Overview of the events of 1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .
Top-grossing films (U.S.)[ edit ]
The top ten 1937 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1937
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
Saratoga
MGM
$2,432,000[ 1]
2
Maytime
$2,183,000[ 1]
3
The Good Earth
$2,002,000[ 1]
4
Stella Dallas
United Artists
$2,000,000[ 2] [ 3]
5
Rosalie
MGM
$1,946,000[ 1]
6
Broadway Melody of 1938
$1,889,000[ 1]
7
Captains Courageous
$1,688,000[ 1]
8
Lost Horizon
Columbia
$1,683,000[ 4]
9
A Day at the Races
MGM
$1,602,000[ 1]
10
Thin Ice
20th Century Fox
$1,590,000[ 5]
April 16 – Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West premieres in the US.
May 7 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedy Shall We Dance premieres in the US.
May 11 – Drama Captains Courageous , starring Spencer Tracy , premieres in New York, going into general release on June 25.
June 7 – Jean Harlow , one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the decade, dies aged 26 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. The official cause of death is listed as cerebral edema , a complication of kidney failure.
June 11 – Marx Brothers comedy A Day at the Races premieres in the U.S.
July 9 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire .
July 23 – Six weeks after Jean Harlow's death, her final film, Saratoga , is released. It is an instant box office success and becomes the year's highest-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career.
December 21 – Walt Disney 's debut feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the first feature-length cartoon to be made in America, in Technicolor , and in sound, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles . The film opens nationwide on February 4, 1938, and is a massive box office success, briefly holding the record as the highest-grossing sound film of all time.
Monogram Pictures , who had merged with Republic Pictures two years earlier, decide to separate and distribute their own films again.
Top ten money-making stars [ edit ]
January 1937
13 January
14 January
17 January
26 January
28 January
29 January
30 January
February 1937
2 February
4 February
12 February
13 February
19 February
March 1937
2 March
3 March
5 March
12 March
22 March
25 March
26 March
27 March
Girl Loves Boy
April 1937
5 April
9 April
10 April
16 April
18 April
20 April
23 April
28 April
30 April
May 1937
7 May
8 May
9 May
19 May
21 May
26 May
28 May
June 1937
1 June
4 June
8 June
11 June
12 June
17 June
23 June
25 June
30 June
July 1937
6 July
7 July
14 July
15 July
16 July
21 July
23 July
24 July
August 1937
3 August
4 August
6 August
9 August
11 August
19 August
20 August
25 August
27 August
31 August
September 1937
1 September
2 September
3 September
5 September
7 September
10 September
16 September
18 September
24 September
26 September
30 September
October 1937
1 October
2 October
8 October
10 October
12 October
14 October
15 October
20 October
21 October
22 October
23 October
29 October
30 October
November 1937
9 November
12 November
19 November
20 November
25 November
December 1937
2 December
4 December
7 December
10 December
17 December
18 December
21 December
24 December
25 December
29 December
31 December
Notable films released in 1937 [ edit ]
United States unless stated.
Battle of Greed , starring Tom Keene
Bezhin Meadow , directed by Sergei Eisenstein (U.S.S.R. )
Big City , starring Luise Rainer and Spencer Tracy
Bizarre, Bizarre (Drôle de drame ou L'étrange aventure du Docteur Molyneux), directed by Marcel Carné , starring Louis Jouvet and Michel Simon (France )
Black Legion , starring Humphrey Bogart
Born to the West , starring John Wayne
The Bride Wore Red , directed by Dorothy Arzner , starring Joan Crawford
Brief Ecstasy , starring Paul Lukas (GB )
Broadway Melody of 1938 , starring Eleanor Powell and Judy Garland
A Damsel in Distress , starring Fred Astaire , George Burns and Gracie Allen
The Daughter of the Samurai (Die Tochter des Samurai / Atarashiki tsuchi), directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami (Germany /Japan )
Daughter of Shanghai , starring Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn
A Day at the Races , directed by Sam Wood , starring the Marx Brothers
Dead End , directed by William Wyler , starring Sylvia Sidney , Joel McCrea , Humphrey Bogart , Claire Trevor
Double Wedding , starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
Dreaming Lips , directed by Paul Czinner , starring Elisabeth Bergner , Raymond Massey (Britain)
Duniya Na Mane (The Unexpected) (India )
The Dybbuk , Yiddish language film from (Poland )
Gangway , starring Jessie Matthews (GB )
Girl Loves Boy . starring Eric Linden
The Good Earth , starring Paul Muni and Luise Rainer (Academy Award for Best Actress )
Good Morning, Boys , starring Will Hay (GB )
Grand Illusion , directed by Jean Renoir , starring Jean Gabin and Dita Parlo (France )
The Great Barrier , starring Richard Arlen and Lilli Palmer (GB )
The Great Garrick , starring Brian Aherne and Olivia de Havilland
The Great O'Malley , starring Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart
Green Fields – a Yiddish language film
Gribouille (a.k.a. The Meddler), starring Raimu and Michèle Morgan (France )
La Habanera , directed by Douglas Sirk (Germany )
Head Over Heels , starring Jessie Matthews (GB )
Heidi , starring Shirley Temple
High, Wide, and Handsome , starring Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott
History is Made at Night , starring Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur
The Hound of the Baskervilles / Der Hund Von Baskerville (German) Sherlock Holmes film directed by Carl Lamac, starring Bruno Guttner as Holmes, and Fritz Odemar as Watson
Humanity and Paper Balloons (Ninjō Kami Fūsen) (Japan )
The Hurricane , starring Dorothy Lamour
Lancashire Luck , film debut of Wendy Hiller (GB )
The Last Gangster , starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney , starring Joan Crawford and William Powell
Law for Tombstone , directed by and starring Buck Jones
Layla and Majnun directed by Abdolhossein Sepanta (Iran)
The Life of Emile Zola , starring Paul Muni
Lost Horizon , directed by Frank Capra , starring Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt
Love from a Stranger , starring Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone (GB)
Love Is on the Air , directed by Nick Grinde , starring Ronald Reagan and June Travis
Saratoga , starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in her last film
The Seven Ravens (Germany )
Seventh Heaven , starring James Stewart and Simone Simon
Shall We Dance , starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Sidewalks of London (a.k.a. St. Martin's Lane), starring Charles Laughton , Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB )
Il signor Max , starring Vittorio De Sica (Italy )
Silver Blaze (British), a Sherlock Holmes film directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes, Ian Fleming as Watson and Lyn Harding as Moriarty; released in U.S. as Murder at the Baskervilles
Skeleton on Horseback (Bílá nemoc), directed by and starring Hugo Haas (Czechoslovakia )
Slave Ship , starring Warner Baxter and Wallace Beery
Slim , starring Henry Fonda
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , first American feature-length animated film. Directed by David Hand , William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson , Larry Morey , Perce Pearce , and Ben Sharpsteen , starring Adriana Caselotti , Lucille La Verne , Harry Stockwell , Roy Atwell , Pinto Colvig , Otis Harlan , Scotty Mattraw , Billy Gilbert , Eddie Collins , Moroni Olsen , and Stuart Buchanan
The Soldier and the Lady
Something to Sing About , directed by Victor Schertzinger , starring James Cagney , Evelyn Daw , William Frawley
Song at Midnight (Ye ban ge sheng) (China )
Souls at Sea , starring Gary Cooper and George Raft
Stage Door , starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers
Stand-In , starring Leslie Howard , Joan Blondell , Humphrey Bogart
A Star Is Born , starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March
Stella Dallas , starring Barbara Stanwyck
Storm in a Teacup , starring Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB )
Street Angel (Malu tianshi), starring Zhou Xuan (China )
The Tale of the Fox (Germany)
That Certain Woman , starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda
The Three Garridebs , starring Louis Hector , in the first televised adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character.[ 6]
They Gave Him a Gun , starring Spencer Tracy and Gladys George
They Won't Forget , starring Claude Rains
Thin Ice , starring Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power
Think Fast, Mr. Moto , starring Peter Lorre
This Is My Affair , starring Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck
Thunder in the City , starring Edward G. Robinson , Nigel Bruce , Ralph Richardson (GB )
To New Shores , directed by Douglas Sirk , starring Zarah Leander (Germany )
Topper , starring Constance Bennett , Cary Grant , Roland Young
Tovarich , starring Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer
Tři vejce do skla (Three eggs in a glass) (Czechoslovakia )
True Confession , starring Carole Lombard , Fred MacMurray , John Barrymore
Yoshiwara , directed by Max Ophüls , starring Sessue Hayakawa (France )
You Can't Have Everything , starring Alice Faye , Don Ameche , Gypsy Rose Lee
You Only Live Once , starring Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney
Young and Innocent , directed by Alfred Hitchcock (GB )
You're a Sweetheart
You're Only Young Once , starring Lewis Stone , Mickey Rooney , Cecilia Parker , Fay Holden
Animated short film series [ edit ]
January 1 - Suzy Kendall , British actress
January 4 – Dyan Cannon , American actress
January 7 – Harvey Evans , American actor (d. 2021 )
January 10 – John M. Watson Sr. , American actor and musician (d. 2006 )
January 11 – Felix Silla , Italian actor, musician, stunt artist and voice artist (d. 2021 )
January 12 – Shirley Eaton , English actress and model
January 14 – Stefano Satta Flores , Italian actor and voice actor (d. 1985 )
January 15 – Margaret O'Brien , American actress
January 16 – Lorraine Bayly , Australian actress, singer, director and writer
January 17 – Dick Durock , American actor and stuntman (d. 2009 )
January 24 – Julie Gregg , American actress (d. 2016 )
January 30 – Vanessa Redgrave , English actress
January 31 – Suzanne Pleshette , American actress (d. 2008 )
February 1 – Garrett Morris , American comedian, actor and singer
February 2 – Tom Smothers , American comedian and musician (d. 2023 )
February 14 – Soher Al Bably , Egyptian actress (d. 2021 )
February 17 – Benjamin Whitrow , English actor (d. 2017 )
February 19 – David Margulies , American actor (d. 2016 )
February 21 – Gary Lockwood , American actor
February 24 – Shawn Elliott , American actor and singer (d. 2016 )
February 25 – Tom Courtenay , English actor
February 27 – Barbara Babcock , American character actress
March 2 – BarBara Luna , American actress
March 3 – Bobby Driscoll , American actor (d. 1968 )
March 5 – Sal Borgese , Italian actor
March 10 – Joe Viterelli , American actor (d. 2004 )
March 19 - Maurice Roëves , British actor (d. 2020 )
March 21 – Bill Capizzi , American voice actor (d. 2007 )
March 22 – Angelo Badalamenti , American screen composer (d. 2022 )
March 23 – Tony Burton , American actor (d. 2016 )
March 30
April 1 – Jordan Charney , American character actor
April 2 – Ken Olfson , American actor (d. 1997 )
April 3 – Lawrence Dane , Canadian actor and producer (d. 2022 )
April 6
April 9 - Marty Krofft , Canadian puppeteer and film producer (d. 2023)
April 12 - Dennis Banks , Native American actor and activist (d. 2017)
April 13
April 15
April 18 – Robert Hooks , American actor and producer
April 19 – Elinor Donahue , American actress
April 20 – George Takei , American actor, author and activist
April 22 – Jack Nicholson , American actor
April 27 – Sandy Dennis , American actress (d. 1992 )
May 5 – John Martino , American actor
May 8 – Shin Seong-il , South Korean actor (d. 2018 )
May 12
May 13 – Zohra Lampert , American actress
May 16 – Yvonne Craig , American actress (d. 2015 )
May 19 – Pat Roach , English actor and professional wrestler (d. 2004 )
June 1 – Morgan Freeman , American actor and director
June 2 – Sally Kellerman , American actress and singer (d. 2022 )
June 10 – Luciana Paluzzi , Italian actress
June 11
June 14 – Jørgen Leth , Danish director
June 16 – Charmian May , English character actress (d. 2002 )
June 17 - Arthur Schmidt , American film editor (d. 2023 )
June 26 – Sombat Metanee , Thai actor and film director (d. 2022 )
June 28 – Richard Bright , American actor (d. 2006 )
July 2 – Polly Holliday , American retired actress
July 6 – Ned Beatty , American character actor (d. 2021 )
July 12 – Bill Cosby , American stand-up comedian and actor
July 16 – Ada Rogovtseva , Ukrainian actress
July 19 – Richard Jordan , American actor (d. 1993 )
July 20
July 21 – Gray Frederickson , American film producer (d. 2022 )
July 25 – Paul Collins , British actor
July 28 – Viktor Merezhko , Russian screenwriter, actor, writer and television presenter (d. 2022)
August 3
August 5 – Alan Howard , English actor (d. 2015 )
August 6 – Barbara Windsor , English comedy actress (d. 2020 )
August 8 – Dustin Hoffman , American actor
August 14
August 16 – Lorraine Gary , American retired actress
August 19 – Evadne Baker , English actress (d. 1995 )
August 26 – Kenji Utsumi , Japanese actor (d. 2013 )
September 1 – Tsai Chin , Chinese actress, singer and director
September 4
September 6 – Jo Anne Worley , American actress, comedian and singer
September 7
September 10 – Brian Murray , South African actor and theatre director (d. 2018 )
September 13
September 21
September 24 – Dee Pollock , American actor (d. 2005 )
September 26 – Jerry Weintraub , American producer and actor (d. 2015 )
October 7 – Clive Graham , British actor (d. 2007 )
October 10
October 11 – Ron Leibman , American actor (d. 2019 )
October 15 – Linda Lavin , American actress and singer
October 21 – Édith Scob , French actress (d. 2019 )
October 22 – Alan Ladd Jr. , American film producer (d. 2022 )
November 4 – Loretta Swit , American actress
November 5 – Harris Yulin , American actor
November 10 - Albert Hall , American actor
November 17 – Peter Cook , English satirist and comedic actor (d. 1995)
November 21
November 23 – Dora Cadavid , Colombian actress, singer and announcer (d. 2022 )
November 27 – Rodney Bewes , English actor (d. 2017 )
November 30 – Ridley Scott , English director and producer
December 4
December 7 – Kenneth Colley , English actor
December 8 – James MacArthur , American actor (d. 2010 )
December 9 – Darwin Joston , American actor (d. 1998 )
December 12 – Connie Francis , American singer and actress
December 16 – Joyce Bulifant , American actress
December 21 – Jane Fonda , American actress
December 29 – Barbara Steele , English actress
December 30 – Zaldy Zshornack , Filipino actor (d. 2002 )
December 31 – Anthony Hopkins , Welsh actor
January 2 – Ross Alexander , 29, American actor, Captain Blood , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Flirtation Walk
January 21 – Marie Prevost , 40, Canadian-born American actress, The Marriage Circle , The Racket , The Godless Girl , Cain and Mabel
April 7 - Helen Burgess , 20, American actress, The Plainsman , A Doctor's Diary
May 1 – Snitz Edwards , 69, Austro-Hungarian-born American actor, The Thief of Bagdad , The Phantom of the Opera , Seven Chances , College
May 10 – William Tedmarsh , 61, English-American silent film actor
June 7
Jean Harlow , 26, American actress, The Public Enemy , Libeled Lady , Suzy , Red Dust
Monroe Owsley , 37, American actor, Holiday , Indiscreet , The Keyhole , Ex-Lady
June 25 – Colin Clive , 37, British actor, Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein
September 21 – Osgood Perkins , 45, American actor, Scarface , Gold Diggers of 1937
November 13 – Mrs. Leslie Carter , 75, American stage and screen actress, Becky Sharp , Rocky Mountain Mystery
December 21 – Ted Healy , 41, American actor and creator of The Three Stooges, San Francisco , Mad Love , Beer and Pretzels , Soup to Nuts
^ a b c d e f g The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study .
^ Madsen, Axel (2015). Stanwyck: A Biography . ISBN 978-1-5040-0861-7 . Released in August 1937, Stella Dallas grossed more than $2 million.
^ Reid, John Howard (2012). 140 All-Time Must-See Movies for Film Lovers Now Available On DVD . ISBN 978-1-105-75295-7 . UA's top domestic box office hit of 1937, with gross rentals close to $2 million.
^ Dick, Bernard F. (1992). Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio . ISBN 978-0-8131-5215-8 . Lost Horizon was probably least successful. It was budgeted at $1.66 million, but the combined U.S. and Canadian gross was only $1,683 million, thus barely covering production costs.
^ "All-time Film Rental Champs". Variety . October 15, 1990.
^ First Actor to Portray Sherlock Holmes on TV ; Guinness World Records online; retrieved November 2016
Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success . HarperCollins . ISBN 978-0-06-177889-6 .