1931 in film

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The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Contents

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1931
RankTitleDistributorDomestic rentals
1 City Lights United Artists $2,000,000 [1]
2 Trader Horn MGM $1,642,000 [2]
3 Palmy Days United Artists$1,601,000 [3]
4 The Man Who Came Back Fox Film $1,400,000 [4]
5 Merely Mary Ann $1,300,000 [4]
6 Arrowsmith
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 		United Artists
Paramount 		$1,250,000 [5] [6]
7 A Connecticut Yankee Fox Film$1,200,000 [5]
8 Cimarron RKO $1,122,000 [7]
9 Bad Girl Fox Film$1,100,000 [4]
10 Possessed MGM$1,030,000 [2]

Events

Best money stars

Variety reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking. [11]

Actor
George Arliss

Ronald Colman

Wallace Beery
Maurice Chevalier
Clark Gable
Edward G. Robinson
Will Rogers

The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked the same. [11]

Actress
Constance Bennett
Joan Crawford
Marlene Dietrich
Greta Garbo

Marie Dressler

Janet Gaynor
Norma Shearer

Academy Awards

The 4th Academy Awards were awarded to films completed and screened released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Most Nominations: Cimarron (RKO Pictures) – 7

Major Awards

Most Awards: Cimarron – 3 (Best Picture; Best Adaptation and Best Art Direction)

Cimarron was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only one to do so for 59 years (until Dances with Wolves won in 1991). It received a then-record seven nominations, and was the first film to win more than two awards.

The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, [12] at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel [12] in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Conrad Nagel. [12] Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards. [12]

Most nominations: Arrowsmith (Samuel Goldwyn Productions) and The Champ (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) – 4

Major Awards

Most Awards: Bad Girl (Best Director and Best Adaptation) and The Champ (Best Actor and Best Original Story) – 2

Note: The Academy Award for Best Picture went to 1932's Grand Hotel .

1931 film releases

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1931

United States unless stated

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

W

Serials

Short film series

Animated short film series

Births

Deaths

Film debuts

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References

Citations
  1. ↑ Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autry (March 30, 2010). George Lucas's blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success . It Books. pp. 160–161. ISBN   978-0-0619-6345-2.
  2. 1 2 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  3. ↑ Jones, Lon (March 4, 1944). "Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?". The Argus . Melbourne. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012– via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 Finler 2003, pp. 356–357.
  5. 1 2 Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938) (pg. 942); accessed April 19, 2014
  6. ↑ "Film World". The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. October 19, 1934. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56
  8. ↑ "Att'y Gen Scans R-K-O-Pathe Deal on Plea of Defeated Insurgents". Variety . January 7, 1931. p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ Ships of Hate at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  10. 1 2 3 Ten Leading Events in the News of Motion Pictures During the Year 1931. p. 9. Retrieved May 8, 2018.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. 1 2 "Six Best Money Stars". Variety. January 5, 1932. p. 1.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "The 5th Academy Awards – 1933". Archived from the original on 2012-09-04.
Bibliography
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