened One Night
2. Wizard of Oz
3. Bringing Up Baby
4. M
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
6. The Public Enemy
7. Stagecoach
8. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
9. Horsefeathers
10. Destry Rides Again

[Tyler1]

Updating mine as well:

1. Trouble In Paradise (Lubitsch)
2. Make Way For Tomorrow (McCarey)
3. Humanity And Paper Balloons (Yamanaka)
4. M (Lang)
5. City Lights (Chaplin)
6. The Grand Illusion (Renoir)
7. Story Of The Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi)
8. My Man Godfrey (La Cava)
9. Stagecoach (Ford)
10. Scarface (Hawks)

[rauldc14]

Tyler, I have to check out a lot of those that you have in your top 10. They may be great films.

[Harry Lime]

So is this a game or a tournament or something?

Edit: I just noticed the dates on the earlier posts, where was I?

[linespalsy]

where was I?

Probably somewhere watching Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Just looked at mine to see if it's due for an update. ....it isn't.

[Harry Lime]

Probably somewhere watching Mr. Popper's Penguins...
...for the 20th time!

[syj]

10. The Thin Man
9. Holiday
8. M
7. Stagecoach
6. Grand Illusion
5. The Lady Vanishes
4. L'Atalante
3. Wizard of Oz
2. It Happened One Night
1. City Lights

I haven't seen as much from this decade as I would have liked, but there were still a few that were tough to leave off, like Scarface and Bringing up Baby. I really want to watch some of the Japanese films from the 1930s that Tyler mentioned.