The following is an overview of 1930 in film, including significant events, a
list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Events March 10: Release of Goodbye Argentina,
the first Argentine film with a soundtrack. Ada Cornaro has her first
starring role and Libertad Lamarque makes her film debut.
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. Top grossing films
Academy Awards Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western
Front - Universal Studios Best Actress: Norma Shearer - The
Divorcee Best Actor: George Arliss - Disraeli
Best Director:Lewis Milestone - All Quiet on the Western Front
Notable films released in 1930 U.S.A. unless stated
Abi and Rabi by Ovanes Ohanian Abraham Lincoln, starring Walter Huston
November 8, 1930 L'Âge d'Or, directed by Luis Buñuel
November 29, 1930 - Alraune March 2, 1930 -
All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Lew Ayres
April 21, 1930 Animal Crackers, starring the Marx
Brothers August 23, 1930 Anna Christie, starring Greta Garbo
February 21, 1930 The Bad Man, starring Walter Huston
The Bat Whispers, starring Chester Morris and Una Merkel
Big Boy, a musical comedy with Al Jolson The Big House, starring Chester Morris
and Wallace Beery The Big Pond, starring Maurice Chevalier
and Claudette Colbert The Big Trail, starring John Wayne
Der blaue Engel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich and
Emil Jannings - The Blood of a Poet, directed by Jean
Cocteau - Borderline, starring Paul Robeson -
Bride of the Regiment, starring Walter Pidgeon
Bright Lights, directed by Michael Curtiz, a musical comedy in Technicolor
Call of the Flesh, starring Ramón Novarro, a musical romance with
Technicolor sequences The Cat Creeps, starring Helen
Twelvetrees, a mystery film released by Universal
Chasing Rainbows, starring Bessie Love, a musical comedy with Technicolor
sequences Check and Double Check, a comedy based
on Amos 'n' Andy radio show Children of Pleasure, a musical comedy
with Technicolor sequences City Girl, directed by F. W. Murnau
Common Clay, starring Constance Bennett The Cuckoos, a musical comedy with
Technicolor sequences Danger Lights, starring Louis Wolheim
The Dawn Patrol, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Richard Barthelmess and
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The Devil to Pay!, starring Ronald
Colman, Loretta Young, Myrna Loy The Divorcee, directed by Robert Z.
Leonard, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery
Dixiana, starring Bebe Daniels, a lavish musical comedy with Technicolor
sequences Doughboys, a World War I comedy starring
Buster Keaton Earth, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko -
Elstree Calling, a British revue with color sequences, co-directed by Alfred
Hitchcock - Escape, directed by Basil Dean, starring
Gerald du Maurier, Edna Best Fast and Loose, starring Miriam Hopkins
in her film debut, with Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan
Feet First, a comedy starring Harold Lloyd
The Flute Concert of Sans-Souci - Follow Thru, starring Charles 'Buddy'
Rogers, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor
General Crack, a drama with Technicolor sequences starring John Barrymore
The Girl Said No, directed by Sam Wood Good News, starring Bessie Love, a
musical comedy with Technicolor sequences
Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes, starring Jean Harlow and Ben
Lyon Hell's Heroes, directed by William Wyler
High Society Blues, starring Janet Gaynor
Hold Everything, starring Joe E. Brown, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor
Holiday, starring Ann Harding and Mary Astor
Imperial and Royal Field Marshal - Ingagi, exploitation-documentary on
gorilla-worshiping women encountered by an explorer. Box-office hit was revealed
to be a hoax. Journey's End, directed by James Whale -
King of Jazz, a revue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra entirely in
Technicolor Ladies Love Brutes, a comedy directed by
Rowland V. Lee, starring George Bancroft and Mary Astor
Ladies of Leisure, starring Barbara Stanwyck
Leathernecking, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences starring Irene
Dunne Let's Go Native, starring Jack Oakie and
Jeanette MacDonald The Life of the Party, musical comedy
entirely in Technicolor directed by Roy Del Ruth
Loose Ankles, comedy drama starring Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks,
Jr., directed by Ted Wilde Lord Byron of Broadway, a musical drama
with Technicolor sequences The Lottery Bride, a musical comedy with
Technicolor sequences starring Jeanette MacDonald
Madam Satan, directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Mamba, first talking drama entirely in Technicolor starring Jean Hersholt and
Eleanor Boardman Mammy, a musical comedy starring Al
Jolson with Technicolor sequences The Man from Blankley's, comedy drama
directed by Alfred E. Green starring John Barrymore
Manslaughter, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March
Min and Bill, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
Monte Carlo, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jack Buchanan and Jeanette
MacDonald Morocco, starring Gary Cooper and
Marlene Dietrich Murder!, directed by Alfred Hitchcock,
starring Herbert Marshall - The Mystery of the Yellow Room, directed
by Marcel L'Herbier - Nerone, directed by Alessandro Blasetti
Night Birds directed by Richard Eichberg No, No, Nanette, directed by Clarence G.
Badger Not So Dumb, directed by King Vidor,
starring Marion Davies The Other, directed by Robert Wiene -
Outside the Law, directed by Tod Browning, starring Edward G. Robinson
Paid, starring Joan Crawford and Robert Armstrong
Paramount on Parade, an all-star revue with Technicolor sequences
Peacock Alley, a musical drama with Technicolor sequences starring Mae
Murray People on Sunday, directed by Robert
Siodmak - Prix de Beauté, starring Louise Brooks -
Puttin' on the Ritz, directed by Edward Sloman, starring Joan Bennett, with
Technicolor sequences Raffles, featuring Ronald Colman and Kay
Francis The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, starring
Warner Oland and Jean Arthur The Rogue Song, a musical operetta
entirely in Technicolor directed by Lionel Barrymore
Show Girl in Hollywood, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences directed by
Mervyn LeRoy Son of the Gods, a drama with
Technicolor sequences starring Richard Barthelmess
Song o' My Heart, a musical starring Irish tenor John McCormack, directed by
Frank Borzage, and shot in both 35mm and 70mm Fox Grandeur formats
The Song of Love directed by Gennaro Righelli, starring Dria Paola, Isa Pola
Spring Is Here musical directed by John Francis Dillon
St. Jorgen's Day - Soup to Nuts, a comedy and film debut
for The Three Stooges Street of Chance, starring William
Powell and Jean Arthur Sweet Kitty Bellairs, a musical comedy
entirely in Technicolor Tarakanova, directed by Raymond Bernard
The Temporary Widow, starring Lilian Harvey and Laurence Olivier -
The Three from the Filling Station, directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring
Willy Fritsch, Lilian Harvey - Tom Sawyer, starring Jackie Coogan
True to the Navy, starring Clara Bow and Fredric March
Two Hearts in Waltz Time - Under a Texas Moon, a musical comedy
entirely in Technicolor directed by Michael Curtiz
Under the Roofs of Paris, directed by René Clair -
The Vagabond King, a musical drama entirely in Technicolor starring
Jeanette MacDonald Viejo smoking -
The W Plan, directed by Victor Saville, starring Brian Aherne and Madeleine
Carroll - Wara Wara, directed by José Maria
Velasco Maidana; now the only surviving silent Bolivian feature film
Way for a Sailor, starring John Gilbert and Wallace Beery
Westfront 1918, directed by G. W. Pabst Whoopee!, a musical comedy in
Technicolor with Eddie Cantor Young Man of Manhattan, starring
Claudette Colbert, Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers
Young Woodley, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Madeleine Carroll
Serials 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
Short film series Buster Keaton
Our Gang Laurel and Hardy
Animated short film series Felix the Cat
Aesop's Film Fables Krazy Kat
Mickey Mouse Just Mickey
The Barnyard Concert The Cactus Kid
Wild Waves The Fire Fighters
The Shindig The Chain Gang
The Gorilla Mystery The Picnic
Pioneer Days Minnie's Yoo-Hoo
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 Talkartoons
Dizzy Dishes Barnacle Bill
Looney Tunes Sinkin' in the Bathtub
Congo Jazz Hold Anything
The Booze Hangs High Box Car Blues
Flip the Frog Terrytoons
Toby the Pup Beary Bear The Rainy Day First Love Can
Opening The Contest The Race The Robot O Magical 4th Of July! Or Beary's Birthday
The Downer The Nut House The Tooth Births
January 3 - Robert Loggia, actor January 10 - Roy E. Disney, film
executive January 13 - Frances Sternhagen, actress
January 19 - Tippi Hedren, actress January 30 - Gene Hackman, actor
February 10 - Robert Wagner, actor February 27 - Joanne Woodward, actress
March 6 - Allison Hayes, actress March 24 - Steve McQueen, actor
April 18 - Clive Revill, actor April 21 - Silvana Mangano, actress
April 24 - Richard Donner, director, producer
April 25 - Paul Mazursky, director, actor
April 28 - Carolyn Jones, actress May 9 - Joan Sims, actress
May 11 - Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman
May 31 - Clint Eastwood, actor, director, producer
June 1 - Edward Woodward, actor, singer June 19 - Gena Rowlands, actress
August 25 - Sir Sean Connery, actor September 16 - Anne Francis, actress
September 21 - Dawn Addams, actress October 1 - Sir Richard Harris, actor
October 5 - Yuriy Yakovlev, Bulgarian actor
December 3 - Jean-Luc Godard, director December 11 - Jean-Louis Trintignant,
actor December 17 - Armin Mueller-Stahl, actor
Deaths January 31 - Dorothy Seastrom, American
actress February 23 - Mabel Normand, American
actress July 7 - Arthur Conan Doyle, British
author and creator of Sherlock Holmes. August 26 - Lon Chaney, American actor
September 14 - Tom Mintz, American actor, assistant director
September 15 - Milton Sills, American actor
November 8 - Clare Eames, American actress
December 15 - Diane Ellis, American actress
Film debuts Pat O'Brien - Compliments of the Season
James Cagney - Sinners' Holiday Buster Crabbe - Good News
Laurence Olivier - The Temporary Widow Bing Crosby - King of Jazz
Irene Dunne - Leathernecking Rex Harrison - The Great Game
Ruby Keeler - Show Girl in Hollywood Ethel Merman - Her Future
Spencer Tracy - The Strong Arm References