Overview of the events of 1931 in film
Overview of the events of 1931 in film
The following is an overview of 1931 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1931
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
City Lights
United Artists
$2,000,000
[1]
2
Trader Horn
MGM
$1,642,000
[2]
3
Palmy Days
United Artists
$1,601,000
[3]
4
The Man Who Came Back
Fox Film
$1,400,000
5
Merely Mary Ann
$1,300,000
6
Arrowsmith
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
United Artists
Paramount
$1,250,000
[5]
[6]
7
A Connecticut Yankee
Fox Film
$1,200,000
[5]
8
Cimarron
RKO
$1,122,000
[7]
9
Bad Girl
Fox Film
$1,100,000
10
Possessed
MGM
$1,030,000
[2]
Events
January 5:
RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of
Pathé for $4.6 million.
[8]
March 14:
Alam Ara , the first Indian-made
sound film , premieres at the Majestic Cinema in
Bombay .
June 20:
Monogram Pictures releases its first film, Ships of Hate .
[9]
July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada.
[10]
November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of
Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke.
[10]
December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved.
[10]
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.
[11]
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.
[11]
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
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,
[12] at a ceremony held at
The Ambassador Hotel
[12] in
Los Angeles, California . The ceremony was hosted by
Conrad Nagel .
[12] Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards.
[12]
Most nominations:
Arrowsmith (
Samuel Goldwyn Productions ) and
The Champ (
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ) – 4
Major Awards
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
17 January
30 January
February 1931
9 February
14 February
28 February
March 1931
5 March
6 March
14 March
20 March
21 March
29 March
April–June
April 1931
4 April
6 April
15 April
18 April
23 April
24 April
30 April
May 1931
1 May
11 May
16 May
22 May
23 May
June 1931
13 June
20 June
21 June
27 June
28 June
July–September
July 1931
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
19 September
26 September
30 September
October–December
October 1931
3 October
10 October
24 October
31 October
November 1931
1 November
7 November
9 November
10 November
21 November
28 November
December 1931
2 December
3 December
7 December
10 December
12 December
17 December
24 December
26 December
Notable films released in 1931
United States unless stated
0-9
A
À Nous la Liberté (Freedom for Us) , directed by
René Clair – (
France )
Alam Ara (The Light of the World) (lost), directed by
Ardeshir Irani – (
India )
Alexander Hamilton , directed by
John G. Adolfi , starring
George Arliss
Alibi (lost), directed by
Leslie S. Hiscott – (
GB )
Alice in Wonderland , directed by
Bud Pollard
Alone (Sola) , directed by
Henri Diamant-Berger – (
France )
Alone (Odna) , directed by
Leonid Trauberg and
Grigori Kozintsev – (
USSR )
An American Tragedy , directed by
Josef von Sternberg , starring
Phillips Holmes and
Sylvia Sidney
Arrowsmith , directed by
John Ford , starring
Ronald Colman and
Helen Hayes
B
Bachelor Apartment , starring and directed by
Lowell Sherman with
Irene Dunne
The Bachelor Father , directed by
Robert Z. Leonard , starring
Marion Davies and
Ray Milland
Bad Girl , directed by
Frank Borzage , starring
Sally Eilers and
James Dunn
Bad Sister , directed by
Hobart Henley , starring
Conrad Nagel ,
Sidney Fox ,
Bette Davis ,
Humphrey Bogart and
ZaSu Pitts
Berlin-Alexanderplatz , directed by
Phil Jutzi , starring
Heinrich George , based on the 1929
novel by
Alfred Döblin – (
Germany )
The Black Camel , directed by
Hamilton MacFadden , starring
Warner Oland ,
Sally Eilers and
Bela Lugosi
Blonde Crazy , directed by
Roy Del Ruth , starring
James Cagney and
Joan Blondell
Bought! , directed by
Archie Mayo , starring
Constance Bennett
Business Under Distress (To neznáte Hadimršku) ,
Karel Lamač and
Martin Frič – (
Czechoslovakia )
C
The Champ , directed by
King Vidor , starring
Wallace Beery and
Jackie Cooper
The Cheat , directed by
George Abbott , starring
Tallulah Bankhead
La Chienne (The Bitch) , directed by
Jean Renoir , starring
Michel Simon – (
France )
Cimarron , directed by
Wesley Ruggles , starring
Richard Dix and
Irene Dunne
The Cisco Kid , directed by
Irving Cummings , starring
Warner Baxter
City Lights , a
Charlie Chaplin film
City Streets , directed by
Rouben Mamoulian , starring
Gary Cooper and
Sylvia Sidney
A Connecticut Yankee , directed by
David Butler , starring
Will Rogers
The Criminal Code , directed by
Howard Hawks , starring
Walter Huston
D
Daughter of the Dragon , directed by
Lloyd Corrigan , starring
Anna May Wong ,
Warner Oland and
Sessue Hayakawa
David Golder , directed by
Julien Duvivier – (
France )
Dishonored , directed by
Josef von Sternberg , starring
Marlene Dietrich and
Victor McLaglen
Down River , directed by
Peter Godfrey , 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
Dracula , directed by
George Melford , starring
Carlos Villarías
E
F
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 , directed by
Clarence Brown , starring
Norma Shearer ,
Leslie Howard ,
Lionel Barrymore and
Clark Gable
From Saturday to Sunday (Ze soboty na neděli) , directed by
Gustav Machatý – (
Czechoslovakia )
The Front Page , directed by
Lewis Milestone , starring
Adolphe Menjou and
Pat O'Brien
G
H
Hell Divers , directed by
George Hill , starring
Wallace Beery ,
Clark Gable and
Conrad Nagel
Her Grace Commands (Ihre Hoheit befiehlt) , directed by
Hanns Schwarz , starring
Willy Fritsch and
Käthe von Nagy – (
Germany )
Hobson's Choice (lost), directed by
Thomas Bentley – (
GB )
Honor Among Lovers , directed by
Dorothy Arzner , starring
Claudette Colbert and
Fredric March
The Hound of the Baskervilles , directed by
Gareth Gundrey – (
GB )
Huckleberry Finn , directed by
Norman Taurog , starring
Jackie Coogan
Hyppolit, the Butler (Hyppolit, a lakáj) , directed by
István Székely – (
Hungary )
I
J
K
L
M
M , directed by
Fritz Lang , starring
Peter Lorre – (
Germany )
The Mad Genius , directed by
Michael Curtiz , starring
John Barrymore
Mädchen in Uniform , directed by
Leontine Sagan , starring
Hertha Thiele – (
Germany )
The Maltese Falcon , directed by
Roy Del Ruth , starring
Bebe Daniels ,
Ricardo Cortez and
Una Merkel
Marius , directed by
Alexander Korda , starring
Raimu and
Pierre Fresnay – (
France )
Mata Hari , directed by
George Fitzmaurice , starring
Greta Garbo ,
Ramon Novarro ,
Lewis Stone and
Lionel Barrymore
Le Million , directed by
René Clair – (
France )
The Millionaire , directed by
John G. Adolfi , starring
George Arliss
The Miracle Woman , directed by
Frank Capra , starring
Barbara Stanwyck
Monkey Business , directed by
Norman Z. McLeod , starring the
Marx Brothers
My Sin , directed by
George Abbott , starring
Tallulah Bankhead and
Fredric March
N
O
P
Palmy Days , directed by
A. Edward Sutherland , starring
Eddie Cantor
Pardon Us , directed by
James Parrott , starring
Laurel and Hardy
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath , directed by
Edward Sedgwick , starring
Buster Keaton
The Peach Girl (Tao hua qi xue ji) , directed by
Bu Wancang , starring
Ruan Lingyu – (
China )
Peludópolis (lost), directed by
Quirino Cristiani – (
Argentina )
Platinum Blonde , directed by
Frank Capra , starring
Loretta Young ,
Robert Williams and
Jean Harlow
Possessed , directed by
Clarence Brown , starring
Joan Crawford and
Clark Gable
Private Lives , directed by
Sidney Franklin , starring
Norma Shearer and
Robert Montgomery
The Public Enemy , directed by
William A. Wellman , starring
James Cagney ,
Jean Harlow and
Joan Blondell
Q
R
S
Sally in Our Alley , directed by
Maurice Elvey , starring
Gracie Fields – (
GB )
Secret Service , directed by
J. Walter Ruben , starring
Richard Dix
The Secret Six , directed by
George Hill , starring
Wallace Beery ,
Lewis Stone ,
Johnny Mack Brown ,
Jean Harlow and
Clark Gable
Secrets of a Secretary , directed by
George Abbott , starring
Claudette Colbert and
Herbert Marshall
Sidewalks of New York , directed by Zion Myers and
Jules White , starring
Buster Keaton ,
Anita Page and
Cliff Edwards
The Sin of Madelon Claudet , directed by
Edgar Selwyn , starring
Helen Hayes
The Sleeping Cardinal , directed by
Leslie S. Hiscott , starring
Arthur Wontner – (
GB )
Smart Money , directed by
Alfred E. Green , 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 (Yī jiǎn méi) , directed by
Bu Wancang , starring
Ruan Lingyu – (
China )
The Squaw Man , directed by
Cecil B. DeMille , starring
Warner Baxter and
Lupe Vélez
The Stolen Jools , directed by
William C. McGann
Street Scene , directed by
King Vidor , starring
Sylvia Sidney and
Estelle Taylor
The Struggle , directed by
D.W. Griffith
Svengali , directed by
Archie Mayo , starring
John Barrymore and
Marian Marsh
T
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas , directed by
F. W. Murnau
Tell England , directed by
Anthony Asquith and
Geoffrey Barkas – (
GB )
Ten Cents a Dance , directed by
Lionel Barrymore , starring
Barbara Stanwyck and
Ricardo Cortez
The Theft of the Mona Lisa (Der Raub der Mona Lisa) , directed by
Géza von Bolváry – (
Germany )
This Modern Age , directed by
Nick Grinde , starring
Joan Crawford and
Neil Hamilton
The Threepenny Opera (Die 3 Groschen-Oper) , directed by
G. W. Pabst , starring
Lotte Lenya – (
Germany )
Tilly of Bloomsbury , directed by
Jack Raymond , starring
Sydney Howard and
Phyllis Konstam – (
GB )
Tokyo Chorus (Tōkyō no kōrasu) , directed by
Yasujirō Ozu – (
Japan )
Tommi , directed by
Yakov Protazanov – (
USSR )
Tonight or Never , directed by
Mervyn LeRoy , starring
Gloria Swanson and
Melvyn Douglas
W
Serials
Short film series
Animated short film series
Births
January 3 –
Conrad Brooks , né Biedrzycki, American actor and producer (died
2017 )
January 5 –
Robert Duvall , American actor and director
January 9 -
Paul Mantee , American actor (died
2013 )
January 13 -
Scott Beach , American actor (died
1996 )
January 14 –
Caterina Valente , French singer and actress
January 17 –
James Earl Jones , American actor
January 22 -
Mary Castle , American actress (died
1998 )
January 25 -
Dean Jones , American actor (died
2015 )
January 26 –
Mary Murphy , American actress (died
2011 )
January 29 –
Leslie Bricusse , English-born film composer and lyricist (died
2021 )
January 30 -
Read Morgan , American actor (died
2022 )
February 6
February 8 –
James Dean , American actor (died
1955 )
February 9 -
Barbara Young , English actress (died
2023 )
February 14
February 15
February 18 -
Laura Valenzuela , Spanish television presenter and actress (died
2023 )
February 20 -
Karl Spiehs , Austrian producer (died
2022 )
February 24 –
Dominic Chianese , American actor
February 26 -
Shay Duffin , Irish character actor (died
2010 )
February 28 -
Gavin MacLeod , American actor (died
2021 )
March 5 -
George Ogilvie , Australian director and actor (died
2020 )
March 8 -
Gerald Potterton , British-Canadian director, writer, producer and animator (died
2022 )
March 15 -
James Ellis , Irish actor (died
2014 )
March 20 –
Hal Linden , American actor, director and musician
March 22 –
William Shatner , Canadian actor
March 26 –
Leonard Nimoy , American actor and director (died
2015 )
March 27 -
Marion Brash , American actress (died
2022 )
April 1 –
Ita Ever , Estonian actress (died
2023 )
April 8 –
John Gavin , American actor and diplomat (died
2018 )
April 17 –
Esteban Siller , Mexican voice actor (died
2013 )
May 5 -
Brian O'Shaughnessy , British actor (died
2001 )
May 10 –
Ettore Scola , Italian director and screenwriter (died
2016 )
May 15 -
K. S. Sethumadhavan , Indian director and screenwriter (died
2021 )
May 16 -
Frank Albanese , American actor (died
2015 )
May 18 –
Robert Morse , American actor and singer (died
2022 )
May 19 -
James Greene , Northern Irish actor (died
2021 )
May 23
May 24 –
Michael Lonsdale , British-French actor (died
2020 )
May 28
June 2 -
Peter Cummins , Australian character actor
June 3 –
Carmen Dell'Orefice , American supermodel and actress
June 7 -
Virginia McKenna , English actress
June 14 –
Marla Gibbs , American actress, singer, comedian, writer and producer
June 20
July 1 –
Leslie Caron , French actress and dancer
July 2
July 4 –
Stephen Boyd , Irish actor (died
1977 )
July 5 –
António de Macedo , Portuguese filmmaker, writer, university professor and lecturer (died
2017 )
July 6
July 10 –
Nick Adams , American actor and screenwriter (died
1968 )
July 11 –
Tab Hunter , American actor and singer (died
2018 )
July 14 –
Mirella Ricciardi , Kenyan photographer, writer and actress
July 24 –
Ermanno Olmi , Italian director and screenwriter (died
2018 )
July 27 –
Jerry Van Dyke , American actor, musician and comedian (died
2018 )
July 28 –
Darryl Hickman , American actor, voice artist, screenwriter and television executive (died
2024 )
August 19
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 4 –
Mitzi Gaynor , American actress, singer and dancer
September 10 –
Philip Baker Hall , American actor (died
2022 )
September 12
September 13 –
Barbara Bain , American actress
September 17 –
Anne Bancroft , American actress (died
2005 )
September 20 -
Ned Tanen , American producer (died
2009 )
September 21 –
Larry Hagman , American actor and director (died
2012 )
September 29
September 30 –
Angie Dickinson , American actress
October 10 –
Román Chalbaud , Venezuelan director (died
2023 )
October 12 -
Yvonne Gilan , Scottish actress (died
2018 )
October 19 -
Rubens de Falco , Brazilian actor (died
2008 )
October 21 –
Vivian Pickles , English actress
October 30 -
Ann Roth , American costume designer and actress
November 3 –
Monica Vitti , Italian actress (died
2022 )
November 5 -
Gil Hill , American actor (died
2016 )
November 6 –
Mike Nichols , German-born director (died
2014 )
November 10 –
Don Henderson , English actor (died
1997 )
November 12 –
Mary Louise Wilson , American actress, singer and comedian
November 18 -
Brad Sullivan , American character actor (died 2008)
November 30 –
Jack Ging , American actor (died
2022 )
December 2 –
Nadja Regin , Serbian actress (died
2019 )
December 3 -
Jaye P. Morgan , retired American singer, actress and game show panelist
December 9
December 11
December 14 -
Abbe Lane , American singer and actress
December 20 -
Mala Powers , American actress (died
2007 )
December 23 –
Ronnie Schell , American actor and stand-up comedian
December 24 -
Robert Ridgely , American actor (died
1997 )
December 28 –
Martin Milner . American actor (died
2015 )
Deaths
March 11 –
F. W. Murnau , German director (born 1888)
March 24
April 9 -
Thomas Santschi , American screen actor (born 1880)
June 7 –
Viktor Schwanneke , German actor (born 1880)
August 14 –
Janie Marèse , French actress (born 1908)
September 13 –
Lawrence D'Orsay , English actor (born 1853)
October 18 -
Thomas Edison , inventor (born 1847)
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
References
Citations
^ Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autry (March 30, 2010).
George Lucas's blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success .
It Books . pp. 160–161.
ISBN
978-0-0619-6345-2 .
^
a
b The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study .
^ Jones, Lon (March 4, 1944).
"Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?" .
The Argus . Melbourne. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^
a
b
Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938) (pg. 942) ; accessed April 19, 2014
^
"Film World" .
The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. October 19, 1934. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2014 .
^ Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television , Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56
^
"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 .
^
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.
Bibliography
Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey (2010). George Lucas's blockbusting: a decade-by-decade survey of timeless movies, including untold secrets of their financial and cultural success . New York, New York: ItBooks.
Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press.
ISBN
978-1-903364-66-6 .
External links