30s Film
Trouble In Paradise (1932) IMDb
Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
(Miriam Hopkins, Herbert Marshall, Kay Francis, Edward Everett Horton, Charles Ruggles, C Aubrey Smith, Robert Greig, Leonard Kinskey)
It Happened One Night (1934) IMDb
Directed by: Frank Capra
(Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Ward Bond, Alan Hale, Jameson Thomas, Arthur Hoyt)
The Thin Man (1934) IMDb
Directed by: W S Van Dyke
(William Powell, Myrna Loy)
Nick and Nora Charles, yes, they're the married couple on the case solving murders. But this is not a whodunnit lover's film, its draw is Loy and Powell's onscreen banter. This, their attitudes and habits are everything a 30s film couple shouldn't be, and this very modern relationship is what makes the films stand out. Loy and Powell would work together, on 6 Thin Man films plus a whole host of other features for many more years; The Thin Man shows why.
See also:
After the Thin Man (1936) IMDb, featuring a 28 year old Jimmy Stewart in support.
Another Thin Man (1939) IMDb, after which both the plots and strength of the supporting cast start to dwindle, although Powell and Loy (and Asta of course) remain on form.
Top Hat (1935) IMDb
Directed by: Mark Sandrich
(Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes)
By far the most satisfying of the Rogers-Astaire films. The template for all their subsequent outings, all very satisfactory and often with exceptional moments but still not up to Top Hat. 1936's Swing Time has a fantastic shadow dance sequence and some wonderful close-up shots, and 1937's Shall We Dance rollerskate dancing scene is amazing. Follow the Fleet and Carefree, 1936 and 1938, are also great entertainment.
However, a look at 1933's The Gay Divorcee, very much tied to the Busby Berkley style of musicals, shows just how Top Hat very much developed its own style, and wisely kept it.
The Rogers-Astaire films have a winning formula, set by Top Hat: Astaire's perseverance in wooing the sulky, sharp Rogers, he is helped not at all by the bumbling high-class buffoon played, as always, so well by Edward Everett Horton. These movies of course are not about the plot, what makes them is the comic talent of the actors, the Berlin / Gerschwin scores, and not least the numbers. Light-hearted, yes, but wonderful.
See also:
Swing Time (1936) IMDb
Follow the Fleet (1936) IMDb
Shall We Dance (1937) IMDb
Carefree (1938) IMDb
Libeled Lady (1936) IMDb
Directed by Jack Conway
(Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Walter Connolly, Charley Grapewin, Cora Witherspoon, E E Clive, Charles Trowbridge)
My Man Godfrey (1936) IMDb
Directed by: Gregory La Cava
(William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Mischa Auer, Eugene Pallette)
A wonderful example of a 30s "screwball comedy", one of the most successful genres of the decade. The film that introduced me to 1930s cinema, William Powell's talent and Carole Lombard's charm. Whilst not all screwball comedies stand the test of time, their jokes dated or their style less tolerable to the modern audience, this, despite its eccentric plot and characters, is a real gem.
The Awful Truth (1937) IMDb
Directed by: Leo McCarey
(Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Esther Dale, Cecil Cunningham, Alexander D'Arcy, Molly Lamont, Robert Warwick, Mary Forbes)
Pépé le Moko (1937) IMDb 
Directed by: Julien Duvivier
(Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Lucas Gridoux, Line Noro, Gabriel Gabrio, Saturnin Fabre, Fernand Charpin, Gilbert Gil, Marcel Dalio, Charles Granval, Gaston Modot)
Highly stylish gangster thriller, surely a role model for the US gangster movies of the late 30s and early 40s. Great suspense is achieved through using its setting to the full: the dark, winding and intertwining streets of the mysterious casbah, and the dubious characters that dwell there.
Hollywood speedily remade this the very next year, with Charles Boyer and the stunning Hedy Lamarr, as Algiers.
A Star Is Born (1937) IMDb
Directed by: William Wellman
(Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, Lionel Stander, May Robson, Andy Devine, Owen Moore, Franklin Pangborn)
Not the (perhaps more famous) all-singing and dancing Judy Garland 50s version, but a wonderful 30s picture, one of the first to be shot in colour at that.
As well as a satisfying story, particularly impressive is Fredric March's performance, an extremely talented actor. Most memorable is the shot of him reacting to his overhearing Gaynor's character toward the end of the film. Wonderful.
Holiday (1938) IMDb
Directed by: George Cukor
(Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lew Ayres, Edward Everett Horton, Ruth Donnelly, Doris Nolan, Henry Kolker, Binnie Barnes)
Beau Geste (1939) IMDb
Directed by: William Wellman
(Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, J Carrol Naish, Susan Hayward, Heather Thatcher, James Stephenson, Donald O'Connor, G P Huntley Jr, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford)
Whilst not an exceptional film, its impressiveness lies in the talent of Ray Milland - his subtle, warm, effective portrayal - and its directing/cinematography: that of the first and final scenes. Many versions of this film have been made. Watch it without knowing what those first and last scenes are and enjoy it far more. Also worth a look to see a very young Donald O'Connor of Singin' In the Rain fame playing the young Gary Cooper.
Midnight (1939)IMDb
Directed by: Mitchell Leisen
(Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor, Elaine Barrie, Hedda Hopper, Rex O'Malley, Monty Woolley, Armand Kaliz, Gino Corrado)
A real classic of 30s cinema...not on DVD in the UK, but well worth the £5 to buy from America.
