1930 in film

Highest-grossing films of 1930
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Whoopee!	United Artists	$2,655,000^[1]
2	Check and Double Check	RKO	$1,751,000^[2]
3	All Quiet on the Western Front	Universal	$1,634,000^[3]
4	Hell's Angels	United Artists	$1,600,000^[4]
5	The Big House	MGM	$1,279,000^[5]
6	Common Clay	Fox Film	$1,246,000^[3]
7	Min and Bill	MGM	$1,223,000^[5]
8	Song o' My Heart	Fox Film	$1,200,000^[6]
9	Son of the Gods	First National	$1,069,000^[7]
10	The Dawn Patrol	$1,061,000^[7]

February 21: Anna Christie, Greta Garbo's first sound film is released, it grosses $1.5 million.
February 23: Silent screen legend Mabel Normand dies at the age of 37 in Monrovia, California after a lengthy battle with tuberculosis.
March 10: Release of Goodbye Argentina (Adiós Argentina), the first Argentine film with a (musical) soundtrack. Ada Cornaro has her first starring role and Libertad Lamarque makes her film debut.
April 6: William Fox sells his interest in Fox Film for $18 million and Harley L. Clarke becomes president.^[8]^[9]
May 27: Howard Hughes' epic film Hell's Angels premieres at Grauman's Chinese TheatreinHollywood and features Jean Harlow in her first major role as well as some impressive aerial sequences. Although not a financial success upon its release due to its bloated budget, the film is acclaimed by critics and launches Harlow as one of the 1930s' biggest stars.
August 9: Cartoon character Betty Boop appears for the first time on screen, in the animated film Dizzy Dishes.
September 3: The Hollywood Reporter is first published.
September 19: The Love Parade receives a record six Academy Award nominations.
November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm and a very early form of 70mm film. It is the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era, costing over $2 million. The film is praised for its aesthetic quality and realism that will not become commonplace until many decades later. However, due to the new film format and the film's release during the Great Depression, the film will go on to become a financial failure at the box office.

Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front – Universal Pictures
Best Director: Lewis Milestone – All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Actor: George Arliss – Disraeli
Best Actress: Norma Shearer – The Divorcee

United States unless stated

Imperial and Royal Field Marshal (C. a k. polní maršálek), directed by Karel Lamač – (Czechoslovakia)
Ingagi, directed by William S. Campbell

J

edit

Journey's End, directed by James Whale, starring Colin Clive – (GB/US)
Just Imagine, directed by David Butler

K

edit

King of Jazz, directed by John Murray Anderson, starring Paul Whiteman, John Boles and Laura La Plante

L

edit

Ladies Love Brutes, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring George Bancroft, Mary Astor and Fredric March
Ladies of Leisure, directed by Frank Capra, starring Barbara Stanwyck
A Lady to Love, directed by Victor Sjöström, starring Vilma Bánky and Edward G. Robinson
Leathernecking, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Irene Dunne
Let's Go Native, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Jack Oakie and Jeanette MacDonald
Liliom, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Charles Farrell and Rose Hobart
Lightnin', directed by Henry King, starring Will Rogers, Louise Dresser and Joel McCrea
Loose Ankles, directed by Ted Wilde, starring Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Lord Byron of Broadway, directed by Harry Beaumont and William Nigh
The Lottery Bride, directed by Paul L. Stein, starring Jeanette MacDonald, Joe E. Brown and ZaSu Pitts

M

edit

Madam Satan, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Kay Johnson
Mamba, directed by Albert S. Rogell, starring Jean Hersholt and Eleanor Boardman
Mammy, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Al Jolson
The Man from Blankley's (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring John Barrymore and Loretta Young
A Man from Wyoming, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Gary Cooper
Manslaughter, directed by George Abbott, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March
Min and Bill, directed by George Hill, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
Montana Moon, directed by Malcolm St. Clair, starring Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown
Monte Carlo, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald
Morocco, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and Adolphe Menjou
Murder!, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Herbert Marshall – (GB)
The Mystery of the Yellow Room [fr] (Le Mystère de la chambre jaune), directed by Marcel L'Herbier – (France)

N

edit

Nerone (lost), directed by Alessandro Blasetti, starring Ettore Petrolini – (Italy)
Night Birds, directed by Richard Eichberg – (Germany/GB)
Not So Dumb, directed by King Vidor, starring Marion Davies

O

edit

The Other (Der Andere), directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany)
Outside the Law, directed by Tod Browning, starring Edward G. Robinson and Mary Nolan

P

edit

Paid, directed by Sam Wood, starring Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong and Marie Prevost
Paramount on Parade, an all-star revue
Peacock Alley, directed by Marcel de Sano, starring Mae Murray
People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag), directed by Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer – (Germany)
Prix de Beauté (Beauty Prize), directed by Augusto Genina, starring Louise Brooks – (France)
Puttin' On the Ritz, directed by Edward Sloman, starring Harry Richman and Joan Bennett

Q

edit

Queen High, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Charles Ruggles, Frank Morgan, and Ginger Rogers

R

edit

Raffles, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Ronald Colman and Kay Francis
Reaching for the Moon, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Bebe Daniels
Renegades, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy and Noah Beery Sr.
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Warner Oland, Jean Arthur and Neil Hamilton
The Rogue Song (lost), directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Lawrence Tibbett
The Royal Family of Broadway, directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner, starring Fredric March and Mary Brian

S

edit

Show Girl in Hollywood, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Alice White
Son of the Gods,,directed by Frank Lloyd. starring Richard Barthelmess and Constance Bennett
Song o' My Heart, directed by Frank Borzage, starring John McCormack
The Song of Love (La canzone dell'amore), directed by Gennaro Righelli – (Italy)
Soup to Nuts, directed by Benjamin Stoloff, starring Ted Healy and His Stooges
Spring Is Here, directed by John Francis Dillon
St. Jorgen's Day (Prazdnik svyatogo Yorgena), directed by Yakov Protazanov – (U.S.S.R.)
Street of Chance, directed by John Cromwell, starring William Powell, Jean Arthur and Kay Francis
Sweet Kitty Bellairs, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Claudia Dell and Walter Pidgeon

T

edit

Tarakanova, directed by Raymond Bernard – (France)
The Temporary Widow, directed by Gustav Ucicky, starring Lilian Harvey and Laurence Olivier – (GB/Germany)
Three Faces East, directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim
The Three from the Filling Station (Die Drei von der Tankstelle), directed by Wilhelm Thiele, starring Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch – (Germany)
Tom Sawyer, directed by John Cromwell, starring Jackie Coogan
True to the Navy, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Clara Bow and Fredric March
Two Hearts in Waltz Time (Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt), directed by Géza von Bolváry – (Germany)

U

edit

Under a Texas Moon, directed by Michael Curtiz
Under the Roofs of Paris (Sous les toits de Paris), directed by René Clair – (France)
The Unholy Three, directed by Jack Conway, starring Lon Chaney and Lila Lee

V

edit

The Vagabond King, directed by Ludwig Berger, starring Dennis King and Jeanette MacDonald
Viejo smoking (Old Smoking Jacket), directed by Eduardo Morera – (Argentina)

W

edit

The W Plan, directed by Victor Saville, starring Brian Aherne and Madeleine Carroll – (GB)
Wara Wara, directed by José Maria Velasco Maidana – (Bolivia)
Way for a Sailor, directed by Sam Wood, starring John Gilbert, Wallace Beery and Leila Hyams
Westfront 1918 (Vier von der Infanterie), directed by G. W. Pabst – (Germany)
Whoopee!, directed by Thornton Freeland, starring Eddie Cantor

Y

edit

Young Man of Manhattan, directed by Monta Bell, starring Claudette Colbert, Norman Foster, Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers
Young Woodley, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Madeleine Carroll – (GB)

Z

edit

Zaynab, directed by Mohammed Karim, starring Bahiga Hafez and Zaki Rostom – (Egypt)

Across the World with Mr & Mrs Martin Johnson
Hunting Tigers in India
The Indians Are Coming
The Jade Box
The Lightning Express
The Lone Defender, starring Rin Tin Tin
Terry of the Times
The Voice from the Sky

Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
Our Gang (1922–1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
- Another Fine Mess (28 min)
- Night Owls (21 min)
- Hog Wild (19 min)
- Laughing Gravy (21 min)
- Brats (21 min)
- Below Zero (20 min)
Crying for the Carolines (5 min)

Felix the Cat (1919-1936)
- April Maze (7 min)
- Skulls and Sculls
- Hootchy Cootchy Parlais Vous
Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1933)
Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
- Just Mickey (7 min)
- The Barnyard Concert (6 min)
- The Cactus Kid
- The Fire Fighters
- The Shindig
- The Chain Gang
- The Gorilla Mystery
- The Picnic
- Pioneer Days
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Silly Symphonies
- Summer
- Autumn
- The Cannibal Capers
- Night
- Frolicking Fish
- Arctic Antics
- Midnight in a Toyshop
- Monkey Melodies
- Winter
- Playful Pan
Screen Songs (1929–1938)
- Prisoner's Song (8 min)
Talkartoons (1929–1932)
- Dizzy Dishes (first Betty Boop cartoon)
- Barnacle Bill (second Betty Boop cartoon)
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
- Sinkin' in the Bathtub
- Congo Jazz
- Hold Anything
- The Booze Hangs High
- Box Car Blues
Flip the Frog (1930–1933)
- The Village Barber (7 min)
- Puddle Pranks (7 min)
- Cuckoo Murder Case (8 min)
- Little Orphan Willie
- Flying Fists (7 min)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Toby the Pup (1930–1931)
- The Museum
- Toby the Miner
- Toby the Fiddler
- Toby the Showman
- The Bug House
"Beary Bear" (1930–1949)
- "Experiment Gone Wrong"
- "Hickory's Hijinks"
- "Piano Problems"
- "Oh Deer!"
- "Bushy the Lion"
- "Trouble in Paris"

January 3
- Mara Corday, American showgirl, model and actress
- Robert Loggia, American actor (died 2015)^[10]
January 6 - Professor Tanaka, American wrestler, boxer, actor and martial artist (died 2000)
January 10 – Roy E. Disney, American film executive and Walt Disney's nephew (died 2009)^[11]
January 11
- Angela Paton, American actress (died 2016)
- Rod Taylor, Australian actor (died 2015)^[12]
January 12 – Edgar Landsbury, British-born Irish-American producer (died 2024)
January 13 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress (died 2023)
January 19 – Tippi Hedren, American actress^[13]
January 20 – Henry Woolf, British actor (died 2021)
January 24 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016)
January 29 – Benjamin Tatar, American actor (died 2012)
January 30 – Gene Hackman, American actor^[14]
February 6 – Allan King, Canadian director (died 2009)
February 10 – Robert Wagner, American actor
February 16 – Ricou Browning, American film director, actor, cinematographer and stuntman (died 2023)
February 20 – Patricia Smith, American actress (died 2011)
February 22 – Giuliano Montaldo, Italian film director, screenwriter and actor (died 2023)
February 24 – Barbara Lawrence, American actress, model (died 2013)
February 27 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
March 6 – Allison Hayes, American actress (died 1977)
March 12 – Scoey Mitchell, American actor, writer and director (died 2022)
March 13 – Harrison Young, American character actor (died 2005)
March 16 – Lotte Ledl, Austrian actress
March 21 – Pauline Stroud, British actress (died 2022)
March 24 – Steve McQueen, American actor (died 1980)
March 29 – Naser Malek Motiei, Iranian actor, director (died 2018)^[15]
March 30
- John Astin, American actor
- Estella Blain, French actress (died 1982)
April 1 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (died 2015)
April 5
- Mary Costa, American singer and actress
- Marietta Marich, American actress, singer, writer, stage director and television host (died 2017)
April 7 – Andrew Sachs, German-born British actor and writer (died 2016)
April 13 – Roger Browne, American actor
April 14 – Bradford Dillman, American actor (died 2018)
April 18 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor
April 19 – Dick Sargent, American actor (died 1994)
April 21 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (died 1989)
April 23 – Alan Oppenheimer, American actor
April 24 – Richard Donner, American director and producer (died 2021)
April 25 – Paul Mazursky, American director and actor (died 2014)
April 28 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (died 1983)
April 29 - Jean Rochefort, French actor (died 2017)
May 4
- Lois de Banzie, Scottish-born American actress (died 2021)
- Doris Leader Charge, American actress (died 2001)
May 5 – Will Hutchins, American actor
May 9 – Joan Sims, English actress (died 2001)
May 11 – Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman (died 2007)
May 31 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director and producer
June 1
- Pat Corley, American actor (died 2006)
- Edward Woodward, English actor and singer (died 2009)
June 4
- Edward Kelsey, English actor (died 2019)
- Morgana King, American jazz singer and actress (died 2018)
- Bill Treacher, English actor (died 2022)
June 9 - Terry Norris, Australian actor (died 2023)
June 15 – Odile Versois, French actress (died 1980)
June 19
- Gena Rowlands, American actress
- Diana Sowle, American actress (died 2018)
June 25 - George Murdock, (died 2012)
June 29 – Ariadna Welter, Mexican actress (died 1998)
July 5 - Tommy Cook, American producer, screenwriter and actor
July 8 - Jerry Vale, American actor and singer (died 2014)
July 10
- Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (died 2004)
- Susan Cummings, German actress (died 2016)
July 12 - Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, writer, director and singer (died 2023)
July 13 - Darrell Sandeen, American character actor (died 2009)
July 18 – Burt Kwouk, British-Chinese actor (died 2016)
July 19 - Rhoda Williams, American actress
July 20 - Sally Ann Howes, English actress and singer (died 2021)^[16]
July 21 - Lukas Heller, German-born screenwriter (died 1988)
July 24 - Jacqueline Brookes, American actress (died 2013)
July 25 - Annie Ross, British-American singer and actress (died 2020)
July 28 - Alfie Curtis, British actor (died 2017)
July 30 - Tony Lip, American actor (died 2013)
August 1
- Bill Allison, American actor (died 2016)
- Julie Bovasso, American actress (died 1991)
- Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor and musician (died 2014)
August 5 - Joan Weldon, American actress, singer (died 2021)
August 11 - Paul Soles, Canadian actor (died 2021)
August 12 – Peter Weck, Austrian film director and actor
August 14 – Liz Fraser, English actress (died 2018)
August 17 - Harve Bennett, American producer and screenwriter (died 2015)
August 25 – Sir Sean Connery, Scottish actor (died 2020)
August 28 - Ben Gazzara, American and director (died 2012)
September 16 – Anne Francis, American actress (died 2011)
September 17 - David Huddleston, American actor (died 2016)
September 21 – Dawn Addams, English actress (died 1985)
September 26 - Philip Bosco, American actor (died 2018)
October 1 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (died 2002)
October 5
- Skip Homeier, American actor (died 2017)
- Yuriy Yakovlev, Bulgarian actor (died 2002)
October 6 - Lou Cutell, American actor (died 2021)
October 8 - James Olson, American actor (died 2022)
October 10 - Joan O'Hara, Irish actress (died 2007)
October 13 - Paul Kent, American actor (died 2011)
October 23 – Gérard Blain, French actor and director (died 2000)
October 24 – Jack Angel, American voice actor and former radio personality (died 2021)
November 3 - Lois Smith, American character actress
November 5
- Richard Davalos, American actor (died 2016)
- Joaquín Martínez, Mexican-born American actor (died 2012)
November 15 - Whitman Mayo, American actor (died 2001)
November 20 - Bernard Horsfall, English actor (died 2013)
November 23 - Robert Easton, American actor (died 2011)
December 3 – Jean-Luc Godard, French director (died 2022)
December 9 – Francesco Maselli, Italian director (died 2023)
December 11 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor (died 2022)
December 13 - Robert Prosky, American actor (died 2008)
December 17 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
December 20 - Noel Ferrier, Australian actor, television personality and producer (died 1997)

January 31 – Dorothy Seastrom, American actress (born 1903)
February 23 – Mabel Normand, American actress (born 1893)
July 7 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British author and creator of Sherlock Holmes (born 1859)
August 26 – Lon Chaney, American actor (born 1883)
September 14 – Tommy Mintz, American actor, assistant director (born 1906)
September 15 – Milton Sills, American actor (born 1882)
November 8 – Clare Eames, American actress (born 1894)
December 15 – Diane Ellis, American actress (born 1909)

Robert Adair – Journey's End
Felix Aylmer – Escape!
Joan Blondell – The Office Wife
Humphrey Bogart – Up the River
Bob Burns – Up the River
James Cagney – Sinners' Holiday
John Carradine – Bright Lights
Elisha Cook Jr. – Her Unborn Child
Buster Crabbe – Good News
Bing Crosby – King of Jazz
Constance Cummings – The Criminal Code
Jan Duggan – Dixiana
Irene Dunne – Leathernecking
Jimmy Durante – Roadhouse Nights
Sally Gray – The School for Scandal
John Hamilton – Dangerous Nan McGrew
Rex Harrison – The Great Game
Miriam Hopkins – Fast and Loose
Shemp Howard – Soup to Nuts
Victor Jory – Renegades
Hedy Lamarr – Money on the Street
Charles Lane – City Girl
Frank McHugh – The Dawn Patrol
Jay Novello – The Jade Box
Laurence Olivier – The Temporary Widow
Maureen O'Sullivan – So This Is London
Cecilia Parker – King of Jazz
Ginger Rogers – Young Man of Manhattan
Harry Shannon – Heads Up
Penny Singleton – Good News
Spencer Tracy – Up the River
Barbara Weeks – Whoopee!

^ Jones, Lon (March 4, 1944). "Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012 – via National Library of Australia.

^ Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56

^ ^a ^b "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. October 15, 1990. p. M150.

^ Eyman, Scott (1997). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930. ISBN 978-0-6848-1162-8. Hell's Angels was a financial disaster, grossing $1.6 million domestically, with another million coming in from foreign markets.

^ ^a ^b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

^ Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 356–357. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.

^ ^a ^b Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 10 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551

^ "Fox Controversy is Settled". The Film Daily. April 7, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved May 8, 2018.

^ "The Fox Reorganization". Variety. April 9, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2018.

^ "UPI Almanac for Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019". United Press International. January 3, 2019. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019. actor Robert Loggia in 1930

^ Chmielewski, Dawn C.; Bates, James (December 17, 2009). "Roy Edward Disney dies at 79; nephew of Walt helped revive animation". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2019.

^ Chase's Calendar of Events 2005. McGraw Hill Professional. 30 September 2004. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-07-146002-6.

^ Tippi Hedren (1 November 2016). Tippi: A Memoir. William Morrow. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-06-246905-2.

^ Allan Hunter (1987). Gene Hackman. W.H. Allen. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-491-03247-6.

^ Bardia Afshin (31 May 2018). "Naser Malek Motiee: Actor from Iran's golden age of cinema whose career stopped when the Ayatollah arrived". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

^ McFadden, Robert D. (22 December 2021). "Sally Ann Howes, Star of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2021.

Contents

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

Academy Awards

Notable films released in 1930

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Serials

Short film series

Animated short film series

Births

Deaths

Film debuts

References

External links

Languages