Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Arthur Ranch, Malibu, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1938
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
Comedy, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Howard Hawks, Hagar Wilde, Dudley Nichols, May Robson, RKO Radio Pictures, box office, budget, reviewed by Norbert Lusk, Richard Brody, Joshua Rothkopf, Nell Minow, Dave Kehr, Jason Best, Mattie Lucas, Danielle Solzman, MPAA rating, Harried paleontologist, society matron, madcap adventuress, missing dinosaur bone, pet leopard, enduring appeal, screwball comedy, original language, producer Howard Hawks, release date, distributor RKO Radio Pictures, sound mix Mono, Charlie Ruggles, Major Horace Applegate, Barry Fitzgerald, Mr Gogarty, Walter Catlett, Constable Slocum
 

Cast & Crew

Katharine Hepburn

Susan Vance

Cary Grant

Dr. David Huxley

Charlie Ruggles

Susan Vance

Dr. David Huxley

Major Horace Applegate

Aunt Elizabeth Random

Mr. Gogarty

Katharine Hepburn – Susan Vance
Cary Grant – Dr. David Huxley
Charlie Ruggles – Major Horace Applegate
May Robson – Aunt Elizabeth Random
Barry Fitzgerald – Mr. Gogarty
Walter Catlett – Constable Slocum

 

Howard Hawks

Hagar Wilde

Howard Hawks

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Howard Hawks
 
Writer(s)
Hagar Wilde, Dudley Nichols, Hagar Wilde
 
Producer(s)
Howard Hawks

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 wins
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Norbert Lusk

Richard Brody

Joshua Rothkopf

Nell Minow

Variety Staff

Los Angeles Times

New Yorker

Time Out

Common Sense Media

Variety

BRINGING UP BABY
  All Critics (51) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (3)
  It seems that almost any star, including Irene Dunne, Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy, may attempt antic comedy and make a go of it, but that medium is not for Miss Hepburn in the theater where she is accepted as an important dramatic actress.
 
  April 20, 2019
 
  Norbert Lusk
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  The enduring fascination of this 1938 screwball comedy is due to much more than its uproarious gags.
 
  September 23, 2013
 
  Richard Brody
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  A perfect example of why directors (and even us brilliant professional critics) can often be completely in the dark about what works.
 
  June 15, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Joshua Rothkopf
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Classic screwball comedy stars Hepburn, Grant.
 
  December 22, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Nell Minow
  Common Sense Media
  TOP CRITIC
  There is little rhyme or reason to most of the action, but it’s all highly palatable.
 
  April 2, 2008
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  Though it’s almost impossible, try to sit back sometime and enjoy this 1938 Howard Hawks masterpiece not only for its gags, but for the grace of its construction, the assurance of its style, and the richness of its themes.
 
  June 26, 2007
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Grant… sails through the film’s slapstick with breathtaking panache – only a supremely graceful actor could perform clumsiness so skilfully or amusingly.
 
  September 1, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Jason Best
  Movie Talk
  It is, to put it bluntly, the perfect screwball comedy, a rapid-fire barrage of ludicrous mayhem whose absurdity only gets funnier as it goes along, thanks in huge part to the game dedication of its cast.
 
  August 26, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Mattie Lucas
  From the Front Row
  Thanks to the efforts of both Hepburn and Grant, Bringing Up Baby is one of the best screwball comedies of all time.
 
  August 20, 2021
 
  Danielle Solzman
  Solzy at the Movies
  One of those movies that seems to improve upon repeat viewings.
 
  July 24, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Indeed, it’s her chemistry with Grant which makes for such a wonderful spectacle. Hawks ensures that the pair lurch from one debacle to another.
 
  July 23, 2021
 
  Rob Aldam
  Backseat Mafia
  The story is twisty and plenty silly, but the comic chemistry, between the leads, and also the side players, many of whom from the Vaudeville circuit, makes even the most tumultuous encounters run smooth as a gear box.
 
  July 16, 2021
 
  Piers Marchant
  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette…

 

Plot
Mild mannered paleontology professor Dr. David Huxley is excited by the news that an intercostal clavicle bone has been found to complete his brontosaurus skeleton, a project four years in the construction. He is equally excited about his imminent marriage to his assistant, the officious Alice Swallow, who is interested in him more for his work than for him as a person. David needs the $1 million endowment of wealthy dowager Mrs. Carleton Random to complete the project. Her lawyer, Alexander Peabody, will make the decision on her behalf, so David needs to get in his favor. However, whenever David tries to make a good impression on Peabody, the same young woman always seems to do something to make him look bad. She is the flighty heiress Susan Vance. The more David wants Susan to go away, the more Susan seems not to want or be able to. But David eventually learns that Alexander Peabody is her good friend, who she calls Boopy, and Susan’s Aunt Elizabeth, with whom David has also made a bad impression without her knowing who he is, is Mrs. Carleton Random. However getting in Aunt Elizabeth and Boopy’s good graces is not as easy as Susan smoothing the waters with them. Throw into the mix a tame pet leopard named Baby that Susan’s brother Mark inexplicably sends her from Brazil, Aunt Elizabeth’s big game hunting friend Major Horace Applegate, Aunt Elizabeth’s pet terrier George who has a penchant for burying bones and other things, and a traveling circus passing through town and David may never be able to finish his project or make it to his wedding. But David may come to the realization that there is something more important in his life.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Bringing Up Baby includes a pet leopard, who adds to the chaos and hilarity of the film.
 

 
Howard-Hawks.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
MSNBC Films,
 
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Hooker Oak Tree, Bidwell Park – Manzanita Avenue, Chico, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for adventure violence
 
Year of Release
1938
 

 
Genre(s)
Adventure/Action
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Errol Flynn

Olivia de Havilland

Basil Rathbone

Claude Rains

Patric Knowles

Robin Hood

Maid Marian

Sir Guy of Gisbourne

Prince John

Will Scarlett

Errol Flynn – Robin Hood
Olivia de Havilland – Maid Marian
Basil Rathbone – Sir Guy of Gisbourne
Claude Rains – Prince John
Patric Knowles – Will Scarlett
Eugene Pallette – Friar Tuck

 

Michael Curtiz

Norman Reilly Raine

Hal B. Wallis

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
 
Writer(s)
Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller
 
Producer(s)
Hal B. Wallis

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
6 wins & 2 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Variety Staff

Don Druker

Steven D. Greydanus

Roger Ebert

Gary Dowell

Variety

Chicago Reader

Decent Films

Chicago Sun-Times

Dallas Morning News

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
  All Critics (48) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (48)
  It is cinematic pageantry at its best, a highly imaginative telling of folklore in all the hues of Technicolor.
 
  June 10, 2008
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  Movies like this are beyond criticism.
 
  October 16, 2007
 
  Don Druker
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  The archetypal Hollywood swashbuckler… everything big-screen derring-do should be: rousing, lighthearted, witty, romantic, colorful, moralistic, and richly satisfying… [Flynn is] the quintessential Robin Hood, jaunty, dashing, and fearless.
 
  October 10, 2003 | Rating: A+
 
  Steven D. Greydanus
  Decent Films
  TOP CRITIC
  In these cynical days when swashbucklers cannot be presented without an ironic subtext, this great 1938 film exists in an eternal summer of bravery and romance.
 
  October 1, 2003 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Roger Ebert
  Chicago Sun-Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Sumptuous and highly energetic, The Adventures of Robin Hood is grand with a capital ‘G’ on every level.
 
  August 21, 2003 | Rating: A
 
  Gary Dowell
  Dallas Morning News
  TOP CRITIC
  Movie pageantry at its best, done in the grand manner of silent spectacles, brimming over with the sort of primitive energy that drew people to the movies in the first place.
 
  August 19, 2003
 
  Elliott Stein
  Village Voice
  TOP CRITIC
  The Adventures of Robin Hood remains ageless, undemanding in the most marvelous of ways, and rich with effervescent filmmaking and performances.
 
  March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Staff battling and sword fighting choreography are quite amusing, with Flynn and Rathbone engaging in believable matches of lightning-fast fencing.
 
  July 24, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  …it is only the brilliant, amazingly versatile use of color that puts suspense and excitement into Robin Hood…
 
  April 20, 2020
 
  Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
  Esquire Magazine
  The Adventures of Robin Hood has the fine sweep and action of the best silent days, and all the sound and splendor of the modern screen. One of the season’s finest films.
 
  April 1, 2019
 
  Ann Ross
  Maclean’s Magazine
  The film is completely unabashed and utterly committed to delivering on its promise of adventure.
 
  February 22, 2016 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Jennie Kermode
  Eye for Film
  Nearly every aspect of the Robin Hood myth we know today is embodied in this exciting, socially aware adventure.
 
  August 16, 2011 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Wesley Lovell
  Cinema Sight…

 

Plot
Sir Robin of Locksley, defender of downtrodden Saxons, runs afoul of Norman authority and is forced to turn outlaw. With his band of Merry Men, he robs from the rich, gives to the poor and still has time to woo the lovely Maid Marian, and foil the cruel Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and keep the nefarious Prince John off the throne.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Michael-Curtiz.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Carolco Pictures, Pacific Western Lightstorm Entertainment,
 
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios – 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1938
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, directed by Frank Capra, written by George S Kaufman, Moss Hart, Robert Riskin, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mildred Martin, Otis Ferguson, Edwin Schallert, Colvin McPherson, Mae Tinee, Matthew Norgate, Francisco J Ariza, Reg Whitley, James T Hamada, Lillian Blackstone, P.S Harrison, produced by Columbia Pictures, MPAA rating, eccentric family, banker’s son, snooty in-laws, dinner, marriage, philosophical grandfather, ballerina sister, fireworks enthusiast father, munitions monopoly, real estate broker, stenographer, courtroom scene, community, family, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, unique household, sweet story, predictable, Barrymore carries the film
 

Cast & Crew

Jean Arthur

Lionel Barrymore

James Stewart

Edward Arnold

Mischa Auer

Alice Sycamore

Grandpa Martin Vanderhof

Tony Kirby

Anthony P. Kirby

Kolenkhov

Jean Arthur – Alice Sycamore
Lionel Barrymore – Grandpa Martin Vanderhof
James Stewart – Tony Kirby
Edward Arnold – Anthony P. Kirby
Mischa Auer – Kolenkhov
Ann Miller – Essie Carmichael

 

Frank Capra

George S. Kaufman

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Frank Capra
 
Writer(s)
George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Robert Riskin
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Mildred Martin

Otis Ferguson

Edwin Schallert

Colvin McPherson

Mae Tinee

Philadelphia Inquirer

The New Republic

Los Angeles Times

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Chicago Tribune

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
  All Critics (74) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (4)
  For those who didn’t see the play, You Can’t Take It With You will provide a merry, not too thoughtless, couple of movie hours.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Mildred Martin
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  It may be disappointment that any Frank Capra comedy should be heavy and overdone which makes You Can’t Take It with You seem such a dud.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Otis Ferguson
  The New Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s one of the most amusing and satisfying pictures to be seen in months, and certain to be an enormous hit with audiences.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Edwin Schallert
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  You Can’t Take It With You is a tumultuous success — a whizzing, dazzling, noisy explosion of mirth that equals the accidental fireworks demonstration which is one of its main scenes.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Colvin McPherson
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  What a cast. I shan’t stop to lay individual laurels on deserving brows because everybody in the cast turns out a magnificently rounded perform. mice. A brain picked parcel of players if I ever saw one!
 
  February 7, 2022
 
  Mae Tinee
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  I don’t believe a word of it, mind you. But who wants to believe a fairy tale when its charm and humour and pace and sentiment sweep you off your feet?
 
  February 7, 2022
 
  Matthew Norgate
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  Undoubtedly a success. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  July 1, 2022
 
  Francisco J. Ariza
  Cine-Mundial
  Lots of furiously funny scenes, but none as funny as that in which the principal characters all land in gaol as the result of an impromptu fireworks display.
 
  February 17, 2022
 
  Reg Whitley
  Daily Mirror (UK)
  With Capra’s directorial genius, it’s a smash hit. Being a screwball comedy, It’s lunatic stuff — zanier than the screwiest of the Brethren Marx’s comedies.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  James T. Hamada
  The Nippu Jiji (Honolulu)
  One of the outstanding movie hits of the season.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Lillian Blackstone
  Tampa Bay Times
  Lionel Barrymore stands out in brilliant fashion in the leading role, but has noteworthy support from Miss Arthur, happily returned to the films after too long an absence.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  Landon Laird
  Kansas City Star
  No one player can be singled out as giving the best performance, for every one in the cast is excellent.
 
  February 8, 2022
 
  P.S. Harrison
  Harrison’s Reports…

 

Plot
The stenographer Alice Sycamore is in love with her boss Tony Kirby, who is the vice-president of the powerful company owned by his greedy father Anthony P. Kirby. Kirby Sr. is dealing a monopoly in the trade of weapons, and needs to buy one last house in a twelve block area owned by Alice’s grandparent Martin Vanderhof. However, Martin is the patriarch of an anarchic and eccentric family where the members do not care for money but for having fun and making friends. When Tony proposes Alice, she states that it would be mandatory to introduce her simple and lunatic family to the snobbish Kirbys, and Tony decides to visit Alice with his parents one day before the scheduled. There is an inevitable clash of classes and lifestyles, the Kirbys spurn the Sycamores and Alice breaks with Tony, changing the lives of the Kirby family.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Lionel Barrymore’s performance as Grandpa Vanderhof is “absolutely delightful” and steals the show amongst a great cast, according to an audience review.
 

 
Frank-Capra.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Réalisation d’art cinématographique
 
Distributor
Barr Entertainment, Home Vision Entertainment
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Château du Haut Koenigsbourg, Orschwiller, Bas-Rhin, France
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1938
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama/War
 
Keyword(s)
Grand Illusion, Drama, War, French (Canada), Jean Renoir, Albert Pinkovitch, Frank Rollmer, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Gabin, Marcel Dalio, Dita Parlo, Julien Carette, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Mick LaSalle, Pauline Kael, Chris Vognar, Kenneth Turan, Stephen Garrett, Brian Eggert, Ernesto Diezmartinez, A.S Hamrah, Josh Larsen, Richard Griffith, directed
 

Cast & Crew

Pierre Fresnay

Erich von Stroheim

Jean Gabin

Marcel Dalio

Dita Parlo

Capt. de Boieldieu

Capt. von Rauffenstein

Lt. Maréchal

Lt. Rosenthal

Elsa (farm woman)

Pierre Fresnay – Capt. de Boieldieu
Erich von Stroheim – Capt. von Rauffenstein
Jean Gabin – Lt. Maréchal
Marcel Dalio – Lt. Rosenthal
Dita Parlo – Elsa (farm woman)
Julien Carette – Cartier

 

Jean Renoir

NA

Albert Pinkovitch

Frank Rollmer

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Jean Renoir
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Albert Pinkovitch, Frank Rollmer

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kevin Maher

Mick LaSalle

Pauline Kael

Chris Vognar

Kenneth Turan

Times

San Francisco Chronicle

New Yorker

Dallas Morning News

Los Angeles Times

GRAND ILLUSION
  All Critics (69) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (2)
  It’s a smart choice and a peerless film that makes sweeping rhetorical statements about the futility of war while maintaining a laser-sharp focus on an ensemble of meticulously drawn characters.
 
  January 30, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  The greatest World War I movie ever made (and there were lots of good ones)…
 
  November 3, 2018
 
  Mick LaSalle
  San Francisco Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  This elegy for the death of the old European aristocracy is one of the true masterpieces of the screen.
 
  January 3, 2018
 
  Pauline Kael
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s among the most understated anti-war films ever made, effortlessly humanistic but far too subtle to indulge in preaching.
 
  June 7, 2012 | Rating: A
 
  Chris Vognar
  Dallas Morning News
  TOP CRITIC
  A model of simplicity and grace, with emotional effects that move you when you least expect it, the kind of great film that only a master can pull off.
 
  May 17, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Kenneth Turan
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Funny, heart-wrenching, nail-biting, caustic and profound, touting the futility of armed combat while turning imprisonment and escape into a microcosm for society’s aspirations and contradictions.
 
  May 8, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Stephen Garrett
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Pregnant with social, humanist, and auteurist truths, Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion contains equal measures of humanism and realism.
 
  March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  La grande illusion is a complex parquet of discourses that collide and complement each other. A masterpiece.
 
  September 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Ernesto Diezmartinez
  Cine Vértigo
  Unstructured, amateurish nonsense coalesces into meaning and beauty. The variety show’s foolishness doesn’t just stand in for the civilization the war leaves behind-it becomes its living proof.
 
  November 27, 2018
 
  A.S. Hamrah
  n+1
  …highlights the absurdity of war, or possibly the absurdity of civilized behavior when war is going on just outside.
 
  September 6, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Josh Larsen
  LarsenOnFilm
  Renoir, who invokes so skillfully these terrifying images of disintegration, offers in contrast only the old ideal of man’s brotherhood, and his film does not tell us whether it is illusion or reality.
 
  January 18, 2013
 
  Richard Griffith
  The Nation
  Back in 1952, both Orson Welles and David Lean cited the movie as one of their 10 all-time favorite films. Still, not everyone was a fan: Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s rat-faced Minister of Propaganda, declared it “Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1.”
 
  September 13, 2012 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Creative Loafing…

 

Plot
At the height of World War I, the German ace aviator, Captain von Rauffenstein, shoots down the plane of the aristocratic French pilot, Captain de Boeldieu, and his co-pilot, the working-class civilian mechanic, Lieutenant Maréchal, during an air-reconnaissance mission. As the captured officers find themselves in the Hallbach POW camp for officers, they befriend the wealthy former Jewish banker, Lieutenant Rosenthal, and along with a handful of determined compatriots, they organise an escape. However, fate has other plans in store for them, and shortly before the implementation of the plan, they are transferred by train to the impregnable Wintersborn fortress-prison in Alsace, France, overseen by Rauffenstein himself. More and more, respect and appreciation bond von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu. But, will this delicate relationship, and the grand illusion, stand in the way of breaking out?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film or its cast.
 

 
Jean-Renoir.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Focus Features, Anonymous Content This Is That Productions,
 
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Gaumont British Distributors, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Longmoor Military Railway, Longmoor Military Camp, Hampshire, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1938
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
Mystery, thriller, Alfred Hitchcock, Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, Paul Lukas, Googie Withers, Cecil Parker, Edward Black, Ethel Lina White, Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder, Criterion Collection, Gaumont British Distributors, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., Mono, 35mm, British films, glamorous thriller, romantic sparks, espionage, treachery, disappearance, train, European country, avalanche, investigation, comedy-thriller, screwball, suspense, pacing, art direction, cinematography, charismatic performances, clever writing, thoughtful direction, entertainment value
 

Cast & Crew

Margaret Lockwood

Michael Redgrave

Dame May Whitty

Paul Lukas

Googie Withers

Iris Matilda Henderson

Gilbert Redman

Miss Froy

Governess

Dr. Hartz of Prague

Margaret Lockwood – Iris Matilda Henderson
Michael Redgrave – Gilbert Redman
Dame May Whitty – Miss Froy, Governess
Paul Lukas – Dr. Hartz of Prague
Googie Withers – Blanche
Cecil Parker – Eric Todhunter

 

Alfred Hitchcock

Ethel Lina White

Edward Black

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
 
Writer(s)
Ethel Lina White, Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder
 
Producer(s)
Edward Black

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

David Parkinson

Variety Staff

Peter Bradshaw

Jamie Russell

Arthur Ryel-Lindsey

Empire Magazine

Variety

Guardian

BBC.com

Slant Magazine

THE LADY VANISHES
  All Critics (45) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (1)
  The formula of an innocent thrust into a nightmare would fascinate Hitch for decades to come, but here he packs the tale with strong characters and important details.
 
  March 27, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Parkinson
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  This film, minus the deft and artistic handling of the director, Alfred Hitchcock, despite its cast and photography, would not stand up for Grade A candidacy.
 
  March 26, 2009
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  A pleasure.
 
  October 18, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Both a neat comment on Britain’s dilemma in the build-up to the impending war with Germany (to appease or not to appease?) and also a cracking piece of entertainment.
 
  January 11, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Jamie Russell
  BBC.com
  TOP CRITIC
  What separates Lady Vanishes

 

Plot
Passengers on a scheduled train out of the mountainous European country of Mandrika are delayed by a day due to an avalanche, and thus get up close and personal with each other out of necessity in the only and what becomes an overcrowded inn in the area. Once the train departs, the one person who it is uncertain is on the train is a middle aged English governess named Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty). Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), who was vacationing in Mandrika with girlfriends before heading back to England to get married, is certain that Miss Froy was on the train as they were in the same compartment and they had tea together in the dining car, but all those people who can corroborate her story don’t seem to want to do so. Iris’ thoughts are easily dismissed as a possible concussion as Iris was hit over the head just before boarding the train. Iris will take anyone’s help in finding Miss Froy, even that of an Englishman named Gilbert (Sir Michael Redgrave), a musicologist with whom she had a not so pleasant encounter at the inn the evening before. As Iris and Gilbert go on their quest throughout the train, they believe there is a conspiracy amongst many of the passengers against the validity of there being a Miss Froy. But if there is a conspiracy, Iris and Gilbert still have to find Miss Froy and find out why anyone would want to kidnap a middle aged English governess.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Dame May Whitty, who plays the elderly Miss Froy, was actually 76 years old during filming and had to be carried up and down the train’s stairs due to her age and health.
 

Links
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

 

Where to Watch

Various

 
Alfred-Hitchcock.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Foreign Language, Psychological
 
Distributor
LS Video, Network Enterprises [us], Unknown Video, Film Classics Inc., United Artists, GoodTimes Home Video [us], Madacy Entertainment Group Inc. [us], Sinister Cinema
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Paris, France; Rhone-Alpes, France
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
 
Year of Release
1936
 

 
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
 
Keyword(s)
sci-fi, dystopian future, special effects, potent ideas, H.G Wells, William Cameron Menzies, Alexander Korda, Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Margaretta Scott, Cedric Hardwicke, Maurice Braddell, Edward Chapman, LS Video, Network Enterprises, United Artists, GoodTimes Home Video, Madacy Entertainment Group Inc., Sinister Cinema, Mono, Flat, 1.37:1, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Frank S Nugent, William Thomas, Chris Wicking, Nell Minow, Don Druker, Brian Susbielles, Jorge Luis Borges, Mike Massie, Meyer Levin, Ann Ross, Eddie Falvey, Bill Newcott, MPAA rating, producer, director, writer, utopian society, pacifist scientists, ruling tyrant, Christmas 1940, war, plagues, petty despots, Wings Over the World, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, sociology, politics, history
 

Cast & Crew

Raymond Massey

John Cabal

Oswald Cabal

Ralph Richardson

Margaretta Scott

John Cabal

Oswald Cabal

The Boss

Roxana

Rowena

Raymond Massey – John Cabal, Oswald Cabal
Ralph Richardson – The Boss
Margaretta Scott – Roxana, Rowena
Cedric Hardwicke – Theotocopulos
Maurice Braddell – Dr. Harding
Edward Chapman – Pippa Passworthy, Raymond Passworthy
Director – William Cameron Menzies
Producer – Alexander Korda
Writer – H.G. Wells

 

William Cameron Menzies

H.G. Wells

Alexander Korda

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
William Cameron Menzies
 
Writer(s)
H.G. Wells
 
Producer(s)
Alexander Korda

 

Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin, Telluride, Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Frank S. Nugent

William Thomas

Chris Wicking

Nell Minow

Don Druker

New York Times

Empire Magazine

Time Out

Movie Mom

Chicago Reader

THINGS TO COME
 All Critics (32) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (3)
 Things to Come is an unusual picture, a fantasy, if you will, with overtones of the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon comic strips. But it is, as well, a picture with ideas which have been expressed dramatically and with visual fascination.
 
 May 31, 2007
 
 Frank S. Nugent
 New York Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Spookily prescient in many of its ideas, this is fascinating whilst being a little clumsy and dated, even for its time.
 
 May 14, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 William Thomas
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 In the realm of ‘prophetic science fiction’, it is a genre landmark.
 
 June 24, 2006
 
 Chris Wicking
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 April 4, 2003 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Nell Minow
 Movie Mom
 TOP CRITIC
 [An] imaginative, only occasionally naive forecast of the age of nuclear warfare in 1936.
 
 January 1, 2000
 
 Don Druker
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 An early masterpiece of the sci-fi genre…
 
 March 7, 2023
 
 Brian Susbielles
 InSession Film
 “Grandiose” in the worst sense of that bad word.
 
 December 15, 2021
 
 Jorge Luis Borges
 Sur
 The speculative qualities of this epic sci-fi drama are worth seeing, particularly due to the early year in which it was theatrically adapted.
 
 July 30, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Go out of your way to see Things to Come, for the occasional flashes of modern design that recall Metropolis…
 
 May 4, 2020
 
 Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
 Esquire Magazine
 a huge, wonderful, fantastic spectacle film which shows civilization wiped out within the lifetime of the present generation, then restored, wrapped in Cellophane, for those of our descendants who think it worth while to survive.
 
 July 22, 2019
 
 Ann Ross
 Maclean’s Magazine
 Things to Come (L’avenir) is a masterclass in restraint that proves that a film does not need to be ostentatious in order to be powerful.
 
 April 15, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Eddie Falvey
 One Room With A View
 Everyone in this Wellsian future loves it, except for a Luddite (Cedric Hardwicke). “What is the good of all this progress?” he declares. “We demand a rest!” He’s supposed to be the villain, but I find him to be the film’s most sympathetic character.
 
 April 18, 2016 | Rating: 4 of 5
 
 Bill Newcott
 AARP Movies for Grownups…

 

Plot
In Things to Come, a pacifist group of scientists and thinkers led by John Cabal (Raymond Massey) strive to build a utopian society after a 30-year war destroys their city and ushers in a new dark age of plagues and petty despots.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Signed in on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
William-Cameron-Menzies.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1936
 

 
Genre(s)
Musical
 
Keyword(s)
starring William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy, Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice, Virginia Bruce, directed by Robert Z Leonard, written by William Anthony McGuire, produced by Hunt Stromberg, musical, biopic, theater producer, Ziegfeld Follies, Broadway, love triangle, actresses, historical inaccuracies, excessive length, overreliance on clichés, critic reviews, Tomatometer, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, musical numbers, lavish stage productions, women, costumes, set designs, real-life Ziegfeld players, authenticity, spectacle, soap opera, drawn-out, routine, decently fun, entertaining
 

Cast & Crew

William Powell

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr

Luise Rainer

Anna Held

Myrna Loy

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr

Anna Held

Billie Burke

Jack Billings

Self

William Powell – Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Luise Rainer – Anna Held
Myrna Loy – Billie Burke
Frank Morgan – Jack Billings
Fanny Brice – Self
Virginia Bruce – Audrey Dane

 

Robert Z. Leonard

NA

Hunt Stromberg

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Robert Z. Leonard
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Hunt Stromberg

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Otis Ferguson

Robert Herring

Mae Tinee

John Marks

Ian Coster

The New Republic

Guardian

Chicago Tribune

Sight & Sound

London Evening Standard

THE GREAT ZIEGFELD
 All Critics (65) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (18)
 Too glib for real life, it is persuasive for all that — possibly just because of that.
 
 February 18, 2022
 
 Otis Ferguson
 The New Republic
 TOP CRITIC
 The representation of this greatness is done with such consistent loud-pedalling that the picture lacks climax as much as it needs relief.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 Robert Herring
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 For sheer lavishness, attention to detail, honesty of purpose, The Great Ziegfeld is to be commended. Where the picture falls down — hard! — is in its fulsomeness.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 Mae Tinee
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 Of course, it’s swell to look at — or swollen — like a glorified goldfish; but then, if you examine it, its tail falls right off. One might perhaps keep it in a glass case — which is more than you could do with this dead whale here.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 John Marks
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 Luise Rainer, the Viennese actress, is a risen star as Ziegfeld’s first wife, Anna Held. Gay as a butterfly, temperamental as an April day, she is the outstanding actress in the film.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 Ian Coster
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 Its cast is skillfully selected. Although Powell does his tremendous task well, I am sure Luise Rainer as Anna Held will be as long remembered.
 
 December 1, 2021
 
 Colvin McPherson
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 TOP CRITIC
 A work that dazzles, and is decidedly a smash hit wherever it goes. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 July 1, 2022
 
 Eduardo Guaitsel
 Cine-Mundial
 For the greater part, The Great Ziegfeld is sentiment; for the remainder, spectacle. It is an unbeatable combination and MGM has seen fit to give it a more substantial claim in good casting.
 
 December 3, 2021
 
 Ruth Lewis
 Austin American-Statesman
 Few films have been more lavish than this one… but since it can be doubted that Ziegfeld was either the Shakespeare or the Leonardo he is represented to have been, it can also be doubted that the money was well spent.
 
 December 3, 2021
 
 Mark Van Doren
 The Nation
 I think that three hours and five minutes is too long for any picture. The Great Ziegfeld suffers, too, from the fact that its most exciting sequence comes plumb in the middle.
 
 December 3, 2021
 
 C.A. Lejeune
 Observer (UK)
 There is no picture to equal it for lavishness, beauty, and all-around entertainment; and not once during the three hours that it runs does it become boresome.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 P.S. Harrison
 Harrison’s Reports
 In comparison, no previous music dance spectacle, no matter how elaborately produced, approaches it from a standpoint of sheer brilliance and beauty.
 
 December 2, 2021
 
 MPH Staff
 Motion Picture Herald (Exhibitors Herald)…

 

Plot
At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, sideshow barker Flo Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more successful neighbor Billings, and steals his girlfriend to boot. This pattern is repeated throughout their lives, as Ziegfeld makes and loses many fortunes putting on ever bigger, more spectacular shows (sections of which appear in the film). French revue star Anna Held becomes his first wife, but it’s not easy being married to the man who “glorified the American girl.” Late in life, now married to Billie Burke, he seems to be all washed up, but…
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast includes William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy, and Frank Morgan.
 

 
Robert-Z.-Leonard.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal International Pictures, Film Classics Inc., Universal Pictures, Universal Home Entertainment, Realart Pictures Inc.
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Court of Miracles, Backlot, Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1935
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
Bride of Frankenstein, horror, classic, James Whale, Carl Laemmle Jr., William Hurlbut, John L Balderston, Mary Shelley, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, O.P Heggie, Una O’Connor, box office, budget, MPAA rating, reviewed by Simon Braund, Variety Staff, Don Druker, Frank S Nugent, Geoff Andrew, Marjorie Baumgarten, Mattie Lucas, David Reddish, Trace Thurman, Meyer Levin, directed by James Whale, written by William Hurlbut, John L Balderston, Mary Shelley, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., horror classic, Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures, Film Classics Inc., Realart Pictures Inc., Mono sound mix
 

Cast & Crew

Boris Karloff

Elsa Lanchester

Colin Clive

Valerie Hobson

O.P. Heggie

The Monster

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

The Monster’s Mate

Dr. Henry Frankenstein

Elizabeth Frankenstein

Boris Karloff – The Monster (as Karloff)
Elsa Lanchester – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Monster’s Mate
Colin Clive – Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Valerie Hobson – Elizabeth Frankenstein
O.P. Heggie – Hermit
Una O’Connor – Minnie

 

James Whale

William Hurlbut

Carl Laemmle Jr.

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
James Whale
 
Writer(s)
William Hurlbut, John L. Balderston, Mary Shelley
 
Producer(s)
Carl Laemmle Jr.

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 3 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Simon Braund

Variety Staff

Don Druker

Frank S. Nugent

Geoff Andrew

Empire Magazine

Variety

Chicago Reader

New York Times

Time Out

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
  All Critics (49) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (1)
  Whale’s erudite genius brings it all together. He sculpts every nuance of self-parody, social satire, horror, humour, wit and whimsy into a dazzling whole, keeping every one of his fantastical plates spinning until the tragic, inevitable finale.
 
  September 24, 2007 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Simon Braund
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Karloff manages to invest the character with some subtleties of emotion that are surprisingly real and touching.
 
  June 4, 2007
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  Whale added an element of playful sexuality to this version, casting the proceedings in a bizarre visual framework that makes this film a good deal more surreal than the original.
 
  June 4, 2007
 
  Don Druker
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Another astonishing chapter in the career of the Monster.
 
  August 8, 2006
 
  Frank S. Nugent
  New York Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Whale’s most perfectly realised movie, a delight from start to finish.
 
  February 9, 2006
 
  Geoff Andrew
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  [A] great horror classic.
 
  March 10, 2003
 
  Marjorie Baumgarten
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Made by a gay filmmaker in 1935 who understood better than anyone what it was like to be hated for who he was, and crafted as unabashedly queer a film as anything else in Hollywood at the time.
 
  June 30, 2022
 
  Mattie Lucas
  From the Front Row
  Chock full of stunning black and white photography, groundbreaking make-up and special effects, and mad dark comedy, classic horror doesnt get much better than Bride of Frankenstein. It doesnt get much gayer, either.
 
  March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Reddish
  Queerty
  A masterpiece of classic horror with plenty of queer subtext to boot.
 
  July 26, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Trace Thurman
  Horror Queers Podcast
  This is an absolutely unforgettable film, a must-see for every gay horror fan.
 
  October 30, 2020
 
  David-Elijah Nahmod
  Bay Area Reporter
  The chief new element is the monster’s bride, played by Elsa Lanchester, who doesn’t appear in her entirety until approximately five minutes before the movie ends.
 
  July 24, 2020 | Rating: 5/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Splendid pictorial composition and dramatic lighting make this a worthy successor to Frankenstein.
 
  April 16, 2020
 
  Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
  Esquire Magazine…

 

Plot
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the Monster in Bride of Frankenstein is considered one of his most iconic roles.
 

 
James-Whale.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Hell’s Kitchen Films, Universal Pictures,
 
Distributor
Grapevine Video, LS Video, Gaumont British Distributors
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Glen Coe, Highland, Scotland, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
 
Year of Release
1935
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Godfrey Tearle, Lucie Mannheim, Peggy Ashcroft, Wylie Watson, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Buchan, Charles Bennett, Ian Hay, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Martin Chilton, J Hoberman, Variety Staff, Ian Freer, Dave Kehr, Jorge Luis Borges, Forsyth Hardy, Mike Massie, Matt Patches, MPAA rating, produced by Michael Balcon, Ivor Montagu, Grapevine Video, LS Video, Gaumont British Distributors, The 39 Steps, Richard Hannay, Mr Hammond, Capt Fraser, Henry Hopkinson, Pamela, Professor Jordan, Miss Annabella Smith, Margaret, crofter’s wife, Mr Memory, propulsive narrative cinema, espionage adventure, twists and turns, dazzling heights, thrilling, comedic caper, suspenseful set pieces, twists, consistent sense of humor, intelligent, entertaining, genre, original language, release date, distributor, sound mix, cast and crew, critic reviews, audience reviews, horror movies, TV shows, MCU movies, renewed and cancelled TV shows, Netflix series, Tomatometer, Fandango
 

Cast & Crew

Robert Donat

Madeleine Carroll

Godfrey Tearle

Lucie Mannheim

Peggy Ashcroft

Richard Hannay

Mr. Hammond

Capt. Fraser

Henry Hopkinson

Pamela

Robert Donat – Richard Hannay, Mr. Hammond, Capt. Fraser, Henry Hopkinson
Madeleine Carroll – Pamela
Godfrey Tearle – Professor Jordan
Lucie Mannheim – Miss Annabella Smith
Peggy Ashcroft – Margaret, crofter’s wife
Wylie Watson – Mr. Memory

 

Alfred Hitchcock

John Buchan

Michael Balcon

Ivor Montagu

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
 
Writer(s)
John Buchan, Charles Bennett, Ian Hay
 
Producer(s)
Michael Balcon, Ivor Montagu

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kevin Maher

Martin Chilton

J. Hoberman

Variety Staff

Ian Freer

Times

Daily Telegraph

Village Voice

Variety

Empire Magazine

THE 39 STEPS
  All Critics (53) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (2)
  The 39 Steps is a masterclass in propulsive narrative cinema that even today’s so-called blockbuster auteurs should study.
 
  September 9, 2015
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  The scene in which Mr Memory is asked at the London Palladium “What are the 39 Steps?” remains one of 20th-century cinema’s most gripping moments.
 
  December 30, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Martin Chilton
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  In Hitchcock’s hands, however, this well-known espionage adventure provided the basis for a new sort of thriller and a new sort of comedy.
 
  September 4, 2008
 
  J. Hoberman
  Village Voice
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s melodrama and at times far-fetched and improbable, but the story twists and spins artfully from one high-powered sequence to another while the entertainment holds like steel cable from start to finish.
 
  August 18, 2008
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  Hitchcock at his very best.
 
  April 11, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Ian Freer
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  As an artist, Alfred Hitchcock surpassed this early achievement many times in his career, but for sheer entertainment value it still stands in the forefront of his work.
 
  July 9, 2007
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  From an absolutely dull adventure story — The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan — Hitchcock has drawn a good film. He has invented episodes. He has inserted wittiness and mischievousness where the original contained only heroism.
 
  December 15, 2021
 
  Jorge Luis Borges
  Sur
  [Hitchcock] tells the story clearly and convincingly and the wildly melodramatic moments are in part offset by such well observed sequences as the Scottish political meeting, the Forth Bridge episode, and the discreetly managed scene in the inn bedroom.
 
  February 4, 2021
 
  Forsyth Hardy
  Cinema Quarterly
  A noteworthy example of Hitchcock’s early thrillers, riddled with plotting, backstabbing, clever twists, and the big reveal of the meaning behind the title.
 
  August 5, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  The 39 Steps transcends the time period: part Bond movie, part comedic caper, and anchored by a performance that feels Ryan Goslingian, it’s a black-and-white movie that feels alive and contemporary.
 
  August 4, 2020
 
  Matt Patches
  Polygon
  Made in England 1935, ‘The 39 Steps’ isn’t the first Hitchcock film constructed around “the wrong man” conceit, but it’s one where he found his touch.
 
  July 27, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Michael J. Casey
  Boulder Weekly
  It’s a gripping entertainment.
 
  April 14, 2020
 
  James T. Hamada
  The Nippu Jiji (Honolulu)…

 

Plot
Richard Hannay is a Canadian visitor to London. At the end of “Mr Memory”‘s show in a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith, who is running away from secret agents. He agrees to hide her in his flat, but she is murdered during the night. Fearing that he could be accused of the murder, Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Robert Donat plays the lead role of Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps.
 

 
Alfred-Hitchcock.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
RKO Radio Pictures,
 
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Paramount Studios – 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1935
 

 
Genre(s)
Musical/Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes, directed by Mark Sandrich, written by Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor, produced by Pandro S Berman, musical, romance, box office success, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Variety Staff, Don Druker, Tom Milne, Roger Ebert, Douglas Pratt, Mike Massie, Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy), Ann Ross, Helen Brown Norden, Gabe Leibowitz, Emanuel Levy, RKO Radio Pictures, Mono, Flat (1.37:1), Fred Astaire as Jerry Travers, Ginger Rogers as Dale Tremont, Edward Everett Horton as Horace Hardwick, Helen Broderick as Madge Hardwick, Eric Blore as Bates, Erik Rhodes as Alberto Beddini
 

Cast & Crew

Fred Astaire

Jerry Travers

Ginger Rogers

Dale Tremont

Edward Everett Horton

Jerry Travers

Dale Tremont

Horace Hardwick

Madge Hardwick

Bates

Fred Astaire – Jerry Travers
Ginger Rogers – Dale Tremont
Edward Everett Horton – Horace Hardwick
Helen Broderick – Madge Hardwick
Eric Blore – Bates
Erik Rhodes – Alberto Beddini
Mark Sandrich – Director
Pandro S. Berman – Producer
Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor – Writers

 

Mark Sandrich

Aladar Laszlo

Pandro S. Berman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Mark Sandrich
 
Writer(s)
Aladar Laszlo, Károly Nóti, Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor
 
Producer(s)
Pandro S. Berman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
2 wins & 6 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Kevin Maher

Variety Staff

Don Druker

Tom Milne

Roger Ebert

Times

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

Chicago Sun-Times

TOP HAT
  All Critics (42) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (42)
  In short, perfection.
 
  December 20, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  This one can’t miss and the reasons are three — Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin’s 11 songs and sufficient comedy between numbers to hold the film together.
 
  January 11, 2008
 
  Variety Staff
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  This 1935 musical finds Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at the top of their form.
 
  January 11, 2008
 
  Don Druker
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  The third Astaire-Rogers movie and one of the best.
 
  February 9, 2006
 
  Tom Milne
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Because we are bound by gravity and the limitations of our bodies, because we live in a world where the news is often bad and the prospects disturbing, there is a need for another world somewhere, a world where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers live.
 
  January 20, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Roger Ebert
  Chicago Sun-Times
  TOP CRITIC
  The plot is involving, especially as it builds to its seemingly impossible-to-solve finale.
 
  September 7, 2005
 
  Douglas Pratt
  Hollywood Reporter
  TOP CRITIC
  One of the cleverest of the musical comedies of the ’30s, as well as, arguably, Astaire and Rogers’ greatest collaboration.
 
  July 30, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Tops everything that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have done, and clicks as the gladdest, smoothest, truestto-medium movie musical ever made.
 
  May 4, 2020
 
  Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
  Esquire Magazine
  The dancing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is one of the most agreeable sights of civilization. This has been said before – possibly in this column – but that isn’t any good reason for not saying it again.
 
  October 8, 2019
 
  Ann Ross
  Maclean’s Magazine
  While personally I didn’t think it was quite so swell as The Gay Divorcee or Roberta, it is still about ten times better than am musical that hasn’t got Fred Astaire in it. The man is a maniac when he starts to dance.
 
  June 12, 2019
 
  Helen Brown Norden
  Vanity Fair
  Most of what I liked about Top Hat centers around its two stars: full of energy and grace, they breathe life into the film whenever it threatens to lose its luster.
 
  April 6, 2010 | Rating: 56/100
 
  Gabe Leibowitz
  Film and Felt
  The fourth pairing of Astaire-Rogers is one of their best and RKO top grosser of the year.
 
  March 21, 2008 | Rating: A
 
  Emanuel Levy
  EmanuelLevy.Com…

 

Plot
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace’s hotel, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are considered one of the greatest on-screen dance duos of all time.
 

 
Mark-Sandrich.jpg