Modern Times (1936) : Chaplin offered this dystopia to the desperation caused by the crisis that shooked the US economy - and all of the world - and it was one of the best movies featuring his famous character. Visibly marked by Metropolis, the masterpiece of Fritz Lang, it is still one of the best remembered movies of the 1930s.
Gone with the Wind (1939) : more than a success movie of the decade, this launched a full-fledged mania in the US and later the world, especially for the female audiences, who was more than mesmerized by this splendid love story / historical reconstruction. It would also be one of the greatest box office successes.
Wizard of Oz (1939) : this movie made after Baum's novel seemed to be just a children's movie or a passing summer success, but the director Victor Fleming managed to turn out one of the best movies of those years and a solid cinematography masterpiece. Staring the wonderfully beautiful and talented Judy Garland, with an unforgetable soundtrack, gorgeus costumes and backgrounds, it was a triumph for the director and producers. And it had it's large share of fans among children and grown ups as well.
King Kong (1933) : after Orloff and Caligari, it was the time of a new monster, as the special effects industry was also growing, and this monster was King Kong, the giant ape, for which it was easy to destroy a building. In the climactic end of the movie, the enraged ape climbed on the top of the symbolic Empire State Building, being gunned down in the process. It was mainly the special effects, although laughable today, that gathered the enthusiasm of the public.
Scarface (1932) : althought the 1983 movie with the same name is by far better known, this gangster movie of the 1930s is in itself a masterpiece. Defining the genre, it offered a new anti-hero, instead of the monsters, vampires and ghouls - the gangster. Slick, sharply dressed, menacing and cold, without mercy for his enemies and wanting to be respected and feared, he was the new bad boy of the 1930s. The movie was inspired by the life of Al Capone and would be a landmark of the genre.
M (1931) : aside from Metropolis, this strange thriller must be Lang's best creation, and Peter Lorre in the role of a psychotic child killer was more than briliant, was simply amazing. The tension, the inspired used of darkness, light and nevertheless sound - a first for Fritz Lang - the way the director understood using the performers, all lead to a briliant movie.
Frankenstein (1931) : not much to say really about the best known and appreciated movie version of the classic novel, written by Mary Shelley, way before the countless B movies. With a Boris Karloff of amazing artistic power, it is one of the most frightening stories ever put together. And it was a critical and box office hit.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) : definetelly one of the best animation movies ever made, a strike of genius coming from The Man Himself - Walt Disney - and one of the most beautiful creations. It would mark the beginning of an era for the Disney Studios and remains a favourite for all ages.
The Invisible Man (1933) : another monster in the ever-growing gallery of 20th century cinema, only this time it was a tragic character, a scientist whose love for research and dislike of the world and principles would eventually turn him into am abomination. A monster with a tragic ending, a sad and prophetic movie about the disasters brought upon by science.
Dracula (1931) : another myth in the moviemaking industry of the last century, the screen version of Bram Stoker's novel, starring the legendary Bela Lugosi, is still a masterpiece, with gothic influences, a chilling atmosphere and briliant - even if somewhat cheesy - lines. Even if many movie critics disregarded the production, because of the subject, it was another box-office hit.
September 2008
