1931 in film

List of years in film
… 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 …
In television 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 In radio 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934
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Top grossing films

1. Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff
2. Ingagi, starring Sir Hubert Winstead
3. Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore
4. City Lights starring Charles Chaplin
5. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde starring Fredric March
6. Min and Bill starring Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery
7. Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye
8. The Sin of Madelon Claudet, starring Helen Hayes and Lewis Stone
9. The Champ, starring Wallace Beery
10. The Public Enemy starring James Cagney

Academy Awards

• Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM
• Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul
• Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ
• Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Best Actress: Marie Dressler - Min and Bill
• Best Actress: Helen Hayes - The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years. And there were two awards given in 1932 for 'Best Actor'. That's how there are 3 'Best Actor', 2 'Best Actress' awards for 1931 films.

Films released in 1931

• À nous la liberté
• The Champ, starring Wallace Beery
• Cimarron, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne
• City Lights, starring Charlie Chaplin
• Daughter of the Dragon
• Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins
• Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff and Colin Clive
• A Free Soul, starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable
• Honor Among Lovers
• Indiscreet, starring Gloria Swanson
• Little Caesar, starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
• Mädchen in Uniform
• M, starring Peter Lorre
• Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore
• Monkey Business, starring Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx
• Night Nurse starring Barbara Stanwyck
• No Limit starring Clara Bow and Norman Foster
• Pardon Us, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
• Platinum Blonde, starring Loretta Young, Robert Williams and Jean Harlow
• Possessed, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
• The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell
• The Sin of Madelon Claudet, starring Helen Hayes
• Smart Money, starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney
• The Smiling Lieutenant, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert
• The Stolen Jools, starring Gary Cooper, Laurel and Hardy, and Norma Shearer
• Tabu, directed by F.W. Murnau
• This Modern Age, starring Joan Crawford
• Waterloo Bridge, directed by James Whale

Serials

• Battling with Buffalo Bill
• Danger Island
• Finger Prints
• The Galloping Ghost, starring Harold Grange
• Heroes of the Flames
• King of the Wild
• The Lightning Warrior, starring Rin Tin Tin
• The Mystery Trooper
• The Phantom of the West
• The Sign of the Wolf
• The Spell of the Circus
• The Vanishing Legion

Short film series

• Buster Keaton (1917-1941)
• Our Gang (1922-1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921-1943)

Animated short film series

• Aesop's Film Fables (1921-1933)
• Krazy Kat (1925-1940)
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927-1938)
• Mickey Mouse (1928-1953)
• Silly Symphonies (1929-1939)
• Screen Songs (1929-1938)
• Talkartoons (1929-1932)
• Looney Tunes (1930-1969)
• Flip the Frog (1930-1933)
• Terrytoons (1930-1964)
• Toby the Pup (1930-1931)
• Merrie Melodies (1931-1969)
• Scrappy (1931-1941)
• Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren) (1931-1933)

Births

• January 5 - Robert Duvall, actor and director
• January 14 - Caterina Valente, singer, actress
• January 17 - James Earl Jones, actor
• January 19 - Tippi Hedren, actress
• February 6 - Mamie Van Doren
• February 8 - James Dean, actor
• March 22 - William Shatner, actor
• July 1 - Leslie Caron, French actress
• September 17 - Anne Bancroft, actress (d. 2005)
• Sylvia Lopez, European actress († 1959)

Deaths

• November 27 - Lya De Putti, Hungarian actress (b. 1899)