1930s

  • Nutsa Gogoberidze – Ujmuri AKA Cheerless (1934)

    1931-1940DramaNutsa GogoberidzeSilentUSSR

    Summary from the dafilms website:
    The silent film shot in 1934 narrates in detail the severe process of eviction of the population and their fierce struggle against the swamp in Mengralian marshland of Georgia…

    According to the legend the deity of the swamp Ujmuri drags down to its bosom anyone who dares come near. And the best of them are forced to marry her. Kavtar and Tsiru fell in love with each other and started their battle to dry up the swamp. Everyone who believes the legend is against it, including Tsiru’s father.Read More »

  • Roy Del Ruth – Taxi! (1932)

    1931-1940CrimeDramaRoy Del RuthUSA

    Amidst a backdrop of growing violence and intimidation, independent cab drivers struggling against a consolidated juggernaut rally around hot-tempered Matt Nolan. Nolan is determined to keep competition alive on the streets, even if it means losing the woman he loves.Read More »

  • W.S. Van Dyke – Guilty Hands (1931)

    1931-1940ClassicsCrimeUSAW.S. Van Dyke

    Starring: Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Kay Francis, C. Aubrey Smith, Polly Moran, Alan Mowbry

    Richard Grant (Barrymore) is a successful lawyer who believes that his many years of dealing with crime has taught him how to commit the perfect murder. He’s working for shady cad Gordon Rich (Mowbry) who informs Grant before a dinner party that he intends to marry his daughter, Barbara (Evans). Grant seethes with anger and, after dinner, kills Rich. It’s almost the perfect crime, but Rich’s troubled mistress Marjorie (Francis), becomes suspicious of Grant.Read More »

  • Jean Renoir – La Marseillaise [+ Commentary] (1938)

    1931-1940DramaFranceJean RenoirPolitics

    A film about the early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of the citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course, the king Louis XVI, each showing their own small problems.Read More »

  • Aleksandr Dovzhenko – Ivan, Aerograd aka Frontier (The Cultural Heritage) [Disc 4] (1932 – 1935)

    Drama1931-1940Aleksandr DovzhenkoArthouseUSSR

    Ivan (1932)
    Cinemapoem about building of Dniproges (Dnieper Hydroelectric Station), about the fate of rural fellow which comes together with other boys and girls to build one of most buildings of socialist industrial construction. Narrates the language of the poetic cinema of O. Dovzhenko about the process of alteration of consciousness of rural fellow due to industrialization.
    Recipient of an award on ICF in Venice in 1934.Read More »

  • Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Yuliya Solntseva – Shchors AKA Shors (The Cultural Heritage) [Disc 5] (1939)

    Drama1931-1940Aleksandr DovzhenkoUSSRYuliya Solntseva

    The year is 1919. German troops retreat from Ukraine. The Directory, the Ukrainian national government lead by Symon Petliura, takes control of Kyiv. Meanwhile, the Bolshevik division commanded by Mykola Shchors is marching on the capital. The Bolsheviks capture the cities of Vinnytsia, Zhmerynka, and others one by one, but lose Berdychiv to Petliura’s forces. They are demoralized by the defeat. By his personal example of courage and military skill, Shchors inspires the retreating Red troops and leads them to victory over the enemy.Read More »

  • Richard Boleslawski – Fugitive Lovers (1934)

    1931-1940ComedyCrimeRichard BoleslawskiUSA

    Letterboxed wrote:
    In a hopeful effort to evade gangster Legs Caffey, chorus girl Letty Morris hops a bus in New York bound for Los Angeles–with Legs close on her heels. Along the way the bus picks up escaped convict Paul Porter, who quickly allies himself with Letty. With the police in hot pursuit and Legs monitoring his every move with Letty, Paul is running out of both time and ideas.Read More »

  • George Nichols Jr. – The Big Game (1936)

    1931-1940ComedyDramaGeorge Nichols Jr.USA

    Plot Synopsis
    Future best-selling novelist Irwin Shaw made his screenwriting bow with the modest RKO Radio sports drama The Big Game. The story revolves around the efforts by a group of crooked gamblers to fix the outcomes of college football games. When star quarterback Clark (Philip Huston) refuses to be bribed, the villains kidnap him on the eve of the titular Big Game. Clark is rescued by his burly teammates just in the nick of time, but the film’s not over yet: there’s a riot on the football field during the final scenes, reportedly inspired by a real-life incident during a 1935 NYU-Fordham game. Adding to the enjoyment of The Big Game is the presence of several genuine members of the 1936 All-American football squad: The University of Chicago’s Jay Berwanger, Notre Dame’s William Shakespeare, Southern Methodist’s Bobby Wilson, NYU’s Irwin “King Kong” Klein, Ohio State’s Gomer Jones, and Stanford’s Robert “Bones” Hamilton, Monk Moscrip and Frank Alustiza.Read More »

  • Alfred Hitchcock – Jamaica Inn (1939)

    Crime1931-1940AdventureAlfred HitchcockUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Set in Cornwall where a young orphan, Mary, is sent to live with Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss who are the landlords of the Jamaica Inn. Mary soon realizes that her uncle’s inn is the base of a gang of ship wreckers who lure ships to their doom on the rocky coast. The girl starts fearing for her life.Read More »

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