From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overview of the events of 1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the
Walt Disney production of the first American full-length animated film,
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1937 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1937
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
Saratoga
MGM
$2,432,000
[1]
2
Maytime
$2,183,000
[1]
3
The Good Earth
$2,002,000
[1]
4
Stella Dallas
United Artists
$2,000,000
[2]
[3]
5
Rosalie
MGM
$1,946,000
[1]
6
Broadway Melody of 1938
$1,889,000
[1]
7
Captains Courageous
$1,688,000
[1]
8
Lost Horizon
Columbia
$1,683,000
[4]
9
A Day at the Races
MGM
$1,602,000
[1]
10
Thin Ice
20th Century Fox
$1,590,000
[5]
April 16 –
Laurel and Hardy comedy
Way Out West premieres in the US.
May 7 –
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedy
Shall We Dance premieres in the US.
May 11 – Drama
Captains Courageous , starring
Spencer Tracy , premieres in New York, going into general release on June 25.
June 7 –
Jean Harlow , one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the decade, dies aged 26 at
Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. The official cause of death is listed as
cerebral edema , a complication of kidney failure.
June 11 –
Marx Brothers comedy
A Day at the Races premieres in the U.S.
July 9 – The silent film archives of
Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the
1937 Fox vault fire .
July 23 – Six weeks after Jean Harlow's death, her final film,
Saratoga , is released. It is an instant box office success and becomes the year's highest-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career.
December 21 –
Walt Disney 's debut feature film
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the first feature-length cartoon to be made in America, in
Technicolor , and in sound, premieres at the
Carthay Circle Theatre in
Los Angeles . The film opens nationwide on February 4, 1938, and is a massive box office success, briefly holding the record as the highest-grossing sound film of all time.
Monogram Pictures , who had merged with
Republic Pictures two years earlier, decide to separate and distribute their own films again.
Top ten money-making stars
January 1937
13 January
14 January
17 January
26 January
28 January
29 January
30 January
February 1937
2 February
4 February
12 February
13 February
19 February
March 1937
2 March
3 March
5 March
12 March
22 March
25 March
26 March
27 March
Girl Loves Boy
April 1937
5 April
9 April
10 April
16 April
18 April
20 April
23 April
28 April
30 April
May 1937
7 May
8 May
9 May
19 May
21 May
26 May
28 May
June 1937
1 June
4 June
8 June
11 June
12 June
17 June
23 June
25 June
30 June
July 1937
6 July
7 July
14 July
15 July
16 July
21 July
23 July
24 July
August 1937
3 August
4 August
6 August
9 August
11 August
19 August
20 August
25 August
27 August
31 August
September 1937
1 September
2 September
3 September
5 September
7 September
10 September
16 September
18 September
24 September
26 September
30 September
October 1937
1 October
2 October
8 October
10 October
12 October
14 October
15 October
20 October
21 October
22 October
23 October
29 October
30 October
November 1937
9 November
12 November
19 November
20 November
25 November
December 1937
2 December
4 December
7 December
10 December
17 December
18 December
21 December
24 December
25 December
29 December
31 December
Notable films released in 1937
United States unless stated.
Battle of Greed , starring
Tom Keene
Bezhin Meadow , directed by
Sergei Eisenstein (
U.S.S.R. )
Big City , starring
Luise Rainer and
Spencer Tracy
Bizarre, Bizarre (Drôle de drame ou L'étrange aventure du Docteur Molyneux), directed by
Marcel Carné , starring
Louis Jouvet and
Michel Simon (
France )
Black Legion , starring
Humphrey Bogart
Born to the West , starring
John Wayne
The Bride Wore Red , directed by
Dorothy Arzner , starring
Joan Crawford
Brief Ecstasy , starring
Paul Lukas (
GB )
Broadway Melody of 1938 , starring
Eleanor Powell and
Judy Garland
A Damsel in Distress , starring
Fred Astaire ,
George Burns and
Gracie Allen
The Daughter of the Samurai (Die Tochter des Samurai / Atarashiki tsuchi), directed by
Arnold Fanck and
Mansaku Itami (
Germany /
Japan )
Daughter of Shanghai , starring
Anna May Wong and
Philip Ahn
A Day at the Races , directed by
Sam Wood , starring the
Marx Brothers
Dead End , directed by
William Wyler , starring
Sylvia Sidney ,
Joel McCrea ,
Humphrey Bogart ,
Claire Trevor
Double Wedding , starring
William Powell and
Myrna Loy
Dreaming Lips , directed by
Paul Czinner , starring
Elisabeth Bergner ,
Raymond Massey (Britain)
Duniya Na Mane (The Unexpected) (
India )
The Dybbuk ,
Yiddish language film from (
Poland )
Gangway , starring
Jessie Matthews (
GB )
Girl Loves Boy . starring
Eric Linden
The Good Earth , starring
Paul Muni and
Luise Rainer (
Academy Award for Best Actress )
Good Morning, Boys , starring
Will Hay (
GB )
Grand Illusion , directed by
Jean Renoir , starring
Jean Gabin and
Dita Parlo (
France )
The Great Barrier , starring
Richard Arlen and
Lilli Palmer (
GB )
The Great Garrick , starring
Brian Aherne and
Olivia de Havilland
The Great O'Malley , starring
Pat O'Brien and
Humphrey Bogart
Green Fields – a
Yiddish language film
Gribouille (
a.k.a. The Meddler), starring
Raimu and
Michèle Morgan (
France )
La Habanera , directed by
Douglas Sirk (
Germany )
Head Over Heels , starring
Jessie Matthews (
GB )
Heidi , starring
Shirley Temple
High, Wide, and Handsome , starring
Irene Dunne and
Randolph Scott
History is Made at Night , starring
Charles Boyer and
Jean Arthur
The Hound of the Baskervilles / Der Hund Von Baskerville (German) Sherlock Holmes film directed by Carl Lamac, starring Bruno Guttner as Holmes, and Fritz Odemar as Watson
Humanity and Paper Balloons (Ninjō Kami Fūsen) (
Japan )
The Hurricane , starring
Dorothy Lamour
Lancashire Luck , film debut of
Wendy Hiller (
GB )
The Last Gangster , starring
Edward G. Robinson and
James Stewart
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney , starring
Joan Crawford and
William Powell
Law for Tombstone , directed by and starring
Buck Jones
Layla and Majnun directed by
Abdolhossein Sepanta (Iran)
The Life of Emile Zola , starring
Paul Muni
Lost Horizon , directed by
Frank Capra , starring
Ronald Colman and
Jane Wyatt
Love from a Stranger , starring
Ann Harding and
Basil Rathbone (GB)
Love Is on the Air , directed by
Nick Grinde , starring
Ronald Reagan and
June Travis
Saratoga , starring
Clark Gable and
Jean Harlow in her last film
The Seven Ravens (
Germany )
Seventh Heaven , starring
James Stewart and
Simone Simon
Shall We Dance , starring
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers
Sidewalks of London (a.k.a. St. Martin's Lane), starring
Charles Laughton ,
Vivien Leigh and
Rex Harrison (
GB )
Il signor Max , starring
Vittorio De Sica (
Italy )
Silver Blaze (British), a Sherlock Holmes film directed by Thomas Bentley, starring
Arthur Wontner as Holmes, Ian Fleming as Watson and Lyn Harding as Moriarty; released in U.S. as Murder at the Baskervilles
Skeleton on Horseback (Bílá nemoc), directed by and starring
Hugo Haas (
Czechoslovakia )
Slave Ship , starring
Warner Baxter and
Wallace Beery
Slim , starring
Henry Fonda
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , first American feature-length
animated film. Directed by
David Hand , William Cottrell,
Wilfred Jackson ,
Larry Morey ,
Perce Pearce , and
Ben Sharpsteen , starring
Adriana Caselotti ,
Lucille La Verne ,
Harry Stockwell ,
Roy Atwell ,
Pinto Colvig ,
Otis Harlan ,
Scotty Mattraw ,
Billy Gilbert ,
Eddie Collins ,
Moroni Olsen , and
Stuart Buchanan
The Soldier and the Lady
Something to Sing About , directed by
Victor Schertzinger , starring
James Cagney ,
Evelyn Daw ,
William Frawley
Song at Midnight (Ye ban ge sheng) (
China )
Souls at Sea , starring
Gary Cooper and
George Raft
Stage Door , starring
Katharine Hepburn and
Ginger Rogers
Stand-In , starring
Leslie Howard ,
Joan Blondell ,
Humphrey Bogart
A Star Is Born , starring
Janet Gaynor and
Fredric March
Stella Dallas , starring
Barbara Stanwyck
Storm in a Teacup , starring
Vivien Leigh and
Rex Harrison (
GB )
Street Angel (Malu tianshi), starring
Zhou Xuan (
China )
The Tale of the Fox (Germany)
That Certain Woman , starring
Bette Davis and
Henry Fonda
The Three Garridebs , starring
Louis Hector , in the first televised adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character.
[6]
They Gave Him a Gun , starring
Spencer Tracy and
Gladys George
They Won't Forget , starring
Claude Rains
Thin Ice , starring
Sonja Henie and
Tyrone Power
Think Fast, Mr. Moto , starring
Peter Lorre
This Is My Affair , starring
Robert Taylor and
Barbara Stanwyck
Thunder in the City , starring
Edward G. Robinson ,
Nigel Bruce ,
Ralph Richardson (
GB )
To New Shores , directed by
Douglas Sirk , starring
Zarah Leander (
Germany )
Topper , starring
Constance Bennett ,
Cary Grant ,
Roland Young
Tovarich , starring
Claudette Colbert and
Charles Boyer
Tři vejce do skla (Three eggs in a glass) (
Czechoslovakia )
True Confession , starring
Carole Lombard ,
Fred MacMurray ,
John Barrymore
Yoshiwara , directed by
Max Ophüls , starring
Sessue Hayakawa (
France )
You Can't Have Everything , starring
Alice Faye ,
Don Ameche ,
Gypsy Rose Lee
You Only Live Once , starring
Henry Fonda and
Sylvia Sidney
Young and Innocent , directed by
Alfred Hitchcock (
GB )
You're a Sweetheart
You're Only Young Once , starring
Lewis Stone ,
Mickey Rooney ,
Cecilia Parker ,
Fay Holden
Animated short film series
January 1 -
Suzy Kendall , English actress
January 2 -
Jack Rader , American actor
January 4 –
Dyan Cannon , American actress
January 7 –
Harvey Evans , American actor (d.
2021 )
January 10 –
John M. Watson Sr. , American actor and musician (d.
2006 )
January 11 –
Felix Silla , Italian actor, musician, stunt artist and voice artist (d.
2021 )
January 12 –
Shirley Eaton , English actress and model
January 14 –
Stefano Satta Flores , Italian actor and voice actor (d.
1985 )
January 15 –
Margaret O'Brien , American actress
January 16 –
Lorraine Bayly , Australian actress, singer, director and writer
January 17 –
Dick Durock , American actor and stuntman (d.
2009 )
January 24 –
Julie Gregg , American actress (d.
2016 )
January 30 –
Vanessa Redgrave , English actress
January 31 –
Suzanne Pleshette , American actress (d.
2008 )
February 1 –
Garrett Morris , American comedian, actor and singer
February 2 –
Tom Smothers , American comedian and musician (d.
2023 )
February 14 –
Soher Al Bably , Egyptian actress (d.
2021 )
February 17 –
Benjamin Whitrow , English actor (d.
2017 )
February 19 –
David Margulies , American actor (d.
2016 )
February 21 –
Gary Lockwood , American actor
February 24 –
Shawn Elliott , American actor and singer (d.
2016 )
February 25 –
Tom Courtenay , English actor
February 27 –
Barbara Babcock , American character actress
March 2 –
BarBara Luna , American actress
March 3 –
Bobby Driscoll , American actor (d.
1968 )
March 5 –
Sal Borgese , Italian actor
March 10 –
Joe Viterelli , American actor (d.
2004 )
March 21 –
Bill Capizzi , American voice actor (d.
2007 )
March 22 –
Angelo Badalamenti , American screen composer (d.
2022 )
March 23 –
Tony Burton , American actor (d.
2016 )
March 30
April 1 –
Jordan Charney , American character actor
April 2 –
Ken Olfson , American actor (d.
1997 )
April 3 –
Lawrence Dane , Canadian actor and producer (d.
2022 )
April 6
April 13
April 15
April 18 –
Robert Hooks , American actor and producer
April 19 –
Elinor Donahue , American actress
April 20 –
George Takei , American actor, author and activist
April 22 –
Jack Nicholson , American actor
April 27 –
Sandy Dennis , American actress (d.
1992 )
May 5 –
John Martino , American actor
May 8 –
Shin Seong-il , South Korean actor (d.
2018 )
May 12
May 13 –
Zohra Lampert , American actress
May 16 –
Yvonne Craig , American actress (d.
2015 )
May 19 –
Pat Roach , English actor and professional wrestler (d.
2004 )
June 1 –
Morgan Freeman , American actor and director
June 2 –
Sally Kellerman , American actress and singer (d.
2022 )
June 10 –
Luciana Paluzzi , Italian actress
June 11
June 14 –
Jørgen Leth , Danish director
June 16 –
Charmian May , English character actress (d.
2002 )
June 17 -
Arthur Schmidt , American film editor (d.
2023 )
June 26 –
Sombat Metanee , Thai actor and film director (d.
2022 )
June 28 –
Richard Bright , American actor (d.
2006 )
July 2 –
Polly Holliday , American retired actress
July 6 –
Ned Beatty , American character actor (d.
2021 )
July 12 –
Bill Cosby , American stand-up comedian and actor
July 16 –
Ada Rogovtseva , Ukrainian actress
July 19 –
Richard Jordan , American actor (d.
1993 )
July 20
July 21 –
Gray Frederickson , American film producer (d.
2022 )
July 25 –
Paul Collins , British actor
July 28 –
Viktor Merezhko , Russian screenwriter, actor, writer and television presenter (d. 2022)
August 3
August 5 –
Alan Howard , English actor (d.
2015 )
August 6 –
Barbara Windsor , English comedy actress (d.
2020 )
August 8 –
Dustin Hoffman , American actor
August 14
August 16 –
Lorraine Gary , American retired actress
August 19 –
Evadne Baker , English actress (d.
1995 )
August 26 –
Kenji Utsumi , Japanese actor (d.
2013 )
September 1 –
Tsai Chin , Chinese actress, singer and director
September 4
September 6 –
Jo Anne Worley , American actress, comedian and singer
September 7
September 10 –
Brian Murray , South African actor and theatre director (d.
2018 )
September 13
September 21
September 24 –
Dee Pollock , American actor (d.
2005 )
September 26 –
Jerry Weintraub , American producer and actor (d.
2015 )
October 7 –
Clive Graham , British actor (d.
2007 )
October 10
October 11 –
Ron Leibman , American actor (d.
2019 )
October 15 –
Linda Lavin , American actress and singer
October 21 –
Édith Scob , French actress (d.
2019 )
October 22 –
Alan Ladd Jr. , American film producer (d.
2022 )
November 4 –
Loretta Swit , American actress
November 5 –
Harris Yulin , American actor
November 17 –
Peter Cook , English satirist and comedic actor (d. 1995)
November 21
November 23 –
Dora Cadavid , Colombian actress, singer and announcer (d.
2022 )
November 27 –
Rodney Bewes , English actor (d.
2017 )
November 30 –
Ridley Scott , English director and producer
December 4
December 7 –
Kenneth Colley , English actor
December 8 –
James MacArthur , American actor (d.
2010 )
December 9 –
Darwin Joston , American actor (d.
1998 )
December 12 –
Connie Francis , American singer and actress
December 16 –
Joyce Bulifant , American actress
December 21 –
Jane Fonda , American actress
December 29 –
Barbara Steele , English actress
December 30 –
Zaldy Zshornack , Filipino actor (d.
2002 )
December 31 –
Anthony Hopkins , Welsh actor
January 2 –
Ross Alexander , 29, American actor,
Captain Blood ,
A Midsummer Night's Dream ,
Flirtation Walk
January 21 –
Marie Prevost , 40, Canadian-born American actress,
The Marriage Circle ,
The Racket ,
The Godless Girl ,
Cain and Mabel
April 7 -
Helen Burgess , 20, American actress,
The Plainsman ,
A Doctor's Diary
May 1 –
Snitz Edwards , 69, Austro-Hungarian-born American actor,
The Thief of Bagdad ,
The Phantom of the Opera ,
Seven Chances ,
College
May 10 –
William Tedmarsh , 61, English-American silent film actor
June 7
Jean Harlow , 26, American actress,
The Public Enemy ,
Libeled Lady ,
Suzy ,
Red Dust
Monroe Owsley , 37, American actor,
Holiday ,
Indiscreet ,
The Keyhole ,
Ex-Lady
June 25 –
Colin Clive , 37, British actor,
Frankenstein ,
Bride of Frankenstein
September 21 –
Osgood Perkins , 45, American actor,
Scarface ,
Gold Diggers of 1937
November 13 –
Mrs. Leslie Carter , 75, American stage and screen actress,
Becky Sharp ,
Rocky Mountain Mystery
December 21 –
Ted Healy , 41, American actor and creator of The Three Stooges,
San Francisco ,
Mad Love ,
Beer and Pretzels ,
Soup to Nuts
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study .
^ Madsen, Axel (2015). Stanwyck: A Biography .
ISBN
978-1-5040-0861-7 . Released in August 1937, Stella Dallas grossed more than $2 million.
^ Reid, John Howard (2012). 140 All-Time Must-See Movies for Film Lovers Now Available On DVD .
ISBN
978-1-105-75295-7 . UA's top domestic box office hit of 1937, with gross rentals close to $2 million.
^ Dick, Bernard F. (1992). Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio .
ISBN
978-0-8131-5215-8 . Lost Horizon was probably least successful. It was budgeted at $1.66 million, but the combined U.S. and Canadian gross was only $1,683 million, thus barely covering production costs.
^ "All-time Film Rental Champs".
Variety . October 15, 1990.
^
First Actor to Portray Sherlock Holmes on TV ; Guinness World Records online; retrieved November 2016
Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success .
HarperCollins .
ISBN
978-0-06-177889-6 .