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1936 Movies

Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1936, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.

1936 Academy Awards

Modern Times
Written by: Charles Chaplin
Directed by: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
Country: United States of America
Outline: A factory worker struggles to adjust to the modern, industrialized world, leading to comedic and poignant situations.
source: imdb.com
Libeled Lady
Written by: George Oppenheimer, Maurine Watkins, Howard J. Green
Directed by: Jack Conway
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy
Country: United States of America
Outline: A newspaper editor hires a reporter to compromise a woman suing his paper for libel, leading to a series of comedic misunderstandings.
source: imdb.com
Swing Time
Written by: Ernest Pagano, Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern
Directed by: George Stevens
Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore
Country: United States of America
Outline: A dancer falls in love with a woman who is unaware of his true profession, leading to comedic and romantic complications.
source: imdb.com
After the Thin Man
Written by: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Dashiell Hammett
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph
Country: United States of America
Outline: Private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora return to San Francisco for New Year's Eve, only to become embroiled in a murder investigation involving Nora's cousin, Selma. As they delve deeper, they uncover a web of deceit and betrayal, leading to a surprising revelation.
source: imdb.com
San Francisco
Written by: Anita Loos, Robert E. Hopkins
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy
Country: United States of America
Outline: Set against the backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the film follows nightclub owner Blackie Norton and singer Mary Blake as they navigate love, ambition, and tragedy. Their lives are upended when the devastating earthquake strikes, testing their resilience and the strength of their relationship.
source: imdb.com
The Plainsman
Written by: Niven Busch, Zane Grey
Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Helen Burgess, Charles Middleton
Country: United States of America
Outline: Set in the American West, the film follows Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane as they navigate the challenges of frontier life. Their paths cross as they confront outlaws, lawmen, and the complexities of their own relationship.
source: imdb.com
The Great Ziegfeld
Written by: William Anthony McGuire, Sonya Levien, William A. Drake
Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank Morgan, Luise Rainer, Ray Bolger, Virginia Bruce
Country: United States of America
Outline: A biographical musical drama depicting the life of Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., highlighting his rise to fame, personal relationships, and the challenges he faced in the entertainment industry.
source: imdb.com
My Man Godfrey
Written by: Morrie Ryskind, Eric S. Hatch
Directed by: Gregory La Cava
Starring: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette
Country: United States of America
Outline: A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler, leading to unexpected romantic developments. The film offers a comedic take on class disparities during the Great Depression.
source: imdb.com
Dodsworth
Written by: Sidney Howard
Directed by: William Wyler
Starring: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven
Country: United States of America
Outline: A retired automobile magnate embarks on a European tour with his wife, leading to marital challenges and self-discovery. The film delves into themes of aging, love, and personal fulfillment.
source: imdb.com
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Written by: Robert Riskin
Directed by: Frank Capra
Starring: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille
Country: United States of America
Outline: A small-town man inherits a fortune and moves to New York City, where he becomes a target for exploitation. The film is a satire on wealth and media sensationalism.
source: imdb.com
Fury
Written by: Norman Reilly Raine, Sheridan Gibney
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Starring: Sylvia Sidney, Spencer Tracy, Walter Brennan, Bruce Cabot, Edward Arnold
Country: United States of America
Outline: A man is wrongfully accused of a crime and becomes a victim of mob justice. The film explores themes of justice, mob mentality, and personal redemption.
source: imdb.com
Cain and Mabel
Written by: Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay
Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Allen Jenkins, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee
Country: United States of America
Outline: A boxer and a chorus girl become romantically involved, leading to complications in their personal and professional lives. The film is a musical comedy with themes of love and ambition.
source: imdb.com
Let's Go with Pancho Villa
Written by: Fernando de Fuentes, Rafael F. Muñoz, Xavier Villaurrutia
Directed by: Fernando de Fuentes
Starring: Domingo Soler, Antonio R. Frausto, Ramón Vallarino, Manuel Tamés, Carlos López y Valles
Country: Mexico
Outline: During the Mexican Revolution, six peasant fighters join Pancho Villa's forces to aid their community. As battles rage on, only two survive, until tragedy and a harsh command force the last warrior to return to civilian life.
source: imdb.com
The Petrified Forest
Written by: Charles Kenyon, Delmer Daves
Directed by: Archie Mayo
Starring: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran
Country: United States of America
Outline: A disillusioned writer and a young woman are held hostage by a gangster in a remote Arizona café, leading to a tragic and unexpected turn of events.
source: imdb.com
These Three
Written by: Lillian Hellman
Directed by: William Wyler
Starring: Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Miriam Hopkins, Bonita Granville, Charles Bickford
Country: United States of America
Outline: In a small New England town, a schoolteacher is accused of an inappropriate relationship with a student, leading to scandal and tragedy.
source: imdb.com
Show Boat
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Edna Ferber
Directed by: James Whale
Starring: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson
Country: United States of America
Outline: The lives of performers, stagehands, and dock workers on a Mississippi River showboat unfold over several decades, highlighting love, loss, and racial tensions.
source: imdb.com
Charlie Chan at the Opera
Written by: John L. Balderston, Robert Ellis, Helen Logan
Directed by: H. Bruce Humberstone
Starring: Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Mary Brian, Charles Middleton, Edmund Breese
Country: United States of America
Outline: Detective Charlie Chan investigates a murder at a grand opera house, uncovering a web of intrigue and deception.
source: imdb.com
Our Relations
Written by: Jack Jevne, Charles Bogle, Felix Adler
Directed by: Harry Lachman
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, James Finlayson
Country: United States of America
Outline: Two sailors, Stan and Ollie, are mistaken for their twin brothers, who are involved in a series of misadventures.
source: imdb.com
Camille
Written by: James Hilton, Zoë Akins, Frances Marion
Directed by: George Cukor
Starring: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Jessie Ralph, Henry Daniell, Laura Hope Crews
Country: United States of America
Outline: A Parisian courtesan must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail.
source: imdb.com
The Story of Louis Pasteur
Written by: Pierre Collings, Sheridan Gibney, Norman Reilly Raine
Directed by: William Dieterle
Starring: Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise, Donald Woods, John Qualen, Charles Ruggles
Country: United States of America
Outline: A biographical film about the life and struggles of French scientist Louis Pasteur.
source: imdb.com
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Written by: Norman Reilly Raine, Hugh Walpole, David O. Selznick
Directed by: John Cromwell
Starring: Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, C. Aubrey Smith, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, Sr.
Country: United States of America
Outline: A young boy discovers his noble heritage and is sent to live with his grandfather, a wealthy but gruff lord.
source: imdb.com