The 39 steps 1935 - The thriller that firmly established Hitchcock's reputation

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026029/
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie

"This classic British thriller was one of Alfred Hitchcock's first major international successes, and it introduced a number of the stylistic and thematic elements that became hallmarks of his later work.
He'd already made three excellent thrillers - The lodger (1926), Blackmail (1929), and The man who knew too much (1934) - that had attracted considerable attention in America, but The 39 steps, as a piece of screencraft, assembled all the best elements in those widely scattered successes (spread across eight years of his career) between two covers in a way that riveted audiences and industry observers. It played exactly the way that British movies weren't supposed to: lively and piercingly funny, rather than stodgy and dignified; it was almost as much a comedy as a thriller, which was something new in any country's cinema; and it was almost as much a battle of the sexes in the jousting of its two leads (Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll) as it was a quest by the hero to prove his innocence of a murder charge; by the end of the movie, we want to see not only how Richard Hanney proves his innocence but also how he and Pamela manage to stay together. Not coincidentally, The 39 steps was also the first of his major films in which Hitchcock ripped up and threw away most of the contents of the underlying source (a novel by John Buchan that had been a best-seller then and which has remained a perennially popular read ever since) - he later followed this practice in his subsequent treatments of Josephine Tey's A Shilling For Candles (as Young and innocent), Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins (as The lady vanishes), and Francis Beeding's The House of Dr. Edwardes (as Spellbound), among other literary properties. In the process, he struck a blow for the director as a creative voice in his own right, independent of and superior to the novelist (at least where actual screen adaptations were concerned), who might take one or two good ideas, a name or two, and perhaps a setting and a scene from a chapter and junk everything else, making it his own. In a time when producers and studios still occupied a place of cultural inferiority (even in their own minds) to the authors and publishers of the printed word, this was no small achievement, especially considering that it was done well and, thus, justified itself. So, in his own way, working within the thriller genre in The 39 steps, Hitchcock helped open the way for virtually every major director who came after him." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-39-steps-v73696

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The bride of Frankenstein 1935 - The greatest of all Frankenstein movies

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026138/
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: James Whale
Main Cast: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson

"The wildest and most audacious of James Whale's 1930s horror movies, The bride of Frankenstein is in nearly all ways superior to Whale's original Frankenstein four years earlier. While the first picture was made on a limited budget, Bride was given all the trappings of a big studio's most prestigious production, and, if the results lack the original's lean, claustrophobic mood, Whale's sly wit and gleeful enthusiasm more than make up for it. Brimming with subtle self-parody, The bride of Frankenstein offered Whale the opportunity to mock the clichés of horror films, along with amusing sideswipes at Hollywood romances, historical dramas, and even Christianity. As was his habit, Whale packed the film with amusing eccentrics, including Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorious, a gin-guzzling mad scientist who's even madder than Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), Una O'Connor as Minnie the shrieking servant, and demented hunchback Dwight Frye. Blending effortlessly with Whale's offbeat humor, the cast gave the proceedings an unmistakably British humor and sensibility, even if the film was shot on a Hollywood backlot. Despite Whale's farcical humor, Boris Karloff still delivers a powerful performance as the Monster; the tortured creature is, if anything, even more humane and sympathetic than in the first film, and, while Karloff strongly objected to having the Monster speak, his gruff but heartfelt delivery of his simple dialogue makes his sad fate all the more effective. A young Elsa Lanchester is quite memorable as both the Monster's bizarre mate and Mary Shelley, who spins this tale as a lark for Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. The bride of Frankenstein is ultimately more spooky than scary, but its witty dialogue, top-notch cast, and superb sense of mood make it high entertainment no matter what genre you drop it into." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-bride-of-frankenstein-v7091

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A night at the opera 1935 - A smash-hit gigglefest

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026778/
IMDB rating: 8,1

Director: Sam Wood
Main Cast: The Marx Brothers, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones

"Although some purists hold out for Duck soup (1933), many Marx Brothers fans consider A night at the opera is the team's best film.
It was the first Marx Brothers movie without Zeppo Marx and also the first under the supervision of MGM's legendary producer Irving Thalberg. A relatively sane plot line and conventional romantic subplot place this film in the more conventional camp of Marx Brothers movies. Due to the critical and commercial failure of Duck soup (1933), the Brothers' previous movie, the studio decided to pre-test many of the skits on live audiences; while Duck soup's anarchic revelry left many in the audience less amused than baffled, A night at the opera's script by George S. Kaufman and Morris Ryskind and direction by Sam Wood were more controlled and focused than in previous Marx efforts. But as was often the case in their movies, the Brothers' comedy takes aim at the pompous and pious hypocrisy of the upper crust, and this movie features many of their most famous routines, including the stateroom scene, the contract scene, the bed-switching sequence, and the operatic finale. The film's openly subversive and derisive tone was a perfect match for a Depression-era crowd looking for some wealthy authority figures to laugh at." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-night-at-the-opera-v35272

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The house of Rothschild 1934 - A great biopic with one of Arliss's best performances

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025272/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Alfred L. Werker
Main Cast: George Arliss, Boris Karloff, Loretta Young, Robert Young, C. Aubrey Smith

"George Arliss plays Nathan Rothschild, the head of a family of celebrated 19th century Jewish bankers. Despite the anti-semitic efforts of a powerful politico (Boris Karloff), Rothschild moves in the best European social circles. He is ultimately knighted for his services to the English crown, which include the financing of the Duke of Wellington's battle against Napoleon at Waterloo.
This being a Hollywood picture, the political and financial intrigues have to be offset by romance - in this case the love affair between Rothschild's daughter (Loretta Young) and a handsome military officer (Robert Young). The final scene was photographed in the newly perfected three-strip Technicolor process, though for many years the TV distributors either removed this sequence or reprinted it in black and white. Designed in part as an attack against the burgeoning anti-semitism movement in Hitler's Germany, House of Rothschild was ironically exploited by Nazi functionary Joseph Goebbels, who redubbed and re-edited the film to serve as anti-Jewish propaganda!" - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-house-of-rothschild-v95763

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Judge Priest 1934 - John Ford's immortal classic

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025335/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,6

Director: John Ford
Main Cast: Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Anita Louise, David Landau, Rochelle Hudson, Hattie McDaniel

"Will Rogers stars as Judge William 'Billy' Priest, the common-sense Kentucky jurist created by humorist Irvin S. Cobb. The Judge's easygoing manner bothers many of the self-righteous good citizens of his small 19th-century hometown, imperiling his chances for re-election. The anecdotal plot boils down to a single storyline involving orphaned Anita Louise, reclusive David Landau (secretly Louise's father), and young attorney Tom Brown.The testimony that saves Landau from a murder charge is delivered by Civil War veteran H.B. Walthall, whose stirring loyalty to the Confederacy inspires everyone in town to organize an impromptu parade! Some of the best scenes are highlighted by Will Rogers' affectionate rapport with stereotyped black-actors Stepin Fetchit and Hattie McDaniel, though these scenes are frequently removed from TV showings of Judge Priest due to their undeniably racist overtones. If you haven't guessed by the first frame of the film that John Ford was the director, you'll recognize Ford's personal stamp the moment Will Rogers kneels by his wife's grave and carries on a warm conversation with his long-departed bride. Ford would remake (and improve upon) Judge Priest in 1953 as The Sun Shines Bright, with Charles Winninger as the judge." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/judge-priest-v26670

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Little Miss Marker 1934 - The winning presence of Shirley Temple

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025410/?ref_=nv_sr_2
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Alexander Hall
Main Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Shirley Temple, Dorothy Dell, Charles Bickford

"Little Miss Marker put the already popular Shirley Temple on the map in a big way. Whereas previous films had been mere excuses for Temple to strut her stuff, Marker was actually a very good film. True, it's sentimental, especially when seen through the eyes of modern audiences, and it doesn't shy away from being blatantly manipulative. Yet there's still something undeniably appealing about the basic story, and the filmmakers seem to be pulling the audience's strings almost innocently. Temple is in tip-top form here, and even those who are not fans should find plenty to enjoy. For one thing, Temple's not called upon to play 'cute' as much; she still comes off as cute, but the character is given some 'hard boiled' dialogue and attitude that dilutes some of the actress's standard cheeriness. She's also well served by her co-star, Adolphe Menjou, and the two play off of each other quite nicely, establishing a believable relationship that is crucial to the film's success. The script is also good, featuring some snappy dialogue and setting up its situations in a professional manner. Overall, Marker is a delightful treat." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/little-miss-marker-v29569/

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The man who knew too much 1934 - The international breakthrough for Hitchcock

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025452/?ref_=nv_sr_3
IMDB ratings: 6,9

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre

"Though Alfred Hitchcock would remake the movie himself in 1956 with a bigger budget, the original 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much is arguably a more historically significant and aesthetically interesting film. It was Hitchcock's first true international hit. Though he wouldn't have a major success in America until The Lady Vanishes, Man and the subsequent The 39 Steps helped establish the director's distinctive style and lay the groundwork for his popularity. Along with Hitchcock's trademark blend of suspense and humor and blurring of the normal and abnormal, the film also features his characteristically grand showpieces, most memorably the recreation of the true-life 'Sidney Street Siege' and the famous Albert Hall scene. The film was also significant as German actor Peter Lorre's first English-language part. Having fled Nazi Germany in 1933, Lorre had to learn his lines phonetically, but he steals the film as the cruel but melancholic bad guy, and his difficulties with English barely show. The actor would go on to give memorable turns in such notable Hollywood productions as Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-man-who-knew-too-much-v31107/

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