1931 in film
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The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Events
- January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million.[1]
- June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, Ships of Hate.[2]
- July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada.[3]
- November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke.[3]
- December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved.[3]
Top-grossing films
| Rank | Title | Studio | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Frankenstein | Universal | $12,000,000 |
| 2. | City Lights | United Artists | $5,019,181 |
| 3. | Trader Horn | MGM | $3,595,000[4] |
| 4. | Mata Hari | MGM | $2,227,000[4] |
| 5. | Hell Divers | MGM | $2,161,000[4] |
| 6. | The Champ | MGM | $1,615,000[4] |
| 7. | Palmy Days | United Artists | $1,601,000[5] |
| 8. | Possessed | MGM | $1,522,000[4] |
| 9. | Susan Lenox | MGM | $1,506,000[4] |
| 10. | Reducing | MGM | $1,505,000[4] |
| 11. | Daddy Long Legs | Fox Film | $1,500,000[5] |
Best money stars
Variety reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking.[6]
| Actor |
|---|
| George Arliss |
| Wallace Beery |
| Maurice Chevalier |
| Clark Gable |
| Edward G. Robinson |
| Will Rogers |
The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked the same.[6]
| Actress |
|---|
| Constance Bennett |
| Joan Crawford |
| Marlene Dietrich |
| Greta Garbo |
| Janet Gaynor |
| Norma Shearer |
Academy Awards
The 4th Academy Awards were awarded to films completed and screened released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Most Nominations: Cimarron (RKO Pictures) – 7
Major Awards
- Best Picture: Cimarron – RKO
- Best Director: Norman Taurog – Skippy
- Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore – A Free Soul
- Best Actress: Marie Dressler – Min and Bill
Most Awards: Cimarron – 3 (Best Picture; Best Adaptation and Best Art Direction)
Cimarron was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only one to do so for 59 years (until Dances with Wolves won in 1991). It received a then-record seven nominations, and was the first film to win more than two awards.
The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932,[7] at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel[7] in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Conrad Nagel.[7] Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards.[7]
Most nominations: Arrowsmith (Samuel Goldwyn Productions) and The Champ (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) – 4
Major Awards
- Best Actor: Wallace Beery – The Champ and Fredric March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Best Actress: Helen Hayes – The Sin of Madelon Claudet
- Best Director: Frank Borzage – Bad Girl
Most Awards: Bad Girl (Best Director and Best Adaptation) and The Champ (Best Actor and Best Original Story) – 2 Note: The Academy Award for Best Picture went to 1932's Grand Hotel.
1931 film releases
January–March
- January 1931
- 3 January
- 9 January
- 16 January
- 17 January
- 30 January
- February 1931
- March 1931
- 6 March
- 14 March
- 20 March
- 21 March
- 29 March
April–June
- April 1931
- 4 April
- 6 April
- 15 April
- 18 April
- 23 April
- 30 April
- May 1931
- 1 May
- 11 May
- 16 May
- 22 May
- June 1931
- 13 June
- 20 June
- 21 June
- 27 June
- 28 June
July–September
- July 1931
- 11 July
- August 1931
- 1 August
- 7 August
- 8 August
- 13 August
- 15 August
- 22 August
- 29 August
- September 1931
- 1 September
- 5 September
- 12 September
- 18 September
- Peludópolis (Argentina)
- 19 September
- 26 September
- 30 September
October–December
- October 1931
- 3 October
- 10 October
- 21 October
- 24 October
- 31 October
- November 1931
- 7 November
- 9 November
- 10 November
- 21 November
- 28 November
- December 1931
- 3 December
- 10 December
- 12 December
- 17 December
- 26 December
- 31 December
Notable films released in 1931
United States unless stated
- 24 Hours, starring Clive Brook and Kay Francis
- À nous la liberté (Freedom for Us), directed by René Clair – (France)
- Alam Ara (The Light of the World), directed by Ardeshir Irani – the first Indian talkie
- Alexander Hamilton, starring George Arliss
- Alibi directed by Leslie S. Hiscott (Britain)
- Alice in Wonderland, the first sound version
- Alone (Odna) – (USSR)
- An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Sylvia Sydney
- Anna Christie, directed by Jacques Feyder, starring Greta Garbo – (Germany)
- Arrowsmith, directed by John Ford, starring Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes
- Bachelor Apartment, starring Irene Dunne and Lowell Sherman
- The Bachelor Father, directed by Robert Z. Leonard; starring Marion Davies and Ray Milland
- Bad Girl, directed by Frank Borzage
- Bad Sister, starring Bette Davis
- Battling with Buffalo Bill, starring Tom Tyler
- Berlin-Alexanderplatz film of the novel by Alfred Döblin – (Germany)
- The Black Camel, a Charlie Chan mystery starring Warner Oland
- Blonde Crazy, starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell
- Bought!, starring Constance Bennett
- Business Under Distress (To neznáte Hadimršku) – (Czechoslovakia)
- The Champ, starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper
- La Chienne (The Bitch), directed by Jean Renoir, starring Michel Simon – (France)
- Cimarron, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne
- City Lights, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin
- City Streets, starring Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sidney
- A Connecticut Yankee, starring Will Rogers
- The Criminal Code, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Walter Huston
- Daughter of the Dragon, starring Anna May Wong
- David Golder, directed by Julien Duvivier – (France)
- Dishonored, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich and Victor McLaglen
- Down River, starring Charles Laughton – (GB)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins
- Dracula, directed by Tod Browning, starring Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye
- Elisabeth of Austria starring Lil Dagover and Paul Otto – (Germany)
- Emil und die Detektive, starring Rolf Wenkhaus, Käthe Haack and Fritz Rasp – (Germany)
- Expensive Women, starring Dolores Costello and H. B. Warner
- Five and Ten, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Marion Davies and Leslie Howard
- Five Star Final, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Edward G. Robinson
- Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive and Mae Clarke
- A Free Soul, starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable
- From Saturday to Sunday (Ze soboty na neděli) – (Czechoslovakia)
- The Front Page, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien
- Girls About Town, directed by George Cukor, starring Kay Francis and Joel McCrea
- Goldie, starring Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy
- The Guardsman, starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
- Guilty Hands, starring Lionel Barrymore and Kay Francis
- Hell Divers, starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable
- Her Grace Commands (Ihre Hoheit befiehlt) – (Germany)
- Hobson's Choice, directed by Thomas Bentley (Britain)
- Honor Among Lovers, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March
- Huckleberry Finn, starring Jackie Coogan
- Hyppolit, the Butler (Hyppolit, a lakáj) – (Hungary)
- I Take This Woman, starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard
- Indiscreet, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Gloria Swanson and Ben Lyon
- Iron Man, starring Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow
- It's a Wise Child, directed by Robert Z. Leonard; starring Marion Davies and Polly Moran
- Just a Gigolo, starring William Haines and Irene Purcell
- Kalidas, the first Tamil sound film, directed by H.M. Reddy (Tamil)
- Kameradschaft (Comradeship), directed by G.W. Pabst – (Germany)
- Kiki, starring Mary Pickford
- Der Kongreß tanzt (Congress Dances), starring Lilian Harvey – (Germany)
- The Last Flight, starring Richard Barthelmess
- Limite – (Brazil)
- Little Caesar, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- M, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Peter Lorre and Otto Wernicke – (Germany)
- The Mad Genius, starring John Barrymore
- Mädchen in Uniform, directed by Carl Froelich, starring Hertha Thiele – (Germany)
- The Maltese Falcon, starring Ricardo Cortez
- Marius, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Raimu and Pierre Fresnay – (France)
- Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore
- Le Million, directed by René Clair – (France)
- The Millionaire, starring George Arliss
- The Miracle Woman, directed by Frank Capra, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Monkey Business, starring Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx
- My Sin, starring Tallulah Bankhead and Fredric March
- The Neighbor's Wife and Mine (Madamu to nyōbō) – (Japan)
- Night in Montmartre, directed by Leslie S. Hiscott (Britain)
- Night Nurse starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ben Lyon
- Other Men's Women, starring Regis Toomey and Mary Astor
- Palmy Days, starring Eddie Cantor
- Pardon Us, starring Laurel and Hardy
- The Peach Girl (Tao hua qi xue ji) – (China)
- Peludópolis (Argentina)
- Platinum Blonde, starring Loretta Young, Robert Williams and Jean Harlow
- Possessed, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
- Private Lives, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery
- The Public Enemy, directed by William A. Wellman, starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell
- Quick Millions, starring Spencer Tracy
- Revenge on the Brother, directed Ebrahim Moradi (Iran)
- Sally in Our Alley, starring Gracie Fields – (GB)
- Secret Service, starring Richard Dix
- The Secret Six, starring Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Johnny Mack Brown, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable
- Secrets of a Secretary, starring Claudette Colbert and Herbert Marshall
- Sidewalks of New York, starring Buster Keaton
- The Sin of Madelon Claudet, starring Helen Hayes
- The Sleeping Cardinal, starring Arthur Wontner
- Smart Money, starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney
- The Smiling Lieutenant, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins
- The Speckled Band, directed by Jack Raymond, starring Raymond Massey – (GB)
- A Spray of Plum Blossoms (Yi jian mei) – (China)
- The Squaw Man directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Warner Baxter
- The Stolen Jools, starring Gary Cooper, Laurel and Hardy, and Norma Shearer
- Street Scene, directed by King Vidor, starring Sylvia Sidney
- The Struggle, directed by D.W. Griffith
- Svengali, starring John Barrymore
- Tabu, directed by F. W. Murnau
- Tell England, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB)
- Ten Cents a Dance, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ricardo Cortez
- The Theft of the Mona Lisa (Der Raub der Mona Lisa) – (Germany)
- This Modern Age, starring Joan Crawford
- The Threepenny Opera (Die 3 groschen-oper), starring Lotte Lenya – (Germany)
- Tilly of Bloomsbury, directed by Jack Raymond, starring Sydney Howard, Phyllis Konstam (Britain)
- Tokyo Chorus (Tokyo no korasu), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
- Tommi, directed by Yakov Protazanov – (USSR)
- Tonight or Never, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Gloria Swanson and Melvyn Douglas
- 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
- Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
- Charley Chase (1924–1940)
- Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
- Our Gang (1922–1944)
Animated short film series
- Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1933)
- Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927–1938)
- Mickey Mouse
- The Birthday Party
- Traffic Troubles
- The Castaway
- The Moose Hunt
- The Delivery Boy
- Mickey Steps Out
- Blue Rhythm
- Fishin' Around
- The Barnyard Broadcast
- The Beach Party
- Mickey Cuts Up
- Mickey's Orphans
- Silly Symphonies
- Birds of a Feather
- Mother Goose Melodies
- The China Plate
- The Busy Beavers
- The Cat's Out
- Egyptian Melodies
- The Clock Store
- The Spider and the Fly
- The Fox Hunt
- The Ugly Duckling
- Screen Songs (1929–1938)
- Talkartoons (1929–1932)
- Mask a Raid (featuring Betty Boop)
- 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 3 – Conrad Brooks, né Biedrzycki, American actor and producer (died 2017)
- January 5 – Robert Duvall, American actor and director
- January 14 – Caterina Valente, French singer and actress
- January 17 – James Earl Jones, American actor
- February 6
- Mamie Van Doren, American actress and sex symbol
- Rip Torn, American actor and director (died 2019)
- February 8 – James Dean, American actor (died 1955)
- February 15 – Claire Bloom, English actress
- February 24 – Dominic Chianese, American actor
- March 22 – William Shatner, Canadian actor
- March 26 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor and director (died 2015)
- April 1 – Ita Ever, Estonian actress
- April 8 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat (died 2018)
- May 10 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2016)
- May 28 – Carroll Baker, American actress
- June 20 – Olympia Dukakis, Greek-American actress
- July 1 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
- July 4 – Stephen Boyd, Irish actor (died 1977)
- July 5 – António de Macedo, Portuguese filmmaker, writer, university professor and lecturer (died 2017)
- July 11 – Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (died 2018)
- July 24 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2018)
- August 23 – Barbara Eden, American actress
- August 12 – William Goldman, American screenwriter and novelist (died 2018)
- August 31 – Noble Willingham, American actor (died 2004)
- September 10 – Philip Baker Hall, American actor
- September 12 – Ian Holm, English actor
- September 17 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (died 2005)
- September 21 – Larry Hagman, American actor and director (died 2012)
- September 29 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress and sex symbol (died 2015)
- September 30 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
- October 10 – Román Chalbaud, Venezuelan director
- November 6 – Mike Nichols, German-born director (died 2014)
- November 10 – Don Henderson, English actor of stage, television and screen (died 1997)
- December 11 – Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress
Deaths
- March 11 – F. W. Murnau, German director (born 1888)
- March 24
- Charles Clary, silent film actor (born 1873)
- Robert Edeson, stage and screen actor (born 1868)
- June 7 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor (born 1880)
- August 14 – Janie Marèse, French actress (born 1908)
- November 27 – Lya De Putti, Hungarian actress (born 1899)
- December 23 – Tyrone Power, Sr., stage and film veteran, father of movie star Tyrone Power (born 1869)
Film debuts
- Ralph Bellamy – The Secret Six
- Bruce Cabot – Heroes of the Flames
- Bette Davis – Bad Sister
- Melvyn Douglas – Tonight or Never
- Alexander Knox – The Ringer
- Lotte Lenya – The Threepenny Opera
- Eric Linden – Are These Our Children?
- Ida Lupino – The Love Race
- Helen Mack – The Struggle
- Otto Preminger director, producer – The Great Love
- Gene Raymond – Personal Maid
- Ralph Richardson – Dreyfus
- Simone Simon – Durand contre Durand
- Robert Young – The Black Camel
References
- ^ "Att'y Gen Scans R-K-O-Pathe Deal on Plea of Defeated Insurgents". Variety. January 7, 1931. p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ Ships of Hate at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ a b c Ten Leading Events in the News of Motion Pictures During the Year 1931. p. 9. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e f g The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ a b "The All Time Best Sellers". International Motion Picture Almanac 1937–38. Quigley Publishing Company. p. 942. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ a b "Six Best Money Stars". Variety. January 5, 1932. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d "The 5th Academy Awards – 1933". Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.