Best Old Romance Movies/Shows (1910s-1950s)
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- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHenry B. WalthallSpottiswoode AitkenBlanche SweetPrevented from dating his sweetheart by his uncle, a young man turns his thoughts to murder.This is ok. If you want something spooky playing in the background, this will suffice.
On one hand, it's 20 minutes longer than it should be. Every scene is way too long and repetitive. It tries to be a thriller (before thrillers were invented), but it's only slightly suspenseful. You mostly just want it to hurry up and move on to the next scene.
On the other hand, it's a pretty interesting and pretty strange movie. Guilt drives The Nephew (he isn't named) insane and we see his hallucinations. Henry Brazeale Walthall is really what makes this movie. He plays The Nephew as equal parts normal, creepy, and funny. He keeps you engaged throughout the movie and you root for him.
Warning:
Negative stereotypes - The Italians servants are depicted very negatively. They're sloppily dressed (ex. didn't shave), they day drink, and one of them blackmails The Nephew. - DirectorErnst LubitschStarsPola NegriHarry LiedtkeEmil JanningsA girl is kidnapped and held captive in an ancient Egyptian temple. She is rescued and flees to England, but soon finds that her mysterious captor is still haunting her.This is the first mummy movie.
The movie is ok. The main problem is that it doesn't bother to explain the strange supernatural stuff. But I'll explain it for you so you can just enjoy the movie.
I interpreted it as Ma and Radu are corporeal ghosts. The tomb is said to be haunted and it seems that they are the part of the soul that remains when a person dies (ancient Egyptians called it the ba). There is a painting of Ma that cannot be destroyed because it would kill her as well. The painting of Ma is not unlike paintings of people in ancient Egyptian tombs. To deface those was to destroy the soul (the ka). The movie is weird because the humans think that Ma and Radu are alive. But they're not. The only lifelike thing about them is they can be physically touched and can leave the tomb. But that makes sense because the ba can consume food (in some fashion, perhaps by eating it or perhaps by consuming the energy from it) and can roam the world.
Warning:
Brown face - Two of the four main characters are white people playing Middle Easterners. - DirectorErnst LubitschStarsVictor JansonOssi OswaldaHarry LiedtkeAn American heiress seeks the hand of an impoverished German prince.A fun gender-bending comedy about a tomboy who is the 'man of the house.'
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsOssi OswaldaHermann ThimigVictor JansonForced into marriage by his uncle, a man decides to fool him by marrying a life-like mechanical doll instead.This is a VERY dark comedy. It's also nightmare fuel because the leading lady pretends to be a sex robot and the creepy way she looks/acts is the stuff of horror movies. It is a weirdly funny movie though.
Warning: Jokes about suicide - DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsIris HallWalker ThompsonLawrence ChenaultRacists learn that the land a negro owns lies over a vast oil field, and threaten his life when he refuses to sell.This is a movie about a white-passing Black man and a white-passing Black woman who pretend to be only white and thus think they can't legally be together. It's a really important topic and more people should watch this movie.
I assume the reason that this has a low rating is because the footage of the climax (the KKK going after the Black characters) no longer exists. But that's kind of a plus because we don't need to see the traumatizing violence against Black people onscreen. - DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonEdward F. ClineLuke the DogTwo inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsPola NegriVictor JansonPaul HeidemannA charismatic lieutenant newly assigned to a remote fort is captured by a group of mountain bandits, thus setting in motion a madcap farce that is Lubitsch at his most unrestrained.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBernhard GoetzkeLil DagoverWalter JanssenWhen a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate.Warning:
Brown face & yellow face - DirectorBurton L. KingStarsHarry HoudiniArthur MaudeAlbert TavernierA man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love.A man is destined to save the reincarnation of his true love from ruination.
The movie is just ok but the central theme of love conquering death is a powerful one. Also, Harry Houdini does the cool escaping from a straightjacket trick. - DirectorDudley MurphyStarsAdolph BolmRuth PageOlin HowlandIn Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre visual symphony, the desperate young lovers, Youth and Love try to evade Death's cold grip, as the terrible Black Plague devastates Spain.When silent movies first started adding sound, they started with just a little bit of sound, like sound effects.
This film short is a music video synchronized to the song Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play Hispanic characters. - DirectorLeo BirinskyPaul LeniStarsEmil JanningsConrad VeidtWerner KraussA wax museum hires a writer to give the sculptures stories. The writer imagines himself and the museum owner's daughter in the stories.This is the first 'murders in a wax museum' movie, sort of. It's only happening in the guy's imagination.
Warning:
Brown face - Brown face in the Middle Eastern story. - DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsLon ChaneyNorma ShearerJohn GilbertA bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him.An adaption of He Who Gets Slapped by Leonid Andreyev.
- DirectorGeorge ChesebroBruce MitchellStarsGeorge ChesebroRoy WatsonMilburn MoranteAfter wolf blood transfusion, man thinks he's becoming a wolf.This is the first werewolf movie. Whatever you're imagining when I say that is completely wrong. This bizarre movie is a romantic drama/Western and it finds the romance between a rich woman and a poor man to be much more interesting than werewolves. Go figure.
That's not unrelated, however. Once he becomes a werewolf, that's two strikes against him in the eyes of 'proper' society. The horror in this movie is knowing that you're being seen as less than human. - DirectorGuido BrignoneStarsBartolomeo PaganoUmberto GuarracinoMario SaioThe devil takes Maciste down to hell in an attempt to corrupt and ruin his morality.Most of the movie takes place in Pluto (the Roman underworld), where our hero has been dragged. All kinds of crazy things happen in Pluto, and the special effects are very unique.
- DirectorOtto MessmerFelix saves a girl doll from a dog, and the doll comes to life and falls for Felix. She takes him to Toyland, where he must save her from the designs of the evil Pierrot. As it turns out, though, she's not quite as helpless as she might seem to be.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsAileen PringleConway TearleMitchell LewisAn American criminal imports a gang of Hungarian gypsies to gain control over a fortune. The victim, Doris Merrick, is persuaded by fake medium Zara to hand over her jewels to Nash.This is the first evil fake medium movie.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play "gypsies" from Hungary. The movie plays into the evil Romani stereotype. - DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyMae BuschMatt MooreA sideshow ventriloquist, a midget, and a strongman form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" and commit a series of robberies.
- DirectorRoland WestStarsLon ChaneyGertrude OlmsteadHallam CooleyA meek clerk who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.This is the first inmates-running-the-asylum movie.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.This is rightfully considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time.
It's a romantic comedy that takes place during New Year's Eve.
There's two versions of the movie. The 1925 version is a silent movie. The 1942 version is narrated by Charlie Chaplin and the music score was composed by Charlie Chaplin. The 1942 version even won an Oscar.
The Criterion Collection-WB DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Gold Rush has an orchestra reproducing Chaplin's music score in the 1925 version of the movie. - DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.An adaption of Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
- DirectorRichard E. NormanStarsLaurence CrinerKathryn BoydBoise De LeggeA WWI fighter pilot returns to his former job as a railroad detective, and must recover a satchel filled with $25,000 of stolen payroll, locate a missing employee, and capture the gang of thieves responsible.A romantic comedy with an all-Black cast.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJohn GilbertGreta GarboLars HansonChildhood friends are torn apart when one of them marries the woman the other fiercely loves.This Pre-Code romantic drama is about two bisexual men who are in love with the same woman. The atmosphere of it is deliciously gothic.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsClara BowCharles 'Buddy' RogersRichard ArlenTwo young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.This Pre-Code dram-edy definitely has comedic parts but it's also a WWI movie (with actual planes etc. that were used in WWI) so it's pretty sad too.
This famously has the first same-sex kiss in a movie. It's between two male best friends who seem to be bisexual. (Hilariously, they're also both bi-plane pilots.)
Plus, you get to see Clara Bow's boobs. - DirectorPaul LeniStarsLaura La PlanteCreighton HaleForrest StanleyRelatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.An early killer-in-the-house movie. It's also a romantic comedy.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyNorman KerryJoan CrawfordA criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.This is the first evil carnie movie.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play "gypsies" from Spain. They wear stereotypical Romani clothing and live in caravans. It plays into the fiery 'Latin Lover' stereotype and the evil Romani stereotype. - DirectorHenrik GaleenStarsBrigitte HelmPaul WegenerIván PetrovichA scientist with an interest in genetics impregnates a sex worker with the seed of a hanged murderer. The sex worker gives birth to a child who has no concept of love, whom the scientist adopts.As far as I know, this is the oldest 'monster created in a lab' movie.
A witch/mad scientist turns a mandrake root into a living person.
Warning: Contains r*** via artificial insemination. - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMerna KennedyAl Ernest GarciaThe Tramp finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.Old-timey carnivals are so interesting.
This movie features Hispanic film star Al Ernest Garcia (as the circus owner).
Warning: Merna's step-father, the circus owner, physically abuses her. - DirectorPaul LeniStarsMary PhilbinConrad VeidtJulius MolnarWhen a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.This horror movie is mostly a romantic drama but it has some scary/disturbing parts.
Gwyplaine "The Laughing Man" was famously the inspiration for The Joker from the Batman comics.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play "gypsies" (from Italy?). The movie plays into the evil Romani stereotype. - DirectorWalt DisneyUb IwerksStarsCount CutelliWalt DisneyCarl W. StallingMickey, a hot dog vendor, meets and quickly falls for Minnie the "Shimmy Dancer". He serenades her by performing the song "Sweet Adeline", much to the dismay of Kat Nipp, who is trying to sleep.
- DirectorFrank MoserA bandido plans to run a man out of town so he can steal his girlfriend.This is one of the few positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons.
- DirectorWalter LantzStarsPinto ColvigWalter LantzThe Phantom of a cheap opera house helps an aspiring singer by putting a phonograph machine down her skirt. When she spurns him for Oswald the Rabbit, the Phantom takes his revenge.This is Universal's parody of their movie Phantom of the Opera (1925).
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyStarsMargie HinesBilly MurrayBetty Boop (with dog's ears) can't sleep on a scary night, so she sings the title song and meets the gentleman in question... a surreal version of Bimbo.
- DirectorRudolf IsingStarsKen DarbyMarcellite GarnerRudolf IsingPiggy and Fluffy have adventures on a riverboat. And Uncle Tom is chased by skeletons promising to take him to Hallelujah Land.This has a fun Halloween vibe.
Warning:
Negative racial stereotypes - This short has long been considered to be extremely racist and unfit for TV and DVD/streaming. The reason is because Uncle Tom is an archetypal character called an Uncle Tom. Those characters, from my (limited) understanding, are harmless, poor, uneducated country bumpkins. It's definitely an old stereotype of Black people. But I don't think this short is offensive. I encourage you to see for yourself and draw your own conclusions. - DirectorFrank MoserA cowboy goes after two outlaws after they kidnap his Native American wife.This is one of the few positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons. It's also one of the few portrayals of interracial relationships.
- DirectorFrank MoserStarsMargie HinesTwo mice go to a carnival on a date.The mice go to a funhouse with skeletons in it, so it's a good cartoon to watch for Halloween.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonA kitchen is filled with houseflies. A spider wakes up and plays his web like a harp, attracting a pair of them; the female is trapped, and the male summons the cavalry, which arrives riding horseflies, riding dragonflies to drop pepper bombs, firing champagne bottles, and ultimately setting the web on fire and catching the spider on flypaper when he falls.
- DirectorManny GouldBen HarrisonA Columbia Krazy Kat animated short. Krazy Kat plays a painter who has to protect his model from a wolf hypnotist.
- DirectorDave FleischerAl EugsterStarsAnn LittleBilly MurrayBetty Boop is queen of the Masquerade Ball where, among other antics, Bimbo and a lecherous old man vie for her affections.
- DirectorDave FleischerGrim NatwickStarsMargie HinesBilly MurrayWilliam PennellBimbo the dog is initiated into a secret society in a sadistic 'fun house'; then Betty Boop (with dog's ears) takes a hand.
- DirectorDave FleischerGrim NatwickStarsAnn LittleBilly MurrayBetty Boop goes to Grandma's through the woods despite wolf warnings; but Bimbo follows and gives the old story a new twist.
- DirectorRudolf IsingStarsKen DarbyMarcellite GarnerRudolf IsingOn a tropical island, a native boy sings "Pagan Moon" to his sweetheart. Later, he plays music underwater with an octopus-pianist and other jazz-loving sea life.This is one of the rare positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons.
It's also unique because the girl saves the boy instead of the other way around. - DirectorRudolf IsingStarsMarcellite GarnerRudolf IsingThe King's MenTwo courting hillbilly dogs go to the big barn dance.
- DirectorHarry BaileyMannie DavisJohn FosterOscar the mouse invites his girl friend to the toy store where they have to outwit a cat.
- DirectorIrving PichelErnest B. SchoedsackStarsJoel McCreaFay WrayLeslie BanksA psychotic big game hunter deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he begins to hunt its passengers for sport.An adaption of the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
This is the first 'the rich making the poor fight, for their amusement' movie. - DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffMelvyn DouglasCharles LaughtonSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsLionel AtwillFay WrayLee TracyA wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsClarence NashEsther CampbellPinto ColvigA jealous stump threatens two trees that are in love by starting a forest fire. When the rain comes and puts out the fire the forest revives and celebrates the wedding.This was the first short to win an Oscar for the (then newly created) category of Best Animated Short.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyStarsCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraCab CallowayBilly MurrayBetty Boop and Bimbo run away from home, but that night they are scared by a chorus of ghosts singing the title song.This is probably the most popular Betty Boop cartoon.
In this short, Betty is either an unmarried woman living at home or a teenager, and a symbol of the modern woman. In this short, her parents are Dutch immigrants with old-fashioned attitudes. Mr. Boop berates Betty for not eating her hazenpeper. She runs out of the kitchen and says that she's rather eat worms. Well, worms come from the ground and underground is exactly where she's going. Way, way down. She calls her boyfriend, Bimbo, and they run away together, all the way to the underworld.
This is one of the rare positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons. Real-life Black jazz star Cab Calloway, and his orchestra, play ghost versions of themselves. They perform their creepy (and not kid-friendly) songs "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "Minnie the Moocher."
This mature cartoon seems to be aimed at teens, rather than kids. - DirectorFrank MoserAct I of the Fanny "Mellerdrama" operetta. Fanny is captured and held for ransom, and a showdown ensues at the sawmill.
- DirectorFrank MoserAct II of the Fanny "Mellerdrama" operetta. Harry plans to drown Fanny while Strongheart is indisposed.
- DirectorFrank MoserAct III of the Fanny "Mellerdrama" operetta. Harry throws Fanny to the lions to be eaten alive, but she befriends the lions.
- DirectorFrank MoserAct IV of the Fanny "Mellerdrama" operetta. Harry uses his hypnotic powers to lure Fanny to his lair.
- DirectorFrank MoserA woman falls in love with a Romani guy and runs away with him.This is one of the few positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons. It's also one of the few portrayals of interracial relationships.
Warning: This is a positive portrayal of Romani people but it's still a stereotypical one. They're performers who travel by caravan and have a dancing bear. - DirectorMannie DavisJohn FosterStarsMargie HinesAs two feline sweethearts sail along Moonlight Bay, the moon invites them up for a visit. They discover the moon is not made of green cheese, as is rumored, but is actually a land of candy, ice cream and cake.
- DirectorJohn FosterVernon StallingsStarsArtie DunnMargie HinesLes ReisTom and Jerry are police officers, driving around in their car and enjoying listening to some music on their police radio, when they hear a bulletin announcing another theft of a mummy from the local museum. They stumble upon the culprit, a mysterious and ghoulish man who is carrying a coffin through a secret door in a cemetery. They sneak in after him and watch him command the mummy to life; it is a beautiful woman, who he then commands to sing for his audience of skeletal theatre-goers. Tom and Jerry break up the evening and try to escape with the stolen goods, with mixed results.This is a Tom & Jerry short by J. Van Beuren Studios; not to be confused with the Tom & Jerry cat & mouse cartoons by MGM Studios.
This is a parody of Phantom of the Opera. - DirectorDave FleischerRoland CrandallStarsCab CallowayBilly MurrayMae QuestelTrouble starts when the queen's magic mirror says Betty Boop is fairest. Cab Calloway sings "St. James Infirmary Blues."A spooky take on Snow White. Cab Calloway voices Koko in this one, and sings St. James Infirmary.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsMae WestCary GrantGregory RatoffCircus performer Tira seeks a better life pursuing the company of wealthy New York men with improbable comic complications along the way.A Pre-Code sex comedy!
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsWarren WilliamConstance CummingsAllen JenkinsCon-man Chandler and his partner Frank decide to start a clairvoyant act. Chandler falls for Sylvia, one of their marks, but their relationship is challenged when his deception impacts others' lives and Sylvia urges him to reform.
- DirectorVictor HalperinStarsCarole LombardRandolph ScottAlan DinehartA serial black widow murderess returns to life in the body of a young woman to exact revenge on a former lover, a phony spiritualist who betrayed her.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsLionel AtwillFay WrayGlenda FarrellThe disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.This is a film noir/monster movie, but the romantic subplot is funny and unexpected.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnJoan BennettPaul LukasA chronicle of the lives of sisters growing up in 19th-century New England.An adaption of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleJames DunnJane DarwellAn orphaned girl is taken in by a snobbish family at the insistence of their rich, crotchety uncle, even as her devoted aviator godfather fights for custody.This is a romantic dram-edy that takes place during the holiday season.
Mary is a single mom who works as a maid so she and her daughter Shirley temporarily live with the wealthy family that she works for. Unfortunately, her employers treat them poorly.
I find that maid subplot boring and the wealthy family is really annoying. But the love story is ok and Shirley Temple is very funny. - DirectorFrank MoserPaul TerryA clown saves a beautiful circus performer from a lion and wins her heart.
- DirectorFrank MoserPaul TerryA witch tempts children with a box full of spooks.
- DirectorFrank MoserPaul TerryA woman gets captured by a mad doctor who lives in a house full of skeletons.
- DirectorFrank MoserPaul TerryTom Tom the Piper's Son helps Mary Mary Quite Contrary's garden grow.
- DirectorDave FleischerMyron WaldmanStarsMae QuestelIn a melodrama at the Slumbertown Theatre, Freddie is the sheriff and Betty is a school-marm desired by outlaw "Phillip the Fiend."
- DirectorWilfred JacksonStarsPinto ColvigA statue of Pan seeks to break up a pair of lovers.
- DirectorDave FleischerSeymour KneitelStarsJack MercerWilliam PennellBonnie PoeIn her only color cartoon, Betty Boop goes to the ball thanks to her fairy godmother; later, only her foot fits the glass slipper.This cartoon was made in color instead of black and white, so it has a very striking orange and blue color scheme.
The cartoon has a talking Jack O'Lantern that turns into a pumpkin carriage, so it makes for a good Halloween cartoon. - DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyMaureen O'SullivanFormer detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.An adaption of The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.
This is a film noir comedy that takes place during Christmas.
One of the main characters is played by Hispanic film star Cesar Romero (playing a white character). - DirectorGus MeinsCharley RogersStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyVirginia KarnsOpposing the evil Barnaby, Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try and fail to pay-off Mother Peep's mortgage and mislead his attempts to marry Little Bo. Enraged, Barnaby's Bogeymen are set on Toyland.This plays on T.V. every Thanksgiving morning, as sort of the official start of the holiday season. When I sleep in and miss it, I stream it anyway while I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
Half of it focuses on the love story between Little Bo Peep and Tom Tom the Piper's Son. The other half focuses on Bo Peep's bumbling brothers. - DirectorGeorge Nicholls Jr.StarsAnne ShirleyTom BrownO.P. HeggieA romantic teenage girl is adopted by a pair of elderly siblings in turn-of-the-century Canada.An adaption of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- DirectorMaurice ElveyStarsClaude RainsFay WrayMary ClareA fake music-hall clairvoyant meets a woman, and suddenly his predictions seem to come true ...The reason I give this a 7 is because it doesn't explain how Maximus suddenly has clairvoyant abilities. We know that he gets them whenever he's around a woman named Christine, that the powers comes from her not him (but we don't know if Christine gets visions), and that Christine is in love with him. That's it. That's all the movie tells us about his powers. One of the few things we know about Christine is that her father owns a popular newspaper and that she gives the paper the scoop on Maximus's big predictions. So my best guess is that, at first, she sends clairvoyant visions to Maximus in order to sell lots of papers, but ends up falling in love in the process.
Despite this oversight, it's still an enjoyable movie. - DirectorFrank MoserPaul TerryA dog competes in a bull fight in order to impress his girlfriend.This is one of the few positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons.
- DirectorBen SharpsteenStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerMickey and friends have various levels of enjoyment skating on a frozen river. As Mickey and Minnie glide romantically, Donald plays tricks on Pluto and ends up in trouble himself with a kite, from which Mickey must save him.There's a sweet part where Mickey and Minnie skate together.
- DirectorLansing C. HoldenIrving PichelStarsHelen GahaganRandolph ScottHelen MackA group of explorers search of the legendary "flame of life," a mysterious force that bestows immortality.An adaption of She by Henry Rider Haggard.
Creepy and surreal, this wildly original monster movie is a hidden gem. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRobert DonatMadeleine CarrollLucie MannheimA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.An adaption of The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.
- DirectorHenry EdwardsStarsSeymour HicksDonald CalthropRobert CochranEbenezer Scrooge is a mean old miser who wants nothing to do with Christmas. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, taking him on a journey into the very spirit and magic of Christmas itself.An adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsShirley TempleRobert YoungAlice FayeA young girl lost in Shanghai is taken in by an American playboy and his girlfriend.This is a romantic comedy that takes place during the holiday season.
I find the romance parts boring, but Shirley Temple is very funny. Plus, you get to hear her speak Mandarin! (She had an on-set Mandarin coach.)
Shirley Temple actually ended up adopting the dog from the movie. - DirectorRaymond KaneStarsBuster KeatonEddie LambertMarlyn StuartA professional magician, "The Great Spumoni", fires his male assistant and his female assistant insists that he hire another one. The young man he hires turns out to have no aptitude whatsoever for a magic act. Complications ensue.
- DirectorGeorge KingStarsTod SlaughterStella RhoJohn SingerA Fleet Street barber recounts the story of Sweeney Todd, a notorious barber who in the last century murdered many customers for their money.An adaption of The String of Pearls by Thomas Peckett Prest & James Malcolm Rymer.
- DirectorDave FleischerDave TendlarStarsMae QuestelJack MercerA spider runs a hotel for flies where he keeps his guests captive. A pair of fly newlyweds arrive and check in. Fortunately, the husband is "flyweight champion". After a pitched battle featuring arrows (fountain pen nibs) and a machinegun (aspirins shot from a perfume atomizer), the spider winds up in a bottle of library paste.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyJames StewartPrivate detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora are back home at last and hoping for a quiet New Year when there is a murder. The obvious suspect is his wife, Nora's cousin, Selma.This is the sequel to The Thin Man (1934). It's a film noir comedy that takes place on New Year's Eve.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdward Everett HortonA ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRalph BellamyA married couple file an amicable divorce, but find it harder to let go of each other than they initially thought.
- DirectorFerdinand DiehlHermann DiehlA young girl's seven brothers have been turned into ravens, so she sets out to save them.An adaption of the fairy tale The Seven Ravens by The Brothers Grimm.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsShirley TempleJean HersholtArthur TreacherA plucky little orphan girl gets dumped abruptly into her gruff, hermit grandfather's care, then later gets retaken and delivered as a companion for an injured girl.An adaption of Heidi by Johanna Spyri.
It's my favorite adaption of it because Shirley Temple is perfectly cast as Heidi and she's so funny. Also, I love that this adaption takes place during the holiday season. - 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.An adaption of Holiday by Philip Barry.
This is a romantic drama that takes place during the holiday season. - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsClaude RainsJohn GarfieldJeffrey LynnA musician is blessed with four musical prodigies, all girls, and cursed when a troubled young composer enters the lives of his Four Daughters.An adaption of Sister Act by Fannie Hurst.
It's a film noir that takes place during the holiday season.
Warning: Suicidal themes - DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.An adaption of The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsReginald OwenGene LockhartKathleen LockhartAn elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.An adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
- DirectorMannie DavisConnie RasinskiPirates take a hula dancer as captive and it's up to her beloved to rescue her.This is one of the few positive portrayals of people of color in pre-1960s cartoons.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.This is a romantic drama that takes place during the holiday season.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardJohn BealWhen an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.This is a parody of The Cat and the Canary (1927) and other killer-in-the-house movies.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersDavid NivenCharles CoburnAn unemployed woman discovers an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, and accepts an offer to take responsibility for the child in return for a job.A romantic comedy that takes place during the holiday season.
Warning: There's a really uncomfortable scene where Freddy, drunk, forces his way into Polly's apartment. Her boss, David, is in the apartment, but he doesn't do anything about it because he's mad at Polly. Freddy leaves once he notices that David's there. - DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.An adaption of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.An adaption of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
This stars Asian film star Merle Oberon, as Cathy.
Warning:
Brown face - A white actor plays Heathcliff, who is Romani. - DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayBeulah BondiLove blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.This is kind of a film noir comedy, and it takes place during the holiday season. It's pretty bonkers but also pretty funny.
- DirectorConnie RasinskiA butterfly gets trapped by a spider, but a grasshopper comes to save her.