1935 was a solid year for film. Some of the most famous and infamous films of all time got their first screenings. Drama and musicals were the big hits this year as the horror & gangster boom of the earlier part of the decade slowed down. The most famous singer/actor of all time arrived in a small shack in Tupelo, Mississippi and a couple of all time greats were both born and made their film debuts. It wasn't all good though, a couple of seedy scandals rocked Hollywood too.
Thelma Todd (left) was a popular actress contracted to Hal Roach studios who rose to fame starring in Laurel & Hardy and Marx Brothers films. In 1935 she was found dead in her car. Suicide was the verdict until rumours of a jealous boyfriend and murder arose. The boyfriend in question was director Roland West who supposedly admitted to the crime at a later date. His only punishment was being frozen out by the studios. Loretta Young (right) was an unwed actress who found herself pregnant (supposedly by her co-star Clark Gable, also above right). The studio she worked for, MGM, tried to force to her have an abortion but instead she went into hiding for 9 months claiming to be ill. After the birth her child was taken from her and placed into an orphanage. Where Loretta then adopted the child from. She adopted her own child to save the studio scandal. MGM of course had a hand in every part of this shameful tale.
The biggest film of the year was Mutiny On The Bounty which also won best picture at the Oscars. The second film version of the famous story is still surprisingly brutal and holds up after 84 years. TBH it is probably the best version of all. Laughton is a great Captain Bligh. A real bastard.
The 1930's gra for musicals was very evident in 1935. Top Hat was the big earner in this genre bringing two of Hollywood's most talented performers together. Modern day film fans will know it as the film that brings a smile to John Coffey's face in The Green Mile.
John Ford brought Ireland and all it's complexities to the big screen this year. The Informer was a big critical hit and won him best director. It's still masterful stuff. Brilliantly acted, tense as hell and a rare American film that managed to tap into our national psyche.
One of the more notorious films of the 20th century was released this year too. Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph Of The Will. A propaganda film made on the orders of ol' one ball himself, Adolf Hitler. Shot solely to show off the sheer size and power of the Nazi machine. It's a strange and unsettling film to watch but many filming techniques, like aerial photography, began here and are still in common use today.
Shirley Temple was the biggest star of 1935 and Curly Top built on that popularity. This film had the privilege of being the last film released by Fox studios before they merged with 20th Century films and became 20th Century Fox. Oddly enough the most wholesome film of the year ended up being banned in Denmark because it contained corruption. Ok.
Bride Of Frankenstein was the big horror release of the year. It's a brilliant movie and a rare sequel that not only lives up to it's predecessor but also surpasses it. Funny, scary, inventive as hell and technically astonishing for the time. A stunning performance from Elsa Lanchester kicked off a long and varied career for her that lasted over 40 years.
84 years after it's release The 39 Steps is still an essential film. Hitchcock was on fire with this one and a lot of modern day movies still take their cues from it pacewise. This was the movie that made America sit up and take notice of the master of suspense. I can't say enough good things about this.
The pet project of superstar producer David O. Selznick was one of the first big screen adaptions of a Charles Dickens novel and it was a gamble that paid off royally becoming the 3rd biggest movie of the year. It still holds up and still regularly appears on TV. Just look at that cast. There's even a famous Irish face in there. A daughter of Roscommon no less.
A fair few famous faces arrived this year. From left to right - Elvis Presley, Lee Remick, Donald Sutherland, Julie Andrews and Charles Grodin. Sadly Elvis and Lee were taken from us at terribly young ages but the remaining three are still here and happily still working. At the age of 83 Donald Sutherland still has a work ethic that would put people 50 years younger than him to shame.
It was a year of famous debuts too.
Olivia De Havilland in Alibi Ike. Olivia is still with us too. 102 and going strong.
Don Ameche in Dante's Inferno. This film is still remembered for its terrifying depiction of Hell.
Joan Fontaine in No More Ladies.
Henry Fonda in The Farmer Takes A Wife
Vivien Leigh in Look Up And Laugh. Within 4 years she was the lead in Gone With The Wind. Wow.
Not a bad year for film at all. Scandals and fascism aside that is. Now for a movie. As always the legality of watching films on youtube is a bit iffy so I'll leave it up to you what you want to do. It's worth bending you moral compass for this one though. Previous years 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930
1934 was a year and a half for film. Massive stars were born this year and 4 of them are still beavering away today at the age of 84. Numerous films released are still impacting movies and some of them are still being remade to this day. The Hays code was the big movie news of the year.
The Hays Code came fully into effect. A set of moral guidelines designed to whip Hollywood into a more family friendly shape after a serious of scandals involving actors and studios in the 20's especially the Fatty Arbuckle case. Blood, nudity, swearing, homosexuality, sex & drug references and other nefarious goodies all vanish from Hollywood movies for the next 30+ years. This code is the reason why married couples in old B&W films always had separate beds. Ridiculous wasn't it.
It Happened One Night becomes the first film to win all 5 main Oscars at the Academy awards. Actor, actress, writer, director and film. Something not again achieved until 1975's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest repeated the feat. It deserved them all. A glorious romantic comedy that's still influencing romcoms today. Rapid fire dialogue and great characters ensure that 84 years later this is still a brilliant watch.
The Merry Widow is the big earner of the year. A fun movie based on an opera. With the country in the midst of the Great Depression it's no surprise that audiences flock in droves to more light hearted fare than previous years. The gangster film and the Universal monster movies have taken a back seat.
Death Takes A Holiday. Another massive success this year and still an intriguing watch. Death takes the form of a human being to understand why people fear him so much. And of course he falls for a beauty.
The Thin Man. The first appearance on screen of Nick & Nora Charles. An absolute joy of a film. Clever, twisty, funny and the chemistry between it's stars Myrna Loy and William Powell bubbles off the screen. Worth tracking down if you haven't seen it. And yes Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist took it's name from here.
Cleopatra, Imitation Of Life & The Count Of Monte Cristo all appeared on screen this year and would go on to be remade again and again over the course of the 20th century. The 1934 versions still hold up though especially Cleopatra which was directed in reliably epic fashion by Cecil B.DeMille Claudette Colbert
Without a doubt the actor of the year. It Happened One, Night, Cleopatra, Imitation Of Life and Four Frightened people all did mighty business and snagged her an Oscar too. A genuinely likable screen presence who sadly went on to live a troubled lonely life. Her career evaporated by the late 50's and she only appeared on screen twice more between 1960 and her death in 1996.
Man Of Aran. One of the most famous documentaries ever made appeared this year. Famous for both documenting the tough life lived by the people of the Aran islands off the coast of Galway and for the sheer amount of fabrication shown on screen. It wasn't until 4 decades later that the full truth came out about the manufactured drama show onscreen but it's still worth a watch for it's depiction of natural beauty and the cinematography techniques used. Born this year were Alan Arkin, Shirley MacClaine, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot amongst others. Amazingly all of them are still in fine fettle and the first 4 in the list are still pumping out films at a rate that puts younger actors to shame. They made 'em tough in the Thirties.
Bright Eyes was released this year. The breakout hit little Shirley Temple who went on to become the sweetheart of the world during the rest of the decade. This fun bit of fluff is remembered mainly for her, the Good Ship Lollypop song she sang and the fact that it won her a special academy award. After being spotted 4 years previously her career was molded by her mother and the Fox Film Company who knew a star when the saw one and Bright Eyes was the first film written specifically for her. Hers was the only debut of the year though. A few massive names made their mark this year and a couple of them would go on to be megastars over the next 4 decades. Alec Guinness - Evensong Rita Hayworth - Cruz Diablo James Stewart - Art Trouble Margaret Lockwood - Lorna Doone Bob Hope - Going Spanish
They all stand in the shadow of one though. One big name appeared this year and even the children of 2018 have heard of him. The one, the only.
Donald's first appearance was in 1934's The Little Wise Hen and he's made 150 appearance's since then, the latest being Kingdom Hearts III, a computer game released this year. He's going nowhere. Now for a film. Man Of Aran. In all it's dodginess. As always the legality of watching movies on youtube is murky. So I'll turn my back and you decide what to do next.
The year of Kong. The year a Czech actress scandalised cinema. The year one the the funniest films of all time was released. Some all time greats were born. The architect of one of Hollywood's worst scandals died. America was in the grip of The Great Depression and audiences flocked to the movies as a way of escaping reality. Cinema was huge business in 1933 and they even created a new way to watch it.
The biggest film of the year was of course King Kong. It had a seismic impact on the industry and it's still amazing 85 years later. It's still being remade too with the latest version coming out last year. None of them hold a candle to the original though. The movie that made Fay Wray famous and introduced the then 2 year old Empire State Building to the wider world.
Duck Soup starring The Marx Brothers was released. A film that crazily was considered a disappointment but is now rightly seen as an all time great. It's skewered take on politics was controversial at the time and got the film banned in Italy by none other than Benito Mussolini.
Drive In Cinemas were invented. The first one opens in New Jersey and it takes a while but soon enough they became a national obsession. Half of America's future population is conceived at the movies.
Cavalcade wins best picture and best director (Frank Lloyd) at the Oscars continuing the Academy's love of big ensemble dramas. Katherine Hepburn won her first Academy award for Morning Glory but not her last. She's still the only actor to win 4 Oscars. 1933, 1968, 1969 and 1982. A record that might never be beaten now that Daniel Day Lewis has retired. Best actor is won by Charles Laughton for his portrayal of the King in The Private Life Of Henry The 8th. The first non American film to win an award. This is a film well worth digging out to watch.
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle dies. The man to blame for one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood history. After 3 trials in 1921 and 1922 he was acquitted of the rape and manslaughter of an actress called Virginia Rappe. Like certain other modern day sex scandals the victim had her reputation ruined and Roscoe walked away free. Thankfully his career went off the rails soon afterwards.
Hedy (not Headley) Lamarr brings nudity to mainstream cinema screen in the Czechoslovakian film Ecstasy. Not only did her breasts traumatise audiences but they were also treated to non pornographic cinema's first ever sex scene and female orgasm. Shocking! Suffice to say it did not turn up on America screens. In 1940 it finally made it across the ocean in a version so truncated it made little sense.
The Hollywood version of Ireland hits screens with of Peg O'My Heart getting a release. There was an earlier film in 1922 but this was the first sound version. A quaint little film but a hard watch due to star Marion Davies unique take on an Irish accent. Things aren't much better 83 years later. Some big names were born this year too including director John Boorman and actors Michael Caine, Jayne Mansfield, Gene Wilder, Jean Paul Belmondo and Joan Collins. Caine is still working away and putting in excellent performances while Collins is happy to rip the piss out of her diva image in TV ads. Both 85 years young with no intention of fading away.
A handful of very big names made their film debuts this year too and 5 pretty huge careers were born, some lasting over 5 decades. From left to right Orson Welles - Twelfth Night Lucille Ball - The Bowery Errol Flynn - In The Wake Of The Bounty Dame Peggy Ashcroft - The Wandering Jew Fred Astaire - Dancing Lady Finally a film from 1933 to watch. Tarzan The Fearless. A genuinely impressive and entertaining movie. As always, the legality of watching movies on youtube is murky so it's up to you if you want to click play or not. I'm just providing the link and turning my back.... Previous years 1932 1931 1930
1932. The year of Tony Montana. The year Maureen O'Sullivan became a star. The year one of the most disturbing films ever made was released. The year the public started to become aware of the sadness rampant behind the shiny happy facade of La-La Land. The death Of Peg Entwistle. Her death revealed the misery behind the stardom. In September of 1932 she jumped to her death off the H of the Hollywoodland sign. No one ever knew exactly why but it was speculated that it was due to her film career not working out the way she had expected after she had made a life changing move from her English home to the chaos of Los Angeles. Sadly she wasn't the last person to take their life this way.
Careers did take off in this year though. Some of them turned into superstars. We saw debuts from Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Shirley temple, David Niven and Jessica Tandy amongst a lot of others.
The year's biggest earner was Shanghai Express. A still spectacularly beautiful film from the collaborative duo of actress Marlene Dietrich and Josef Von Sternberg.
The Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs had been adapted for the big screen before but Tarzan the Ape Man was the first truly successful version, a hit both critically and financially and a film that made overnight stars of both Johnny Weissmuller, a former Olympic swimmer and Maureen O'Sullivan, an Irish actress from Roscommon who's film career had only began two years previously.
The 5th Academy awards were held in 1932 and Grand Hotel won Best Picture. A big star studded dramatic piece of work that's still influencing ensemble movies and TV shows today. Audiences flocked to it.
Freaks was released. A genuinely powerful and unsettling tale of circus folk that's still as effective today as it was 86 years ago. Directed by Todd Browning, it was considered highly exploitative and shocking when it opened due to it's use of people with real deformities. So shocking in fact that 26 minutes was cut from it and has never been seen since. Audiences were terrified and stayed away and it was only in the 1960's that the film and the beautiful performances contained within it started to be appreciated. It was of course banned in Ireland and still technically is. Yes, it is exploitative and morally iffy but it's actually bursting with warmth and heart.
Horror was still very much in vogue this year bit big hits including Murders in The Rue Morgue, White Zombie,The Old Dark House, Island Of Lost Souls, The Mummy all getting releases. The latter 4 films in this list are still honest to god masterpieces.
One of the most enduring icons of gangster cinema made his first appearance this year too. Tony Montana. Played to perfection by Paul Muni in Howard Hawks' Scarface. A highly controversial film based on the life of Al Capone and accused of glorifying crime and criminal lifestyles, it failed to find an audience at the time but is now hailed an all time classic. Remade as a gorily profane crime epic in 1983 by Brian DePalma but this version is the superior one.
The Most Dangerous Game appeared this year. A highly influential thriller/action film/horror about an evil Count on an island who hunts people for sport. The most exciting film of the year and nearly 9 decades later would still make your palms sweat. 62 minutes of lean perfection that can be watched here right now. If your moral compass will allow you of course.
1932 also saw the death of Hollywood's first animal superstar. A German Shepherd dog called Rin Tin Tin. Rescued as a puppy from a French village during the latter part of WW1, Rin Tin Tin was brought to American and found work in silent films. Audiences loved him and the success of the 20+ films he starred in helped Warner Brothers studios become established as one of the big Hollywood hitters, a position they still hold today. Last but far from least, 1932 was the year some of cinemas most enduring names were born. Ellen Burstyn, Debbie Reynolds, Milos Forman, Francois Truffaut, Roy Scheider, Elizabeth Taylor & Peter O'Toole all sprouted and all grew up to make a lasting mark on cinema.
1931 was a banner year for cinema. It was the year of the Universal monster and the year Gangster cinema began it's meteoric rise. The year Hollywood realised genre films made money and that cinema audiences loved films that got their pulses racing. The Hays code hadn't come into full effect and so some of the most famous films ever made were just about able to be released intact. Dracula & Frankenstein were both released this year to critical acclaim. Audiences lapped them up and made stars of the leads of both movies. Lugosi and Karloff did very well from horror films but both ended up typecast, much to their chagrin, for the rest of their careers.
Frankenstein became the biggest earning film of the year with 12 million dollars ensuring horror films would stay in vogue through the 30's.
Gangster cinema pushed it's way into the public consciousness this year too. Public Enemy was the big one. The controversial moment of screen violence where James Cagney's character pushes a grapefruit into his moll's face caused uproar and crowds flocked to see what the fuss was all about.
Little Caesar, The Maltese Falcon (not the Bogart version) and The Criminal Code also made an impact. Little Caesar made a star out of Edward G.Robinson who would go on to become a stable of crime and film noir cinema.
M gets released. A German masterpiece that puts both Peter Lorre and expressionist film on the map. It's dual themes of horror and organised crime ensure it does well. And because I'm a decent skin I've added the link to the full film here. (I'll let your moral compass decide what to do here) Director Fritz Lang later moved to America and built a successful career than included the crime masterpiece The Big Heat. Monkey Business & City Lights. Comedy is to the fore in 1931 as well with two comedy classics from the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin getting released. Almost 9 decades later these two are still wowing audiences with City Lights regularly appearing in Top 10 best film ever lists. Mata Hari. Greta Garbo is once again the female star of the year and this was her most successful film. An erotically charged spy flick that had audiences stampeding to the cinema. When this was re-released a few years later the Hays code was in full effect and a lot of footage was censored and has never been seen since.
The Champ. Wallace Beery, a silent actor who's career crashed and burned when sound films came along made a stunning reappearance in 1931's biggest weepy. Just like the 1979 remake this one had audiences bawling in the aisles and Beery won himself a best actor Oscar for his troubles. Cimarron becomes the first western to win best picture at the Oscars. Despite the genre's popularity over the years no western wins again for another 60 years until Dances With Wolves in 1991. Joan Crawford becomes pregnant with Clark Gable's child and the studio forces her to have an abortion to stave off controversy (Gable was married) and so as not to affect their schedule. An early example of woman as a studio asset and not a person. A situation still happening 87 years later.
Born in 1931 were Rita Moreno, James Dean, James Earl Jones, Olympia Dukakis and Robert Duvall. Dean died tragically in a car crash only 24 years later but all the others are still going strong and still gracing our screens, Rita Moreno in fact is killing in on Netflix at the moment with One Day At A Time. F.W. Murnau passes away. The director of the classic horror Nosferatu and the drama Sunrise passed away in a car crash only days before his new film Tabu opens in cinemas. The aforementioned two films are to this day still thought of as some of the greatest films ever made. Better Davis and Ida Lupino made their film debuts in 1931 in Bad Sister and The Love Race respectively. Davis became a superstar and stayed so for nearly 6 decades. Lupino though made massive strides besides acting, becoming the first woman working within the studio system to become a producer and director. A true trailblazer paving the way for others.
1930 was the start of a tumultuous decade for Hollywood. Movies with sound were being adopted across the board and silent Hollywood was dying leaving actors and directors struggling with the future. The studio system was taking off and a handful of major film studio's were making virtually every film and a series of scandals in the 1920's issued in a puritanical stance that would tame films for the next 4 decades. Here's a few film related facts and figures from 1930 with a wee treat lobbed in at the end for your viewing pleasure. John Wayne and Jean Harlow both make their breakthrough this year. Wayne in a western called 'The Big Trail' and Harlow in none other than Howard Hughes 'Hell's Angels'. Sadly Jean would be dead within 7 years while Wayne became an embodiment of America for the next 50 years. Other noticeable debuts this year were James Cagney and Maureen O'Sullivan.
Tom Sawyer is the biggest earning film of the year with $11 million.
All Quiet On The Western Front wins best picture. One of the greatest anti war films ever. The below clip says it all. Probably best not to watch it if you haven't seen the film though.
Clint Eastwood, Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery & Gena Rowlands are born this year. All four are still going strong. They built them tough back then. Howard Hughes war film Hell's Angels pushes the boundaries of just what a film can do. 88 years later it's still amazing and far more impressive than any CGI. Watch the below clip with the sound off. The Hays code is introduced. A series of scandals including the Fatty Arkbuckle trial scandalised Hollywood during the 20's and forced studios to come up with a plan to bring back a family friendly image. William H. Hays was brought in to draw up a list of do's and dont's for film. It doesn't fully come into effect until 1934 but it straight away curtails the use of sex & overt violence in films. This code was the reason married couples in black and white films slept in separate beds and we didn't hear the F-word in an American film until 1970. The film was M.A.S.H. btw. Clara Bow, one of the first movie "It" girls became embroiled in a Hollywoodland sex scandal and had her career ruined as a result. An early example of a woman being destroyed by the celebrity machine. Greta Garbo was the star of the year and one of the very few actors who successfully made the transition from silent to talking picture.
Now for your treat, a true 1930 classic for ye to watch. The type of film that if you bring it up in conversation you'll look like a full on cineaste. Luis Bunuel's L'Age D'Or. A massively controversial movie back in the day and still a pretty full on watch. Enjoy. Next up : 1931
