Overview of the events of 1933 in film
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.)[ edit ]
The top ten 1933 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1933
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
Roman Scandals
United Artists
$2,443,000[ 1]
2
I'm No Angel
Paramount
$2,250,000[ 1]
3
Gold Diggers of 1933
Warner Bros.
$2,202,000[ 2]
4
She Done Him Wrong
Paramount
$2,200,000[ 3]
5
The Bowery
United Artists/Twentieth Century
$2,000,000[ 4]
6
Tugboat Annie
MGM
$1,917,000[ 5]
7
Footlight Parade
Warner Bros.
$1,601,000[ 2]
8
Dancing Lady
MGM
$1,490,000[ 5]
9
42nd Street
Warner Bros.
$1,438,000[ 2]
10
Dinner at Eight
MGM
$1,398,000[ 5]
The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading news events of the year in North America .[ 6]
Other notable events include:
January 11 – Radio City Music Hall in New York City starts showing films.[ 7]
January 20 – The film Ecstasy premieres in Czechoslovakia film; its foreign distribution presents difficulties as 18-year-old actress Hedy Lamarr is seen naked in it.
March – Director Fritz Lang is informed by Joseph Goebbels that release of Lang's crime-thriller The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in Germany will not be permitted by the newly formed Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . The German-language premiere takes place on April 21 in Budapest (Hungary). On April 20, Lang divorces his wife, the film's writer Thea von Harbou , and on July 31 leaves Germany permanently, initially settling in Paris.[ 8]
March 2 – King Kong premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City;[ 9] opening weekend takings are estimated at US$90,000.
March 9 – Punyal na Ginto (The Golden Dagger), the first Filipino-language film made in the Philippines, is released.[ 10]
March 11 – 42nd Street sparks a comeback for musical film .[ 7]
June 6 – Chemical company executive Richard Hollingshead opens a drive-in theater near Camden, New Jersey , according to his U.S patent granted May 16.[ 11] [ 12]
September 6 – Daily Variety , a trade newspaper, is published for the first time in Hollywood.[ 13]
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, is released.[ 14]
Makata At Paraluman (The Poet and the Maiden), the first talking film in vernacular made in the Philippines, is released.[ 15]
British Film Institute founded.[ 16]
GPO Film Unit established in the United Kingdom under John Grierson , taking over responsibility for documentary film making from the Empire Marketing Board .
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 .
The Private Life of Henry VIII becomes the first British film to win an American Academy Award . Featured actor Charles Laughton wins the 1933 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The film is 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.
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:
Most Awards: Cavalcade – 3 (Outstanding Production; Best Director; Best Art Direction )
United States unless stated
January 1933
3 January
10 January
12 January
13 January
20 January
21 January
27 January
28 January
February 1933
3 February
4 February
10 February
17 February
18 February
22 February
23 February
24 February
28 February
March 1933
2 March
10 March
11 March
15 March
21 March
24 March
25 March
31 March
April 1933
7 April
14 April
15 April
20 April
21 April
22 April
27 April
28 April
May 1933
5 May
6 May
12 May
14 May
15 May
19 May
25 May
26 May
27 May
29 May
June 1933
9 June
23 June
28 June
30 June
July 1933
1 July
3 July
8 July
14 July
15 July
17 June
20 July
28 July
29 July
August 1933
1 August
5 August
8 August
13 August
16 August
17 August
18 August
25 August
29 August
30 August
31 August
September 1933
1 September
7 September
8 September
13 September
15 September
16 September
22 September
23 September
26 September
29 September
October 1933
6 October
7 October
13 October
21 October
26 October
27 October
28 October
November 1933
1 November
10 November
13 November
16 November
17 November
November 20
24 November
25 November
December 1933
3 December
11 December
14 December
18 December
21 December
22 December
23 December
25 December
26 December
29 December
Notable films released in 1933 [ edit ]
United States unless stated
Adorable , directed by William Dieterle , starring Janet Gaynor
After Tonight , directed by George Archainbaud , starring Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland
Alice in Wonderland , directed by Norman Z. McLeod , starring Charlotte Henry , Richard Arlen , Gary Cooper , W. C. Fields , Cary Grant and Jack Oakie
Ann Vickers , directed by John Cromwell , starring Irene Dunne and Walter Huston
Baby Face , directed by Alfred E. Green , starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent
Beauty for Sale , directed by Richard Boleslawski , starring Madge Evans , Alice Brady and Una Merkel
Bed of Roses , directed by Gregory La Cava , starring Constance Bennett and Joel McCrea
A Bedtime Story , directed by Norman Taurog , starring Maurice Chevalier and Helen Twelvetrees
Berkeley Square , directed by Frank Lloyd , starring Leslie Howard
Bitter Sweet , directed by Herbert Wilcox , starring Anna Neagle – (GB )
The Bitter Tea of General Yen , directed by Frank Capra , starring Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther
Blood Money , directed by Rowland Brown , starring George Bancroft
Bombshell , directed by Victor Fleming , starring Jean Harlow , Lee Tracy , Frank Morgan , Franchot Tone , Pat O'Brien and Una Merkel
The Bowery , directed by Raoul Walsh , starring Wallace Beery , George Raft , Jackie Cooper and Fay Wray
Bureau of Missing Persons , directed by Roy Del Ruth , starring Bette Davis , Lewis Stone , Pat O'Brien and Glenda Farrell
By Candlelight , directed by James Whale
Cash , directed by Zoltan Korda , starring Robert Donat – (GB )
Cavalcade , directed by Frank Lloyd , starring Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook
Convention City (lost), directed by Archie Mayo , starring Joan Blondell , Adolphe Menjou , Dick Powell and Mary Astor
Counsellor at Law , directed by William Wyler , starring John Barrymore and Bebe Daniels
Dancing Lady , directed by Robert Z. Leonard , starring Joan Crawford , Clark Gable and Franchot Tone
Daybreak (Tiānmíng) , directed by Sun Yu – (China )
Deluge , directed by Felix E. Feist , starring Sidney Blackmer
The Deserter (Dezertir) , directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin – (U.S.S.R. )
Design for Living , directed by Ernst Lubitsch , starring Fredric March , Gary Cooper and Miriam Hopkins
The Devil's Brother , directed by Hal Roach , starring Laurel and Hardy
Dick Turpin , directed by Victor Hanbury , starring Victor McLaglen – (GB )
Dinner at Eight , directed by George Cukor , starring Marie Dressler , John Barrymore , Wallace Beery , Jean Harlow , Lionel Barrymore , Lee Tracy and Billie Burke
Doctor Bull , directed by John Ford , starring Will Rogers
Don Quixote , directed by G.W. Pabst , starring Feodor Chaliapin – (France /GB )
Dora's Dunking Doughnuts , directed by Harry Edwards , starring Shirley Temple
Dragnet Girl (Hijōsen no Onna) , directed by Yasujirō Ozu , starring Kinuyo Tanaka – (Japan )
Duck Soup , directed by Leo McCarey , starring the Marx Brothers
The Eagle and the Hawk , directed by Stuart Walker , starring Fredric March , Cary Grant , Carole Lombard and Jack Oakie
Ecstasy (Extase) , directed by Gustav Machatý , 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
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
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
Loyalties , starring Basil Rathbone – (GB )
Man's Castle , starring Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young
The Mayor of Hell , starring James Cagney
Men Must Fight , starring Diana Wynyard
Midnight Club , starring George Raft and Clive Brook
Midnight Mary , directed by William A. Wellman , starring Loretta Young
The Midnight Patrol , starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
Money for Speed , directed by Bernard Vorhaus , starring John Loder and Ida Lupino – (GB )
The Monkey's Paw , directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
Morning Glory , starring Katharine Hepburn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Mr. Skitch , starring Will Rogers
Mystery of the Wax Museum , starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray
Parachute Jumper , starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , Bette Davis and Frank McHugh
Passing Fancy (Dekigokoro), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan )
Peg o' My Heart , starring Marion Davies , Onslow Stevens and J. Farrell MacDonald
Penthouse , starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
Perfect Understanding , starring Gloria Swanson and Laurence Olivier – (GB )
Pick-Up , starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft
Picture Snatcher , starring James Cagney
Pilgrimage , directed by John Ford
The Power and the Glory , starring Spencer Tracy
The Private Life of Henry VIII , directed by Alexander Korda , starring Charles Laughton – (GB )
The Prizefighter and the Lady , starring Max Baer , Myrna Loy , Primo Carnera and Jack Dempsey
Professional Sweetheart , starring Ginger Rogers
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 , Sherlock Holmes film written by Robert Florey, directed by Edwin Marin, starring Reginald Owen as Holmes and Warburton Gamble as Watson
Supernatural , starring Carole Lombard , Alan Dinehart , Vivienne Osborne and Randolph Scott
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.[ 17]
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
The Vampire Bat , starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray
Viktor und Viktoria – (Germany )
Voltaire , starring George Arliss
When Ladies Meet , starring Ann Harding , Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy
The Wandering Jew , starring Conrad Veidt
What! No Beer? , starring Buster Keaton
The White Rose , directed by Mohammed Karim , starring Mohammed Abdel Wahab – (Egypt )
The World Changes , starring Mary Astor and Paul Muni
Wild Boys of the Road , starring Frankie Darro and Edwin Phillips
The Working Man , starring George Arliss and Bette Davis
Animated short film series [ edit ]
January 6 – Mark Forest , American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2022)
January 8 – Jean-Marie Straub , French director (d. 2006)
January 9
January 10 - Anton Rodgers , English actor (d. 2007)
January 12 – Liliana Cavani , Italian director
January 18 – John Boorman , English director
January 23 – Chita Rivera , American actress, dancer and singer (d. 2024)
January 28 – Jack Hill , American director and screenwriter
February 2 – Tony Jay , English actor, voice actor and singer (d. 2006)
February 3 – Polde Bibič , Slovenian film and stage actor and memoir writer (d. 2012)
February 9 – Ronnie Claire Edwards , American actress (d. 2016)
February 12 – Costa-Gavras , Greek-French director, screenwriter and producer
February 13
February 14 – Madhubala , Indian actress (d. 1969)
February 16 – Ron Faber , American actor (d. 2023)
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 3
March 7 - Donald Douglas , Scottish actor
March 11 – Sandra Milo , Italian actress (d. 2024)
March 12 – Barbara Feldon , American actress
March 13 - Gloria McMillan , American actress (d. 2022)
March 14 – Michael Caine , English actor
March 19
March 22 – Richard Easton , Canadian actor (d. 2019)
March 23 – Laura Soveral , Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
March 24 - William Smith , American actor (d. 2021)
April 2 - Joseph Rigano , American character actor (d. 2014)
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 18 - Harold Innocent , English actor (d. 1993)
April 19 – Jayne Mansfield , American actress (d. 1967)
April 20 – George R. Robertson , Canadian actor (d. 2023)
April 22 – Mark Damon , American actor and producer (d. 2024)
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 14 - Siân Phillips , Welsh actress
May 20 – Constance Towers , American actress and singer
May 21 – Richard Libertini , American actor (d. 2016)
May 23 – Joan Collins , English actress
May 28 - Zelda Rubinstein , American actress (d. 2010)
June 1 - Antony Ponzini , American actor (d. 2002)
June 8 - Joan Rivers , American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host (d. 2014)
June 9 - Mario Donatone , Italian actor (d. 2020)
June 11 – Gene Wilder , American actor (d. 2016)
June 20
June 21 – Bernie Kopell , American character actor
July 6 - Sajjad Kishwar , Pakistani actor (d. 2022)
July 12 - Max Julien , American actor (d. 2022)
July 13 - Theresa Amayo , Brazilian actress (d. 2022)
July 24 – John Aniston , Greek-born American actor (d. 2022)
July 25 - Ken Swofford , American actor (d. 2018)
July 26
July 29
August 1 – Dom DeLuise , American actor and comedian (d. 2009)
August 2 – Tom Bell , English actor (d. 2006)
August 10 - Lynn Cohen , American actress (d. 2020)
August 13 - Vyjayanthimala , Indian former actress
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 4 – Richard S. Castellano , American actor (d. 1988)
September 14 - Zoe Caldwell , Australian-born actress (d. 2020)
September 15 - Henry Darrow , American character actor (d. 2021)
September 17 – Pat Crowley , American actress
September 18
September 19 – David McCallum , British-American actor and musician (d. 2023)
September 22 - Robert Banas , American actor and dancer (d. 2024)
September 27 - Kathleen Nolan , American actress
September 28 – Robert Hogan , American actor (d. 2021)
September 29
September 30
October 24
J. J. Johnston , American actor and writer (d. 2022)
Enzo Robutti , Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, playwright and writer (d. 2022)
October 25 - Peter Dennis , English actor (d. 2009)
November 3 – Jeremy Brett , English actor (d. 1995)
November 9 - Louise Troy , American actress (d. 1994)
November 13 - Karl-Otto Alberty , German actor (d. 2015)
November 17 – Terry , American performing Cairn Terrier (d. 1945)
November 19 - Larry King , American television and radio host (d. 2021)
November 21 - J. Don Ferguson , American character actor (d. 2008)
November 25 – Kathryn Crosby , American actress (d. 2024)
November 26 - Robert Goulet , American-Canadian actor and singer (d. 2007)
November 28 – Hope Lange , American actress (d. 2003)
November 30
December 3 - Rosalind Knight , English actress (d. 2020)
December 4 – Wink Martindale , American radio personality, game show host and producer
December 5 - Adolph Caesar , American actor (d. 1986)
December 8 - Ana Ofelia Murguía , Mexican actress (d. 2023)
December 10 - Mako , Japanese-American actor (d. 2006)
December 13 – Lou Adler , American producer
December 15 – Tim Conway , American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
December 22 - Elizabeth Hubbard , American actress (d. 2023)
December 26 - Caroll Spinney , American puppeteer (d. 2019)
December 31 - Edward Bunker , American actor (d. 2005)
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)
May 15 – Ernest Torrence , Scottish actor (born 1878)
June 18 – Harry Sweet , American actor and director (born 1901)
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)
December 22 - William J. Dyer , American actor (born 1881)
^ 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.
^ 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 : 55–73. doi :10.1080/01439689500260031 .
^ Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press. pp. 356–357 . ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6 .
^ Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft , McFarland & Company, 2013, pp. 42-43
^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
^ "The Ten Leading News Events" . Film Daily Year Book (1934) . p. 33.
^ a b "The Year in Pictures" . Variety . January 2, 1934. p. 3. Retrieved April 30, 2018 .
^ McGilligan, Patrick (1997). Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast . New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312132476 .
^ King Kong at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ "ABS-CBN News" . news.abs-cbn.com/ . Retrieved 2021-02-05 .
^ U.S. patent 1,909,537
^ "82 years ago today, first U.S. drive-in theater opened in N.J." NJ.com . June 2015. Retrieved 2017-10-16 .
^ Hofler, Robert (October 28, 2008). "Depression Doesn't Stop Daily Variety" . Variety . Retrieved April 23, 2018 .
^ "About Philippines" (PDF) . aboutphilippines.org/ . Retrieved 2021-02-05 .
^ "Philippine Movies during the American Occupation" . philippinepresshistory.wordpress.com/ . 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2021-02-05 .
^ "British Film Institute" . gov.uk . Retrieved 2017-08-24 .
^ Variety , Wednesday 1 August 1933, page 14 (retrieved 28 May 2018) – Film Reviews page – This Is America (review)