The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Monkey Business is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies, and the first with an original screenplay rather than an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film also features Thelma Todd, Harry Woods and Ruth Hall. It is directed by Norman Z. McLeod with screenplay by S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone. Much of the story takes place on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
William Taylor "Tay" Garnett was an American film director and writer.
Ricardo Cortez was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.
Robert William Armstrong was an American film and television actor remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He delivered the film's famous final line: "It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."
Peter Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career between 1925 and 1981. Fix portrayed Marshal Micah Torrance, opposite Chuck Connors's character in The Rifleman from 1958 to 1963. He later appeared with Connors in the 1966 Western film Ride Beyond Vengeance.
Edmund Sherbourne Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film.
Street Scene is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by King Vidor. With a screenplay by Elmer Rice adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, Street Scene takes place on a New York City street from one evening until the following afternoon. Except for one scene which takes place inside a taxi, Vidor shot the entire film on a single set depicting half a city block of house fronts.
Palmy Days is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Eddie Cantor. The famed Goldwyn Girls make appearances during elaborate production numbers set in a gymnasium and a bakery. Betty Grable, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, and Toby Wing are among the bevy of chorines. George Raft had an early role.
King of Alcatraz is a 1938 American drama film directed by Robert Florey and starring Gail Patrick, Lloyd Nolan and Harry Carey. It was the film debut of Robert Preston.
Behind Office Doors is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film directed by Melville W. Brown, from a screenplay by Carey Wilson and J. Walter Ruben, based on Alan Schultz's 1929 novel, Private Secretary. It starred Mary Astor, Robert Ames and Ricardo Cortez, and revolved around the premise of "the woman behind the man". While not well received by critics, it did well at the box office.
The 15th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, home videos and interactive media, presented by the International Press Academy at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles.
Fred Leedon Scott was an American actor best known as a singing cowboy star in Westerns during the 1930s and 1940s.
Her Man is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film produced and distributed by Pathé Exchange, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Phillips Holmes, Helen Twelvetrees and Marjorie Rambeau. The film is inspired by the ballad Frankie and Johnny. The picture's supporting cast features James Gleason, Ricardo Cortez, Thelma Todd and Franklin Pangborn.
Robert Gleckler was an American film and stage actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies between 1927 until his death in 1939. He was cast for the role of Jonas Wilkerson, overseer of the slaves at Tara in Gone with the Wind, but died during the filming and was replaced with Victor Jory.
A Shot in the Dark is a 1941 American drama film directed by William C. McGann and written by M. Coates Webster, starring William Lundigan, Nan Wynn, and Ricardo Cortez. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 5, 1941.
City of Chance is a 1940 American crime drama film directed by Ricardo Cortez and written by John Larkin and Barry Trivers. The film stars Lynn Bari, C. Aubrey Smith, Donald Woods and Amanda Duff. The film was released on January 13, 1940, by 20th Century Fox. The executive producer for the film was Sol M. Wurtzel.
Flaming Bullets is a 1945 American Western film written and directed by Harry L. Fraser. The film, the final of PRC's Texas Rangers film series, stars Tex Ritter, Dave O'Brien, Guy Wilkerson, Patricia Knox, Charles King as comedy relief and I. Stanford Jolley. The film was released on October 15, 1945, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Outlaw Roundup is a 1944 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and written by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Helen Chapman, Jack Ingram and I. Stanford Jolley. The film was released on February 10, 1944, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Al Capone (1899–1947) is one of the most notorious American gangsters of the 20th century and has been the major subject of numerous articles, books, and films. Particularly, from 1925 to 1929, shortly after Capone relocated to Chicago, he enjoyed status as the most notorious mobster in the country. Capone cultivated a certain image of himself in the media, that made him a subject of fascination. His personality and character have been used in fiction as a model for crime lords and criminal masterminds ever since his death. The stereotypical image of a mobster wearing a pinstriped suit and tilted fedora are based on photos of Capone. His accent, mannerisms, facial construction, physical stature, and parodies of his name have been used for numerous gangsters in comics, movies, music, and literature.
