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Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in
film criticism Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outle ...
to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking which became characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
) and the 1960s. It eventually became the most powerful and pervasive style of filmmaking worldwide. Similar or associated terms include classical Hollywood narrative, the Golden Age of Hollywood, Old Hollywood, and classical continuity. For centuries, the only visual standard of narrative storytelling art was the
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
. Since the first narrative films in the mid-late 1890s, filmmakers have sought to capture the power of live theatre on the cinema screen. Most of these filmmakers started as directors on the late 19th-century stage, and likewise most film actors had roots in vaudeville (e.g.
The Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
) or theatrical melodramas. Visually, early narrative films had adapted little from the stage, and their narratives had adapted very little from vaudeville and melodrama. Before the visual style which would become known as "classical continuity", scenes were filmed in full shot and used carefully choreographed staging to portray plot and character relationships. Editing technique was extremely limited, and mostly consisted of close-ups of writing on objects for their legibility.


The maturation of silent films (1913 – late 1920s)

Though lacking the reality inherent to the stage, film (unlike the stage) offers the freedom to manipulate apparent time and space, and thus create the illusion of realism – that is temporal linearity and spatial continuity. By the early 1910s, when the
Lost Generation The Lost Generation was the social generational cohort in the Western world that was in early adulthood during World War I. "Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in th ...
was coming of age, filmmaking was beginning to fulfill its artistic potential. In Sweden and Denmark, this period would later be known as the "Golden Age" of the film; in America, this artistic change is attributed to filmmakers like D. W. Griffith finally breaking the grip of the Edison Trust to make films independent of the manufacturing monopoly. Films worldwide began to noticeably adopt visual and narrative elements which would be found in classical Hollywood cinema. 1913 was a particularly fruitful year for the medium, as pioneering directors from several countries produced masterpieces such as ''
The Mothering Heart ''The Mothering Heart'' is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art. Plot The film opens by showing a young woman (Lillian Gish) in a garden. She ...
'' (D. W. Griffith), '' Ingeborg Holm'' (
Victor Sjöström Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood in ...
), and ''L'enfant de Paris'' (
Léonce Perret Léonce Joseph Perret (14 March 1880 – 12 August 1935) was a prolific and innovative French film actor, director and producer.The Museum of Modern Art(retrieved 7 June 2007) He also worked as a stage actor and director. Often described as avant ...
) that set new standards for the film as a form of storytelling. It was also the year when
Yevgeni Bauer Yevgeni Franzevich Bauer (russian: Евгений Францевич Бауэр) (1865 – ) was a Russian film director of silent films, a theatre artist and a screenwriter. His work had a great influence on the aesthetics of Russian cinemat ...
(the first true film artist, according to
Georges Sadoul Georges Sadoul (4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English. Biography Sadoul was ...
) started his short, but prolific, career. In the world generally and America specifically, the influence of Griffith on filmmaking was unmatched. Equally influential were his actors in adapting their performances to the new medium. Lillian Gish, the star of ''The Mothering Heart'', is particularly noted for her influence on on-screen performance techniques. Griffith's 1915 epic ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...
'' was ground-breaking for film as a means of storytelling – a masterpiece of literary narrative with numerous innovative visual techniques. The film initiated so many advances in American cinema that it was rendered obsolete within a few years. Though 1913 was a global landmark for filmmaking, 1917 was primarily an American one; the era of "classical Hollywood cinema" is distinguished by a narrative and visual style which began to dominate the film medium in America by 1917.


Classical Hollywood cinema in the sound era (late 1920s – 1960s)

The narrative and visual style of classical Hollywood style developed further after the transition to sound-film production. The primary changes in American filmmaking came from the film industry itself, with the height of the
studio system A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hol ...
. This mode of production, with its reigning star system promoted by several key studios, had preceded sound by several years. By mid-1920, most of the prominent American directors and actors, who had worked independently since the early 1910s, had to become a part of the new studio system to continue to work. The beginning of the sound era itself is ambiguously defined. To some, it began with ''
The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...
'', which was released in 1927, when the
Interbellum Generation Interbellum Generation is a term (derived from the Latin ''inter'' "between" and ''bellum'' "war") that is sometimes used to denote people born in the United States during the first decade of the 20th century, often expressed specifically as the ...
ers became of age and increased box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. To others, the era began in 1929, when the silent age had definitively ended. Most Hollywood pictures from the late 1920s to 1960s adhered closely to a genre — Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, and biopic (biographical picture) — and the same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio. For instance,
Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...
and
Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...
always worked on MGM films; Alfred Newman worked at
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
for twenty years;
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
's films were almost all made at Paramount Pictures; and director Henry King's films were mostly made for Twentieth Century Fox. Similarly, actors were mostly contract players. Film historians and critics note that it took about a decade for films to adapt to sound and return to the level of artistic quality of the silents, which they did in the late 1930s when the
Greatest Generation The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The generation is generally defined as people born ...
ers became of age. Many great works of cinema that emerged from this period were of highly regimented filmmaking. One reason this was possible is that, as so many films were made, not every one had to be a big hit. A studio could gamble on a medium-budget feature with a good script and relatively unknown actors. This was the case with '' Citizen Kane'' (1941), directed by
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
and regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. Other strong-willed directors, like Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra, battled the studios in order to achieve their artistic visions. The apogee of the studio system may have been the year 1939, which saw the release of such classics as '' The Wizard of Oz''; ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
''; ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...
''; '' Stagecoach''; '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington''; ''
Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...
''; ''
Young Mr. Lincoln ''Young Mr. Lincoln'' is a 1939 American biographical drama western film about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to ...
''; ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...
''; ''
Only Angels Have Wings ''Only Angels Have Wings'' is a 1939 American adventure drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks. Its plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a remote South ...
''; ''
Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...
''; ''
Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a rel ...
''; ''
Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...
''; '' Gunga Din''; '' The Women''; ''
Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
''; and ''
The Roaring Twenties ''The Roaring Twenties'' is a 1939 American crime thriller film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, and Gladys George. The film, spanning the periods between 1919 and 1933, was written by Jerry ...
''.


Style

The visual-narrative style of classical Hollywood cinema, as elaborated by David Bordwell, was heavily influenced by the ideas of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
and its resurgence of mankind as the focal point. It is distinguished at three general levels: devices, systems, and the relations of systems.


Devices

The devices most inherent to classical Hollywood cinema are those of
continuity editing Continuity editing is the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence to direct the viewer's attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across b ...
. This includes the 180-degree rule, one of the major visual-spatial elements of continuity editing. The 180-degree rule keeps with the "photographed play" style by creating an imaginary 180-degree axis between the viewer and the shot, allowing viewers to clearly orient themselves within the position and direction of action in a scene. According to the 30-degree rule, cuts in the angle that the scene is viewed from must be significant enough for the viewer to understand the purpose of a change in perspective. Cuts that do not adhere to the 30-degree rule, known as
jump cut A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which a single continuous sequential shot of a subject is broken into two parts, with a piece of footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positions of the subje ...
s, are disruptive to the illusion of temporal continuity between shots. The 180-degree and 30-degree rules are elementary guidelines in filmmaking that preceded the official start of the classical era by over a decade, as seen in the pioneering 1902 French film '' A Trip to the Moon''. Cutting techniques in classical continuity editing serve to help establish or maintain continuity, as in the cross cut, which establishes the concurrence of action in different locations. Jump cuts are allowed in the form of the
axial cut An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera and the subject. While a plain jump cut typically involves a temporal discontin ...
, which does not change the angle of shooting at all, but has the clear purpose of showing a perspective closer or farther from the subject, and therefore does not interfere with temporal continuity.


Systems


Narrative logic

Classical narration progresses always through psychological motivation, i.e., by the will of a human character and its struggle with obstacles towards a defined goal. This narrative element is commonly composed of a primary narrative (e.g. a romance) intertwined with a secondary narrative or narratives. This narrative is structured with an unmistakable beginning, middle and end, and generally there is a distinct resolution. Utilizing actors, events, causal effects, main points, and secondary points are basic characteristics of this type of narrative. The characters in classical Hollywood cinema have clearly definable traits, are active, and very goal oriented. They are causal agents motivated by psychological rather than social concerns. The narrative is a chain of cause and effect with causal agents – in classical style, events do not occur randomly.


Cinematic time and space

Time in classical Hollywood is continuous, linear, and uniform, since
non-linearity In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many othe ...
calls attention to the illusory workings of the medium. The only permissible manipulation of time in this format is the flashback. It is mostly used to introduce a memory sequence of a character, ''e.g.'', '' Casablanca''. The greatest rule of classical continuity regarding space is object permanence: the viewer must believe that the scene exists outside the shot of the cinematic frame to maintain the picture's realism. The treatment of space in classical Hollywood strives to overcome or conceal the two-dimensionality of film ("invisible style") and is strongly centered upon the human body. The majority of shots in a classical film focus on gestures or
facial expression A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are ...
s (medium-long and
medium shot In a movie a medium shot, mid shot (MS), or waist shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. Use Medium shots are favored in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a partial view of t ...
s).
André Bazin André Bazin (; 18 April 1918 – 11 November 1958) was a renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist. Bazin started to write about film in 1943 and was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine ''Cahiers du cinéma'' in 1951, ...
once compared classical film to a photographed play in that the events seem to exist objectively and that cameras only give us the best view of the whole play. This treatment of space consists of four main aspects: centering, balancing, frontality, and depth. Persons or objects of significance are mostly in the center part of the picture
frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...
and never out of focus. Balancing refers to the visual composition, i. e., characters are evenly distributed throughout the frame. The action is subtly addressed towards the spectator (frontality) and set, lighting (mostly
three-point lighting Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media such as theatre, video, film, still photography, computer-generated imagery and 3D computer graphics. By using three separate positions, the photographer can illuminate the shot's su ...
, especially
high-key lighting High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal w ...
), and costumes are designed to separate foreground from the background (depth).


Relations of systems

The aspects of space and time are subordinated to the narrative element.


Legacy

The
New Hollywood The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence. They influenced the types o ...
of the mid-1960s to early 80s was influenced by the romanticism of the classical era, as was the French New Wave.


Major figures from Classic Hollywood cinema

Names in boldface type were recognized on the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history. The top stars of their respective genders are Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, who starred together in the classic adventure 1951 film '' The African Queen''. Sophia Loren, is the only living star listed in the top 25. *
Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...
(1867–1939) * Marie Dressler (1868–1934) * Adolph Zukor (1873–1976) * D. W. Griffith (1875–1948) * Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954) *
Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...
(1877–1938) *
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
(1881–1959) *
Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...
(1882–1974) *
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
(1883–1930) *
Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...
(1883–1939) *
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
(1884–1957) * Henry King (1886–1982) *
Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man ...
(1886–1973) * Chico Marx (1887–1961) *
Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...
(1888–1964) * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) * Victor Fleming (1889–1949) * Stan Laurel (1890-1965) * Groucho Marx (1890–1977) * Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) * Jack L. Warner (1892–1978) *
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
(1892–1947) *
William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...
(1892–1984) *
Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
(1892–1979) *
Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...
(1893–1971) *
Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
(1893–1980) * Lillian Gish (1893–1993) *
Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...
(1893–1952) * Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973) *
Gummo Marx Milton "Gummo" Marx (October 23, 1892 – April 21, 1977) was an American vaudevillian performer, actor, comedian, and theatrical agent. He was the second youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Born in Manhattan, he worked with his brothers on t ...
(1893-1977) *
Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most pop ...
(1894–1957) *
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
(1894–1973) *
King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
(1894–1982) * Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926) * Buster Keaton (1895–1966) *
José Mojica Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica (14 September 1895 – 20 September 1974) was a Mexican Franciscan friar and former tenor and film actor. He was known in the music and film fields as José Mojica. (Spanish) Mojica joined the world of the Americ ...
(1895–1974) *
Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
(1896–1985) *
Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
(1897–1961) *
Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lois Weber (who d ...
(1897-1979) *
Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...
(1897–1981) *
Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...
(1898–1986) *
Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...
(1898–1990) * Randolph Scott (1898–1987) *
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
(1899–1987) *
Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
(1899–1983) *
Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
(1899–1936) * James Cagney (1899–1986) * Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) * Humphrey Bogart (1899–1957) *
George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...
(1899–1983) *
Ramon Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...
(1899–1968) *
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
(1900–1967) *
Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
(1900–1991) * Helen Hayes (1900–1993) * Mervyn LeRoy (1900–1987) *
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
(1901–1960) *
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
(1901–1966) *
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
(1901–1961) *
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
(1901–1992) *
Zeppo Marx Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American comedic actor, theatrical agent, and engineer. He was the youngest and last survivor of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers f ...
(1901-1979) *
Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
(1902–1979) * David O. Selznick (1902–1965) *
William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...
(1902–1981) *
Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
(1902–1983) * Bing Crosby (1903–1977) *
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
(1903–2003) *
Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...
(1903–1996) *
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...
(1903–1986) *
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
(190?–1977) *
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
(1904–1986) * Dolores del Rio (1904–1983) *
George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...
(1904–1975) *
Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...
(1904–1996) *
Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...
(1905–1965) *
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...
(1905–1982) *
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...
(1905–1990) *
Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
(1905–1993) *
Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...
(1905–1961) *
Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...
(1905-1994) *
Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
(1906–1985) * Janet Gaynor (1906–1984) *
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...
(1906–2002) * John Huston (1906–1987) *
Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...
(1907–1997) * Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) * Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) * John Wayne (1907–1979) *
Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...
(1907–1976) * Barbara Stanwyck (1907–1990) *
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
(1908–1989) * Carole Lombard (1908–1942) * David Lean (1908–1991) * James Stewart (1908–1997) *
Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...
(1908–1944) * Rex Harrison (1908–1990) *
Tito Guízar Federico Arturo Guízar Tolentino (; April 8, 1908 – December 24, 1999), known professionally as Tito Guízar, was a Mexican singer and actor. Along with Dolores del Río, Ramón Novarro and Lupe Vélez, as well as José Mojica, Guízar was ...
(1908-1999) * Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (1909–2000) *
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
(1909–1959) *
Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The Br ...
(1909–1955) * Elia Kazan (1909–2003) *
Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...
(1909–1993) *
David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
(1910–1983) *
Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...
(1910–2014) *
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
(1911–1993) *
Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
(1911–1937) *
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
(1911–1995) *
José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
(1912-1992) * Gene Kelly (1912–1996) * Vivien Leigh (1913–1967) *
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
(1913–2000) * Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) *
Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...
(1914–1958) *
Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
(1914–2000) *
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
(1915–1985) * Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) * Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) *
Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
(1915–2001) *
Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...
(1915–1998) *
Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...
(1916–1973) * Gregory Peck (1916–2003) *
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
(1916–2020) * Kirk Douglas (1916–2020) *
Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...
(1916–2008) *
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...
(1917–2007) * Lena Horne (1917–2010) * Susan Hayward (1917–1975) *
Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...
(1917–1997) *
Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...
(1917–2013) * June Allyson (1917–2006) *
William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
(1918–1981) *
Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...
(1918-1995) *
Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
(1918–1987) *
Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...
(1919–2009) * Mickey Rooney (1920–2014) * Maureen O'Hara (1920–2015) *
Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...
(1920–1991) *
Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...
(1920–1966) *
Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...
(1920–2009) *
Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...
(1920–2006) *
Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...
(1920–1985) * Esther Williams (1921–2013) * Deborah Kerr (1921–2007) *
Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...
(1921–2011) *
Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
(1921–2008) *
Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...
(1921–1995) *
Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
(1922–1965) * Doris Day (1922–2019) *
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
(1922–1969) *
Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
(1922–1990) * Charlton Heston (1923–2008) * Marlon Brando (1924–2004) *
Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...
(1924–2019) * Lauren Bacall (1924–2014) *
Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado, was a Mexican actress. Jurado began her acting career in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In 1951, she was rec ...
(1924-2002) * Jack Lemmon (1925–2001) * Paul Newman (1925–2008) *
Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...
(1925–1985) *
Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
(1925–2010) *
Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
(1925–2022) *
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
(1926–1962) *
Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...
(1927–2004) * Sidney Poitier (1927–2022) * Shirley Temple (1928–2014) * Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) *
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...
(1929–1982) *
Jane Powell Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image ...
(1929–2021) * James Dean (1931–1955) * Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) * Debbie Reynolds (1932–2016) *
Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...
(1932-1992) * Omar Sharif (1932-2015) *
Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
(1933–1967) * Sophia Loren (1934–present) *
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
(1935-1977) * Diahann Carroll (1935-2019) *
Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...
(1938–1981)


Living actors from Classical Hollywood

Those listed in bold were either awarded or nominated for a position on the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history. See. AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars. * Elisabeth Waldo - born 1918 (age ) *
Caren Marsh Doll Caren Marsh Doll ( Morris; born April 6, 1919), also credited as Caren Marsh, is an American former stage and screen actress and dancer specializing in modern dance and tap. She is notable as Judy Garland's stand-in in '' The Wizard of Oz'' ( ...
– born 1919 (age ) *
Margia Dean Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez ( Skliris; born April 7, 1922), known as Margia Dean, is an American former beauty queen and stage and screen actress of Greek descent, who had a successful career in Hollywood films during the 1940s until the e ...
– born 1922 (age ) *
Janis Paige Janis Paige (born Donna Mae Tjaden; September 16, 1922) is an American retired actress and singer. Born in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in local amateur shows at the age of five. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, where she b ...
– born 1922 (age ) *
Jacqueline White Jacqueline Jane White (born November 23, 1922) is an American former actress, who had a brief career in Hollywood motion pictures during the 1940s and early-1950s working as a contract player at both studios MGM and RKO, and perhaps best reme ...
– born 1922 (age ) *
Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...
– born 1923 (age ) *
Carole Cook Mildred Frances Cook (born January 14, 1924), professionally known as Carole Cook is an American actress. known for appearances on ''The Lucy Show'' and ''Here's Lucy'' Life and career She was born Mildred Frances Cook on January 14, 1924, in ...
- born 1924 (age ) *
Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
– born 1924 (age ) *
June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...
– born 1925 (age ) *
Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...
– born 1925 (age ) *
Miiko Taka (born Miiko Shikata July 24, 1925 – January 2023) was an American actress, popular for her film and TV roles from the late 1950s until the early 1980s. Her best known role was as an elegant Japanese dancer starring opposite Marlon Brando in t ...
– born 1925 (age ) * Dick Van Dyke – born 1925 (age ) *
Marilyn Knowlden Marilyn Knowlden (born May 12, 1926) is an American former child actress. She started appearing in Hollywood films in 1931 when she was four years old. She established herself as a freelancer who worked frequently at different major film studios ...
– born 1926 (age ) *
Terry Kilburn Terence E. Kilburn (born 25 November 1926), known for his acting work prior to 1953 as Terry Kilburn, is an English-American actor. Born in London, he moved to Hollywood in the U.S. at the age of 10, and is best known for his roles as a child ac ...
– born 1926 (age ) *
Lisa Lu Lisa Lu Yan (; born January 19, 1927) is a Chinese actress. She won the Golden Horse Awards three times in the 1970s. She is the only person who is a member of both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ...
- born 1927 (age ) *
Phyllis Coates Phyllis Coates (born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell; January 15, 1927) is an American former actress, with a career spanning over fifty years. She is best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film ''Superman and the Mole Men'' and ...
born 1927 (age ) *
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
– born 1927 (age ) * Cora Sue Collins – born 1927 (age ) *
Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
– born 1927 (age ) *
Peggy Dow Peggy Dow (born Peggy Josephine Varnadow; March 18, 1928) is an American philanthropist and retired actress who had a brief career in Hollywood had Universal Studios starring in films during the Golden Age Era in the early 1950s. She is perha ...
– born 1928 (age ) * Nancy Olson – born 1928 (age ) * Ann Blyth – born 1928 (age ) *
Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film ' ...
– born 1928 (age ) * James Hong – born 1929 (age ) * Don Murray – born 1929 (age ) *
Vera Miles Vera June Miles ( née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II ...
– born 1929 (age ) * Terry Moore – born 1929 (age ) *
Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...
– born 1929 (age ) *
Tippi Hedren Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930) is an American actress, animal rights activist, and former fashion model. A successful fashion model who appeared on the front covers of ''Life'' and '' Glamour'' magazines, among others, Hed ...
– born 1930 (age ) * Gene Hackman – born 1930 (age ) *
Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979 ...
– born 1930 (age ) *
Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
– born 1930 (age ) * Clint Eastwood – born 1930 (age ) *
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations w ...
– born 1930 (age ) *
Mary Costa Mary Costa (born April 5, 1930) is an American retired actress and singer. Her most notable film credit is providing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film ''Sleeping Beauty'', of which she is the last surviving original vo ...
– born 1930 (age ) *
Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
Leslie Caron Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French-American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. She is one ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...
- born 1931 (age ) *
Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...
– born 1931 (age, ) *
Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
– born 1931 (age ) * Rita Moreno – born 1931 (age ) *
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
– born 1931 (age ) *
Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...
– born 1932 (age ) *
Felicia Farr Felicia Farr (born Olive Dines; October 4, 1932) is a American former actress and model Early years Farr was born in Westchester County, New York. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied sociology at Penn State. Career Farr beg ...
– born 1932 (age ) *
Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...
– born 1933 (age ) *
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
– born 1933 (age ) * Debra Paget – born 1933 (age ) *
Audrey Dalton Audrey Dalton (born 21 January 1934) is an Irish-born former film and television actress who mostly worked in the United States during the Golden Age of Hollywood, when she arrived at Paramount Pictures, columnist Erkstine Johnson, stated she st ...
– born 1934 (age ) * Shirley MacLaine – born 1934 (age ) *
Jean Marsh Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...
– born 1934 (age ) * Sophia Loren – born 1934 (age ) *
Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...
– born 1934 (age ) *
Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...
- born 1935 (age ) * Julie Andrews – born 1935 (age 87) *
Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
– born 1937 (age ) *
Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...
– born 1937 (age ) *
George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
– born 1937 (age ) * Paul Collins – born 1937 (age ) * Connie Frances - born 1937 (age, ) * Jane Fonda – born 1937 (age ) *
Kathryn Beaumont Kathryn Beaumont Levine (born 27 June 1938) is a British-American former actress, singer and school teacher. She is best known for voicing Alice in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1951) and Wendy Darling in ''Peter Pan'' (1953), for which she was name ...
– born 1938 (age ) *
Dolores Hart Dolores Hart, O.S.B. (born Dolores Hicks; October 20, 1938) is an American Roman Catholic Benedictine nun who was a prominent actress. Following her movie debut with Elvis Presley in '' Loving You'' (1957), she made ten films in five years, inc ...
– born 1938 (age ) *
Millie Perkins Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1938) is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 1966 Westerns, '' The Shooting'' and '' ...
– born 1938 (age ) *
Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...
- born 1938 (age ) *
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), ''The Courtship of ...
– born 1938 (age ) * George Hamilton – born 1939 (age ) *
Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...
– born 1940 (age ) *
Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...
– born 1941 (age ) *
Fabian Forte Fabian Forte (born Fabiano Anthony Forte, February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor. Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on '' American Bandstand''. He became a teen idol o ...
– born 1943 (age ) *
Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...
- born 1940 (age, )


List of selected notable films

The following is a chronological list of notable American films that were made during Hollywood's Golden Age.


Silent era

* ''
The Mothering Heart ''The Mothering Heart'' is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art. Plot The film opens by showing a young woman (Lillian Gish) in a garden. She ...
'' (1913) * ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...
'' (1915) * ''
Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...
'' (1916) * ''
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy ...
'' (1917) * '' The Immigrant'' (1917) * ''
The Poor Little Rich Girl ''The Poor Little Rich Girl'' is a 1917 American comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. Adapted by Frances Marion from the 1913 play by Eleanor Gates. The Broadway play actually starred future screen actress Viola Dana. The film star ...
'' (1917) * '' Wild and Woolly'' (1917) * '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919) * ''
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
'' (1920) * ''
The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the ''Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder ...
'' (1920) * '' Within Our Gates'' (1920) * ''
Way Down East ''Way Down East'' is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play ''Way Down East'' by Lottie Blair Parker. There w ...
'' (1920) * ''
Orphans of the Storm ''Orphans of the Storm'' is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution. The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and Dorothy Gish, it was a commercial failu ...
'' (1921) * '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1921) * ''
The Kid The Kid or The Kids may refer to: Fictional characters * The kid (''Blood Meridian''), a character in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel ''Blood Meridian'' * The Kid (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film series * The Kid (''The Stand'' ...
'' (1921) * '' A Woman of Paris'' (1921) * ''
The Covered Wagon ''The Covered Wagon'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze based on a 1922 novel of the same name by Emerson Hough about a group of pioneers tr ...
'' (1923) * ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...
'' (1923) * ''
Safety Last! ''Safety Last!'' is a 1923 American silent romantic-comedy film starring Harold Lloyd. It includes one of the most famous images from the silent-film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper ...
'' (1923) * ''
Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...
'' (1924) * ''
Sherlock Jr. ''Sherlock Jr.'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane. In 1991, ''Sherlock J ...
'' (1924) * '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924) * '' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' (1925) * ''
The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...
'' (1925) * ''
The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite. Chapl ...
'' (1925) * ''
Little Annie Rooney ''Little Annie Rooney'' is a comic strip about a young orphaned girl who traveled about with her dog, Zero. King Features Syndicate launched the strip on January 10, 1927, not long after it was apparent that the Chicago Tribune Syndicate had ...
'' (1925) * ''
The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (1925) * ''
Flesh and the Devil ''Flesh and the Devil'' is an American silent romantic drama film released in 1927 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the novel ''The Undying ...
'' (1926) * '' Sparrows'' (1926) * ''
The Black Pirate ''The Black Pirate'' is a 1926 American silent action adventure film shot entirely in two-color Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. Directed by Albert Parker, it stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, an ...
'' (1926) * ''
The Canadian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1926) * '' The General'' (1926) * '' 7th Heaven'' (1927) * '' It'' (1927) * '' The Unknown'' (1927) * ''
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
'' (1927) * '' The Circus'' (1928) * '' The Wind'' (1928) * '' City Lights'' (1931) * '' Tabu'' (1931) * '' Legong: Dance of the Virgins'' (1935) * '' Modern Times'' (1936)


Sound era

* ''
A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor ''A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor'' also known as ''A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor, Star of "Kid Boots"'' is an early sound film made in Lee De Forest's sound-on-film Phonofilm process in late 1923 or early 1924 starring Eddie Cantor in an exce ...
'' (1923) * ''
My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
'' (1926) * ''
The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...
'' (1927) * '' Lights of New York'' (1928) * ''
Interference Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to: Communications * Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message * Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
'' (1928) * ''
In Old Arizona ''In Old Arizona'' is a 1928 American pre-Code Western film directed by Raoul Walsh and Irving Cummings, nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, which was based on the character of the Cisco Kid in the 1907 story " ...
'' (1928) * ''
Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...
'' (1928) * ''
The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor seque ...
'' (1929) * ''
On with the Show! ''On with the Show!'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film produced by Warner Bros. Filmed in two-color Technicolor, the film is noted as the first all-talking, all-color feature length film, and the second color film released by Warner B ...
'' (1929) * '' A Free Soul'' (1930) * '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) * ''
Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the ...
'' (1930) * ''
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
'' (1930) * '' King of Jazz'' (1930) * ''
Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
'' (1930) * ''
The Divorcee ''The Divorcee'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel ''Ex-Wife'' by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy ...
'' (1930) * '' Bad Girl'' (1931) * ''
Blonde Crazy ''Blonde Crazy'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Noel Francis, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, and Guy Kibbee. The film is notable for one of Cagney's lines, ...
'' (1931) * '' Dracula'' (1931) * ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
'' (1931) * '' Platinum Blonde'' (1931) * ''
The Public Enemy ''The Public Enemy'' (''Enemies of the Public'' in the UK) is a 1931 American all-talking pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edwar ...
'' (1931) * '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932) * ''
Flowers and Trees ''Flowers and Trees'' is a 1932 '' Silly Symphonies'' cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 30, 1932. It was the first commercially released film to be produced in the full- ...
'' (1932) * '' Forbidden'' (1932) * '' Freaks'' (1932) * ''
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...
'' (1932) * '' Red Dust'' (1932) * '' Scarface'' (1932) * '' Shanghai Express'' (1932) * ''
The Animal Kingdom ''The Animal Kingdom'' (also known as ''The Woman in His House'' in the UK) is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith based upon a comedy of manners play of the same name by Philip Barry. ...
'' (1932) * '' Trouble in Paradise'' (1932) * ''
She Done Him Wrong ''She Done Him Wrong'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hu ...
'' (1933) * '' 42nd Street'' (1933) * ''
Baby Face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
'' (1933) * ''
Design for Living ''Design for Living'' is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Cowa ...
'' (1933) * '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) * '' Duck Soup'' (1933) * ''
Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...
'' (1933) * ''
Footlight Parade ''Footlight Parade'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The film was written by Manuel Seff and Ja ...
'' (1933) * ''
The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...
'' (1933) * ''
King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
'' (1933) * ''
Lady for a Day ''Lady for a Day'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the 1929 short story "Madame La Gimp" by Damon Runyon. It was the first film for which Capra received an Acade ...
'' (1933) * ''
Man's Castle ''Man's Castle'' is a 1933 pre-Code American film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Plot Well-dressed Bill (Spencer Tracy) takes pity on Trina (Loretta Young), a hungry young woman he meets in a city park an ...
'' (1933) * '' Snow-White'' (1933) * '' Queen Christina'' (1933) * '' Broadway Bill'' (1934) * '' Imitation of Life'' (1934) * ''
It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...
'' (1934) * ''
Manhattan Melodrama ''Manhattan Melodrama'' is a 1934 American pre-Code crime film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. (Rooney ...
'' (1934) * ''
No Greater Glory ''No Greater Glory'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code allegorical anti-war film directed by Frank Borzage and based on the novel '' A Pál utcai fiúk'' by Ferenc Molnár, known in English as "The Boys of Paul Street." The film's box office performanc ...
'' (1934) * ''
Of Human Bondage ''Of Human Bondage'' is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in i ...
'' (1934) * ''
Poor Cinderella ''Poor Cinderella'' (original title as ''Betty Boop in Poor Cinderella'') is a 1934 Fleischer Studios animated short film featuring Betty Boop. ''Poor Cinderella'' was Fleischer Studios' first color film, and the only appearance of Betty Boop in ...
'' (1934) * ''
The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. The screenplay was written by ...
'' (1934) * '' The Old Fashioned Way'' (1934) * ''
The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...
'' (1934) * ''
Twentieth Century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...
'' (1934) * '' Woman Haters'' (1934) * ''
Wonder Bar ''Wonder Bar'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley. It stars Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores del Río, Ricardo Cortez, Dick ...
'' (1934) * ''
Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...
'' (1935) * '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) * ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...
'' (1935) * ''
Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...
'' (1935) * ''
The Band Concert ''The Band Concert'' is a 1935 American animated short film produced in 3-strip Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. It was the 73rd Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the second of that year. ''The Ba ...
'' (1935) * ''
Becky Sharp Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, later describing herself as Rebecca, Lady Crawley, is the main protagonist of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847–48 novel ''Vanity Fair''. She is presented as a cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate an ...
'' (1935) * ''
Gold Diggers of 1935 ''Gold Diggers of 1935'' is an American musical film directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart and Alice Brady. Winifred Shaw, Hugh Herbert and Glenda Farrell are also featured. The son ...
'' (1935) * '' Sylvia Scarlett'' (1935) * ''
Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...
'' (1935) * ''
Disorder in the Court ''Disorder in the Court'' is a 1936 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 15th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures sta ...
'' (1936)Fandor
/ref> * '' Camille'' (1936) * ''
Follow the Fleet ''Follow the Fleet'' is a 1936 American RKO musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, ...
'' (1936) * ''
Libeled Lady ''Libeled Lady'' is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan, and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway ...
'' (1936) * ''
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which ...
'' (1936) * '' My Man Godfrey'' (1936) * '' Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor'' (1936) * ''
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
'' (1936) * ''
Swing Time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...
'' (1936) * ''
Theodora Goes Wild ''Theodora Goes Wild'' is a 1936 American screwball comedy film that tells the story of the residents in a small town who are incensed by a risqué novel, unaware that the book was written under a pseudonym by a member of the town's leading fami ...
'' (1936) * ''
The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1923 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts how a distrustful rich couple begins ...
'' (1937) * ''
Captains Courageous ''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' is an 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese f ...
'' (1937) * '' Easy Living'' (1937) * ''
Gold Diggers of 1937 ''Gold Diggers of 1937'' is a Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, with Glenda Farrell and Vic ...
'' (1937) * ''
Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...
'' (1937) * ''
Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamas ...
'' (1937) * '' Make Way for Tomorrow'' (1937) * ''
Marked Woman ''Marked Woman'' is a 1937 American dramatic crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannell ...
'' (1937) * '' Nothing Sacred'' (1937) * ''
The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...
'' (1937) * '' Shall We Dance'' (1937) * ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
'' (1937) * ''
Stage Door ''Stage Door'' is a 1937 RKO film directed by Gregory La Cava. Adapted from the play of the same name, it tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film ...
'' (1937) * '' A Star Is Born'' (1937) * '' Stella Dallas'' (1937) * ''
True Confession ''True Confession'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. It was based on the 1934 play ''Mon Crime'', written by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. I ...
'' (1937) * ''
Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University and its oldest performing arts presentation. Founded in 1894 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Col ...
'' (1937) * ''
Wee Willie Winkie "Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme whose titular figure has become popular as a personification of sleep. The poem was written by William Miller and titled "Willie Winkie", first published in '' Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fir ...
'' (1937) * ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...
'' (1938) * '' Algiers'' (1938) * ''
Angels with Dirty Faces ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was wri ...
'' (1938) * '' A Yank at Oxford'' (1938) * ''
Bringing Up Baby ''Bringing Up Baby'' is a 1938 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film tells the story of a paleontologist in a number of predic ...
'' (1938) * '' Holiday'' (1938) * ''
Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and
) was the daughte ...
'' (1938) * ''
The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...
'' (1938) * '' Pygmalion'' (1938) * '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1938) * ''
5th Avenue Girl ''Fifth Avenue Girl'', sometimes stylized as ''5th Ave Girl'', is a 1939 RKO Radio Pictures comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Ginger Rogers, Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, and James Ellison. The screenplay was written by Al ...
'' (1939) * ''
Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...
'' (1939) * ''
Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a rel ...
'' (1939) * ''
Dark Victory ''Dark Victory'' is a 1939 American melodrama film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, and featuring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, and Cora Witherspoon. The screenplay by Ca ...
'' (1939) * ''
Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...
'' (1939) * ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' (1939) * ''
Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
'' (1939) * '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1939) * '' Gunga Din'' (1939) * '' Love Affair'' (1939) * '' Midnight'' (1939) * '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939) * ''
Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...
'' (1939) * ''
Only Angels Have Wings ''Only Angels Have Wings'' is a 1939 American adventure drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks. Its plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a remote South ...
'' (1939) * '' Stagecoach'' (1939) * ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...
'' (1939) * '' The Little Princess'' (1939) * ''
The Oklahoma Kid ''The Oklahoma Kid'' is a 1939 Western film starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. The film was directed for Warner Bros. by Lloyd Bacon. Cagney plays an adventurous gunslinger in a broad-brimmed cowboy hat while Bogart portrays his blac ...
'' (1939) * ''
The Roaring Twenties ''The Roaring Twenties'' is a 1939 American crime thriller film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, and Gladys George. The film, spanning the periods between 1919 and 1933, was written by Jerry ...
'' (1939) * ''
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle ''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' is a 1939 American biographical musical comedy directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan. The film is based on the stories ''My Husband'' and ...
'' (1939) * '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) * '' The Women'' (1939) * ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...
'' (1939) * ''
Young Mr. Lincoln ''Young Mr. Lincoln'' is a 1939 American biographical drama western film about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to ...
'' (1939) * ''
All This, and Heaven Too ''All This, and Heaven Too'' is a 1940 American drama film made by Warner Bros.-First National Pictures, produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson from the 193 ...
'' (1940) * ''
Broadway Melody of 1940 ''Broadway Melody of 1940'' is a 1940 MGM film musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy (Astaire's first male dancing partner on film). It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including " Begin ...
'' (1940) * '' Fantasia'' (1940) * '' Foreign Correspondent'' (1940) * ''
The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...
'' (1940) * ''
The Great Dictator ''The Great Dictator'' is a 1940 American anti-war political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the o ...
'' (1940) * ''
His Girl Friday ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper edito ...
'' (1940) * '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940) * '' The Letter'' (1940) * ''
The Long Voyage Home ''The Long Voyage Home'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter. It features Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, and Ward Bond, among others. The f ...
'' (1940) * ''
The Mortal Storm ''The Mortal Storm'' is a 1940 American drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; June 22, 1940, page 98. It was directed by Frank Borzage and stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The film shows the ...
'' (1940) * ''
My Favorite Wife ''My Favorite Wife'' (released in the U.K. as ''My Favourite Wife'') is a 1940 screwball comedy produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The picture stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island fo ...
'' (1940) * '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) * ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...
'' (1940) * '' Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) * '' Primrose Path'' (1940) * '' Rebecca'' (1940) * ''
The Shop Around the Corner ''The Shop Around the Corner'' is a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. The supporting cast included Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Fe ...
'' (1940) * '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) * ''
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...
'' (1940) * '' 49th Parallel'' (1941) * ''
Ball of Fire ''Ball of Fire'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This Samuel Goldwyn Productions film (originally distributed by RKO) concerns a group of professors laboring to ...
'' (1941) * ''
Blossoms in the Dust ''Blossoms in the Dust'' is a 1941 American biographical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the true story of Edna Gladney, who helped o ...
'' (1941) * '' Citizen Kane'' (1941) * ''
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...
'' (1941) * '' Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941) * '' High Sierra'' (1941) * ''
Hold Back the Dawn ''Hold Back the Dawn'' is a 1941 American romantic drama film in which a Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her. It stars Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havi ...
'' (1941) * ''
How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...
'' (1941) * ''
The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the lit ...
'' (1941) * '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) * ''
Meet John Doe ''Meet John Doe'' is a 1941 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, written by Robert Riskin, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created unwittingly by ...
'' (1941) * ''
Mr. Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animated Technicolor feature film produced by Fleischer Studios, previewed by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941, and released in California ...
'' (1941) * '' Mr. and Mrs. Smith'' (1941) * ''
One Foot in Heaven ''One Foot in Heaven'' is a 1941 American biographical film starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobiography by Hartzell Spence. It was directed ...
'' (1941) * ''
Penny Serenade ''Penny Serenade'' is a 1941 American melodrama film directed by George Stevens starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as a loving couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child. Grant was nominated for the Academy Awa ...
'' (1941) * '' Sergeant York'' (1941) * ''
Sullivan's Travels ''Sullivan's Travels'' is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire on the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director (Joel McCrea) who, longing to make a socially relevant drama, sets out to ...
'' (1941) * ''
Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...
'' (1941) * '' The Bride Came C.O.D.'' (1941) * ''
The Lady Eve ''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. * ''
You'll Never Get Rich ''You'll Never Get Rich'' is a 1941 Hollywood musical comedy film with a wartime theme directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The title stems f ...
'' (1942) * '' Tulips Shall Grow'' (1942) * '' All Through the Night'' (1942) * ''
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
'' (1942) * '' Casablanca'' (1942) * ''
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...
'' (1942) * ''
Kings Row ''Kings Row'' is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam Wood ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...
'' (1942) * ''
Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...
'' (1942) * ''
Mrs. Miniver ''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming British h ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Palm Beach Story ''The Palm Beach Story'' is a 1942 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor Young contributed the musical score, including a fast-paced variati ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back t ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Pride of the Yankees ''The Pride of the Yankees'' is a 1942 American film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who di ...
'' (1942) * ''
Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...
'' (1942) * ''
Saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...
'' (1942) * '' The Talk of the Town'' (1942) * ''
Tortilla Flat ''Tortilla Flat'' (1935) is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the author's first clear critical and commercial success. The book portrays a group of 'paisanos'—literally, countrymen—a small band of e ...
'' (1942) * ''
Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
'' (1942) * ''
Woman of the Year ''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritten ...
'' (1942) * ''
Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...
'' (1942) * ''
You Were Never Lovelier ''You Were Never Lovelier'' is a 1942 American musical romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth. The supporting cast also features Adolphe Menjou, Xavier Cugat and Adele Mara. The music was co ...
'' (1942) * ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' (1943) * '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1943) * '' The Human Comedy'' (1943) * '' Journey into Fear'' (1943) * ''
Madame Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
'' (1943) * ''
The More the Merrier ''The More the Merrier'' is a 1943 American comedy film by Columbia Pictures starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn, and directed by George Stevens. The film script — from "Two's a Crowd", an original screenplay by Garson Kan ...
'' (1943) * ''
The Ox-Bow Incident ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two cowboys arrive in a ...
'' (1943) * '' Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943) * '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) * '' Stormy Weather'' (1943) * ''
Watch on the Rhine A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
'' (1943) * '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944) * ''
Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...
'' (1944) * '' Double Indemnity'' (1944) * ''
Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...
'' (1944) * ''
Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest tak ...
'' (1944) * ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
'' (1944) * '' Laura'' (1944) * ''
Lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...
'' (1944) * '' The Lodger'' (1944) * ''
Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...
'' (1944) * ''
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' is a 1944 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall. Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamir ...
'' (1944) * ''
National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...
'' (1944) * ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'' (1944) * ''
Since You Went Away ''Since You Went Away'' is a 1944 American epic drama film directed by John Cromwell for Selznick International Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It is an epic about the American home front during World War II that was adapted and p ...
'' (1944) * ''
To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in th ...
'' (1944) * '' The Uninvited'' (1944) * '' Wilson'' (1944) * ''
Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zim ...
'' (1945) * ''
The Bells of St. Mary's ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest ...
'' (1945) * ''
Hangover Square ''Hangover Square'' is a 1941 novel by English playwright and novelist Patrick Hamilton. It follows the schizophrenic alcoholic George Harvey Bone and his tortured love for Netta Longdon in the months leading up to the Second World War. Subtit ...
'' (1945) * '' The Lost Weekend'' (1945) * '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945) * '' Spellbound'' (1945) * '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1946) * ''
John Henry and the Inky-Poo ''John Henry and the Inky-Poo'' is a 1946 stop-motion animation film written and directed by George Pal using Pal's '' Puppetoons'' stop-motion style. The film is based on African American folk hero John Henry. ''John Henry and the Inky-Poo'' wa ...
'' (1946) * ''
The Best Years of Our Lives ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American epic drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Rus ...
'' (1946) * ''
The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angel ...
'' (1946) * '' Cluny Brown'' (1946) * '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) * ''
Gilda ''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...
'' (1946) * '' Great Expectations'' (1946) * ''Humoresque (1946 film), Humoresque'' (1946) * ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) * ''The Killers (1946 film), The Killers'' (1946) * ''The Locket'' (1946) * ''Notorious (1946 film), Notorious'' (1946) * ''The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film), The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1946) * ''The Razor's Edge (1946 film), The Razor's Edge'' (1946) * ''The Yearling (film), The Yearling'' (1946) * ''The Bishop's Wife'' (1947) * ''The Cat Concerto'' (1947) * ''Crossfire (film), Crossfire'' (1947) * ''Dead Reckoning (1947 film), Dead Reckoning'' (1947) * ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) * ''The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'' (1947) * ''The Lady from Shanghai'' (1947) * ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947) * ''Monsieur Verdoux'' (1947) * ''The Paradine Case'' (1947) * ''Tubby the Tuba (1947 film), Tubby the Tuba'' (1947) * ''Easter Parade (film), Easter Parade'' (1948) * ''Fort Apache (film), Fort Apache'' (1948) * ''Johnny Belinda (1948 film), Johnny Belinda'' (1948) * ''Key Largo (film), Key Largo'' (1948) * ''Moonrise (film), Moonrise'' (1948) * ''Red River (1948 film), Red River'' (1948) * ''Unfaithfully Yours (1948 film), Unfaithfully Yours'' (1948) * ''Rope (film), Rope'' (1948) * ''The Snake Pit'' (1948) * ''State of the Union (film), State of the Union'' (1948) * ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'' (1948) * ''Adam's Rib'' (1949) * ''All the King's Men (1949 film), All the King's Men'' (1949) * ''Battleground (film), Battleground'' (1949) * ''The Heiress'' (1949) * ''Intruder in the Dust (film), Intruder in the Dust'' (1949) * ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949) * ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' (1949) * ''The Third Man'' (1949) * ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949) * ''All About Eve'' (1950) * ''Annie Get Your Gun (film), Annie Get Your Gun'' (1950) * ''Born Yesterday (1950 film), Born Yesterday'' (1950) * ''Caged (1950 film), Caged'' (1950) * ''Cinderella (1950 film), Cinderella'' (1950) * ''Father of the Bride (1950 film), Father of the Bride'' (1950) * ''In a Lonely Place'' (1950) * ''King Solomon's Mines (1950 film), King Solomon's Mines'' (1950) * ''Rio Grande (1950 film), Rio Grande'' (1950) * ''Summer Stock'' (1950) * ''The Furies (1950 film), The Furies'' (1950) * ''Sunset Boulevard (film), Sunset Boulevard'' (1950) * ''Treasure Island (1950 film), Treasure Island'' (1950) * ''Ace in the Hole (1951 film), Ace in the Hole'' (1951) * '' The African Queen'' (1951) * ''Alice in Wonderland (1951 film), Alice in Wonderland'' (1951) * ''An American in Paris (film), An American in Paris'' (1951) * ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1951) * ''Decision Before Dawn'' (1951) * ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) * ''Quo Vadis (1951 film), Quo Vadis'' (1951) * ''Rooty Toot Toot'' (1951) * ''Royal Wedding'' (1951) * ''Strangers on a Train (film), Strangers on a Train'' (1951) * ''A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film), A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951) * ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952) * ''The Greatest Show on Earth (film), The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) * ''High Noon'' (1952) * ''Ivanhoe (1952 film), Ivanhoe'' (1952) * ''Limelight (1952 film), Limelight'' (1952) * ''The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima'' (1952) * ''Monkey Business (1952 film), Monkey Business'' (1952) * ''Moulin Rouge (1952 film), Moulin Rouge'' (1952) * ''The Prisoner of Zenda (1952 film), The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1952) * ''The Quiet Man'' (1952) * ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952) * ''The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'' (1952) * ''Calamity Jane (film), Calamity Jane'' (1953) * ''The Band Wagon'' (1953) * ''The Big Heat'' (1953) * ''Duck Amuck'' (1953) * ''From Here to Eternity'' (1953) * ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953) * ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' (1953) * ''Julius Caesar (1953 film), Julius Caesar'' (1953) * ''Mogambo'' (1953) * ''Peter Pan (1953 film), Peter Pan'' (1953) * ''The Robe (film), The Robe'' (1953) * ''Roman Holiday'' (1953) * ''Shane (film), Shane'' (1953) * ''The Sword and the Rose'' (1953) * ''The War of the Worlds (1953 film), The War of the Worlds'' (1953) * ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' (1954) * ''A Star Is Born (1954 film), A Star Is Born'' (1954) * ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954) * ''The Country Girl (1954 film), The Country Girl'' (1954) * ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954) * ''On the Waterfront'' (1954) * ''Rear Window'' (1954) * ''Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue'' (1954) * ''Sabrina (1954 film), Sabrina'' (1954) * ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1954) * ''Three Coins in the Fountain (film), Three Coins in the Fountain'' (1954) * ''Vera Cruz (film), Vera Cruz'' (1954) * ''When Magoo Flew'' (1954) * ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955) * ''Kiss Me Deadly'' (1955) * ''Lady and the Tramp'' (1955) * ''Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955) * ''Love Me or Leave Me (film), Love Me or Leave Me'' (1955) * ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' (1955) * ''Marty (film), Marty'' (1955) * ''Mister Roberts (1955 film), Mister Roberts'' (1955) * ''Picnic (1955 film), Picnic'' (1955) * ''East of Eden (film), East of Eden'' (1955) * ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955) * ''Richard III (1955 film), Richard III'' (1955) * ''The Rose Tattoo (film), The Rose Tattoo'' (1955) * ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1955) * ''Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film), Around the World in 80 Days'' (1956) * ''Autumn Leaves (film), Autumn Leaves'' (1956) * ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) * ''Bigger Than Life'' (1956)The Beginner's Guide: Hollywood Melodramas, Film Inquiry
/ref> * ''Friendly Persuasion (1956 film), Friendly Persuasion'' (1956) * ''Giant (1956 film), Giant'' (1956) * ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956) * ''The King and I (1956 film), The King and I'' (1956) * ''The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film), The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956) * ''The Searchers'' (1956) * ''The Swan (1956 film), The Swan'' (1956) * ''The Ten Commandments (1956 film), The Ten Commandments'' (1956) * ''War and Peace (1956 film), War and Peace'' (1956) * ''12 Angry Men (1957 film), 12 Angry Men'' (1957) * ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957) * ''Paths of Glory'' (1957) * ''Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957) * ''A Face in the Crowd (film), A Face in the Crowd'' (1957) * ''Peyton Place (film), Peyton Place'' (1957) * ''Sayonara'' (1957) * ''What's Opera, Doc?'' (1957) * ''Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film), Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957) * ''Auntie Mame (film), Auntie Mame'' (1958) * ''The Big Country'' (1958) * ''The Brothers Karamazov (1958 film), The Brothers Karamazov (1958) * ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 film), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958) * ''The Defiant Ones'' (1958) * ''Gigi (1958 film), Gigi'' (1958) * ''The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958) * ''No Time for Sergeants (film), No Time for Sergeants'' (1958) * ''Separate Tables (film), Separate Tables'' (1958) * ''Touch of Evil'' (1958) * ''Vertigo (film), Vertigo'' (1958) * ''A Hole in the Head'' (1959) * ''Anatomy of a Murder'' (1959) * ''Ben-Hur (1959 film), Ben-Hur'' (1959) * ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) * ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) * ''Imitation of Life (1959 film), Imitation of Life'' (1959) * ''North by Northwest'' (1959) * ''Pillow Talk (film), Pillow Talk'' (1959) * ''The Nun's Story (film), The Nun's Story'' (1959) * ''Sleeping Beauty (1959 film), Sleeping Beauty'' (1959) * ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959) * ''Suddenly, Last Summer (film), Suddenly, Last Summer'' (1959) * ''The Last Angry Man'' (1959) * ''The Time Machine (1960 film), The Time Machine'' (1960) * ''The Alamo (1960 film), The Alamo'' (1960) * ''The Apartment'' (1960) * ''Elmer Gantry (film), Elmer Gantry'' (1960) * ''Hell to Eternity'' (1960) * ''Home from the Hill (film), Home from the Hill'' (1960) * ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960) * ''Psycho (1960 film), Psycho'' (1960) * ''Spartacus (film), Spartacus'' (1960) * ''The Sundowners (1960 film), The Sundowners'' (1960) * ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961) * ''The Children's Hour (film), The Children's Hour'' (1961) * ''Fanny (1961 film), Fanny'' (1961) * ''The Guns of Navarone (film), The Guns of Navarone'' (1961) * ''The Hustler'' (1961) * ''Judgment at Nuremberg'' (1961) * ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961) * ''Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961) * ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961) * ''West Side Story (1961 film), West Side Story'' (1961) * ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kings'' (1961) * ''The Misfits (1961 film), The Misfits'' (1961) * ''Dr. No (film), Dr. No'' (1962) * ''Gay Purr-ee'' (1962) * ''Hell Is for Heroes (film), Hell Is for Heroes'' (1962) * ''How the West Was Won (film), How the West Was Won'' (1962) * ''Lawrence of Arabia (film), Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) * ''The Longest Day (film), The Longest Day'' (1962) * ''The Music Man (1962 film), The Music Man'' (1962) * ''Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film), Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962) * ''Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation'' (1962) * ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) * ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962) * ''Gypsy (1962 film), Gypsy'' (1962) * ''America America'' (1963) * ''The Birds (film), The Birds'' (1963) * ''Charade (1963 film), Charade'' (1963) * ''Cleopatra (1963 film), Cleopatra'' (1963) * ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) * ''From Russia with Love (film), From Russia with Love'' (1963) * ''Love with the Proper Stranger'' (1963) * ''Jason and the Argonauts (1963 film), Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963) * ''Lilies of the Field (1963 film), Lilies of the Field'' (1963) * ''The Sword in the Stone (1963 film), The Sword in the Stone'' (1963) * ''Bye Bye Birdie (1963 film), Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) * ''Irma la Douce'' (1963) * ''Move Over, Darling'' (1963) * ''Hud (1963 film), Hud'' (1963) * ''McLintock!'' (1963) * ''A Hard Day's Night (film), A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) * ''Becket (1964 film), Becket'' (1964) * ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964) * ''Goldfinger (film), Goldfinger'' (1964) * ''Sex and the Single Girl (film), Sex and the Single Girl'' (1964) * ''Mary Poppins (film), Mary Poppins'' (1964) * ''My Fair Lady (film), My Fair Lady'' (1964) * ''Zorba the Greek (film), Zorba the Greek'' (1964) * ''Send Me No Flowers'' (1964) * ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964) * ''The Night of the Iguana (film), The Night of the Iguana'' (1964)


Selected international films made during the Golden Age

* ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920, Germany) * ''Nosferatu'' (1922, Germany) * ''Häxan'' (1922, Sweden/Denmark) * ''Die Nibelungen'' (1924, Germany) * ''Battleship Potemkin'' (1925, U.S.S.R.) * ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (1926, Germany) * ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927, Germany) * ''Napoléon (1927 film), Napoléon'' (1927, France) * ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (1928, France) * ''Un Chien Andalou'' (1929, France/Spain) * ''Pandora's Box (1929 film), Pandora's Box'' (1929, Germany) * ''L'Age d'Or'' (1930, France) * ''Limite'' (1931, Brazil) * ''M (1931 film), M'' (1931, Germany) * ''Vampyr'' (1932, Germany/France) * ''Les Misérables (1934 film), Les Misérables'' (1934, France) * ''Two Monks'' (1934, Mexico) * ''L'Atalante'' (1934, France) * ''The 39 Steps (1935 film), The 39 Steps'' (1935, U.K.) * ''Let's Go with Pancho Villa'' (1936, Mexico) * ''La Grande Illusion, Grand Illusion'' (1937, France) * ''Terang Boelan'' (1937, Indonesia) * ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939, France) * ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939, Japan) * ''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (1940, Australia) * ''You're Missing the Point'' (1940, Mexico) * ''María Candelaria'' (1943, Mexico) * ''Day of Wrath'' (1943, Denmark) * ''Ivan the Terrible (1944 film), Ivan the Terrible'' (1944–1958, U.S.S.R.) * ''Rome, Open City'' (1945, Italy) * ''Brief Encounter'' (1945, U.K.) * ''Children of Paradise'' (1945, France) * ''Paisan'' (1946, Italy) * ''A Matter of Life and Death (film), A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946, U.K.) * ''Enamorada (film), Enamorada'' (1946, Mexico) * ''Shoeshine (film), Shoeshine'' (1946, Italy) * ''The Overlanders (film), The Overlanders'' (1946, Australia/U.K.) * ''Beauty and the Beast (1946 film), Beauty and the Beast'' (1946, France) * ''Neecha Nagar'' (1946, India) * ''The Pearl (film), The Pearl'' (1947, Mexico) * ''Quai des Orfèvres'' (1947, France) * ''Black Narcissus'' (1947, U.K.) * ''Bicycle Thieves'' (1948, Italy) * ''Hamlet (1948 film), Hamlet'' (1948, U.K.) * ''Drunken Angel'' (1948, Japan) * ''The Red Shoes (1948 film), The Red Shoes'' (1948, U.K.) * ''Spring in a Small Town'' (1948, China) * ''Late Spring'' (1949, Japan) * ''Begone Dull Care'' (1949, Canada) * ''Stray Dog (film), Stray Dog'' (1949, Japan) * ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949, U.K.) * ''Stromboli (film), Stromboli'' (1950, Italy) * ''Rashomon'' (1950, Japan) * ''Orpheus (film), Orpheus'' (1950, France) * ''Los Olvidados'' (1950, Mexico) * ''Genghis Khan (1950 film), Genghis Khan'' (1950, Philippines) * ''Víctimas del Pecado'' (1951, Mexico) * ''Miracle in Milan'' (1951, Italy) * ''Umberto D.'' (1952, Italy) * ''Neighbours (1952 film), Neighbours'' (1952, Canada) * ''Mexican Bus Ride'' (1952, Mexico) * ''Ikiru'' (1952, Japan) * ''Él (film), Él'' (1953, Mexico) * ''Ugetsu'' (1953, Japan) * ''The Wages of Fear'' (1953, France) * ''Tokyo Story'' (1953, Japan) * ''Sansho the Bailiff'' (1954, Japan) * ''Robinson Crusoe (1954 film), Robinson Crusoe'' (1954, Mexico) * ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' (1954, Japan) * ''Seven Samurai'' (1954, Japan) * ''The Crucified Lovers'' (1954, Japan) * ''Journey to Italy'' (1954, Italy) * ''La Strada'' (1954, Italy) * ''The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz'' (1955, Mexico) * ''Ordet'' (1955, Denmark) * ''A Generation'' (1955, Poland) * ''Journey to the Beginning of Time'' (1955, Czechoslovakia) * ''Les Diaboliques (film), Les Diaboliques'' (1955, France) * ''The Apu Trilogy'' (1955–1959, India) * ''Bob le flambeur'' (1956, France) * ''A Man Escaped'' (1956, France) * ''The Burmese Harp (1956 film), The Burmese Harp'' (1956, Japan) * ''Floating Clouds'' (1955, Japan) * ''Kanał'' (1956, Poland) * ''Hang Tuah (film), Hang Tuah'' (1956, Malaysia/Singapore) * ''Pyaasa'' (1957, India) * ''The Seventh Seal'' (1957, Sweden) * ''Wild Strawberries (film), Wild Strawberries'' (1957, Sweden) * ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (1957, U.S.S.R.) * ''A King in New York'' (1957, U.K.) * ''Mother India'' (1957, India) * ''The Snow Queen (1957 film), The Snow Queen'' (1957, U.S.S.R.) * ''Nights of Cabiria'' (1957, Italy) * ''Cairo Station'' (1958, Egypt) * ''Thunder Among the Leaves'' (1958, Argentina) * ''Mon Oncle'' (1958, France) * ''Jalsaghar'' (1958, India) * ''Ashes and Diamonds (film), Ashes and Diamonds'' (1958, Poland) * ''Madhumati'' (1958, India) * ''Invention for Destruction'' (1958, Czechoslovakia) * ''The Day Shall Dawn'' (1959, Pakistan) * ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959, France) * ''The 400 Blows'' (1959, France) * ''Black Orpheus'' (1959, Brazil/France) * ''Room at the Top (1959 film), Room at the Top'' (1959, U.K.) * ''Fires on the Plain (1959 film), Fires on the Plain'' (1959, Japan) * ''Nazarín'' (1959, Mexico) * ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' (1959, India) * ''Look Back in Anger (1959 film), Look Back in Anger'' (1959, U.K.) * ''The Soldiers of Pancho Villa'' (1959, Mexico) * ''Ballad of a Soldier'' (1959, U.S.S.R.) * ''Pickpocket (film), Pickpocket'' (1959, France) * ''The Human Condition (film series), The Human Condition'' (1959–1961, Japan) * ''Breathless (1960 film), Breathless'' (1960, France) * ''Two Women'' (1960, Italy) * ''The Housemaid (1960 film), The Housemaid'' (1960, South Korea) * ''Sons and Lovers (film), Sons and Lovers'' (1960, U.K.) * ''The Sundowners (1960 film), The Sundowners'' (1960, Australia/U.K.) * ''La Dolce Vita'' (1960, Italy) * ''Obaltan'' (1960, South Korea) * ''L'Avventura'' (1960, Italy) * ''Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960 film), Meghe Dhaka Tara'' (1960, India) * ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960, India) * ''La Notte'' (1961, Italy) * ''Viridiana'' (1961, Mexico/Spain) * ''Surogat'' (1961, Yugoslavia) * ''Yojimbo (film), Yojimbo'' (1961, Japan) * ''Very Nice, Very Nice'' (1961, Canada) * ''A Taste of Honey (film), A Taste of Honey'' (1961, U.K.) * ''Gunga Jumna'' (1961, India) * ''The Exterminating Angel'' (1962, Mexico) * ''L'Eclisse'' (1962, Italy) * ''Ivan's Childhood'' (1962, U.S.S.R.) * ''Jules and Jim'' (1962, France) * ''An Autumn Afternoon'' (1962, Japan) * ''Cléo from 5 to 7'' (1962, France) * ''Sanjuro'' (1962, Japan) * ''O Pagador de Promessas'' (1962, Brazil) * ''8½'' (1963, Italy/France) * ''Tom Jones (1963 film), Tom Jones'' (1963, U.K.) * ''This Sporting Life'' (1963, U.K.) * ''Billy Liar (film), Billy Liar'' (1963, U.K.) * ''Mahanagar'' (1963, India) * ''Gamperaliya (film), Gamperaliya'' (1963, Sri Lanka) * ''Black God, White Devil'' (1964, Brazil) * ''Gertrud (film), Gertrud'' (1964, Denmark) * ''Red Desert (film), Red Desert'' (1964, Italy) * ''Charulata'' (1964, India) * ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964, Italy/West Germany/Spain) * ''I Am Cuba'' (1964, Cuba/U.S.S.R.) * ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (1964, France/West Germany) * ''Dry Summer'' (1964, Turkey) * ''Simon of the Desert'' (1965, Mexico) * ''Pierrot le Fou'' (1965, France) * ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965, Italy/West Germany/Spain) * ''Loves of a Blonde'' (1965, Czechoslovakia) * ''Subarnarekha (film), Subarnarekha'' (1965, India) * ''La muerte de un burócrata'' (1966, Cuba) * ''Persona (1966 film), Persona'' (1966, Sweden) * ''Black Girl (1966 film), Black Girl'' (1966, Senegal/France) * ''The Battle of Algiers'' (1966, Algeria/Italy) * ''Blow-Up'' (1966, U.K./Italy) * ''A Man for All Seasons (1966 film), A Man for All Seasons'' (1966, U.K.) * ''A Man and a Woman'' (1966, France) * ''Andrei Rublev (film), Andrei Rublev'' (1966, U.S.S.R.) * ''Au Hasard Balthazar'' (1966, France) * ''Closely Watched Trains'' (1966, Czechoslovakia) * ''War and Peace (film series), War and Peace'' (1966–1967, U.S.S.R.) * ''Three Days and a Child'' (1967, Israel) * ''Le Samouraï'' (1967, France/Italy) * ''Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon'' (1967, U.K.) * ''Playtime'' (1967, France/Italy) * ''Mouchette'' (1967, France) * ''Belle de Jour (film), Belle de Jour'' (1967, France) * ''Entranced Earth'' (1967, Brazil) * ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' (1968, Italy) * ''Romeo and Juliet (1968 film), Romeo and Juliet'' (1968, U.K./Italy) * ''Mandabi'' (1968, Senegal/France) * ''Oliver! (film), Oliver!'' (1968, U.K.) * ''Memories of Underdevelopment'' (1968, Cuba) * ''Kes (film), Kes'' (1969, U.K.) * ''Army of Shadows'' (1969, France) * ''The Damned (1969 film), The Damned'' (1969, U.K.) * ''Fellini Satyricon'' (1969, Italy) * ''Z (1969 film), Z'' (1969, Algeria/France)


See also

*
New Hollywood The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence. They influenced the types o ...
– overlapping/succeeding age from 1965 to 1983 * Golden Age of Television – overlapping age from 1947 to 1957 * Golden age of American animation – overlapping age from 1928 to 1969 * Poverty Row – B movies during this era * Maximalist film, Maximalist and minimalist film, minimalist cinema * Modernist film


References


Further reading

* * * Fawell, John. (2008) ''The Hidden Art of Hollywood''. Westport Conn.: Praeger Press. * * *


External links

* David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
"Happy Birthday, classical cinema!"
December 28, 2007. Analysis of classical continuity in narrative film from 1917 to this day.

{{Portal bar, Film, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s 1910s in film 1913 establishments in the United States 1969 disestablishments in the United States 1920s in film 1930s in film 1940s in film 1950s in film 1960s in film 20th century in American cinema Cinema of the United States Film genres particular to the United States Film styles History of Hollywood, Los Angeles Modern art