1930 in film

Top-grossing films

Events

• February 23: Silent screen legend Mabel Normand dies at the age of 37 in Monrovia, California after a lengthy battle with tuberculosis.
• March 10: Release of Goodbye Argentina, the first Argentine film with a soundtrack. Ada Cornaro has her first starring role and Libertad Lamarque makes her film debut.
• April 6: William Fox sells his interest in Fox Film for $18 million and Harley L. Clarke becomes president.
• September 3: The Hollywood Reporter is first published.
• September 19: The Love Parade receives a record six Academy Award nominations.
• November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm and a very early form of 70mm film. It is the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era, costing over $2 million. The film is praised for its aesthetic quality and realism that will not become commonplace until many decades later. However, due to the new film format and the film's release during the Great Depression, the film will go on to become a financial failure at the box office.
• November 15: Howard Hughes epic film Hell's Angels is released and features Jean Harlow in her first major role as well as some impressive aerial sequences. The film is a huge success and would go on to gross $8 million and launch Harlow as one of the 1930s' biggest stars.

  Academy Awards

• Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front – Universal Pictures
• Best Director: Lewis Milestone – All Quiet on the Western Front
• Best Actor: George Arliss – Disraeli
• Best Actress: Norma Shearer – The Divorcee

  Notable films released in 1930

A

• Abi and Rabi by Ovanes Ohanian
• Abraham Lincoln, starring Walter Huston November 8, 1930
• L'Âge d'Or, directed by Luis Buñuel November 29, 1930 –
• Alraune March 2, 1930 –
• All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Lew Ayres April 21, 1930
• A Lady to Love, starring Edward G. Robinson and Vilma Bánky
• A Man from Wyoming, starring Gary Cooper
• Animal Crackers, starring the Marx Brothers August 23, 1930
• Anna Christie, starring Greta Garbo February 21, 1930
• The Arizona Kid, starring Warner Baxter and Carole Lombard

  B

• The Bad Man, starring Walter Huston
• The Benson Murder Case, starring William Powell
• The Bat Whispers, starring Chester Morris and Una Merkel
• Big Boy, a musical comedy with Al Jolson
• The Big House, starring Chester Morris and Wallace Beery
• The Big Pond, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert
• The Big Trail, starring John Wayne
• Der blaue Engel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings –
• Billy the Kid, starring Johnny Mack Brown
• The Blood of a Poet, directed by Jean Cocteau –
• Borderline, starring Paul Robeson –
• Bride of the Regiment, starring Walter Pidgeon
• Bright Lights, directed by Michael Curtiz, a musical comedy in Technicolor

  C

• Call of the Flesh, starring Ramón Novarro, a musical romance with Technicolor sequences
• The Cat Creeps, starring Helen Twelvetrees, a mystery film released by Universal
• Chasing Rainbows, starring Bessie Love, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences
• Check and Double Check, a comedy based on Amos 'n' Andy radio show
• Children of Pleasure, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences
• City Girl, directed by F. W. Murnau
• Common Clay, starring Constance Bennett
• The Cuckoos, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences

  D

• Danger Lights, starring Louis Wolheim
• The Dawn Patrol, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
• The Devil to Pay!, starring Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Myrna Loy
• The Divorcee, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery
• Dixiana, starring Bebe Daniels, a lavish musical comedy with Technicolor sequences
• Doughboys, a World War I comedy starring Buster Keaton

  E

• Earth, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko –
• Elstree Calling, a British revue with color sequences, co-directed by Alfred Hitchcock –
• Escape, directed by Basil Dean, starring Gerald du Maurier, Edna Best

  F

• Fast and Loose, starring Miriam Hopkins in her film debut, with Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan
• Feet First, a comedy starring Harold Lloyd
• Holiday, starring Buster Keaton
• The Florodora Girl, directed by Harry Beaumont; starring Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray, and Ilka Chase
• The Flute Concert of Sanssouci –
• Follow Thru, starring Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor

  G

• General Crack, a drama with Technicolor sequences starring John Barrymore
• The Girl Said No, directed by Sam Wood
• The Golden Age, directed by Luis Buñuel
• Good News, starring Bessie Love, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences

  H

• Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes, starring Jean Harlow and Ben Lyon
• Hell's Heroes, directed by William Wyler
• Her Man, starring Helen Twelvetrees
• High Society Blues, starring Janet Gaynor
• Hold Everything, starring Joe E. Brown, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor
• Holiday, starring Ann Harding and Mary Astor

  I

• Imperial and Royal Field Marshal –
• Ingagi, exploitation-documentary on gorilla-worshiping women encountered by an explorer. Box-office hit was revealed to be a hoax.

  J-K

• Journey's End, directed by James Whale –
• Just Imagine, directed by David Butler
• King of Jazz, a revue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra entirely in Technicolor

  L

• Ladies Love Brutes, a comedy directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring George Bancroft and Mary Astor
• Ladies of Leisure, starring Barbara Stanwyck
• Leathernecking, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences starring Irene Dunne
• Let's Go Native, starring Jack Oakie and Jeanette MacDonald
• Liliom, starring Charles Farrell and Rose Hobart
• Loose Ankles, comedy drama starring Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., directed by Ted Wilde
• Lord Byron of Broadway, a musical drama with Technicolor sequences
• The Lottery Bride, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences starring Jeanette MacDonald

  M

• Madam Satan, directed by Cecil B. DeMille
• Mamba, first talking drama entirely in Technicolor starring Jean Hersholt and Eleanor Boardman
• Mammy, a musical comedy starring Al Jolson with Technicolor sequences
• The Man from Blankley's, comedy drama directed by Alfred E. Green starring John Barrymore
• Manslaughter, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March
• Min and Bill, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
• Montana Moon, starring Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown
• Monte Carlo, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald
• Morocco, starring Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich
• Murder!, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Herbert Marshall –
• , directed by Marcel L'Herbier –

  N-O

• Nerone, directed by Alessandro Blasetti –
• Night Birds directed by Richard Eichberg
• Not So Dumb, directed by King Vidor, starring Marion Davies and Elliott Nugent
• The Other, directed by Robert Wiene –
• Outside the Law, directed by Tod Browning, starring Edward G. Robinson

  P

• Paid, starring Joan Crawford and Robert Armstrong
• Paramount on Parade, an all-star revue with Technicolor sequences
• Peacock Alley, a musical drama with Technicolor sequences starring Mae Murray
• People on Sunday, directed by Robert Siodmak –
• Prix de Beauté, starring Louise Brooks –
• Puttin' On the Ritz, directed by Edward Sloman, starring Joan Bennett, with Technicolor sequences

  R

• Raffles, featuring Ronald Colman and Kay Francis
• Reaching for the Moon, starring Douglas Fairbanks
• Renegades, starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
• The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, starring Warner Oland and Jean Arthur
• The Rogue Song, a musical operetta entirely in Technicolor directed by Lionel Barrymore
• The Royal Family of Broadway, starring Fredric March

  S

• Show Girl in Hollywood, a musical comedy with Technicolor sequences directed by Mervyn LeRoy
• Son of the Gods, a drama with Technicolor sequences starring Richard Barthelmess
• Song o' My Heart, a musical starring Irish tenor John McCormack, directed by Frank Borzage, and shot in both 35mm and 70mm Fox Grandeur formats
• The Song of Love directed by Gennaro Righelli, starring Dria Paola, Isa Pola –
• Spring Is Here musical directed by John Francis Dillon
• St. Jorgen's Day –
• Soup to Nuts, a comedy and film debut for The Three Stooges
• Street of Chance, starring William Powell and Jean Arthur
• Sweet Kitty Bellairs, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor

  T

• Tarakanova, directed by Raymond Bernard –
• The Temporary Widow, starring Lilian Harvey and Laurence Olivier –
• Three Faces East, starring Erich von Stroheim
• The Three from the Filling Station, directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring Willy Fritsch, Lilian Harvey –
• Tom Sawyer, starring Jackie Coogan
• True to the Navy, starring Clara Bow and Fredric March
• Two Hearts in Waltz Time –

  U-V

• Under a Texas Moon, a musical comedy entirely in Technicolor directed by Michael Curtiz
• Under the Roofs of Paris, directed by René Clair –
• The Vagabond King, a musical drama entirely in Technicolor starring Jeanette MacDonald
• Viejo smoking –

  W-Y

• The W Plan, directed by Victor Saville, starring Brian Aherne and Madeleine Carroll –
• Wara Wara, directed by José Maria Velasco Maidana; now the only surviving silent Bolivian feature film
• Way for a Sailor, starring John Gilbert and Wallace Beery
• Westfront 1918, directed by G. W. Pabst –
• Whoopee!, a musical comedy in Technicolor with Eddie Cantor
• Young Man of Manhattan, starring Claudette Colbert, Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers
• Young Woodley, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Madeleine Carroll

  Serials

• Across the World with Mr & Mrs Martin Johnson
• Hunting Tigers in India
• The Indians Are Coming
• The Jade Box
• The Lightning Express
• The Lone Defender, starring Rin Tin Tin
• Terry of the Times
• The Voice from the Sky

  Short film series

• Buster Keaton
• Our Gang
• Laurel and Hardy
• * Another Fine Mess
• * Night Owls
• * Hog Wild
• * Laughing Gravy
• * Brats
• * Below Zero
• Crying for the Carolines

  Animated short film series

• Felix the Cat
• * April Maze
• * Skulls and Sculls
• * Hootchy Cootchy Parlais Vous
• Aesop's Film Fables
• Krazy Kat
• Mickey Mouse
• * Just Mickey
• * The Barnyard Concert
• * The Cactus Kid
• * The Fire Fighters
• * The Shindig
• * The Chain Gang
• * The Gorilla Mystery
• * The Picnic
• * Pioneer Days
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
• Silly Symphonies
• * Summer
• * Autumn
• * The Cannibal Capers
• * Night
• * Frolicking Fish
• * Arctic Antics
• * Midnight in a Toyshop
• * Monkey Melodies
• * Winter
• * Playful Pan
• Screen Songs
• * Prisoner's Song
• Talkartoons
• * Dizzy Dishes
• * Barnacle Bill
• Looney Tunes
• * Sinkin' in the Bathtub
• * Congo Jazz
• * Hold Anything
• * The Booze Hangs High
• * Box Car Blues
• Flip the Frog
• * The Village Barber
• * Puddle Pranks
• * Cuckoo Murder Case
• * Little Orphan Willie
• * Flying Fists
• Terrytoons
• Toby the Pup
• * The Museum
• * Toby the Miner
• * Toby the Fiddler
• * Toby the Showman
• * The Bug House
• "Beary Bear"
• * "Experiment Gone Wrong"
• * "Hickory's Hijinks"
• * "Piano Problems"
• * "Oh Deer!"
• * "Bushy the Lion"
• * "Trouble in Paris"

  Births

• January 3 – Robert Loggia, American actor
• January 10 – Roy E. Disney, American film executive
• January 11 – Rod Taylor, Australian actor
• January 13 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
• January 19 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
• January 29 – Benjamin Tatar, American actor
• January 30 – Gene Hackman, American actor
• February 6 – Allan King, Canadian director
• February 10 – Robert Wagner, American actor
• February 16 – Ricou Browning, American film director, actor, cinematographer and stuntman
• February 20 – Patricia Smith, American actress
• February 27 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
• March 6 – Allison Hayes, American actress
• March 16 – Lotte Ledl, Austrian actress
• March 24 – Steve McQueen, American actor
• March 24 30 – Estella Blain, French actress
• April 1 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress
• April 13 – Roger Browne, American actor
• April 14 – Bradford Dillman, American actor
• April 18 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor
• April 21 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress
• April 24 – Richard Donner, American director and producer
• April 25 – Paul Mazursky, American director and actor
• April 28 – Carolyn Jones, American actress
• May 9 – Joan Sims, English actress
• May 11 – Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman
• May 31 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director and producer
• June 1 – Edward Woodward, English actor and singer
• June 15 – Odile Versois, French actress
• June 19
• *Gena Rowlands, American actress
• *Diana Sowle, American actress
• June 29 – Ariadna Welter, Mexican actress
• July 10 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor
• July 18 – Burt Kwouk, British-Chinese actor
• August 12 – Peter Weck, Austrian film director and actor
• August 14 – Liz Fraser, English actress
• August 25 – Sir Sean Connery, Scottish-born actor
• September 16 – Anne Francis, American actress
• September 21 – Dawn Addams, English actress
• October 1 – Richard Harris, Irish actor
• October 5 – Yuriy Yakovlev, Bulgarian actor
• October 23 – Gérard Blain, French actor and director
• October 24 – Jack Angel, American voice actor and former radio personality
• December 3 – Jean-Luc Godard, French director
• December 9 – Francesco Maselli, Italian director
• December 11 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor
• December 17 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor

  Deaths

• January 31 – Dorothy Seastrom, American actress
• February 23 – Mabel Normand, American actress
• July 7 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British author and creator of Sherlock Holmes
• August 26 – Lon Chaney, American actor
• September 14 – Tommy Mintz, American actor, assistant director
• September 15 – Milton Sills, American actor
• November 8 – Clare Eames, American actress
• December 15 – Diane Ellis, American actress

  Film debuts

• Pat O'Brien – Compliments of the Season
• James Cagney – Sinners' Holiday
• John Carradine – Bright Lights
• Buster Crabbe – Good News
• Bing Crosby – King of Jazz
• Frances Dee – Playboy of Paris
• Irene Dunne – Leathernecking
• Jimmy Durante – Roadhouse Nights
• Rex Harrison – The Great Game
• Miriam Hopkins – Fast and Loose
• Ruby Keeler – Show Girl in Hollywood
• Hedy Lamarr – Money on the Street
• Ethel Merman – Her Future
• Laurence Olivier – The Temporary Widow
• Eleanor Powell – Queen High
• Penny Singleton – Good News
• Maureen O'Sullivan – So This Is London
• Spencer Tracy – The Strong Arm