the greatest films of all time part 2 - 1930's

the 1930's signaled the death of the silent film for the most part and the introductions of humphrey bogart, james stewart, cary grant, katharine hepburn and just about every major start of the "golden era". musicals and screwball comedies were the dominant product and even won best picture oscars at the time. the biopic was invented and directors made two or three movies a year (including victor fleming's amazing one-two punch of "the wizard of oz" and "gone with the wind" in 1939). oh yeah, 1939 is considered by many to be the greatest single year for american movies, rivaled only recently by 1999.

10. Swing Time (1936)

directed by george stevens
the unquestionable best of ginger rogers and fred astaire's pairings. as to be expected the movie features amazing dancework, the classic songs "the way you look tonight" and "a fine romance", and fred astaire in blackface. yeah that's right. blackface singing a song called "bojangles of harlem". it's obviously extremely offensive today, and maybe the only major film to feature a major star doing it that i can think of, but it gets away with it.

9. A Night at the Opera (1935)

directed by sam wood
look at that picture and tell me you don't want to see it.
Groucho: You didn't happen to see my suit in there, did you?
Chico: Yeah, it was taking up too much room, so we sold it.
Groucho: Did you get anything for it?
Chico: Uh... dollar forty.
Groucho: That's my suit all right.

8. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

directed by frank lloyd
a fantastic screen version of the classic story. far better than the 50's marlon brando and 80's mel gibson versions. charles laughton is one of the most brilliant bastards in movies.

7. City Lights (1931)

directed by charlie chaplin
chaplin hated the idea of talking pictures and continued to make silents all the way up until 1940. this one is my favorite. probably because it's his most buster keaton-esque, featuring a touching romance with a blind girl and the hilarious boxing scene.

6. M (1931)

directed by fritz lang
one of the earliest movies to deal with a serial killer and amazingly, paints him sympathetically. decades ahead of it's time and the role peter lorre was born to play.

5. Grand Illusion (1937)

directed by jean renoir
the first foreign film to be nominated for best picture, this is one of the best war films ever made. erich von stroheim proves himself not just a brilliant director with his performance here.

4. Duck Soup (1933)

directed by leo mccarey
Groucho: Married. I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. But I can't see the stove.

3. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

directed by william dieterle
little seen best picture winning biopic by the fathers of the genre, william dieterle and paul muni. great movie just out on dvd.

2. Trouble in Paradise (1932)

directed by ernst lubitsch
not to be confused with the nicolas cage, dana carvey and jon lovitz movie of the same name. this is quite possibly the most charming movie of all time. out on criterion.

1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

directed by frank capra
terribly patriotic i know, but it's amazingly well done and james stewart gives his best performance here.