1932 in film Last updated October 29, 2025
Overview of the events of 1932 in film
The following is an overview of 1932 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The top ten 1932 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1932 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Sign of the Cross Paramount $2,738,993 [ 1] 2 The Kid from Spain United Artists $2,621,000 [ 2] 3 Emma MGM $1,409,000 [ 3] 4 Hell Divers $1,244,000 [ 3] 5 Grand Hotel $1,235,000 [ 3] 6 Prosperity $1,166,000 [ 3] 7 Tarzan the Ape Man $1,112,000 [ 3] 8 Smilin' Through $1,004,000 [ 3] 9 Strange Interlude $957,000 [ 3] 10 Horse Feathers Paramount $945,000 [ 4]
Events The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading headline events of the year. [ 5]
Sidney Kent leaves Paramount Pictures and joins Fox Film . Merlin H Aylesworth succeeds Hiram S Brown as president of RKO . Jesse L. Lasky leaves Paramount and becomes an independent producer for Fox. Sam Katz leaves Paramount. James R Grainger leaves Fox and is succeeded by John D Clark, formerly of Paramount. Publix and Fox decentralization of cinemas. New industry program, including standard exhibition contract along lines of 5-5-5, proposed by Motion Picture Theater Owners of America and Allied. Joe Brandt retires from Columbia Pictures , joins World-Wide, and later resigns again. Two Radio City theaters open, under direction of "Roxy" , with coincident acquisition of the Rockefeller interests of 100,000 shares of RKO stock and 100,000 shares of RCA stock. Experimentation with exclusive runs. Other notable events include:
1932 film releases United States unless stated
January 1932 January 2 January 14 January 15 January 16 January 19 January 22 January 23 February 1932 February 6 February 12 February 13 February 18 February 20 February 21 March 1932 March 1 March 6 March 22 March 24 March 30 Santa (Mexico )No Man Of Her Own (1932 film not to be confused with the 1950 film of the same title) April 1932 April 9 April 12 April 13 April 17 April 18 May 1932 May 6 May 7 May 12 May 14 May 17 May 20 May 21 May 28 June 1932 June 2 June 3 June 8 June 17 June 25 July 1932 August 1932 August 4 August 6 August 12 August 13 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 September 1932 September 10 September 13 September 16 September 17 September 18 September 22 September 23 September 24 September 30 October 1932 October 8 October 12 October 14 October 15 October 20 October 21 October 22 October 25 October 28 October 29 October 30 November 1932 November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 November 7 November 8 November 10 November 11 November 17 November 24 December 1932 December 1 December 2 December 3 December 8 December 16 December 22 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 28 December 30 Notable films released in 1932 United States unless stated
A The Age of Consent , directed by Gregory La Cava Air Mail , directed by John Ford , starring Ralph Bellamy , Gloria Stuart and Pat O'Brien American Madness , directed by Frank Capra , starring Walter Huston and Pat O'Brien The Animal Kingdom , directed by Edward H. Griffith , starring Ann Harding , Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy Anton Spelec, Sharp-Shooter (Anton Špelec, ostrostřelec) , directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia ) As You Desire Me , directed by George Fitzmaurice , starring Greta Garbo , Melvyn Douglas and Erich von Stroheim L'Atlantide , directed by G. W. Pabst , starring Brigitte Helm – (Germany /France ) Attorney for the Defense , directed by Irving Cummings , starring Edmund Lowe and Evelyn Brent B Back Street , directed by John M. Stahl , starring Irene Dunne and John Boles The Bartered Bride (Die verkaufte Braut) , directed by Max Ophüls – (Germany ) The Beast of the City , directed by Charles Brabin , starring Walter Huston , Jean Harlow and Wallace Ford The Big Broadcast , directed by Frank Tuttle , starring Bing Crosby and Leila Hyams Big City Blues , directed by Mervyn LeRoy , starring Joan Blondell and Eric Linden The Big Stampede , directed by Tenny Wright , starring John Wayne and Noah Beery A Bill of Divorcement , directed by George Cukor , starring John Barrymore , Katharine Hepburn and Billie Burke Bird of Paradise , directed by King Vidor , starring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea Das blaue Licht (The Blue Light) , starring and directed by Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany ) A Blonde Dream (Ein blonder Traum) , directed by Paul Martin , starring Lilian Harvey , Willy Fritsch and Willi Forst – (Germany ) Blonde Venus , directed by Josef von Sternberg , starring Marlene Dietrich , Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant Blondie of the Follies , directed by Edmund Goulding , starring Marion Davies , Robert Montgomery , Billie Dove , and Jimmy Durante Boudu Saved from Drowning (Boudu sauvé des eaux) , directed by Jean Renoir , starring Michel Simon – (France ) Broken Lullaby , directed by Ernst Lubitsch , starring Lionel Barrymore Business and Pleasure , directed by David Butler , starring Will Rogers D Dance Pretty Lady , directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB ) Dancers in the Dark , directed by David Burton , starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack Oakie The Dark Horse , directed by Alfred E. Green , starring Warren William and Bette Davis The Dentist , directed by Leslie Pearce , starring W. C. Fields Destry Rides Again , directed by Benjamin Stoloff , starring Tom Mix Devil and the Deep , directed by Marion Gering , starring Tallulah Bankhead , Gary Cooper , Charles Laughton and Cary Grant Downstairs , directed by Monta Bell , starring John Gilbert Emma , directed by Clarence Brown , starring Marie Dressler and Myrna Loy F.P.1 (F.P.1 antwortet nicht) , directed by Karl Hartl – (Germany ) Faithless , directed by Harry Beaumont , starring Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Montgomery Fanny , directed by Marc Allégret , starring Raimu – (France ) A Farewell to Arms , directed by Frank Borzage , starring Helen Hayes , Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou Fast Life , directed by Harry A. Pollard , starring William Haines , Madge Evans and Conrad Nagel Flesh , directed by John Ford , starring Wallace Beery , Ricardo Cortez and Karen Morley Flowers and Trees , a Walt Disney animated short Forbidden , directed by Frank Capra , starring Barbara Stanwyck , Adolphe Menjou and Ralph Bellamy Freaks , directed by Tod Browning , starring Wallace Ford and Leila Hyams Goodnight, Vienna , directed by Herbert Wilcox , starring Jack Buchanan and Anna Neagle – (GB ) Grand Hotel , directed by Edmund Goulding , starring Greta Garbo , John Barrymore , Joan Crawford , Wallace Beery , Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone Hell Divers , directed by George Hill , starring Wallace Beery , Clark Gable and Conrad Nagel Horse Feathers , directed by Norman Z. McLeod , starring the Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd Hotel Splendide , directed by Michael Powell – (GB )I I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang , directed by Mervyn LeRoy , starring Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell I Was Born, But... (Otona no miru ehon – Umarete wa mita keredo) , directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan ) If I Had a Million , starring Gary Cooper , George Raft , Charles Laughton , Jack Oakie and W. C. Fields The Impatient Maiden , directed by James Whale , starring Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke Island of Lost Souls , directed by Erle C. Kenton , starring Charles Laughton , Bela Lugosi , Richard Arlen and Leila Hyams , based on the 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells Ivan – directed by Alexander Dovzhenko – (U.S.S.R. )L The Last Mile , directed by Samuel Bischoff , starring Preston Foster The Last of the Mohicans , 12-part serial directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason , starring Harry Carey Law and Order , directed by Edward L. Cahn , starring Walter Huston and Harry Carey Lord Camber's Ladies , directed by Benn Levy , starring Gerald du Maurier and Gertrude Lawrence – (GB ) The Local Bad Man , directed by Otto Brower , starring Hoot Gibson Love Me Tonight , directed by Rouben Mamoulian , starring Maurice Chevalier , Jeanette MacDonald and Myrna Loy The Lucky Number , directed by Anthony Asquith , starring Gordon Harker – (GB )M The Man Who Played God , directed by John G. Adolfi , starring George Arliss and Bette Davis Me and My Gal , directed by Raoul Walsh , starring Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett Merrily We Go to Hell , directed by Dorothy Arzner , starring Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March The Midshipmaid , directed by Albert de Courville , starring Jessie Matthews – (GB ) Million Dollar Legs , directed by Edward F. Cline , starring Jack Oakie and W. C. Fields The Missing Rembrandt (lost), directed by Leslie S. Hiscott , starring Arthur Wontner and Ian Fleming – (GB ) The Most Dangerous Game , directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel , starring Joel McCrea , Fay Wray , Leslie Banks and Robert Armstrong The Mouthpiece , directed by James Flood and Elliott Nugent , starring Warren William Movie Crazy , directed by Clyde Bruckman , starring Harold Lloyd Mr. Robinson Crusoe , directed by A. Edward Sutherland , starring Douglas Fairbanks The Mummy , directed by Karl Freund , starring Boris Karloff Murders in the Rue Morgue , directed by Robert Florey , starring Bela Lugosi and Sidney Fox Night After Night , directed by Archie Mayo , starring George Raft and Mae West Night at the Crossroads (La Nuit du carrefour) , directed by Jean Renoir – (France ) No Man of Her Own , directed by Wesley Ruggles , starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Odds 777 , directed by George Schnéevoigt – (Denmark ) The Old Dark House , directed by James Whale , starring Boris Karloff , Melvyn Douglas , Gloria Stuart , Charles Laughton and Raymond Massey One Hour with You , directed by Ernst Lubitsch , starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald One Way Passage , directed by Tay Garnett , starring William Powell and Kay Francis P Pack Up Your Troubles , directed by George Marshall and Ray McCarey , starring Laurel and Hardy The Passionate Plumber , directed by Edward Sedgwick , starring Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante Payment Deferred , directed by Lothar Mendes , starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan The Phantom President , directed by Norman Taurog , starring George M. Cohan , Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante Polly of the Circus , directed by Alfred Santell , starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable Prosperity , directed by Sam Wood , starring Marie Dressler , Polly Moran and Anita Page R Rain , directed by Lewis Milestone , starring Joan Crawford and Walter Huston Rasputin and the Empress , directed by Richard Boleslawski , starring John Barrymore , Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore Rasputin, Demon with Women (Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen) , directed by Adolf Trotz , starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany ) Raid in St. Pauli (Razzia in St. Pauli) , directed by Werner Hochbaum – (Germany ) Red Dust , directed by Victor Fleming , starring Clark Gable , Jean Harlow , Mary Astor and Gene Raymond Red-Haired Alibi , directed by Christy Cabanne Red-Headed Woman , directed by Jack Conway , starring Jean Harlow , Chester Morris , Lewis Stone , Leila Hyams and Una Merkel Rome Express , directed by Walter Forde , starring Esther Ralston and Conrad Veidt – (GB )S Santa , directed by Antonio Moreno , starring Lupita Tovar – (Mexico ) Scarface , directed by Howard Hawks , starring Paul Muni , Ann Dvorak , George Raft and Boris Karloff Scarlet Dawn , directed by William Dieterle , starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Nancy Carroll Shanghai Express , directed by Josef von Sternberg , starring Marlene Dietrich , Clive Brook , Anna May Wong and Warner Oland Sherlock Holmes , directed by William K. Howard , starring Clive Brook and Ernest Torrence The Sign of Four , directed by Graham Cutts , starring Arthur Wontner and Ian Hunter – (GB ) The Sign of the Cross , directed by Cecil B. DeMille , starring Fredric March , Claudette Colbert and Charles Laughton Silver Dollar , directed by Alfred E. Green , starring Edward G. Robinson and Bebe Daniels A Simple Case (Prostoy sloochay Vsevolod Pudovkin and Mikhail Doller – (USSR ) Smilin' Through , directed by Sidney Franklin , starring Norma Shearer , Fredric March and Leslie Howard Speak Easily , directed by Edward Sedgwick , starring Buster Keaton , Jimmy Durante and Thelma Todd Spring Shower (Tavaszi zápor) , directed by Pál Fejős – (France /Hungary ) Strange Interlude , directed by Robert Z. Leonard , starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable T Tarzan the Ape Man , directed by W. S. Van Dyke , starring Johnny Weissmuller , Maureen O'Sullivan and Neil Hamilton Taxi! , directed by Roy Del Ruth , starring James Cagney and Loretta Young They Just Had to Get Married , directed by Edward Ludwig , starring Slim Summerville and ZaSu Pitts Thirteen Women , directed by George Archainbaud , starring Irene Dunne , Ricardo Cortez and Myrna Loy Three Modern Women (Sāngè Módēng Nǚxìng) (lost), directed by Bu Wancang , starring Ruan Lingyu and Jin Yan – (China ) Three on a Match , directed by Mervyn LeRoy , starring Joan Blondell , Warren William , Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis Tiger Shark , directed by Howard Hawks , starring Edward G. Robinson and Richard Arlen Trouble in Paradise , directed by Ernst Lubitsch , starring Miriam Hopkins , Kay Francis and Herbert Marshall Two Seconds , directed by Mervyn LeRoy , starring Edward G. Robinson Washington Merry-Go-Round , directed by James Cruze , starring Lee Tracy What Price Hollywood? , directed by George Cukor , starring Constance Bennett , Lowell Sherman and Neil Hamilton What Scoundrels Men Are! (Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!) , directed by Mario Camerini , starring Vittorio De Sica – (Italy ) White Zombie , directed by Victor Halperin , starring Bela Lugosi Wooden Crosses (Les Croix de Bois) , directed by Raymond Bernard – (France ) Young America , directed by Frank Borzage , starring Spencer Tracy and Ralph Bellamy Serials The Shadow of the Eagle poster. Ordered by release date:
January 4: Detective Lloyd , 12 chapters (216 min) February 1: The Shadow of the Eagle , 12 chapters (218 minutes) March 28: The Airmail Mystery , 12 chapters (225 min) May 17: The Last of the Mohicans , 12 chapters (231 minutes) June 20: Heroes of the West , 12 chapters (225 min) August 1: The Hurricane Express , 12 chapters (227 min) September 5: The Last Frontier , 12 chapters (213 minutes) September 12: Jungle Mystery , 12 chapters (240 min) November 1: The Devil Horse , 12 chapters (216 min) December 5: The Lost Special , 12 chapters (240 minutes) Short film series Lobby card for the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short film Any Old Port! . Ordered by release date:
Buster Keaton (1917–1923, 1934–1937, 1939–1941) Laurel and Hardy (1927–1935); the team later made one instructional short subject, released nontheatrically in 1943 Our Gang (1922–1944) The series was officially called both Our Gang and Hal Roach's Rascals until 1932, when Our Gang became the sole title of the series. Shirley Temple (1932–1934)Animated short film series Ordered by release date of the film series. This list only includes shorts released in 1932:
Births January 3 – Dabney Coleman , American character actor (died 2024) January 4 January 11 – Alfonso Arau , Mexican filmmaker, actor and singer January 19 – Richard Lester , American-born director working in England January 22 – Piper Laurie , American actress (died 2023) January 23 – James Rado , American actor, playwright, director and composer (died 2022) January 24 – Julie Bennett , American actress, realtor and talent agent (died 2020) February 3 – Peggy Ann Garner , American actress (died 1984 ) February 6 – François Truffaut , French director (died 1984) February 8 – John Williams , American film composer February 9 - Roderick Cook , English writer and actor (died 1990) February 13 February 14 February 15 – Troy Kennedy Martin , British screenwriter (died 2009) February 18 – Miloš Forman , Czech-born director (died 2018) February 23 February 24 February 26 – Michael Goldie , British character actor (died 2013) February 27 – Elizabeth Taylor , English-American actress (died 2011) February 28 – Francisco Colmenero , Mexican voice actor and voice director March 14 – Hiroshi Ōtake , Japanese actor and voice actor (died 2022) March 27 – Robert Sacchi , Italian-American character actor (died 2021) March 31 – Nagisa Oshima , Japanese director (died 2013) April 1 – Debbie Reynolds , American singer, actress and dancer (died 2016) [ 15] April 4 April 9 – Jack Smethurst , English actor (died 2022) April 10 April 11 – Joel Grey , American actor, singer, dancer and director April 21 – Elaine May , American comedian, director, screenwriter, playwright and actor April 25 – William Roache , English actor April 26 – Francis Lai , French film composer (died 2018) April 27 Anouk Aimée , French actress (died 2024) Casey Kasem , American disc jockey, music historian, radio personality, actor and voice actor (died 2014) May 2 – Bruce Glover , American character actor (died 2025) May 3 – Robert Osborne , American actor, author, and film historian (died 2017) May 8 – Phyllida Law , Scottish actress May 9 – Geraldine McEwan , English actress (died 2015) May 22 – Seth Sakai , American actor (died 2007) May 15 – John Glen , English director and editor May 27 – Steve Franken , American actor (died 2012) June 6 June 10 – Branko Lustig , Croatian-born producer (died 2019) June 11 – Athol Fugard , South African playwright, actor and director (died 2025) June 12 – Mae Mercer , American singer and actress (died 2008) June 13 – Bob McGrath , American actor, singer and musician (died 2022) June 17 – Peter Lupus , American bodybuilder and actor June 18 June 19 June 22 June 29 – Soon-Tek Oh , Korean-American actor (died 2018 ) July 1 – Sonny Caldinez , Trinidadian actor, previously professional wrestler (died 2022) July 2 – Kenneth McMillan , American actor (died 1989) July 10 – Neile Adams , Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer July 29 – Mike Hodges , English screenwriter and director (died 2022 ) July 30 – Edd Byrnes , American actor (died 2020) August 1 – Norman Bowler , English actor August 2 – Peter O'Toole , Anglo-Irish actor (died 2013) August 5 – Ja'Net DuBois , American actress, singer and dancer ( Good Times ) (died 2020) August 7 - Edward Hardwicke , English actor (died 2011) August 9 – Denys Hawthorne , Irish actor (died 2009) August 10 – Murray Melvin , English actor (died 2023) August 15 – Bob Elkins , American character actor (died 2022) August 24 – W. Morgan Sheppard , English actor and voice actor (died 2019) August 25 – Nun Zairina , Indonesian dancer, actress, dance instructor, and model (died 2017) September 3 – Eileen Brennan , American actress (died 2013) September 4 – Edward de Souza , British character actor September 5 – Carol Lawrence , American actress September 12 – Kim Hamilton , American actress (died 2013) September 16 – George Chakiris , American actor September 21 – Mickey Kuhn , American actor (died 2022) September 25 – Brian Murphy , British actor and comedian (died 2025) September 26 – Richard Herd , American actor (died 2020) September 29 Mehmood Ali , Indian actor, director and producer (died 2004) Robert Benton , American director and screenwriter (died 2025) October 4 October 6 – Anna Quayle , English actress (died 2019) October 13 October 20 – William Christopher , American actor (died 2016) October 22 – Sheila Allen , English actress (died 2011) October 30 – Louis Malle , French director, screenwriter and producer (died 1995) November 1 – John Clark , English actor, director and producer (died 2023) November 2 – Terry Richards , British actor and stuntman (died 2014) November 8 - Nicholas Kepros , American actor (died 2023) November 10 – Roy Scheider , American actor (died 2008) November 12 – Jerry Douglas , American actor (died 2021) November 13 November 15 – Petula Clark , English singer, actress and film composer November 20 – Richard Dawson , English-American actor, comedian and game-show host (died 2012) November 22 – Robert Vaughn , American actor (died 2016) November 25 – Takayo Fischer , American actress December 7 – Ellen Burstyn , American actress December 14 December 19 - Wayne Tippit , American character actor (died 2009) December 25 – Mabel King , American actress and singer (died 1999) December 26 – Robert V. Barron , American director, producer, screenwriter and actor (died 2000) December 28 – Nichelle Nichols , American actress (died 2022) December 30 – Macon McCalman , American actor (died 2005) Deaths February 15 – Minnie Maddern Fiske , American stage star, also appeared in silent films (born 1865) June 30 – Bruno Kastner , German actor (born 1890) July 17 – Rasmus Rasmussen , Norwegian actor (born 1862) August 1 – James R. Quirk , American editor and publisher of Photoplay magazine (born 1884) August 10 – Rin Tin Tin , canine actor (born 1918) September 1 – Guy Oliver , American actor (born 1878) September 16 – Peg Entwistle , British-born American actress (born 1908) November 27 – Evelyn Preer , American actress, singer (born 1896) References ↑ Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood . University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813123240 ↑ Jones, Lon (March 4, 1944). "Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?" . The Argus . Melbourne. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2012 – via National Library of Australia. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study ↑ "You Didn't Have Ice Cream All The Way Through ... --- Part One" . greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com . October 2, 2007. ↑ "Ten Leading Headline Events" . Film Daily Year Book (1933) . p. 47. ↑ "The Ten Biggest Money Makers" . Motion Picture Herald . August 6, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved March 22, 2018 . 1 2 3 4 "The 5th Academy Awards – 1933" . Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. ↑ Harry Waldman (2000). Missing Reels: Lost Films of American and European Cinema . McFarland. p. 227. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1932" . Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2017 . ↑ The Athlete (1932) – from the Pooch the Pup Theatrical Cartoon Series ↑ The Butcher Boy (1932) – from the Pooch the Pup Theatrical Cartoon Series ↑ The Crowd Snores (1932) – from the Pooch the Pup Theatrical Cartoon Series ↑ The Underdog (The Under Dog) (1932) – from the Pooch the Pup Theatrical Cartoon Series ↑ Cats And Dogs (1932) – from the Pooch the Pup Theatrical Cartoon Series ↑ "Debbie Reynolds obituary" . the Guardian . December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2021 . ↑ "Young 'Tad' Lincoln; Six-Year-Old Son of Former City Girl Gets Movie 'Break'" . The Vancouver Province . p. 5. ↑ "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VL5D-H7S : 27 November 2014), David Lewis Blakely, 14 Dec 1932; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento. ↑ "United States Public Records, 1970-2009", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJXJ-7LRC : 4 June 2020), David Lewis Blakely, 2001-2008. This page is based on this
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