1933 in film

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The following is an overview of 1933 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)[]

The top ten 1933 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1933
Rank Title Studio Box office gross rental
1 Roman Scandals United Artists/Samuel Goldwyn Productions $2,443,000[1]
2 I'm No Angel Paramount Pictures $2,250,000[1]
3 Gold Diggers of 1933 Warner Bros. $2,202,000[2]
4 She Done Him Wrong Paramount Pictures $2,200,000[3]
5 Tugboat Annie Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $1,917,000[4]
6 Footlight Parade Warner Bros. $1,601,000[2]
7 Dancing Lady Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $1,490,000[4]
8 42nd Street Warner Bros. $1,438,000[2]
9 Dinner at Eight Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $1,398,000[4]
10 Little Women RKO Radio Pictures $1,337,000[5]

Events[]

The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading news events of the year in North America.[6]

  • Motion picture industry goes under National Recovery Administration code.
  • Receivers appointed for Paramount Publix, RKO and Fox Theatres.
  • Film industry takes eight week salary cut.
  • Sirovich bill for sweeping probe of film industry is defeated.
  • John D. Hertz withdraws as Paramount Publix finance chairman and Adolph Zukor appoints George J. Schaefer as general manager.
  • Sidney Kent effects financial reorganization of Fox Film Corp., averting receivership, and company shows first profit since 1930.
  • Ruling of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware creates "open market" for sound equipment.
  • Nathan Nathanson regains control of Famous Players Canadian circuit.
  • Darryl F. Zanuck quits Warner Bros-First National and with Joseph M. Schenck forms Twentieth Century Pictures, turning out eight productions in the first four months.
  • Harold B. Franklin resigns as president of RKO Theaters.

Other notable events include:

  • January 11 – Radio City Music Hall in New York City starts showing films.[7]
  • March 2 – King Kong premieres at Radio City Music Hall.[8]
  • March 9 - Punyal na Ginto (The Golden Dagger), the first Filipino-language film made in the Philippines, was released.[9]
  • March 11 – 42nd Street sparks a comeback for musical film.[7]
  • June 6 – The drive-in theater is patented in Camden, New Jersey.[10]
  • September 6 – Daily Variety, a trade newspaper, is published for the first time in Hollywood.[11]
  • October 10 – John Wayne appears as Singin' Sandy Saunders in Riders of Destiny.
  • December 29 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appear on screen together for the first time in Flying Down to Rio.
  • Ang Aswang, the first sound film made in the Philippines, was released.[12]
  • British Film Institute founded.[13]
  • GPO Film Unit established in the United Kingdom under John Grierson, taking over responsibility for documentary film making from the Empire Marketing Board.
  • Makata At Paraluman (The Poet and the Maiden), the first talking film in vernacular made in the Philippines, was released.[14]
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) once again expresses interest in The Wizard of Oz books for a series of animated shorts, but once again fail to make a deal with the estate of creator L. Frank Baum.
  • Ecstasy, a Czechoslovak film, shocks audiences when actress Hedy Lamarr is seen naked in it.
  • The Private Life of Henry VIII becomes the first British film to win an American Academy Award. Featured actor Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The film was the first British production to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
  • The book Upton Sinclair Presents William Fox is published, detailing what William Fox considers to be the conspiracy that forced him from control of Fox Film in 1930.

Academy Awards[]

Main article: 6th Academy Awards

The 6th Academy Awards were held on March 16, 1934, at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. They were hosted by Will Rogers and Rogers also presented all of the awards. This was the last time that the Oscars' eligibility period was spread over two different calendar years, creating the longest time frame for which films could be nominated: the seventeen months from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.

Most nominations: Cavalcade (Fox Film); A Farewell to Arms (Paramount Pictures) and Lady for a Day (Columbia Pictures) – 4

Major awards:

  • Best Picture: Cavalcade – Fox Film
  • Best Director: Frank Lloyd – Cavalcade
  • Best Actor: Charles Laughton – The Private Life of Henry VIII
  • Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn – Morning Glory

Most Awards: Cavalcade – 3 (Outstanding Production; Best Director; Best Art Direction)

1933 film releases[]

United States unless stated

January–March[]

April–June[]

July–September[]

October–December[]

Notable films released in 1933[]

United States unless stated

0-9[]

  • 42nd Street, directed by Lloyd Bacon, starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers

A[]

  • Adorable, directed by William Dieterle, starring Janet Gaynor
  • After Tonight, starring Constance Bennett
  • Alice in Wonderland, starring Charlotte Henry and virtually every Paramount star at the time
  • Ann Vickers, starring Walter Huston and Irene Dunne

B[]

C[]

  • Cash, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Robert Donat – (GB)
  • Cavalcade, starring Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor and Herbert Mundin
  • Counsellor at Law, starring John Barrymore and Bebe Daniels
  • Convention City, starring Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou, Dick Powell and Mary Astor
  • Dancing Lady, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable

D[]

  • Daybreak (Tiānmíng) – (China)
  • Deluge, starring Sidney Blackmer
  • The Deserter – (U.S.S.R.)
  • Design for Living, starring Fredric March, Gary Cooper and Miriam Hopkins
  • The Devil's Brother, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
  • Dick Turpin, directed by Victor Hanbury, starring Victor McLaglen (GB)
  • Dinner at Eight, directed by George Cukor and featuring an all-star cast
  • Doctor Bull, starring Will Rogers
  • Don Quixote, directed by G.W. Pabst, starring Feodor Chaliapin – (France/GB)
  • Dora's Dunking Doughnuts, starring Shirley Temple
  • Dragnet Girl (Hijosen no onna), starring Kinuyo Tanaka, directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
  • Duck Soup, directed by Leo McCarey, starring the Marx Brothers

E[]

  • The Eagle and the Hawk, starring Fredric March, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard
  • Ecstasy, starring Hedy Lamarr – (Czechoslovakia)
  • The Emperor Jones, starring Paul Robeson
  • Employees' Entrance, starring Warren William and Loretta Young
  • Ever in My Heart, starring Barbara Stanwyck
  • Ex-Lady, starring Bette Davis

F[]

  • Fast Workers, starring John Gilbert and Mae Clarke
  • The Flower of Hawaii (Die Blume von Hawaii), directed by Richard Oswald – (Germany)
  • Flying Down to Rio, starring Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond. Also starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their first of 10 films together
  • Footlight Parade, starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell and Ruby Keeler
  • Friday the Thirteenth, directed by Victor Saville, starring Jessie Matthews – (GB)

G[]

  • Gabriel Over the White House, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Walter Huston, Produced by William Randolph Hearst
  • Ganga Bruta, directed by Humberto Mauro, starring Durval Bellini and Déa Selva (Brazil)
  • The Ghoul, starring Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke and Ernest Thesiger – (GB)
  • The Ghost Camera, directed by Bernard Vorhaus, starring Ida Lupino, John Mills – (GB)
  • Going Hollywood, starring Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Patsy Kelly, Fifi D'Orsay, and Sterling Holloway
  • Gold Diggers of 1933, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers and Warren William
  • The Good Companions, directed by Victor Saville, starring Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn and John Gielgud – (GB)
  • Goodbye Again, starring Joan Blondell and Warren William

H[]

I[]

  • I'm No Angel, starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West also wrote the story and screenplay.
  • In the Wake of the Bounty, starring Errol Flynn as Fletcher Christian – (Australia)
  • International House, starring W. C. Fields, George Burns, Gracie Allen
  • The Invisible Man, starring Claude Rains in the title role with Gloria Stuart
  • It's Great to Be Alive, directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Raul Roulien and Gloria Stuart

K[]

L[]

  • Ladies They Talk About, starring Barbara Stanwyck
  • Lady for a Day, directed by Frank Capra, starring Warren William and May Robson
  • Lady Killer, starring James Cagney
  • Liebelei, directed by Max Ophüls – (Germany)
  • Life Is a Dog (Život je pes), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
  • Little Toys (Xiáo wǎnyì), directed by Sun Yu – (China)
  • Little Women, directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett
  • Looking Forward, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Lionel Barrymore
  • Lot in Sodom, starring Friedrich Haak
  • I Loved a Woman (1933), starring and Kay Francis
  • Loyalties, starring Basil Rathbone – (GB)

M[]

O[]

  • Okraina (The Outskirts) – (U.S.S.R.)
  • Oliver Twist, starring Dickie Moore
  • One Sunday Afternoon, starring Gary Cooper and Fay Wray
  • Only Yesterday, starring Margaret Sullavan
  • Our Betters, starring Constance Bennett, Gilbert Roland, and Anita Louise

P[]

Q-R[]

  • Queen Christina, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert
  • Refugees – (Germany)
  • Roman Scandals, starring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart

S[]

  • S.O.S Iceberg (S.O.S. Eisberg), starring Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany)
  • Secret of the Blue Room, starring Paul Lukas, Gloria Stuart and Lionel Atwill
  • Secrets, starring Mary Pickford in her last film
  • She Done Him Wrong, starring Mae West and Cary Grant in his first notable film role
  • She Had to Say Yes, starring Loretta Young and Lyle Talbot, directed by Busby Berkeley and George Amy
  • The Son of Kong, starring Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack
  • Sons of the Desert, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
  • A Southern Maid, starring Bebe Daniels and Clifford Mollison – (GB)
  • Spring Silkworms (Chung Can) – (China)
  • State Fair, starring Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers and Lew Ayres
  • Storm at Daybreak, starring Walter Huston and Kay Francis
  • The Story of Temple Drake, starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack La Rue
  • The Stranger's Return, starring Miriam Hopkins and Lionel Barrymore
  • A Study in Scarlet, starring Reginald Owen
  • Supernatural, starring Carole Lombard, Alan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne and Randolph Scott

T[]

  • The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Otto Wernicke – (Germany)
  • This Day and Age, Cecil B. Demille's now cult-favorite, starring Richard Cromwell and featuring then-teenager: Baby Peggy.
  • This Is America the first full-length documentary feature film ever made.[15]
  • This Week of Grace' directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Gracie Fields – (Britain)
  • Three-Cornered Moon, starring Claudette Colbert and Richard Arlen
  • Three Little Pigs, an animated short
  • Tillie and Gus, starring Alison Skipworth and W. C. Fields
  • Today We Live, starring Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper
  • Tonight Is Ours, starring Fredric March and Claudette Colbert
  • Topaze, starring John Barrymore and Myrna Loy
  • Torch Singer, starring Claudette Colbert
  • Tugboat Annie, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
  • Turn Back the Clock, starring Lee Tracy and Mae Clarke

V-W[]

Y-Z[]

Serials[]

Comedy film series[]

  • Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)
  • Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
  • Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
  • Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
  • Laurel and Hardy (1921–1945)
  • Our Gang (1922–1944)
  • Harry Langdon (1924–1936)
  • Wheeler and Woolsey (1929–1937)
  • Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
  • Ted Healy and His Stooges (1933–1934)

Animated short film series[]

  • Aesop's Film Fables (1921-1933)
  • Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
  • Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927–1938)
  • Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
  • Silly Symphonies
    • Birds in the Spring
    • Father Noah's Ark
    • Three Little Pigs
    • Old King Cole
    • Lullaby Land
    • The Pied Piper
    • The Night Before Christmas
  • Screen Songs (1929–1938)
  • Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
  • Flip the Frog (1930-1933)
  • Terrytoons (1930–1964)
  • Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
  • Scrappy (1931–1941)
  • Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren) (1931-1933)
  • Betty Boop (1932–1939)
    • Betty Boop's Ker-Choo
    • Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions
    • Is My Palm Read?
    • Betty Boop's Penthouse
    • Snow White
    • Betty Boop's Birthday Party
    • Betty Boop's May Party
    • Betty Boop's Big Boss
    • Mother Goose Land
    • Popeye the Sailor
    • The Old Man of the Mountain
    • I Heard
    • Morning, Noon and Night
    • Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party
    • Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
  • Popeye the Sailor (1933–1957)
  • Pooch the Pup (1932-1933)
  • Willie Whopper (1933–1934)
  • ComiColor Cartoons (1933–1936)
  • Cubby Bear (1933–1934)
  • The Little King (1933–1934)

Births[]

  • January 6 - Mark Forest, American actor and bodybuilder
  • January 8 – Jean-Marie Straub, French director (d. 2006)
  • January 9
    • Ken Barrie, English voice actor and singer (d. 2016)
    • Ann Firbank, actress
  • January 12 – Liliana Cavani, Italian director
  • January 18 – John Boorman, English director
  • January 23 – Chita Rivera, American actress, dancer and singer
  • January 28 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
  • February 2 – Tony Jay, English-American actor, voice actor and singer (d. 2007)
  • February 3 – Polde Bibič, Slovenian film and stage actor and memoir writer (d. 2012)
  • February 12 - Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director, screenwriter and producer
  • February 13
    • Caroline Blakiston, English actress
    • Kim Novak, American actress
  • February 14 – Madhubala, Indian actress (d. 1969)
  • February 18
    • Yoko Ono, Japanese multimedia artist, singer and songwriter
    • Željko Senečić, Croatian film, television production designer (d. 2018)
    • Mary Ure, Scottish actress (d. 1975)
  • March 2 - Ziva Rodann, Israeli-American actress and mime artist
  • March 12 - Barbara Feldon, American actress
  • March 14 – Michael Caine, English actor
  • March 19
    • Renée Taylor, American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
    • Richard Williams, Canadian-British animator (d. 2019)
  • March 22 - Richard Easton, Canadian actor (d. 2019)
  • March 23 – Laura Soveral, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
  • April 5 – Frank Gorshin, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
  • April 9 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor (d. 2021)
  • April 14 - Shani Wallis, British actress and singer
  • April 15 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)
  • April 16 - Ric Mancini, American actor (d. 2006)
  • April 19 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
  • April 20 - George R. Robertson, Canadian actor
  • April 22 - Mark Damon, American actor and producer
  • April 26 – Carol Burnett, American actress, television host and comedian
  • April 29 - Willie Nelson, American musician and actor
  • May 10 – Francoise Fabian, French actress
  • May 20 - Constance Towers, American actress and singer
  • May 21 - Richard Libertini, American actor (d. 2016)
  • May 23 – Joan Collins, English actress
  • June 11 – Gene Wilder, American actor (d. 2016)
  • June 20
    • Danny Aiello , American actor (d. 2019)
    • Brett Halsey, American actor
  • June 21 - Bernie Kopell, American character actor
  • July 24 - John Aniston, Greek-born American actor
  • July 26 - Kathryn Hays, American actress
  • July 29
    • Lou Albano, Italian-born American professional wrestler and actor (d. 2009)
    • Robert Fuller (actor), American retired actor
  • August 1 – Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian (d. 2009)
  • August 2 – Tom Bell, English actor (d. 2006)
  • August 16 – Julie Newmar, American actress, dancer and singer
  • August 18 – Roman Polanski, Polish director
  • August 19 - Debra Paget, American actress and entertainer
  • August 21 – Barry Norman, English critic (d. 2017)
  • August 25 – Tom Skerritt, American actor
  • August 28 – Philip French, English critic (d. 2015)
  • September 1 - Tsai Chin (actress), Chinese actress, singer and director
  • September 4 - Richard S. Castellano, American actor (d. 1988)
  • September 17 - Pat Crowley, American actress
  • September 18
    • Fred Willard, American actor (d. 2020)
    • Robert Blake, American actor
  • September 19 - David McCallum, British-American actor and musician
  • September 28 - Robert Hogan, American actor (d. 2021)
  • September 29 – Franca Parisi, Italian actress
  • September 30
    • Ben Cooper, American actor (d. 2020)
    • Barbara Knox, English actress
  • October 24 - J. J. Johnston, American actor and writer
  • November 3 – Jeremy Brett, English actor (d. 1995)
  • November 17 – Terry, American performing Cairn Terrier (d. 1945)
  • November 28 – Hope Lange, American actress (d. 2003)
  • November 30 - Warren Munson, American actor
  • December 4 - Wink Martindale, American radio personality, game show host and producer
  • December 13 - Lou Adler, American producer
  • December 15 – Tim Conway, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)

Deaths[]

  • January 3 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-born American actor and director (born 1896)
  • January 25 – Lewis J. Selznick, Ukrainian-born American producer (born 1870)
  • February 15 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-born American director/producer of animated films, alleged co-creator of Felix the Cat (born 1885/87)
  • February 23 – David Horsley, English-born American film executive (born 1873)
  • February 26 – Spottiswoode Aitken, American actor (born 1868)
  • March 8 – Alan Roscoe, American actor (born 1886)
  • March 23 – Francine Mussey, French actress (born 1897)
  • June 29 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor (born 1887)
  • June 30 – Georg Blomstedt, Swedish actor (born 1872)
  • August 18 – James Williamson, Scottish film developer and film director (born 1855)
  • August 28 – Helen Dunbar, American actress (born 1863)
  • September 23 – Sime Silverman, 60, American newspaper publisher, founder of Variety
  • September 24 – Ferdinand Bonn, German actor (born 1861)
  • October 5 – Renée Adorée, French actress (born 1898)
  • October 30 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (born 1869)
  • December 19 – Jimmie Adams, American comedian (born 1888)

Film debuts[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "WHICH CINEMA FILMS HAVE EARNED THE MOST MONEY SINCE 1914?". The Argus. Melbourne. 4 March 1944. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved 6 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b c Glancy, H Mark (1995). "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921–51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television. 15.
  3. ^ Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story. Wallflower Press. pp. 356–357. ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.
  4. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
  5. ^ "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. October 15, 1990. p. M150.
  6. ^ "The Ten Leading News Events". Film Daily Year Book (1934). p. 33.
  7. ^ a b "The Year in Pictures". Variety. January 2, 1934. p. 3. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  8. ^ King Kong at the American Film Institute Catalog
  9. ^ "ABS-CBN News". news.abs-cbn.com/. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  10. ^ "The "Drive-in" Movie" (PDF). Electronics. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 6 (8): 209. August 1933. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  11. ^ Hofler, Robert (October 28, 2008). "Depression Doesn't Stop Daily Variety". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "About Philippines" (PDF). aboutphilippines.org/. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  13. ^ "British Film Institute - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  14. ^ "Philippine Movies during the American Occupation". philippinepresshistory.wordpress.com/. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  15. ^ Variety, Wednesday 1 August 1933, page 14 (retrieved 28 May 2018) – Film Reviews page – This Is America (review)
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