The Best Movies From The 1930s
“What are the best 1930s Movies?” We looked at 162 of the top 1930s films, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 35 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best 1930s” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 100+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 35 Best 1930s Movies Ever Made
35 .) A Night at the Opera (1935) directed by Sam Wood
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- IMDB
- List Challenges
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together.
34 .) Alexander Nevsky (1938) directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- White City Cinema
When German knights invade Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky must rally his people to resist the formidable force. After the Teutonic soldiers take over an eastern Russian city, Alexander stages his stand at Novgorod, where a major battle is fought on the ice of frozen Lake Chudskoe. While Alexander leads his outnumbered troops, two of their number, Vasili and Gavrilo, begin a contest of bravery to win the hand of a local maiden.
33 .) Holiday (1938) directed by George Cukor
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- List Challenges
- Ranker
Johnny Case, a freethinking financier, has finally found the girl of his dreams — Julia Seton, the spoiled daughter of a socially prominent millionaire — and she’s agreed to marry him. But when Johnny plans a holiday for the two to enjoy life while they are still young, his fiancée has other plans & that is for Johnny to work in her father’s bank!
32 .) Jezebel (1938) directed by William Wyler
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.
31 .) L’Atalante (1934) directed by Jean Vigo
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
Capricious small-town girl Juliette and barge captain Jean marry after a whirlwind courtship, and she comes to live aboard his boat, L’Atalante. As they make their way down the Seine, Jean grows weary of Juliette’s flirtations with his all-male crew, and Juliette longs to escape the monotony of the boat and experience the excitement of a big city. When she steals away to Paris by herself, her husband begins to think their marriage was a mistake.
30 .) My Man Godfrey (1936) directed by Gregory La Cava
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Ranker
Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a “forgotten man” to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.
29 .) Pépé le Moko (1937) directed by Julien Duvivier
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- Flick Chart
- MUBI
Pépé le Moko, one of France’s most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby Gould, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her. She also reminds him of all the things he loves about Paris. Even as Pépé knows he is being trailed by Inspector Slimane, he considers a future with Gaby.
28 .) Stagecoach (1939) directed by John Ford
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.
27 .) Swing Time (1936) directed by George Stevens
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Ranker
Lucky is tricked into missing his wedding to Margaret by the other members of Pop’s magic and dance act, and has to make $25,000 to be allowed to marry her. He and Pop go to New York where they run into Penny, a dancing instructor. She and Lucky form a successful dance partnership, but romance is blighted by his old attachment to Margaret and hers for Ricardo—the band leader who won’t play for them to dance together.
26 .) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) directed by Michael Curtiz
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
Robin Hood fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne while striving to win the hand of the beautiful Maid Marian.
25 .) The Lady Vanishes (1938) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- Ranker
- White City Cinema
On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.
24 .) Trouble in Paradise (1932) directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Lists It Appears On:
- MUBI
- Ranker
- White City Cinema
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette’s personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
23 .) Wuthering Heights (1939) directed by William Wyler
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
The Earnshaws are Yorkshire farmers during the early 19th Century. One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns from a trip to the city, bringing with him a ragged little boy called Heathcliff. Earnshaw’s son, Hindley, resents the child, but Heathcliff becomes companion and soulmate to Hindley’s sister, Catherine. After her parents die, Cathy and Heathcliff grow up wild and free on the Moors and despite the continued enmity between Hindley and Heathcliff they’re happy – until Cathy meets Edgar Linton, the son of a wealthy neighbor. ×
22 .) You Can’t Take It with You (1938) directed by Frank Capra
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Ranker
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby. His wealthy banker father, Anthony P. Kirby, and his snobbish mother, strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.
21 .) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) directed by James Whale
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- MUBI
Bride of Frankenstein begins where James Whale’s Frankenstein from 1931 ended. Dr. Frankenstein has not been killed as previously portrayed and now he wants to get away from the mad experiments. Yet when his wife is kidnapped by his creation, Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new monster, this time a woman.
20 .) Bringing Up Baby (1938) directed by Howard Hawks
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Ranker
David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.
19 .) Earth (1930) directed by Aleksandr Dovzhenko
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Site
- IMDB
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
In the peaceful countryside, Vassily opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.
18 .) Frankenstein (1931) directed by James Whale
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
Dr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
17 .) Freaks (1932) directed by Tod Browning
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Chapel Boro
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
A circus’ beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
16 .) It Happened One Night (1934) directed by Frank Capra
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Crave
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Ranker
Having just tied the knot with society aviator, King Westley, Ellie Andrews is whisked away to her father’s yacht and out of King’s clutches. Ellie jumps ship and eventually winds up on a bus headed back to her husband. Reluctantly she must accept the help of out-of- work reporter, Peter Warne. Actually, Warne doesn’t give her any choice—either she sticks with him until he gets her back to her husband, or he’ll blow the whistle on Ellie to her father. Either way, Peter gets what he wants—a really juicy newspaper story. ×
15 .) King Kong (1933) directed by Merian C. Cooper
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
A film crew discovers the “eighth wonder of the world,” a giant prehistoric ape, and brings him back to New York, where he wreaks havoc.
14 .) L’Age D’Or (1930) directed by Luis Buñuel
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Site
- Flick Chart
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
The film consists of a series of tightly interlinked vignettes, the most sustained of which details the story of a man and a woman who are passionately in love. Their attempts to consummate their passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, by the Church and bourgeois society in general.
13 .) Modern Times (1936) directed by Charlie Chaplin
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- Film Crave
- MUBI
- Ranker
The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
12 .) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) directed by Frank Capra
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed to the United States Senate by the puppet governor of his state. He soon discovers, upon going to Washington, many shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys’ camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss.
11 .) Ninotchka (1939) directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Ranker
A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
10 .) The Awful Truth (1937) directed by Leo McCarey
Lists It Appears On:
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Ranker
- White City Cinema
Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other’s attempts to find new romance.
9 .) The Rules of the Game (1939) directed by Jean Renoir
Lists It Appears On:
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.
8 .) The Thin Man (1934) directed by W.S. Van Dyke
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- Ranker
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
7 .) Vampyr (1932) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Flick Chart
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
A traveler obsessed with the supernatural visits an old inn and finds evidence of vampires.
6 .) City Lights (1931) directed by Charles Chaplin
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
City Lights is the first silent film that Charlie Chaplin directed after he established himself with sound accompanied films. The film is about a penniless man who falls in love with a flower girl.
5 .) Duck Soup (1933) directed by Leo McCarey
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
- Ranker
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
4 .) Gone with the Wind (1939) directed by Victor Fleming
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
The spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner is forced to use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty, following Maj. Gen. William Sherman’s destructive “March to the Sea,” during the American Civil War.
3 .) The Blue Angel (1930) directed by Josef von Sternberg
Lists It Appears On:
- Film Site
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette – whose job is to entice men – proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.
2 .) The Wizard of Oz (1939) directed by Victor Fleming
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- Film Crave
- IMDB
- List Challenges
- MUBI
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
1 .) M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang
Lists It Appears On:
- Chapel Boro
- Film Crave
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- MUBI
- White City Cinema
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert’s heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
The 100+ Additional Best 1930s Films
| # | Movies | Directors | Lists |
| 36 | 42nd Street (1933) | Lloyd Bacon | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 37 | À Nous la Liberté (1931) | René Clair | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 38 | All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) | Lewis Milestone | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 39 | Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 40 | Bachelor Mother (1939) | Garson Kanin | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 41 | Boudu Saved from Drowning | Flick Chart | |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 42 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) | Rouben Mamoulian | BFI |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 43 | Dracula (1931) | Flick Chart | |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 44 | Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) | Mervyn LeRoy | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 45 | Grand Hotel (1932) | Edmund Goulding | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 46 | Grand Illusion | Flick Chart | |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 47 | Gunga Din (1939) | George Stevens | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 48 | La Grande Illusion (1937) | Jean Renoir | Chapel Boro |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 49 | Le Jour Se Leve (1939) | Marcel Carné | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 50 | Le Million (1931) | René Clair | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 51 | Libeled Lady (1936) | Jack Conway | IMDB |
| – | – | – | Ranker |
| 52 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) | Frank Capra | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 53 | Port of Shadows (1938) | Marcel Carné | Flick Chart |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 54 | Queen Christina (1933) | Rouben Mamoulian | IMDB |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 55 | Scarface (1932) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 56 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) | William Cottrell | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 57 | Stage Door (1937) | Gregory La Cava | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 58 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) | William Dieterle | BFI |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 59 | The Public Enemy (1931) | List Challenges | |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 60 |
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums
|
MUBI | |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 61 | The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) | Fritz Lang | Flick Chart |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 62 | The Women (1939) | George Cukor | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 63 | Top Hat (1935) | Mark Sandrich | IMDB |
| – | – | – | List Challenges |
| 64 | Topper (1937) | Norman Z. McLeod | IMDB |
| – | – | – | Ranker |
| 65 | Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) | John Ford | IMDB |
| – | – | – | White City Cinema |
| 66 | Zero For Conduct | Flick Chart | |
| – | – | – | MUBI |
| 67 | ¡Que viva Mexico! | MUBI | |
| 68 | A Day at the Races | Ranker | |
| 69 | A Day in the Country | Flick Chart | |
| 70 | A Night at the Opera | Ranker | |
| 71 | A Star Is Born (1937) | William A. Wellman | IMDB |
| 72 | A Tale of Two Cities (1935) | Jack Conway | IMDB |
| 73 | After the Thin Man | Ranker | |
| 74 | Alice Adams (1935) | George Stevens | IMDB |
| 75 | Animal Crackers | Ranker | |
| 76 | Babes in Toyland | List Challenges | |
| 77 | Beau Geste (1939) | William A. Wellman | IMDB |
| 78 | Camille | MUBI | |
| 79 | Captain Blood (1935) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB |
| 80 | César (1936) | Marcel Pagnol | IMDB |
| 81 | City Girl | White City Cinema | |
| 82 | Cleopatra | List Challenges | |
| 83 | Comradeship (1931) | Georg Wilhelm Pabst | IMDB |
| 84 | Counsellor at Law (1933) | William Wyler | IMDB |
| 85 | David Copperfield (1935) | George Cukor | IMDB |
| 86 | Daybreak | Flick Chart | |
| 87 | Dead End (1937) | William Wyler | IMDB |
| 88 | Dodge City (1939) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB |
| 89 | Dodsworth (1936) | William Wyler | IMDB |
| 90 | Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) | John Ford | IMDB |
| 91 | Fanny (1932) | Marc Allégret | IMDB |
| 92 | Fire Over England (1937) | William K. Howard | IMDB |
| 93 | Footlight Parade | Ranker | |
| 94 | Four Daughters (1938) | Michael Curtiz | IMDB |
| 95 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) | List Challenges | |
| 96 | Heidi | List Challenges | |
| 97 | Horse Feathers | Ranker | |
| 98 | Humanity and Paper Balloons | White City Cinema | |
| 99 | I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) | Mervyn LeRoy | IMDB |
| 100 | I Was Born, But… | Flick Chart | |
| 101 | Island of Lost Souls (1932) | BFI | |
| 102 | July 14 (1933) | René Clair | IMDB |
| 103 | La Bête Humaine (1938) | Jean Renoir | IMDB |
| 104 | La chienne | MUBI | |
| 105 | Lady for a Day (1933) | Frank Capra | IMDB |
| 106 | Les Misérables (1935) | Richard Boleslawski | IMDB |
| 107 | Little Women (1933) | George Cukor | IMDB |
| 108 | Lost Horizon (1937) | Frank Capra | IMDB |
| 109 | Love Affair (1939) | Leo McCarey | IMDB |
| 110 | Love Me Tonight (1932) | Rouben Mamoulian | IMDB |
| 111 | Mad Love (1935) | BFI | |
| 112 | Make Way for Tomorrow | MUBI | |
| 113 | Midnight | Ranker | |
| 114 | Monkey Business | Ranker | |
| 115 | Morning Glory (1933) | Lowell Sherman | IMDB |
| 116 | Mr. Thank You | White City Cinema | |
| 117 | Nothing Sacred (1937) | William A. Wellman | IMDB |
| 118 |
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
|
MUBI | |
| 119 |
Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty
|
MUBI | |
| 120 | One Hour with You (1932) | George Cukor | IMDB |
| 121 | Only Angels Have Wings (1939) | Howard Hawks | IMDB |
| 122 | Our Neighbor, Miss Yae | White City Cinema | |
| 123 | Outskirts | White City Cinema | |
| 124 | People on Sunday | White City Cinema | |
| 125 | Pygmalion (1938) | Anthony Asquith | IMDB |
| 126 | Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) | Leo McCarey | IMDB |
| 127 | San Francisco (1936) | W.S. Van Dyke | IMDB |
| 128 | Shanghai Express | MUBI | |
| 129 | Sons of the Desert | Ranker | |
| 130 | Stanley and Livingstone (1939) | Henry King | IMDB |
| 131 | Tabu: A Story of the South Seas | MUBI | |
| 132 | Tarzan and His Mate (1934) | Cedric Gibbons | IMDB |
| 133 | Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) | W.S. Van Dyke | IMDB |
| 134 | The 39 Steps | MUBI | |
| 135 | The Black Cat (1934) | BFI | |
| 136 | The Blood of a Poet | Flick Chart | |
| 137 | The Chaplin Cavalcade (1941) | Charles Chaplin | IMDB |
| 138 | The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) | Stuart Walker | IMDB |
| 139 | The Four Feathers (1939) | Zoltan Korda | IMDB |
| 140 | The Gay Divorcee (1934) | Mark Sandrich | IMDB |
| 141 | The Goddess | White City Cinema | |
| 142 | The Good Earth (1937) | Sidney Franklin | IMDB |
| 143 | The Good Fairy (1935) | William Wyler | IMDB |
| 144 | The Human Beast | Flick Chart | |
| 145 | The Informer (1935) | John Ford | IMDB |
| 146 | The Invisible Man (1933) | List Challenges | |
| 147 | The Life of Emile Zola (1937) | William Dieterle | IMDB |
| 148 | The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) | Henry Hathaway | IMDB |
| 149 | The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) | James Whale | IMDB |
| 150 | The Merry Widow (1934) | Ernst Lubitsch | IMDB |
| 151 | The Million | Flick Chart | |
| 152 | The Only Son | White City Cinema | |
| 153 | The Petrified Forest (1936) | List Challenges | |
| 154 | The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) | John Cromwell | IMDB |
| 155 | The Private Life of Henry VIII | Alexander Korda | IMDB |
| 156 | The Roaring Twenties | White City Cinema | |
| 157 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | MUBI | |
| 158 | The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936) | William Dieterle | IMDB |
| 159 | Triumph of the Will | MUBI | |
| 160 | Twentieth Century (1934) | Howard Hawks | IMDB |
| 161 | Under the Roofs of Paris (1930) | René Clair | IMDB |
| 162 | Way Out West | Ranker |
10 Best 1930s Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| BFI | 10 great horror films of the 1930s |
| Chapel Boro | Top Ten Movies Of The 1930s, Part II |
| Film Crave | Top Movies of 1930s |
| Film Site | Greatest Films of 1930 |
| Flick Chart | The Best Foreign Language Films of the 1930s |
| IMDB | Top 100 Movies of the 1930’s |
| List Challenges | 1930s Movies – How many have you seen? |
| MUBI | The 100 Best films of the 1930s |
| Ranker | 30s Comedies | List of Funniest 1930s Movies Ranked |
| White City Cinema | Top 25 Films of the 1930s |
