Top Ranked Films by Year: the 30s

Based on our compendium of all film polls
[2011 Update Edition]
© William L. Sinclair

This continues our series of top-ranked films by year, based on the Top Ranked 1000 Films on the Net, 2011 Edition that we compiled.

Total Ranked Films in the 30's: 59

- [ 1930 ] -
1. Blue Angel, The (1930) von Sternberg, Josef #196
2. L'Âge d'or (1930) Buñuel, Luis #261
3. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Milestone, Lewis #264
4. Earth (1930) Dovzhenko, Alexander #373
5. Blood of a Poet, The (1930) Cocteau, Jean #776
[Gone: Morocco - von Sternberg; Under the Roofs of Paris - Clair, René]
Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front

 - [ 1931 ] -
1. M (1931) Lang, Fritz #16
2. City Lights (1931) Chaplin, Charles #27
3. Le Million (1931) Clair, René #445
4. Frankenstein (1931) Whale, James #464
5. À nous la liberté (1931) Clair, René #525
6. Tabu (1931) Murnau, F.W. #605
7. La Chienne (1931) Renoir, Jean #911
[Gone: Threepenny Opera, Limite, Kameradschaft, Public Enemy, Mädchen in Uniform]
Best Picture: Cimarron

- [ 1932 ] -
1. Trouble in Paradise (1932) Lubitsch, Ernst #321
2. Vampyr (1932) Dreyer, Carl #347
3. I Was Born, But… (1932) Ozu, Yasujiro #368
4. Freaks (1932) Browning, Tod #391
5. Scarface (1932) Hawks, Howard #516
6. Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) Renoir, Jean #674
7. Love Me Tonight (1932) Mamoulian, Rouben #782
8. Que viva Mexico! (1932) Eisenstein, Sergei #891
[Gone: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Shanghai Express]
Best Picture: Grand Hotel

- [ 1933 ] -
1. Duck Soup (1933) McCarey, Leo #53
2. King Kong (1933) Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack #68
3. 42nd Street (1933) Bacon, Lloyd #511
[Gone: Zero for Conduct, Design for Living, Land Without Bread, Outskirts (Okraina), Liebelei]
Best Picture: Cavalcade

 - [ 1934 ] -
1. L'Atalante (1934) Vigo, Jean #88
2. It Happened One Night (1934) Capra, Frank #160
3. Scarlet Empress, The (1934) von Sternberg, Josef #664
4. Man of Aran (1934) Flaherty, Robert #676
5. It's a Gift (1934) McLeod, Norman Z. #686
6. Happiness (1934) Medvedkin, Aleksandr #772
[Gone: Our Daily Bread, The Thin Man]
Best Picture: It Happened One Night

- [ 1935 ] -
1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Whale, James #192
2. 39 Steps, The (1935) Hitchcock, Alfred #370
3. Top Hat (1935) Sandrich, Mark #398
4. A Night at the Opera (1935) Wood, Sam #433
5. Triumph of the Will (1935) Riefenstahl, Leni #613
6. Devil is a Woman, The (1935) von Sternberg, Josef #876
[Gone: Peter Ibbetson, The Informer, Carnival in Flanders]
Best Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty

- [ 1936 ] -
1. Modern Times (1936) Chaplin, Charles #9
2. Swing Time (1936) Stevens, George #603
3. Crime of Monsieur Lange, The (1936) Renoir, Jean #619
[Gone: My Man Godfrey, Camille]
Best Picture: The Great Ziegfeld

- [ 1937 ] -
1. Grande Illusion, La (1937) Renoir, Jean #197
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Hand, David #296
3. Pépé le Moko (1937) Duvivier, Julien #380
4. Awful Truth, The (1937) McCarey, Leo #513
5. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) McCarey, Leo #632
6. Angel (1937) Lubitsch, Ernst #979
[Gone: You Only Live Once]
Best Picture: The Life of Emile Zola

- [ 1938 ] -
1. Bringing Up Baby (1938) Hawks, Howard #218
2. Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938) Curtiz, Michael/William Keighley #227
3. Alexander Nevsky (1938) Eisenstein, Sergei #507
4. Lady Vanishes, The (1938) Hitchcock, Alfred #621
5. Olympia (1938) Riefenstahl, Leni #699
[Gone: Holiday, Port of Shadows, La Bête humaine]
Best Picture: You Can't Take It With You

- [ 1939 ] -
1. Wizard of Oz, The (1939) Fleming, Victor #6
2. Rules of the Game, The (1939) Renoir, Jean #63
3. Gone with the Wind (1939) Fleming, Victor #102
4. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Capra, Frank #209
5. Stagecoach (1939) Ford, John #281
6. Ninotchka (1939) Lubitsch, Ernst #470
7. Le Jour se lève (1939) Carné, Marcel #560
8. Only Angels Have Wings (1939) Hawks, Howard #582
9. Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, The (1939) Mizoguchi, Kenji #616
10. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) Ford, John #864
[Gone: Midnight]
Best Picture: Gone With the Wind

All Ranked Films of the Decade
1. Wizard of Oz, The (1939) Fleming, Victor #6
2. Modern Times (1936) Chaplin, Charles #9
3. M (1931) Lang, Fritz #16
4. City Lights (1931) Chaplin, Charles #27
5. Duck Soup (1933) McCarey, Leo #53
6. Rules of the Game, The (1939) Renoir, Jean #63
7. King Kong (1933) Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack #68
8. L'Atalante (1934) Vigo, Jean #88
9. Gone with the Wind (1939) Fleming, Victor #102
10. It Happened One Night (1934) Capra, Frank #160
11. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Whale, James #192
12. Blue Angel, The (1930) von Sternberg, Josef #196
13. Grande Illusion, La (1937) Renoir, Jean #197
14. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Capra, Frank #209
15. Bringing Up Baby (1938) Hawks, Howard #218
16. Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938) Curtiz, Michael/William Keighley #227
17. L'Âge d'or (1930) Buñuel, Luis #261
18. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Milestone, Lewis #264
19. Stagecoach (1939) Ford, John #281
20. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Hand, David #296
21. Trouble in Paradise (1932) Lubitsch, Ernst #321
22. Vampyr (1932) Dreyer, Carl #347
23. I Was Born, But… (1932) Ozu, Yasujiro #368
24. 39 Steps, The (1935) Hitchcock, Alfred #370
25. Earth (1930) Dovzhenko, Alexander #373
26. Pépé le Moko (1937) Duvivier, Julien #380
27. Freaks (1932) Browning, Tod #391
28. Top Hat (1935) Sandrich, Mark #398
29. Night at the Opera, A (1935) Wood, Sam #433
30. Le Million (1931) Clair, René #445
31. Frankenstein (1931) Whale, James #464
32. Ninotchka (1939) Lubitsch, Ernst #470
33. Alexander Nevsky (1938) Eisenstein, Sergei #507
34. 42nd Street (1933) Bacon, Lloyd #511
35. Awful Truth, The (1937) McCarey, Leo #513
36. Scarface (1932) Hawks, Howard #516
37. À nous la liberté (1931) Clair, René #525
38. Le Jour se lève (1939) Carné, Marcel #560
39. Only Angels Have Wings (1939) Hawks, Howard #582
40. Swing Time (1936) Stevens, George #603
41. Tabu (1931) Murnau, F.W. #605
42. Triumph of the Will (1935) Riefenstahl, Leni #613
43. Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, The (1939) Mizoguchi, Kenji #616
44. Crime of Monsieur Lange, The (1936) Renoir, Jean #619
45. Lady Vanishes, The (1938) Hitchcock, Alfred #621
46. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) McCarey, Leo #632
47. Scarlet Empress, The (1934) von Sternberg, Josef #664
48. Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) Renoir, Jean #674
49. Man of Aran (1934) Flaherty, Robert #676
50. It's a Gift (1934) McLeod, Norman Z. #686
51. Olympia (1938) Riefenstahl, Leni #699
52. Happiness (1934) Medvedkin, Aleksandr #772
53. Blood of a Poet, The (1930) Cocteau, Jean #776
54. Love Me Tonight (1932) Mamoulian, Rouben #782
55. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) Ford, John #864
56. Devil is a Woman, The (1935) von Sternberg, Josef #876
57. Que viva Mexico! (1932) Eisenstein, Sergei #891
58. La Chienne (1931) Renoir, Jean #911
59. Angel (1937) Lubitsch, Ernst #979

Unranked Best Pictures (7): Cimarron, Grand Hotel, Cavalcade, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Great Ziegfeld, The Life of Emile Zola, You Can't Take It With You

My Favorites

1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2. La Grande Illusion
3. The Rains Came
4. Goodbye, Mr. Chips
5. Duck Soup
6. My Man Godfrey
7. You Can't Take It With You
8. Trouble in Paradise
9. Alexander Nevsky
10. Swing Time
11. Triumph of the Will
12. The Informer
13. M
14. The 39 Steps
15. The Lady Vanishes
16. The Gay Divorcee
17. All Quiet on the Western Front
18. The Wizard of Oz
19. The Awful Truth
20. Olympia
21. Only Angels Have Wings
22. Gone With the Wind
23. The Adventures of Robin Hood
24. The Thin Man
25. The Blue Angel
26. The Life of Emile Zola
27. À nous la liberté
28. Jezebel
29. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
30. It's a Gift
31. The Edge of the World
32. The Scarlet Empress
33. A Night at the Opera

Note: I haven't seen L'atalante, it's hard to find on dvd..
I'm not a big Chaplin fan, agreeing with Stanley Kubrick, who said "no one could direct a film in a more pedestrian manner than Chaplin".