My Favorite Movies- 1930's

This afternoon when I breezed by Emily's blog I was so pleased to see a post about one of my favorite Woody Allen movies, Everyone Says I Love You. Another blogger commented that she wasn't very familiar with older films (kill me now if 1996 is old), and that she would love some recommendations from Emily. Well, obviously I am not Emily, but I thought this was a great idea. I immediately set out to come up with a list of my favorite movies to share with everyone. The thing is- I'm a big movie fan, especially older films. So, I've decided to share my favorite movies by the decade. First up is the 1930's, so here we go!

I'm a big Marx Brothers fan, and they made a lot of their movies through the 1930's.
Animal Crackers 1930- Hooray for Captain Spaulding! Groucho play Captain Spaulding, an African Explorer. At a party given in his honor a valuable painting disappears and lots of laughs ensue in the search for it.

Horse Feathers 1932- Funnily enough the song "Everyone Says I Love You" is the running theme of this movie, being written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who also did the music for Animal Cracker as well as the screenplay for both. In this film the action centers around trying to improve a floundering college's reputation by getting together a winning football team- even if they have to buy the players!

A Night At The Opera 1936- This movie features some beautiful singing my Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones, who the Marx Brothers are trying to help achieve the operatic success they are dreaming of, while tripping up the opera snobs around them.

A Day At The Races 1937- This is my favorite Marx Brothers movie. Groucho plays Dr. Hackenbush, who is hired to help save a failing sanitarium. The owner of the sanitarium is desperate, but not desperate enough to believe that her love can win the money she needs with his newly purchase race horse.

If you've ever read my blog before you'd know that I'm a big Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers fan. And again, like the Marx Brothers, they made almost all of their movies together in the 30's.
The Gay Divorcee 1934- Fred & Ginger meet under strange circumstances at the Custom's Office. He likes her, she hates him. She wants to get a divorce and her attorney just happens to be friends with Fred. Everyone goes to a coastal resort and things get harried when Ginger thinks Fred is someone he isn't. Fantastic dance scene to Cole Porter's "Night and Day".

Top Hat 1935- If you like design then you should watch this movie purely to see the incredibly art deco "Venice" sets. This movie contains probably their most famous dance scene ever to Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek". Similar sort of preface to Gay Divorcee, but somehow doesn't take away from it at all.

The Thin Man 1934- This is one of my all-time favorite movies. William Powell and Myrna Loy make such a great team as Nick & Nora Charles that they made 5 more Thin Man movies after this, but the first is the best. Powell is a former detective, retired after marrying his well-to-do wife, Loy. But a Christmas vacation in New York drags him back into crime-solving when a former client disappears. Despite the mystery aspect this is a fantastic comedy.

My Man Godfrey 1936- My Man Godfrey stars Powell again, this time with his ex-wife Carole Lombard. Lombard is a flighty socialite, Powell a man down on his luck. A chance encounter results in her hiring him as the families new butler. But what will Godfrey have to endure working for a family just as crazy as she is? And what is the real truth about Godfrey? Again, too funny to put into words.

Stage Door 1937- This movie boasts a stellar cast of female talent- Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Gail Patrick, Lucille Ball, and Eve Arden to name a few. The story of a group of struggling actresses who all reside together in a theatrical boarding house. A lot of comedy and a lot of drama packed in one little movie.

Bringing Up Baby 1938- In the first of their three movies together, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant will make you laugh till you cry. Uptight scientist meets free-spirited socialite, throw in a dinosaur bone, a million dollars, and a leopard named Baby- it's a recipe for hilarity.