50 Public Domain Classics of the 30s
by egmeinder | created - 31 Mar 2014 | updated - 31 Mar 2014 | PublicFor a set I think I'll make.
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1. Abraham Lincoln (1930)
Passed | 96 min | Biography, Drama, War
An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Walter Huston, Una Merkel, William L. Thorne, Lucille La Verne
Votes: 1,710
2. Algiers (1938)
Passed | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A wanted jewel thief ensconced in the Casbah meets a beautiful woman who makes him long for an escape.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, Sigrid Gurie, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 3,248
3. The Animal Kingdom (1932)
Approved | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on a play by Philip Barry, this sophisticated comedy is about a man trying to justify his love for both his wife and his mistress.
Directors: Edward H. Griffith, George Cukor | Stars: Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan
Votes: 1,307
4. As You Like It (1936)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Comedy, Romance
A Duke usurps his brother's land and power, banishing him and his entourage into the forest of Arden. The banished Duke's daughter, Rosalind, remains with her cousin Celia. She has fallen ... See full summary »
Director: Paul Czinner | Stars: Elisabeth Bergner, Laurence Olivier, Sophie Stewart, Henry Ainley
Votes: 856
5. Beau Ideal (1931)
Passed | 79 min | Adventure, Romance, War
An American joins the French Foreign Legion in order to rescue a boyhood friend.
Director: Herbert Brenon | Stars: Frank McCormick, Ralph Forbes, Lester Vail, Otto Matieson
Votes: 247
6. Behind Office Doors (1931)
Passed | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Mary Linden is the secretary who is the unheralded power behind successful executive James Duneen. He takes her for granted until rival Wales tries to take her away from him.
Director: Melville W. Brown | Stars: Mary Astor, Robert Ames, Ricardo Cortez, Catherine Dale Owen
Votes: 571
7. Undersea Kingdom (1936)
Approved | 226 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. ... See full summary »
Directors: B. Reeves Eason, Joseph Kane | Stars: Ray Corrigan, Lois Wilde, Monte Blue, William Farnum
Votes: 634
Ep. "Beneath the Ocean Floor"
8. The Big Show (1936)
Passed | 71 min | Drama, Music, Western
At the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double.
Directors: Mack V. Wright, Joseph Kane | Stars: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Kay Hughes, Sally Payne
Votes: 299
9. Bird of Paradise (1932)
Passed | 80 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A native girl falls for a visitor to her island, but she's chosen to be sacrificed to the volcano god.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
Votes: 1,576
10. Charlie Chan's Secret (1935)
Passed | 72 min | Mystery
The heir to a huge fortune is presumed drowned, then shows up, is then murdered.
Director: Gordon Wiles | Stars: Warner Oland, Rosina Lawrence, Charles Quigley, Henrietta Crosman
Votes: 1,754
11. Check and Double Check (1930)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy
Typical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party.... See full summary »
Director: Melville W. Brown | Stars: Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich
Votes: 434
12. Danger Lights (1930)
Passed | 74 min | Adventure, Drama
The tough boss of a railroad yard befriends a young hobo, and unwittingly places in jeopardy his relationship with the woman he loves.
Director: George B. Seitz | Stars: Louis Wolheim, Jean Arthur, Robert Armstrong, Hugh Herbert
Votes: 638
13. Dixiana (1930)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In antebellum New Orleans, two men vie for the affections of a beautiful young girl during Mardi Gras.
Director: Luther Reed | Stars: Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey
Votes: 423
14. The Duke Is Tops (1938)
Approved | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.
Directors: William L. Nolte, Ralph Cooper | Stars: Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Laurence Criner, Monte Hawley
Votes: 429
15. Elephant Boy (1937)
Approved | 80 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
This black and white movie is based on Rudyard Kipling's "Toomai, of the Elephants", in which a small native lad claims he knows the congregating place of the elephant hordes.
Directors: Robert J. Flaherty, Zoltan Korda | Stars: Sabu, W.E. Holloway, Walter Hudd, Allan Jeayes
Votes: 852
16. Eternally Yours (1939)
Passed | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Anita Halstead, swept off her feet by magician Arturo, finds the results less than magical.
Director: Tay Garnett | Stars: Loretta Young, David Niven, Hugh Herbert, Billie Burke
Votes: 879 | Gross: $0.18M
17. A Farewell to Arms (1932)
Unrated | 80 min | Drama, Romance, War
An American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Philips
Votes: 6,811
18. Fire Over England (1937)
92 min | Adventure, History, Romance
During the reign of Elizabeth I, a young man's fervent devotion to the crown and to his sweetheart, a lady-in-waiting, lead him to battle for England's victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Director: William K. Howard | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Vivien Leigh, Raymond Massey
Votes: 1,981
19. The Flying Deuces (1939)
Approved | 69 min | Comedy, Family, War
Ollie has fallen in love with the innkeeper's daughter in Paris. The only problem - she's very much in love with her husband. To forget her he joins the Foreign Legion with Stan. Bad idea.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Parker, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 5,739
20. The Four Feathers (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A 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.
Director: Zoltan Korda | Stars: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez
Votes: 6,589
21. Shen nu (1934)
TV-PG | 85 min | Drama
Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China.
Director: Yonggang Wu | Stars: Lingyu Ruan, Tian Jian, Zhizhi Zhang, Keng Li
Votes: 2,472
22. His Double Life (1933)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama
Priam Farrel is a celebrated artist but a social recluse. When his valet dies of a sudden illness, a mix-up leads to the body being identified as Farrel's. The timid artist then assumes the... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Hopkins | Stars: Roland Young, Lillian Gish, Montagu Love, Lumsden Hare
Votes: 396
23. Hook, Line and Sinker (1930)
Passed | 75 min | Comedy, Romance
Two fast-talking insurance salesmen meet Mary, who is running away from her wealthy mother, and they agree to help her run a hotel that she owns. When they find out that the hotel is run ... See full summary »
Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Ralf Harolde
Votes: 405 | Gross: $1.70M
24. In the Wake of the Bounty (1933)
66 min | Action, Drama
A former member of the crew of the HMS Bounty recounts the story of the mutiny aboard ship.
Director: Charles Chauvel | Stars: Arthur Greenaway, Mayne Lynton, Errol Flynn, Victor Gouriet
Votes: 365
25. The Lady Refuses (1931)
Passed | 72 min | Drama, Romance
Father hires a woman to lure his son away from a gold digger.
Director: George Archainbaud | Stars: Betty Compson, John Darrow, Gilbert Emery, Margaret Livingston
Votes: 452
26. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
Passed | 102 min | Drama, Family
An American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trust.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, C. Aubrey Smith, Guy Kibbee
Votes: 2,520
27. Little Tough Guy (1938)
Approved | 86 min | Crime, Drama
After his father is sentenced to death for accidentally killing a cop, Johnny's family is left to fight for survival. His sister becomes a burlesque performer for money while Johnny joins a local gang and turns to a life of street crime.
Director: Harold Young | Stars: Robert Wilcox, Helen Parrish, Marjorie Main, Jackie Searl
Votes: 223
28. Marihuana (I) (1936)
Not Rated | 57 min | Crime, Drama
A young girl slowly becomes a dope pusher.
Director: Dwain Esper | Stars: Harley Wood, Hugh McArthur, Pat Carlyle, Paul Ellis
Votes: 968
29. The Milky Way (1936)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Timid milkman, Burleigh Sullivan (Lloyd), somehow knocks out a boxing champ in a brawl. The fighter's manager decides to build up the milkman's reputation in a series of fixed fights and ... See full summary »
Directors: Leo McCarey, Ray McCarey, Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: Harold Lloyd, Adolphe Menjou, Verree Teasdale, Helen Mack
Votes: 1,843 | Gross: $1.17M
30. My Man Godfrey (1936)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick
Votes: 26,448
31. Nothing Sacred (1937)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
An eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly
Votes: 7,254
32. Of Human Bondage (1934)
Passed | 83 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
A young man finds himself attracted to a cold, unfeeling waitress who might ultimately destroy them both.
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Frances Dee, Kay Johnson
Votes: 8,384
33. The Painted Desert (1931)
Passed | 79 min | Drama, Western
Two men find an abandoned baby and fight over the ownership of the child, resulting in lifelong rivalry.
Directors: Howard Higgin, Tom Buckingham | Stars: William Boyd, Helen Twelvetrees, William Farnum, J. Farrell MacDonald
Votes: 826
34. Palooka (1934)
Unrated | 86 min | Comedy, Family, Music
Knobby discovers young hunk Palooka and trains him to fight the reigning champ, also drunken sot, Al McSwatt.
Director: Benjamin Stoloff | Stars: Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, Stuart Erwin, Marjorie Rambeau
Votes: 415
35. Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy
A man tries passing off a socially awkward fellow as a Casanova in the hopes of marrying off his would be sister-in-law.
Director: Edward Sedgwick | Stars: Buster Keaton, Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny, Cliff Edwards
Votes: 1,008
36. The Pay-Off (1930)
Passed | 70 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A thug robs a young engaged couple of their last few dollars. When the thug's gang boss hears of the robbery, he gives them back their money and takes them under his wing. The thug, ... See full summary »
Director: Lowell Sherman | Stars: Lowell Sherman, Marian Nixon, Hugh Trevor, George F. Marion
Votes: 300
37. The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
Passed | 97 min | Biography, Drama
King Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
Director: Alexander Korda | Stars: Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Franklin Dyall, Miles Mander
Votes: 4,864
38. Rain (1932)
Passed | 94 min | Drama
A prostitute newly arrived in the South Pacific finds herself at odds with a stern missionary determined to save her soul.
Director: Lewis Milestone | Stars: Joan Crawford, Walter Huston, Fred Howard, Ben Hendricks Jr.
Votes: 3,033 | Gross: $1.17M
39. Randy Rides Alone (1934)
Approved | 52 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
Jailed for murders he didn't commit, Randy escapes only to stumble into the den of the real murderers.
Director: Harry L. Fraser | Stars: John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Yakima Canutt
Votes: 1,179
40. The Shadow Strikes (1937)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney.
Director: Lynn Shores | Stars: Rod La Rocque, Agnes Anderson, James Blakeley, Walter McGrail
Votes: 587
41. Something to Sing About (1937)
Approved | 93 min | Comedy, Musical
A New York bandleader journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio, but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs.
Director: Victor Schertzinger | Stars: James Cagney, Evelyn Daw, William Frawley, Mona Barrie
Votes: 1,022
42. Song of Freedom (1936)
TV-PG | 66 min | Drama, Music
A black British dockworker named Johnny Zinga becomes a famous singer and learns that he is the rightful king of the African island of Casanga.
Director: J. Elder Wills | Stars: Paul Robeson, Elisabeth Welch, Esme Percy, Robert Adams
Votes: 444
43. A Star Is Born (1937)
Passed | 111 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, and achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.
Directors: William A. Wellman, Jack Conway, Victor Fleming | Stars: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson
Votes: 10,886 | Gross: $4.36M
44. Svengali (1931)
Approved | 81 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Crisp, Bramwell Fletcher
Votes: 2,502
45. Swing High, Swing Low (1937)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A hair-dresser stranded in Panama moves in with an ex-soldier and his hypochondriac roommate; she and the former fall in love, but their romance is threatened by success and the arrival of his old flame.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Charles Butterworth, Jean Dixon
Votes: 901
46. They Won't Forget (1937)
Passed | 95 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
A politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, Otto Kruger
Votes: 1,941
47. Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)
Approved | 80 min | Biography, Music, Romance
The story of Johann Strauss the elder and younger.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Esmond Knight, Jessie Matthews, Fay Compton
Votes: 1,711
48. White Zombie (1932)
Passed | 69 min | Horror
A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.
Director: Victor Halperin | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn, Robert Frazer
Votes: 11,654
49. Winterset (1936)
Approved | 77 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Immigrant radical Bartolomeo Romagna is falsely condemned and executed for a payroll robbery. Years later, his son Mio sets out to find the truth of the crime and to bring to account the gangster Trock Estrella.
Director: Alfred Santell | Stars: Burgess Meredith, Margo, Eduardo Ciannelli, John Carradine
Votes: 499
50. Wives Under Suspicion (1938)
Passed | 69 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A prosecutor trying a case where a husband shot his adulterous wife begins to suspect that his own wife is having an affair, and starts to have his own thoughts about killing her.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Warren William, Gail Patrick, Ralph Morgan, William Lundigan
Votes: 533
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