Go to the home page Go to the master list sorted by rank Go to the master list sorted alphabetically Go to the top films as determined by each taste Go to the master list sorted by director Go to the master list sorted by actor Go to the master list sorted by year of release Go to the master list sorted by genre Go to the master list sorted by nation of origin Go to more lists of films Find alternate titles of master list films Go to lists of top films as determined by normal film fans Go to the FAQ and other essays Go to the links page Go to the site map

Top Films of the 1930s

Rank Title Year Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Victor Fleming 15
2 Gone with the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming 32
3 City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin 46
4 King Kong 1933 Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack 51
5 Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin 53
6 M 1931 Fritz Lang 69
7 Duck Soup 1933 Leo McCarey 85
8 Bringing Up Baby 1938 Howard Hawks 91
9 It Happened One Night 1934 Frank Capra 92
10 The Rules of the Game 1939 Jean Renoir 99
11 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 David Hand 104
12 The Grand Illusion 1937 Jean Renoir 122
13 Stagecoach 1939 John Ford 140
14 Frankenstein 1931 James Whale 152
15 Bride of Frankenstein 1935 James Whale 155
16 The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Michael Curtiz and William Keighley 212
17 L'Atalante 1934 Jean Vigo 219
18 All Quiet on the Western Front 1930 Lewis Milestone 225
19 Freaks 1932 Tod Browning 235
20 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra 303
21 Top Hat 1935 Mark Sandrich 330
22 A Night at the Opera 1935 Sam Wood 340
23 The 39 Steps 1935 Alfred Hitchcock 355
24 Trouble in Paradise 1932 Ernst Lubitsch 381
25 Ninotchka 1939 Ernst Lubitsch 401
26 The Lady Vanishes 1938 Alfred Hitchcock 523
27 Dracula 1931 Tod Browning 530
28 Scarface 1932 Howard Hawks 534
29 The Thin Man 1934 W.S. Van Dyke 568
30 Triumph of the Will 1935 Leni Riefenstahl 590
31 Vampyr 1932 Carl Theodor Dreyer 611
32 The Blue Angel 1930 Josef von Sternberg 643
33 42nd Street 1933 Lloyd Bacon 664
34 L'Âge d'or 1930 Luis Buñuel 665
35 Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations 1938 Leni Riefenstahl 734
36 The Invisible Man 1933 James Whale 743
37 The Public Enemy 1931 William A. Wellman 753
38 The Awful Truth 1937 Leo McCarey 758
39 Alexander Nevsky 1938 Sergei M. Eisenstein and Dmitriy Vasilyev 760
40 Swing Time 1936 George Stevens 772
41 My Man Godfrey 1936 Gregory La Cava 788
42 Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty 1938 Leni Riefenstahl 790
43 Destry Rides Again 1939 George Marshall 836
44 Earth 1930 Aleksandr Dovzhenko 841
45 Love Me Tonight 1932 Rouben Mamoulian 845
46 The Scarlet Empress 1934 Josef von Sternberg 913
47 Make Way for Tomorrow 1937 Leo McCarey 949
48 Young Mr. Lincoln 1939 John Ford 975
49 Gold Diggers of 1933 1933 Mervyn LeRoy 981
50 Little Caesar 1931 Mervyn LeRoy 983
51 Things to Come 1936 William Cameron Menzies 1022
52 Sons of the Desert 1933 William A. Seiter 1066
53 It's a Gift 1934 Norman Z. McLeod 1068
54 Zero for Conduct 1933 Jean Vigo 1071
55 Mutiny on the Bounty 1935 Frank Lloyd 1074
56 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 Mervyn LeRoy 1100
57 Way Out West 1937 James W. Horne 1109
58 Le Jour se lève 1939 Marcel Carné 1124
59 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931 Rouben Mamoulian 1134
60 Wuthering Heights 1939 William Wyler 1136
61 Only Angels Have Wings 1939 Howard Hawks 1142
62 The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums 1939 Kenji Mizoguchi 1162
63 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 Frank Capra 1191
64 Dodsworth 1936 William Wyler 1212
65 Gunga Din 1939 George Stevens 1213
66 Pépé Le Moko 1937 Julien Duvivier 1243
67 Lost Horizon 1937 Frank Capra 1248
68 Holiday 1938 George Cukor 1270
69 Grand Hotel 1932 Edmund Goulding 1274
70 The Women 1939 George Cukor 1294
71 Angels with Dirty Faces 1938 Michael Curtiz 1382
72 Fury 1936 Fritz Lang 1385
73 I Was Born, But... 1932 Yasujirô Ozu 1392
74 The Roaring Twenties 1939 Raoul Walsh 1456
75 Queen Christina 1933 Rouben Mamoulian 1462
76 The Black Cat 1934 Edgar G. Ulmer 1518
77 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 Fritz Lang 1521
78 The Mummy 1932 Karl Freund 1527
79 Horse Feathers 1932 Norman Z. McLeod 1533
80 Footlight Parade 1933 Lloyd Bacon 1584
81 Land without Bread 1933 Luis Buñuel 1602
82 Goodbye Mr. Chips 1939 Sam Wood 1621
83 Boudu Saved from Drowning 1932 Jean Renoir 1628
84 Island of Lost Souls 1932 Erle C. Kenton 1638
85 Morocco 1930 Josef von Sternberg 1642
86 You Can't Take It with You 1938 Frank Capra 1644
87 Ruggles of Red Gap 1935 Leo McCarey 1651
88 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939 William Dieterle 1656
89 The Blood of a Poet 1932 Jean Cocteau 1659
90 Tabu 1931 F.W. Murnau 1667
91 The Music Box 1932 James Parrott 1691
92 Twentieth Century 1934 Howard Hawks 1709
93 Shanghai Express 1932 Josef von Sternberg 1741
94 The Crime of Mr. Lange 1936 Jean Renoir 1766
95 La Bête Humaine 1938 Jean Renoir 1767
96 The Old Dark House 1932 James Whale 1797
97 Jezebel 1938 William Wyler 1824
98 Midnight 1939 Mitchell Leisen 1832
99 Port of Shadows 1938 Marcel Carné 1841
100 The Informer 1935 John Ford 1868
101 Stella Dallas 1937 King Vidor 1913
102 The Life of Emile Zola 1937 William Dieterle 1936
103 Pygmalion 1938 Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard 1940
104 Man of Aran 1934 Robert J. Flaherty 1980
105 Camille 1936 George Cukor 2006
106 The Merry Widow 1934 Ernst Lubitsch 2030
107 She Done Him Wrong 1933 Lowell Sherman 2069
108 La Chienne 1931 Jean Renoir 2082
109 Show Boat 1936 James Whale 2083
110 Captains Courageous 1937 Victor Fleming 2092
111 Little Women 1933 George Cukor 2096
112 Dark Victory 1939 Edmund Goulding 2100
113 Le Million 1931 René Clair 2102
114 Animal Crackers 1930 Victor Heerman 2104
115 À Nous la Liberté 1931 René Clair 2136
116 Captain Blood 1935 Michael Curtiz 2176
117 Stage Door 1937 Gregory La Cava 2186
118 Dinner at Eight 1933 George Cukor 2226
119 Monkey Business 1931 Norman Z. McLeod 2234
120 Sabotage 1936 Alfred Hitchcock 2257
121 Reefer Madness 1936 Louis J. Gasnier 2329
122 The Gay Divorcee 1934 Mark Sandrich 2348
123 People on Sunday 1930 Curt and Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Fred Zinnemann 2392
124 One Hour with You 1932 Ernst Lubitsch 2399
125 Ecstasy 1933 Gustav Machatý 2410
126 The Private Life of Henry VIII 1933 Alexander Korda 2445
127 The Story of a Cheat 1936 Sacha Guitry 2448
128 Design for Living 1933 Ernst Lubitsch 2451
129 Dead End 1937 William Wyler 2470
130 The Charge of the Light Brigade 1936 Michael Curtiz 2493
131 Dodge City 1939 Michael Curtiz 2540
132 Baby Face 1933 Alfred E. Green 2551
133 David Copperfield 1935 George Cukor 2568
134 Le Roman de Renard 1937 Irene and Wladyslaw Starewicz 2628
135 The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 Alfred Hitchcock 2674
136 A Day at the Races 1937 Sam Wood 2681
137 The Good Earth 1937 Sidney Franklin 2689
138 Liebelei 1933 Max Ophüls 2746
139 The Petrified Forest 1936 Archie Mayo 2765
140 Blonde Venus 1932 Josef von Sternberg 2785
141 Of Mice and Men 1939 Lewis Milestone 2789
142 Maedchen in Uniform 1931 Leontine Sagan 2800
143 You Only Live Once 1937 Fritz Lang 2802
This page was last modified on April 21, 2020