Some bad movies I've watched: The 30's
Hollywood during its golden aged produced bad movies too.
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- DirectorGordon DouglasFred C. NewmeyerStarsGeorge 'Spanky' McFarlandPhillips HolmesRalph MorganA small boy is instrumental in a famous Civil War victory.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJack OakieGeorge BurnsGracie AllenSpud Miller hopes to save his struggling radio station by winning a broadcast competition, with the help of the Radio Eye, an invention that can display live events from anywhere in the world.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsWini ShawGenevieve TobinLyle TalbotA woman becomes a successful singer, but can't do as well in love.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsBobby BreenCharles RugglesDolores CostelloTommy Martin lives with mother Martha in a conservative religious community but dreams of a singing career. He leaves to join a traveling show where he befriends skating sensation Irene and performs lively tunes to make a living.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsKenny BakerFrank McHughAlice BradyA small town electrician becomes a hit singer in New York and gets involved with a gold digger, a thief, an opera singer and the woman he loves.
- DirectorJoseph KaneStarsRoy RogersSmiley BurnetteCarol HughesRoy is elected to Congress to bring the misery of the "dustbowl" of the 1930s to the attention of Washington politicians.
- DirectorLloyd CorriganStarsCharles CollinsFrank MorganSteffi DunaThe story of a Boston dance teacher who gets shanghaied by buccaneers who might make his next steps be off the plank!
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsLily PonsJack OakieJohn HowardLili Pons and Jack Oakie star as a nightclub singer with aspires to be an opera diva and the met star whom she chases all the way to a safari in Africa to make her dreams come true in this wacky musical comedy.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsAnne ShirleyNan GreyRalph BellamyA student monitor at a girls' school faces the scorn of her fellow pupils when she reports one of the popular girls for staying out late.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsBernard VorhausStarsBobby BreenAlan MowbrayRalph MorganIn the pre-Civil War South, a plantation owner dies and leaves all his possessions, including his slaves, to his young son. While the deceased treated his slaves decently, his corrupt executor abuses them unmercifully, beating them without provocation, and he is planning to sell off the father'e estate--including the slaves--at the earliest opportunity so he and his mistress can steal the money and move to France. The young boy doesn't want to sell his father's estate or break up an of the slave families, and he has to find someone to help him thwart the crooked executor's plans.
- DirectorCharles ReisnerStarsPhil ReganLeo CarrilloAnn DvorakGangsters take control of a record company and use toughguy tactics on unwilling performers.
- DirectorSidney SalkowCal DaltonBen HardawayStarsPhil ReganJean ParkerJerome CowanAt the New York branch of Mammoth Studios, motion picture animator Linda Fay and her boss, Bob Adams, search for a singing voice for their star cartoon, "Paddy the Pig." Linda holds auditions in her apartment, but a neighbor, disturbed by the noise, calls the police. Officers Jimmy Duffy and Joe Nash answer the call and sell Linda tickets to the policeman's ball after cautioning her to keep the noise down. As Jimmy ushers one of the singers out, he instructs him on how to sing. Linda hears his beautiful voice and eagerly awaits the ball. Linda, Bob, their pianist Sidney and secretary, Mabel Dunne, attend the ball and agree after Jimmy sings that he has the voice they need. The others then convince Linda to hire Jimmy without telling him that he is supplying the voice of a pig, but instead, letting him think that he will be a real actor. Two weeks pass as Jimmy records Paddy's songs, and he and Linda rapidly fall in love. Bob is jealous because he also loves Linda, but he realizes that there is little he can do and therefore signs Jimmy to a contract. Thrilled with the contract, Jimmy informs his family that he is quitting the police force. His parents are dismayed by his proclamation and also by his interest in Linda, whom they are afraid is too upper class for Jimmy, but their son's enthusiasm wins them over. Jimmy and Linda marry on the day of the cartoon's sneak preview, and Linda does not get a chance to tell Jimmy the truth before he sees it. All of Jimmy's family and police friends are there, and their laughter upon hearing his voice coming from the mouth of a pig wounds Jimmy to the core. That night, Joe finds Jimmy after he has gotten drunk and takes him to Linda's apartment. The next day, Jimmy bitterly accuses Linda of marrying him so that he would not break his contract, and soon after, he returns to the force. Determined to win back Jimmy, Linda moves in with his family. Jimmy counters by volunteering to work the night shift, thereby turning their schedules upside down. Bob convinces Linda to work at the studio while Jimmy is patrolling his beat, and as a week goes by, the Duffy family becomes suspicious as Linda is brought home by Bob early each morning. Meanwhile, Jimmy's cartoon is a hit and demand for a sequel grows. One afternoon, Jimmy, Linda and the family attend the policeman's picnic, and Jimmy is pleasantly surprised by the acclaim of young Paddy fans when they discover who Jimmy is. Jimmy promises Linda that they will make a fresh start, but late that night when Bob is rushing Linda home, Jimmy stops Bob's speeding car and sees his wife. Jimmy jumps to conclusions and punches Bob, after which Linda calls off their reconciliation. The next day, Jimmy's sister Trudy attempts to play peacemaker, and she sees a cartoon baby Linda has drawn with the caption "James Duffy, Jr. as I imagine him." Trudy is interviewed by reporters after she leaves Linda's apartment, and she leaks the news that Linda is pregnant. Jimmy sees the story in the newspaper and rushes to the studio, where Linda is previewing a cartoon about Paddy and his children. Jimmy is delighted that Paddy is a father, and he embraces Linda as she confirms that he is to be one too.
- DirectorLeigh JasonStarsLily PonsJack OakieGene RaymondNikki Martin (Lily Pons), a Parisian opera star, takes off in search of adventure and true-love, leaving her arranged husband to be at the altar. While hitchhiking, Nikki meets handsome American musician, Windy McLean (Gene Raymond) and his band, the 'McLean Wildcats.' Windy immediately spites her, but Nikki falls in love with him and follows him to New York by stowing away on the ship his on. The ship's purser (Edgar Dearing) finds her hiding in Windy and the Wildcats room. She is locked up by authorities, and Windy and the band are fired. When the ship reaches New York, Nikki escapes off the ship and finds out the Wildcats apartment. They demand her to leave, fearing being implicated but she refuses. Claire (Lucille Ball), Windy's girlfriend shows up with Hammacher (Herman Bing), and offers the band a low-paying job at a roadhouse in another city. Anxious to depart, they accept. Nikki becomes the band's singer. Claire becomes jealous and reports her to the authorities, causing the band to flee again.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsShirley TempleJohn BolesRochelle HudsonWealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones." As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.
- DirectorLudwig BergerErnst LubitschStarsDennis KingJeanette MacDonaldO.P. HeggieThe story takes place in medieval France. Poet-rogue Francois Villon, sentenced to hang by King Louis XI for writing derogatory verses about him, is offered a temporary reprieve. His hanging will be postponed for 24 hours, and in that time he must defeat the invading Burgundians and win the love of the beautiful Katherine.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsSpencer TracyClaire LuceWarren HymerWhen paroled trustee Steve and former inmate Judy who try to put their criminal lives behind them are blackmailed, two career criminals come to their rescue.
- DirectorAubrey ScottoStarsRoger PryorLeila HyamsEdward BrophyA down-on-his luck newspaperman finds himself the center of an experiment being conducted by two daffy millionaires--to see if someone can spend $1000 a minute, every minute, for 12 solid hours. If he can do it, he gets $10,000. If he can't do it, he gets nothing.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsDick PowellAnita LouiseAllen JenkinsA sports store clerk poses as a famous jockey as an advertising stunt, but gets more than he bargained for.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsAlice FayeAdolphe MenjouGregory RatoffNightclub singer Joan Warren's agent Nicky puts her into situations designed to advance her career.
- DirectorGeorge Nicholls Jr.StarsMadge EvansPreston FosterNeil HamiltonA fight to keep cavalry horses from being replaced by tanks culminates in a great race between machine and beast.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandLewis StoneAndy has problems raising the last payment for a used car and juggling three pretty girls with an upcoming country club dance scheduled.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHal SkellyZita JohannCharlotte WyntersA young couple's marriage is jeopardized by the husband's descent into alcoholism.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsShirley TempleVictor McLaglenC. Aubrey SmithPriscilla Williams, a young girl living with her widowed mother and paternal grandfather at the post he commands in northern India, becomes enamored of military life and embroiled in brewing rebellion against the crown in the early 1900's.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneStarsVictor McLaglenBinnie BarnesJean DixonThe foreman of a blast furnace gets involved in a romantic triangle and stolen money.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsSonja HenieAdolphe MenjouDon AmecheAmerican theatrical manager (Menjou) discovers Henie preparing for the Olympics in Switzerland and brings her to Madison Square Garden.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJackie CooperRobert CooganMitzi GreenSkippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsBobby BreenBasil RathboneMarion ClaireWhile at summer camp in the Maine woods, little Bobby Breen befriends composer Basil Rathbone, who left the city to try and break his creative block, and is soon playing matchmaker for his widowed singer mother and Rathbone.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsDon AmecheThe Ritz BrothersBinnie BarnesD'Artagnan sings and fronts for slapstick cowardly Ritz brothers posing as musketeers.
- DirectorReinhold SchünzelStarsNelson EddyIlona MasseyCharles RugglesA Russian prince disguised as a worker and a cafe singer secretly involved in revolutionary activities fall in love.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsRuby KeelerLee DixonAllen JenkinsTwo songwriters want to cast a British star in their new show.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsPaul RobesonLeslie BanksNina Mae McKinneyA British District Officer in Nigeria in the 1930s rules his area strictly but justly. He struggles with gun-runners and slavers with the aid of a loyal native chief.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeon M. LionAnne GreyJohn StuartA gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsSylvia SidneyHenry FondaFred MacMurrayA railroad man from the city befriends a mountain girl in a Kentucky family feud.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsLanny RossGloria StuartJoan MarshAnn Adams and William Hayward get married and she has a secretary's job in a law office, while finishing her schooling, and she soon makes junior partner and is just a brilliant lawyer. Meanwhile, hubby has a mechanized draftsman job and and acts like a mechanical person...except when he sings. He gets fed up with Ann turning their home into a bar-associate club where all the lawyers argue cases out of court, and he drops out and drops in at a nightclub and gets a job as a singer, and makes more money than when he was draftsman in an architect's office....and begins to imply that Ann should now be content with being a housewife, and Ann is having none of that. Later, she and her lawyer friends drop in at the club where William is singing, and she sees William getting vamped by one of the girl entertainers, gets sore and walks out..after insulting William. And..so they part and William gets an apartment and then a girl is found dead in his apartment, having accidentally strangled herself while drunk. But the law isn't buying that, either, and William goes on trial for his life...and Ann is his defense attorney. Ann's defense is that it was all her fault for being so career-minded and not providing William with the home-life he deserves...and the jury buys her 1938 sell-out. They re-unite and Ann becomes Blondie Bumstead.
- DirectorTheodore ReedStarsBob BurnsDorothy LamourRay MillandA Hollywood screenwriter looking for inspiration for his next film goes to Mexico, where he runs into a beautiful Mexican girl who sets her sights on him.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsJames CagneyEvelyn DawWilliam FrawleyA New York bandleader journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio, but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs.
- DirectorEdward SedgwickStarsBuster KeatonCharlotte GreenwoodReginald DennyA man tries passing off a socially awkward fellow as a Casanova in the hopes of marrying off his would be sister-in-law.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsEdmund GwennJill EsmondC.V. FranceAn old traditional family and a modern family battle over land in a small English village and almost destroy each other.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsEl BrendelMaureen O'SullivanJohn GarrickNew York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love, and test tube babies have replaced ... well, you get the idea. Scientists revive a man struck by lightning in 1930; he is rechristened "Single O". He is befriended by J-21, who can't marry the girl of his dreams because he isn't "distinguished" enough -- until he is chosen for a 4-month expedition to Mars by a renegade scientist. The Mars J-21, his friend, and stowaway Single O visit is full of scantily clad women doing Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and worshiping a fat middle-aged man.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsMarlene DietrichCharles BoyerTilly LoschThe star-crossed desert romance of a cloistered woman and a renegade monk.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsSonja HenieTyrone PowerArthur TreacherA Swiss hotel's ski instructor falls in love with a man who goes skiing every morning.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterWalter LangStarsShirley TempleRandolph ScottMargaret LockwoodSusannah is the orphaned survivor of an Indian attack in the Canadian West. A Mountie and his girlfriend take her in. Everybody suffers further Indian attacks and the Mountie is saved from the stake only by Susannah's intervention with the Indian chief.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsClaudette ColbertFred MacMurrayHarvey StephensYoung lovers fall afoul of repressive society as Salem elders get caught up in the witch hunts and trials of 17th-century Massachusetts. One family in particular uses the hysteria to its advantage, getting even with everyone for every slight--real or imagined.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGary CooperCarole LombardShirley TempleA swindler and his girlfriend take in his young daughter, who has been living with the family of his deceased wife.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWill RogersTom BrownAnita LouiseJudge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, uses common sense and considerable humanity to dispense justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsCarl BrissonMary EllisEdward Everett HortonMovie star changes places with a king who looks exactly like him, causing complications for all concerned.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsVictor McLaglenChester MorrisWendy BarrieThe S. S. Arcturus sails from Shanghai to San Francisco, and Dr. Jim Craig takes the post of ship's physician in order to be near Ann Grayson, the ship's nurse. Chief Engineer 'Crusher" McKay also has his eyes on Ann, and this brings an immediate conflict between the two men. When an epidemic breaks out below decks, Craig tells McKay the engine-and-fire rooms must be put under quarantine, but all of Craig's efforts to keep the disease from spreading are opposed by McKay.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsLily PonsHenry FondaEric BloreJonathan Street is a struggling composer when he meets and marries Annette. The problem is that Jonathan was drunk and does not want to be married. Annette does go with him to Paris and does the cooking and cleaning. To get his music published, Annette takes it to Paul and he is won over - by her voice and not the music. So he manages her career and she becomes a star as an opera singer everywhere she goes. Since Jonathan cannot sell anything he writes, he leaves Annette and that makes Annette sad as she wants only to be his wife.
- DirectorVeit HarlanStarsEmil JanningsPaul WagnerHannes StelzerMathias Clausen is a self-made businessman who is forced to do a great deal of soul-searching when his wife unexpectedly dies.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsPatric KnowlesRichard CromwellRochelle HudsonIn British India a local rajah, a British ally, is dying and his subordinates plan to drive out the British once he's gone. A newly married British officer is dispatched to ensure that doesn't happen.
- DirectorHal RoachStarsBrian AherneVictor McLaglenPaul LukasAn Irish convict sentenced to hard labor in Australia escapes into the outback, and organizes a band of fellow escapees to fight a corrupt landowner.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsGeorge ArlissRalph ForbesH.B. WarnerAn airplane carrying three Brits--Major Crespin, his wife Lucille, and Dr. Trahern--crash lands in the kingdom of Rukh. The Rajah holds them prisoner because the British are about to execute his three half-brothers in neighboring India. His subjects believe that their Green Goddess has given them the lives of the three Brits as payment for the lives of the Rajah's brothers. They will execute them when the brothers are executed. Trahern and the Crespins must figure a way to use the Rajah's radio to call India for help.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMaureen O'HaraRobert NewtonCharles LaughtonIn Cornwall, 1819, a young woman discovers she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsLewis StoneMickey RooneyCecilia ParkerYoung Andy develops a crush on his drama teacher. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy has his own problems after he gets conned into forming a phony aluminum corporation.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsAlice FayeGeorge MurphyKen MurrayHal Adams tries to win the heart of Broadway star Betty Bradley.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsShirley TempleGeorge MurphyJimmy DuranteAn orphan is provisionally adopted by the manager of a hotel populated by show-business people. The hotel's owner doesn't like the entertainers and wants the girl returned to the orphanage.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsBing CrosbyMiriam HopkinsKitty CarlisleA cabaret dancer witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsDeanna DurbinMelvyn DouglasJackie CooperA teenage girl clashes with her newspaper publisher father's star reporter while he stays in their country guest house, but soon finds herself falling in love with him.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsDick PowellFred Waring and His PennsylvaniansTed HealyA former student who is now a big Broadway show producer with three flops to his reputation, is invited back to direct the College's annual student stage show.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsWarner BaxterJoan BennettHelen VinsonThe blueblooded Van Kletterings are broke; debutante Wendy, slated to remedy this by marrying rich bore Henry Morgan, instead leaves him at the altar and goes to work as a model for high-fashion clothing designer George Curson, whom she soon falls for. But he's happily married (at least on his side) and going into debt financing a show to please wife Mary's desire for stardom. Vindictive Morgan, jealous of George, hopes to hasten his ruin. Can the House of Curson be saved?