Janet Gaynor was an American film, stage, and television actress.
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry, better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black actor to have a successful film career. His highest profile was during the 1930s in films and on stage, when his persona of Stepin Fetchit was billed as the "Laziest Man in the World".
The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 female and 25 male greatest screen legends of American film history and is the second list of the AFI 100 Years... series.
The Little Colonel is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by William M. Conselman was adapted from the children's novel of the same name by Annie Fellows Johnston, originally published in 1895. It focuses on the reconciliation of an estranged father and daughter in the years following the American Civil War. The film stars Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, John Lodge, Bill Robinson, and Hattie McDaniel.
Marie Osborne Yeats, credited as Baby Marie between 1914 and 1919, was the first major child star of American silent films. She was one of the three major American child stars of the Hollywood silent film era along with Jackie Coogan and Diana Serra Cary. As an adult, from 1934 until 1950, and now billed as Marie Osborne, she continued in film productions, although she appeared only in uncredited roles. In the 1950s, after retiring from the acting profession, she carved out a second career as a costume designer for Hollywood film.
Stand Up and Cheer! is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film directed by Hamilton MacFadden. The screenplay by Lew Brown and Ralph Spence was based upon a story idea by Will Rogers and Philip Klein. The film is about efforts undertaken during the Great Depression to boost the morale of the country. It is essentially a vehicle for a string of vaudeville acts and a few musical numbers. The film is best known for providing the first big breakthrough role for legendary child actress Shirley Temple. A little known bit player before the film, by the end of the year, she appeared in 10 movies, including 4 starring roles in major feature-length films.
One More Spring is a 1935 American comedy drama film about three people, played by Janet Gaynor, Warner Baxter, and Walter Woolf King, living together in a tool room at Central Park as an alternative to being homeless. The film was written by Edwin J. Burke from the Robert Nathan novel of the same name and directed by Henry King.
Small Town Girl is a 1936 romantic comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone and Edgar Kennedy.
Hearts in Dixie (1929) starring Stepin Fetchit was one of the first all-"talkie", big-studio productions to boast a predominantly African-American cast. A musical, the film celebrates African-American music and dance. It was released by Fox Film Corporation just months before the release of Hallelujah!, another all-black musical by competitor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The director of Hearts in Dixie was Paul Sloane. Walter Weems wrote the screenplay, and William Fox was producer.
Judge Priest is a 1934 American comedy film starring Will Rogers. The film was directed by John Ford, produced by Sol M. Wurtzel in association with Fox Film, and based on humorist Irvin S. Cobb's character Judge Priest. The picture is set in post-reconstruction Kentucky and the supporting cast features Henry B. Walthall, Hattie McDaniel and Stepin Fetchit. It was remade by Ford in 1953 as The Sun Shines Bright.
Dimples is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by William A. Seiter. The screenplay was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The film is about a young mid-nineteenth century street entertainer who is separated from her pickpocket grandfather when given a home by a wealthy New York City widow. The film was panned by the critics. Videocassette and DVD versions of the film were available in 2009.
The Autograph Hound is a 1939 Donald Duck cartoon which features Donald Duck as an autograph hunter in Hollywood. Many celebrities from the 1930s are featured. This is the first cartoon where Donald Duck is featured in his blue sailor hat.
A Tough Winter is a 1930 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 99th Our Gang short that was released.
Maria Mileaf is an American theater director. She grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey.
The House of Connelly is a 1931 Broadway two-act drama written by Paul Green, produced by the Group Theatre in association with The Theatre Guild and staged by Lee Strasberg and Cheryl Crawford. It ran for 91 performances from September 28, 1931 to November 14, 1931 at the Martin Beck Theatre and then from November 16, 1931 to January 2, 1932 at the Mansfield Theatre. It was the inaugural production of the Group Theatre.
The Big Fight is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film starring Lola Lane, Ralph Ince, Guinn Williams and Stepin Fetchit, based upon the play by Max Marcin and Herbert Gropper, directed by Walter Lang, and released by Sono Art-World Wide Pictures.
The Virginia Judge is a 1935 American drama film directed by Edward Sedgwick, written by Frank R. Adams and Inés López, and starring Walter C. Kelly, Marsha Hunt, Stepin Fetchit, Johnny Downs, Robert Cummings and Virginia Hammond. It was released on September 17, 1935, by Paramount Pictures.
Nameless Men is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Claire Windsor, Antonio Moreno and Eddie Gribbon.
Swing High is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Helen Twelvetrees, Fred Scott and Dorothy Burgess.
