Golden Age Remakes
Hollywood movies that were made and also remade within the Golden Age. This list does not include:
While some titles are not officially credited as remakes, they are too similar to previous ones not to be considered de facto remakes, although this may not necessarily be apparent in spoiler-free plot summaries and reviews. A prime example is Fast Workers (1933) which has the same plot and characters as Two Seconds (1932) with some tweaks here and there (mostly in the ending), but differs mainly in style and tone.
- Silent films remade as talkies;
- Golden Age movies remade after the 1960s;
- Frequently adapted literary classics such as The Sea Wolf.
While some titles are not officially credited as remakes, they are too similar to previous ones not to be considered de facto remakes, although this may not necessarily be apparent in spoiler-free plot summaries and reviews. A prime example is Fast Workers (1933) which has the same plot and characters as Two Seconds (1932) with some tweaks here and there (mostly in the ending), but differs mainly in style and tone.
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- DirectorHoward HawksStarsRichard BarthelmessDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Neil HamiltonWorld War I ace Dick Courtney derides the leadership of his superior officer, but Courtney is soon promoted to squadron commander and learns harsh lessons about sending subordinates to their deaths.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsErrol FlynnBasil RathboneDavid NivenBritish flying aces in World War I contend with the harsh realities of war.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsVilma BánkyEdward G. RobinsonRobert AmesMiddle-aged Napa Valley grape-grower Tony posts a marriage proposal to San Francisco waitress Lena, enclosing a photo of his handsome younger brother Buck. When she gets there, she overlooks his duplicity and marries him. Then she falls in love with Buck.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsCarole LombardCharles LaughtonWilliam GarganWhile courting a young woman by mail, a rich farmer sends a photograph of his foreman instead of his own, which leads to complications when she accepts his marriage proposal.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsMary NolanEdward G. RobinsonOwen MooreFingers is planning a half-million-dollar bank robbery in gang boss Cobra Collins' territory. Fingers' moll Connie tries to bluff Cobra into thinking the hit won't be for another week when the call comes through saying it's now.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsPreston FosterAnn RutherfordAlan CurtisA pair of married ex-convicts trying to go straight get jobs at a department store. A gangster who knows about their past threatens to expose it unless they agree to help him rob the department store.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonMarian MarshH.B. WarnerThe City Editor of a sleazy tabloid goes against his own journalistic ethics to resurrect a twenty year old murder case... with tragic results.
- DirectorWilliam C. McGannStarsHumphrey BogartBeverly RobertsLinda PerryA radio network manager's boss makes him air a serial based on a murder, tormenting a woman involved.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonVivienne OsborneGuy KibbeeA condemned murderer, in the process of being executed, relives the events that led to his being sentenced to die in the electric chair.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsJohn GilbertRobert ArmstrongMae ClarkeGunner and Bucker are pals who work as riveters. Whenever Bucker gets the urge to marry, which is often, Gunner will hit on his girl to see if she is true or not. So far, Gunner has not failed. But one night, while Gunner is in jail, Bucker meets Mary, a tough dame with a line. He falls for her, and she falls for his dough. But Mary is already a gal pal of Gunner, and no two know about the third one. The trouble starts when the triangle is revealed too late.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsEdward G. RobinsonRichard ArlenZita JohannA tuna fisherman marries a woman who doesn't love him.
- DirectorLouis KingStarsBarton MacLaneJune TravisWarren HullCliff Ballenger, the wild-animal trainer for the circus had no fear of "Satan," the fiercest man-eating tiger in captivity, but the creature hated its master and longed to tear the big man to pieces with its rendering claws and fangs.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsEdward G. RobinsonMarlene DietrichGeorge RaftTwo friends, who are members of a road crew employed by a Los Angeles power company, battle the elements to restore electrical power, and trade punches over the same woman.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsEdward G. RobinsonGenevieve TobinGlenda FarrellJim is a compulsive gambler. He meets Marge at a boarding house and they get married. His gambling causes problems. When he runs into old flame Valerie, Marge leaves him. After a few years he returns, but she is now in love with old flame Pres. Jim buys racing dog Dark Hazard and makes a fortune which he loses on roulette.
- DirectorLouis KingStarsBarton MacLaneAnn SheridanDick PurcellGamblers Jim Turner and Valarie part company in Chicago and agree to meet at Saratoga with Jim stopping off at Barrowville en route. There, Jim meets George Mayhew and Eight Ball, a barbershop bootblack, and replenishes his bankroll gambling on pitching horseshoes. George's mother and his sister Marjorie run a boarding house and Jim goes there to live. George and Jim go to Bellport Park and meet "Broadway", owner of "Lady Luck", a thoroughbred race horse. Jim bets on the horse and wins heavily. He falls in love with Marjorie and wins her away from Preston Barrow when he forswears gambling and promises to get a $20-per-week job which represents Peggy's idea of respectability. Christmas Eve, 1934, finds Jim a night clerk in a small Chicago hotel, playing the horses only on paper for his amusement. Jim is given some money by Joe, a pal of gambler/race horse owner Jed Bright, in appreciation for a racing tip he had given. Jim had planned on sending the money to Marjorie's needy mother but uses most of it to pay a broken-down actor's hotel bill. He then runs the rest of the money into a big roll gambling and accepts a job from Bright. Marjorie, Jim, Bright and Joe go to California for the opening of Santa Anita, where Jim is happy but Marjorie is disgusted with the track life. Valerie wins thousands on "Lady Luck" through Jim's tip, but Marjorie refuses to help them celebrate. Jim, Valerie and "Broadway" make a night of it gambling and Jim wins $20,000. He gives a thousand to Valerie and the remainder to Marjorie the next morning. Jim and Marjorie have a showdown and she admits to sticking with him through pity and he to her through a sense of responsibility. They part company happily---Marjorie to marry Preston (which may or may not be news to ol' Preston), and Jim to return to the track and gambling life with Valerie, (who may or may not have asked him about the missed meeting in Saratoga.)
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsEdward G. RobinsonBette DavisHumphrey BogartFight promoter Nick Donati grooms a bellhop as a future champ, but has second thoughts when the 'kid' falls for his sister.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsHumphrey BogartSylvia SidneyEddie AlbertAfter local grocery clerk rescues a baby from an escaped lion, a circus owner builds him into an attraction but balks when he falls in love with his sister.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsElvis PresleyGig YoungLola AlbrightAfter completing his military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter and takes him under his wing.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsEdward G. RobinsonSusan HaywardRichard ConteAfter years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsSpencer TracyRobert WagnerJean PetersThe saga of the Devereaux rancher family, set in 1880's Arizona.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsVictor MatureBrian DonlevyColeen GrayA crook arrested for a jewelry heist initially refuses to give up his accomplices, but he changes his mind once his wife dies under worrying circumstances.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsHugh O'BrianRobert EvansDolores MichaelsIn this western remake of Kiss of Death (1947), a convicted bank robber serving his sentence, and wishing nothing more than to finish his time and get back to his family, gets involved with a psychotic, homicidal inmate who turns on him and winds up terrorizing his wife and murdering his friends.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsBetty GrableVictor MatureCarole LandisWhy is Inspector Ed Cornell trying to railroad Frankie Christopher for the murder of model Vicky Lynn?
- DirectorHarry HornerStarsJeanne CrainJean PetersElliott ReidThe untimely murder of a New York glamor-girl sparks an investigation with an emotionally driven detective at the helm.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Loretta YoungAline MacMahonPrizefighter Jimmy Dolan accidentally kills a man at a party and escapes. He hides out at a health farm for invalid children and begins to lose his cynicism under the influence of the children and of Peggy and Mrs. Moore, who run the farm. When a detective recognizes him, Jimmy must decide whether to escape or stay and face his responsibilities to the children.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsJohn GarfieldClaude RainsThe Dead End KidsA champion boxer on the lamb, believed to have committed murder while drunk, takes refuge and finds redemption at a farm for delinquent youths.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsAnn HardingClive BrookOtto KrugerUnwed mother gives up baby for adoption and hopes to get it back when the adoptive mother dies.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsBarbara StanwyckHerbert MarshallIan HunterA woman must decide between two men: one she loves, the other she admires and respects.
- DirectorRobert MiltonRay EnrightStarsLeslie HowardDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Beryl MercerLater remade as "Between Two Worlds."
- DirectorEdward A. BlattStarsJohn GarfieldPaul HenreidSydney GreenstreetPassengers on an ocean liner can't recall how they got on board or where they are going yet, oddly enough, it soon becomes apparent that they all have something in common.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsPaul MuniBette DavisMargaret LindsayIn Mexico, a former lawyer becomes the invaluable second-in-command to a casino owner, whose wife begins to fall for him.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGeorge RaftHumphrey BogartAnn SheridanWhen one of two truck-driving brothers loses an arm, they both join a transport company where the other is falsely charged as an accessory in the murder of the owner.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsIda LupinoHumphrey BogartAlan CurtisAfter being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsJack PalanceShelley WintersLori NelsonAfter aging criminal Roy Earle is released from prison he decides to pull one last heist before retiring - by robbing a resort hotel.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsRobert TaylorEdward ArnoldFrank MorganA young boxer gets caught between a no-good father and a crime boss when he starts dating the boss's daughter, although she doesn't know what daddy does for a living.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsMickey RooneyBrian DonlevyAnn BlythFollowing a mishap in the ring, hard-nosed lightweight Tommy "Killer" McCoy gets mixed up with a big time gambler and falls for his educated daughter Sheila, against her father's better wishes.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsBebe DanielsRicardo CortezDudley DiggesA lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsBette DavisWarren WilliamAlison SkipworthA double-crossing woman, the two-timing P.I. she hired, the corpulent "empress of crime", and a gentleman thief are all after a legendary priceless eighth-century ram's horn.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsAnn HardingMary AstorRobert AmesHoliday is a 1930 American Pre-Code romantic comedy film which tells the story of a young man who is torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsRonald ColmanKay FrancisDavid TorrenceA distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed "The Amateur Cracksman". When he meets a woman and falls in love he decides to "retire" from that life, but an old friend comes to him with a predicament that entails him committing one last job.
- DirectorSam WoodWilliam WylerStarsDavid NivenOlivia de HavillandMay WhittyMan about town and first class cricketer A.J. Raffles keeps himself solvent with daring robberies. Meeting Gwen from his schooldays and falling in love all over again, he spends the weekend with her parents, Lord and Lady Melrose. A necklace presents an irresistible temptation, but also in attendance is Scotland Yard's finest, finally on the trail.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLew AyresRobert ArmstrongJean HarlowPrizefighter Mason loses his opening fight so wife Rose leaves him for Hollywood. Without her around Mason trains and starts winning. Rose comes back and wants Mason to dump his manager Regan and replace him with her secret lover Lewis.
- DirectorMilton CarruthStarsWilliam GarganDorothea KentNan GreyA boxer, against the advice of his friends and family, hooks up with an ambitious blonde.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsJeff ChandlerEvelyn KeyesStephen McNallyAn ambitious coal miner is talked into becoming a boxer by his gambler brother.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsGary CooperHelen HayesAdolphe MenjouAn American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
- DirectorCharles VidorJohn HustonStarsRock HudsonJennifer JonesVittorio De SicaAn English nurse and an American ambulance driver on the Italian front during World War 1 fall in love, but the horrors surrounding them challenge their romance to the limit.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsIrene DunneRobert TaylorCharles ButterworthThe life of spoiled rich Robert Merrick is saved through the use of a hospital's sole resuscitator, but because the medical device cannot be in two places at once, it results in the death of Dr. Hudson, a selfless, brilliant surgeon and generous philanthropist. Merrick falls for Hudson's widow Helen, although she holds him responsible for her husband's demise. One day, he insists on driving her home and makes a pass at her. She gets out of the car and is struck by another car, then goes blind. Merrick talks to a friend of Dr. Hudson who tells him that her husband had a philosophy: to help people, but never let it be known that you are the one helping them. Only then, he believed, could there be true reward in life. Merrick watches over Helen and visits her during her recuperation, concealing his identity and calling himself Dr. Robert. When he finds out that she is nearly penniless, he secretly pays for specialists to try to restore her vision. Finally, she travels to Paris and is told that her eyesight is gone forever. Robert follows her, confesses his true identity, and proposes marriage. She forgives him but leaves, not wanting to be a burden to him. Years later, Robert puts himself through school and becomes a brain surgeon. He learns that Helen urgently needs an operation, which he performs. When she awakens, her sight has miraculously returned.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsJane WymanRock HudsonAgnes MooreheadA rich playboy whose recklessness inadvertently causes the death of a prominent doctor tries to make amends to his widow, and falls for her in the process.
- DirectorEdward SlomanStarsFrank MorganBinnie BarnesLois WilsonMan, feeling neglected by his family, turns to another woman.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayJoan BennettWhen a toy manufacturer feels ignored and unappreciated by his wife and children, he begins to rekindle a past love when a former employee comes back into his life.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsClaudette ColbertWarren WilliamRochelle HudsonA struggling widow and her daughter take in a Black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter; the two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsLana TurnerJohn GavinSandra DeeAn aspiring white actress takes in an African American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsLee MarvinAngie DickinsonJohn CassavetesSurprised that their contract victim didn't try to run away from them, two professional hit men try to find out who hired them and why.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsJanet GaynorHenry FondaCharles BickfordCharming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm...
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsBetty GrableDale RobertsonThelma RitterA romantic triangle develops on Erie Canal boats in 1850.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsWalter HustonPhillips HolmesConstance CummingsAfter a failed attempt at running for governor, D.A. Mark Brady is appointed warden of the state prison where many of the criminals he prosecuted are incarcerated.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsWalter ConnollyJohn HowardJean ParkerA District Attorney becomes a Prison Warden, and finds himself overseeing the sentence of a meek man who he'd once prosecuted as the D.A.. He discovers his new job is more complex than he'd thought, especially with this meek prisoner.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordBroderick CrawfordMillard MitchellA D.A. becomes the prison warden where he tries to help an inmate he prosecuted, because he believes his sentence was excessive.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontRobert Z. LeonardStarsAnn HardingRobert MontgomeryMyrna LoyMary, a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher. Her suitor Jimmy is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife without telling Mary who she is.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJoan CrawfordRobert TaylorGreer GarsonA successful novelist falls in love with her married publisher, to the consternation of her boyfriend, who arranges for her to meet the publisher's wife.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsRobert MontgomeryCharlotte GreenwoodIrene PurcellA charming bailiff's assistant poses as a young woman's butler until she can pay her debts.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsJean HarlowRobert TaylorReginald OwenRaymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is engaged to his brother.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsMae ClarkeDouglass MontgomeryDoris LloydA prostitute's self-loathing makes her reluctant to marry an idealistic soldier during World War I.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsVivien LeighRobert TaylorLucile WatsonMyra and Roy meet and fall in love on Waterloo Bridge during an air raid. Their love will be one of the war's unspoken casualties.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRobert MontgomeryMaureen O'SullivanEdward ArnoldFarmers take in an injured racketeer and try to reform him.
- DirectorRobert B. SinclairStarsRobert SterlingMarsha HuntVirginia WeidlerA gangster (Robert Sterling) hides out on a farm and falls for the farmer's daughter (Marsha Hunt).
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsRobert MontgomeryNora GregorHeather ThatcherThe Clements father and son live by the generosity of rich women. Max, the son, sets his sites on Lady Joan, who is rich, but down-to-earth and charming. At her house he meets Rosine Brown, an Austrian widow involved with a rich man. Instantly infatuated with her, Max pursues Rosine until she relents and agrees to marry him. But the elder Clement loses 4500 pounds gambling and Max decides he must marry Joan to prevent his father's imprisonment.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyEdward BuzzellStarsRobert CummingsRuth HusseyJudith AndersonMax Clemington (Robert Cummings) and his father are both looking to marry wealthy women. The task would be far easier if either one of them had any money of their own. Max decides on Martha Gray (Ruth Hussey), but Martha says no when he says that he is poor as she admits she is also. So she accepts the proposal of Sir George Kelvin (Reginald Owen), but changes her mind by the next day. When Florian Clemington (Nigel Bruce) tries to win money gambling for Max's wedding, he loses a bundle. When Max finds out about the debt, he decides to marry the wealthy Lady Joan Culver (Dame Judith Anderson) to keep Florian out of jail. But Max is not in love with Lady Joan.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsJoan CrawfordWalter HustonFred HowardA prostitute newly arrived in the South Pacific finds herself at odds with a stern missionary determined to save her soul.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsRita HayworthJosé FerrerAldo RayA self-righteous missionary man seeks to save the soul of a former prostitute.
- DirectorEdward SedgwickStarsBuster KeatonJimmy DurantePolly MoranTo make her lover jealous, a beautiful socialite passes off a bumbling plumber as her paramour.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerRobert TaylorGeorge SandersA wealthy woman, trying to discourage a former boyfriend from pursuing her, hires a young songwriter who needs money to pay off his gambling debts to pretend to be her boyfriend. The problem is that the phony boyfriend is really in love with her.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsLaird CregarMerle OberonGeorge SandersA landlady suspects that her new lodger is Jack the Ripper.
- DirectorHugo FregoneseStarsJack PalanceConstance SmithByron PalmerAfter an enigmatic, self-described pathologist rents the attic room of a Victorian house, his landlady begins to suspect her lodger is Jack the Ripper.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsCesar RomeroVirginia GilmoreMilton BerleRobin Hoodish gangster in 1929 Chicago is an object of affection, kind to New York hood and bad to a bad crook.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsPaul DouglasJean PetersCesar RomeroA Chicago mobster falls in love with a principled young governess, but he must keep up the appearances of being an honest businessman and a dedicated single dad if he hopes to woo her.
- DirectorLloyd BaconMichael CurtizStarsDorothy MackaillLewis StoneNatalie MoorheadLarry Fellowes of Fellowes Publishing wants Kate to write her next book about the 'Office Wife'. The personal secretary/stenographer spends more time with the busy executive and makes more decisions than his wife ever will. This creates a bond between the secretary and boss that the wife cannot hope to equal. What Larry doesn't know is that sometimes literature mirrors life.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsKay FrancisDavid MannersUna MerkelA female editor of a magazine falls in love with her male secretary.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsRosalind RussellJohn BolesBillie BurkeA domineering woman marries a wealthy man for his money, and then uses her position to further her own ambitions for money and power.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsJoan CrawfordWendell CoreyLucile WatsonHarriet Craig enjoys married life but constantly tries to control those around her. She does not even trust her husband Walter and always checks up on him.