25 Best Movies of the 1930s, Ranked (original) (raw)
Charlie Chaplin appearing in Modern Times (1936)
Image by Federico Napoli
Published Jan 11, 2024, 12:00 PM EST
Jeremy has more than 2500 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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The 1920s might have been roaring, but by all accounts, the 1930s were depressing. The entire decade was largely defined by the Great Depression, which began near the end of 1929 and lasted until 1939… a year that saw little relief on a global scale, given it saw the start of World War II, which went on to define much of the 1940s. Hard times, indeed, but at least cinema was as good as ever.
Hardships were plentiful, but filmgoers found escapism and comfort in the movies of the time, which had advanced technologically since the prior decade, given the advent of sound in movies in 1927. The 1930s was also a time when color film started to get a little more widespread, even if the majority of releases remained in black-and-white. There are plenty of films from this decade that still resonate, with some of the best ranked below, starting with the great and ending with the greatest.
25 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1939)
Director: William Dieterle
Image via RKO Radio Pictures
Though its horror elements are somewhat downplayed, 1939’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame still has enough unsettling and bold imagery to be counted among the greatest gothic horror movies of all time. It takes place in the late 1400s, and has a story that involves a twisted Chief Justice, a hunchback who works for him, and a young woman who both men develop feelings for.
The story is more well-known among audiences today for the animated Disney version, which is good in its own right, of course, but changes various things about the original story to be more family-friendly. The 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is more mature and gritty, and all in a way that still holds up while retaining a certain level of power and emotional impact, even when watched today.
24 'Scarface' (1932)
Director: Howard Hawks
Paul Muni and a group of men in tuxedos in Scarface 1932
Image Via United Artists
Yes, 1983’s Scarface, starring a bombastic Al Pacino, is an epic crime classic, but it undeniably owes a great deal to 1932’s Scarface, which tells a very similar rise-and-fall story, and arguably codified that sort of narrative within the crime genre. Tony Camonte comes from very little, achieves a great deal of power and success in a short time, and then finds himself beginning to lose it all, due to his temper and other negative attributes.
There is a certain thrill in watching a character achieve a great deal of power so rapidly, even with the inevitability that it’s all going to be for nothing by the end. These sorts of gangster movies are morality plays, after all, and though 1932’s Scarface has understandably aged a little when compared to other crime movies, it still packs a punch and makes for a very engaging watch.
Release Date
April 9, 1932
Runtime
93 Minutes
Director
Howard Hawks
23 'Duck Soup' (1933)
Director: Leo McCarey
A man dances in 'Duck Soup' (1933)
Image via Paramount Pictures
The Marx Brothers were an iconic comedic team that made plenty of classic comedies that are still beloved to this day (Bill Hader’s a fan, for example). They were at their peak during the 1930s, both in terms of quantity and quality of films, and when it comes to selecting their arguable masterpiece, it seems fair to single out 1933’s Duck Soup.
With a nice and short runtime of just 69 minutes, Duck Soup never slows down for a second, telling a madcap and loose story about a war between two fictional countries being started for the pettiest of reasons. Along the way, there’s plenty of wordplay, slapstick violence, and even a handful of musical numbers for good measure. It’s hard to imagine someone coming away from such a rush of a film without feeling at least a little bit entertained.
Release Date
November 17, 1933
Runtime
69 Minutes
Director
Leo McCarey
22 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938)
Directors: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley
the-adventures-of-robin-hood-erroll-flynn
Image via Warner Bros.
Robin Hood is a legendary fictional character, and one who never seems to go out of style when it comes to film adaptations. These include Kevin Costner playing the character in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe teaming up to make Robin Hood in 2010, and even Sean Connery playing an aging version of the character in 1976’s Robin and Marian. There’s also, of course, the animated Disney version of the story from 1973.
However, what’s arguably the definitive Robin Hood movie came out way back in 1938, and was called The Adventures of Robin Hood. It’s a fast-paced, action-packed, and overall breezy take on the classic legend surrounding a man who takes from the rich and redistributes their wealth to the poor. Overall, the film feels incredibly well-balanced when it comes to delivering action, adventure, romance, and even some comedic relief.
Release Date
May 13, 1938
Runtime
102 Minutes
Director
Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Main Genre
21 'Freaks' (1932)
Director: Tod Browning
The cast gather around the Bearded Lady's (Olga Roderick) bedside in Freaks (1932).
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Freaks was one of the most controversial films of its decade, and to this day, it’s still able to divide viewers over the question of how it handles its lead characters, called “Freaks” by the title, though they are humanized in the film itself. Perhaps the arguments more surround how far that humanization goes, and whether it sufficiently does the job of not overstepping boundaries or making monsters out of people who have various deformities.
It is ultimately something of a horror movie, though arguably more of a drama, being set in and around a circus, and focusing on how various performers are made to feel like freaks, given they get gawked at by circus attendees. Freaks does show their point of view and their struggles, with the film ultimately being about them fighting back against their label and status within the circus. It’s a sad, strange, and sometimes unsettling film, and one of the boldest and most challenging of its era for sure.
20 'The Roaring Twenties' (1939)
Director: Raoul Walsh
Two men talking in The Roaring Twenties, 1939.
Image via Warner Bros.
Okay, Scarface (1932) is very good, but if you had to pick one old-school gangster movie from the 1930s to label as the very best, there’s a good argument to be made that The Roaring Twenties is most deserving. Not only do you get James Cagney at his very best in the lead role (the guy could play a gangster like no one else), but it also has Humphrey Bogart in a key supporting role, with the two combining to make this a real powerhouse film, when it comes to the acting.
And everything else is great, too, with a dramatic and well-paced story set during the titular decade, and following two friends who work together on a successful bootlegging operation during the Prohibition era. As tends to happen in these sorts of movies, things fall apart, with the second half of The Roaring Twenties feeling explosive and even tragic, making it one of the most impactful crime movies of its decade.
19 'Les Misérables' (1934)
Director: Raymond Bernard
Image via Pathé-Natan
Forget about the musical version from 2012; 1934’s Les Misérables is where it’s at, being one of many film adaptations of the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, and arguably the best. Running for close to five hours, this French-produced take on Les Misérables feels like a true and fitting epic, showcasing how numerous characters – each dealing with their own tragic lives – cross paths during a tumultuous time in French history.
It's something of a miracle that Les Misérables works so well, and over such a long runtime, too, given the wide-scale stuff surrounding revolution and class warfare feels appropriately grand, and the smaller, more character-focused moments are fittingly intimate and emotional. It does take a while to watch, but patient viewers will be rewarded immensely with a truly great adaptation of an epic novel.
18 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938)
Director: Howard Hawks
Katharine Hepburn points at something while standing next to Cary Grant outside in Bringing Up Baby, 1938.
Image via RKO Pictures
Screwball comedies were all the rage back in the 1930s, likely because life during the Great Depression was a struggle for most, and films that provided non-stop laughs and cartoonish situations proved understandably cathartic. Of these very silly and entertaining movies featuring characters who could talk a mile (or two) a minute, Bringing Up Baby is undoubtedly one of the very best.
The narrative of Bringing Up Baby is largely concerned with two mismatched people who are forced into a series of chaotic misadventures together, with an unlikely romance developing… though the film’s ultimately more focused on comedy than romance. Beyond simply being very funny and packed with timeless humor, the movie also proved influential in a rather unexpected way: influencing Christopher Reeve in his iconic portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman.
Release Date
February 18, 1938
Director
Howard Hawks
Main Genre
Comedy
17 'The Bride of Frankenstein' (1935)
Director: James Whale
The Bride with Frankenstein's Monster in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Image via Universal Pictures
There are numerous movies in the Frankenstein series, but the best of them might well be 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein, which can also count itself among the greatest sequels in cinema history. It picks up from where things were left off in 1931’s Frankenstein, predominantly being about Frankenstein’s monster seeking revenge against his creator, and also requesting that Dr. Frankenstein builds him a female mate.
The Bride of Frankenstein delivers when it comes to being an old-school blend of horror and science fiction, sure, but it’s also a surprisingly emotional film about wanting to be loved, feeling lonely, and the ways that passionate feelings can tear one apart. That it also does all this while adding in a subtle amount of meta humor/commentary that feels exceptionally ahead of its time only makes it more impressive and deserving of its classic status.
Release Date
April 20, 1935
Runtime
75 minutes
Director
James Whale
16 'The Testament of Dr. Mabuse' (1933)
Director: Fritz Lang
Monique Rolland clutching Gustav Diessl's arm in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - 1933
Image via Nero-Film
The legendary Fritz Lang fled Germany in the 1930s, predominantly because of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party’s rise to power, but he managed to make a couple of masterpieces early in the decade before resuming his filmmaking career in Hollywood. One of these was The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, which is a sequel of sorts to 1922’s Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, a crime epic about the cat-and-mouse game between a powerful criminal and a determined detective.
1933’s The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is arguably even better than that 1922 film, now benefiting from having sound without falling back on dialogue as a way to over-explain things; it’s still a bold film visually, and one that uses images to tell much of its story. It’s an eerie blend of crime, horror, and thriller genres, and still feels unpredictable and exciting to watch, as well as clearly being an influential work for the mystery and thriller genres as a whole.