The following is an overview of 1936 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The Divorce of Lady X is a 1938 British Technicolor romantic comedy film produced by London Films; it stars Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Binnie Barnes. It was directed by Tim Whelan and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Ian Dalrymple and Arthur Wimperis, adapted by Lajos Bíró from the play Counsel's Opinion by Gilbert Wakefield. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and Lionel Salter and the cinematography by Harry Stradling.
The Saint Strikes Back is a 1939 American crime film directed by John Farrow. It marks the second cinematic incarnation of the antihero crimefighting character Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". George Sanders replaced Louis Hayward, who had played the Saint in The Saint in New York. The movie was produced by RKO and also featured Wendy Barrie as female gang leader Val Travers. Barrie would appear in two more Saint films, playing different roles each time, though not in the next film in the series, The Saint in London. This was the second of eight films in RKO's film series about The Saint, and the first of five with Sanders in the title role.
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition. The film stars Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor and features Buddy Ebsen, George Murphy, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Raymond Walburn, Robert Benchley and Binnie Barnes.
Kidnapped (1938) is an adventure film directed by Otto Preminger and Alfred L. Werker, starring Warner Baxter and Freddie Bartholomew, and based on the 1886 novel Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Gertrude Maud Barnes, known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973.
Charles D. Brown was an American stage and film actor.
Gregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in All About Eve (1950).
It's in the Bag! is a 1945 comedy film featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the most popular radio comedians. The film has been preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Alexander's Ragtime Band is a 1938 musical film released by 20th Century Fox that takes its name from the 1911 Irving Berlin song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in "serious" music. The film generally traces the history of jazz music from the popularization of Ragtime in the early years of the 20th century to the acceptance of swing as an art form in the late 1930s using music composed by Berlin. The story spans more than two decades from the 1911 release of its name-sake song to some point in time after the 1933 release of "Heat Wave", presumably 1938. It stars Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, Jack Haley and Jean Hersholt. Several actual events in the history of jazz are fictionalized and adapted to the story including the tour of Europe by Original Dixieland Jass Band, the global spread of jazz by U.S. soldiers during World War I, and the 1938 Carnegie Hall performance by The Benny Goodman Orchestra.
Holmes Herbert was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman.
Arleen Whelan was an American film actress.
The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990.
Walk East on Beacon is a 1952 American film noir drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Murphy, Finlay Currie, and Virginia Gilmore. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was inspired by a May 1951 Reader's Digest article by J. Edgar Hoover entitled "The Crime of the Century: The Case of the A-Bomb Spies." The article covers the meeting of German physicist and atomic spy Klaus Fuchs and American chemist Harry Gold as well as details of the Soviet espionage network in the United States. Gold's testimony would later lead to the case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for treason. The film substitutes real atomic spying with vague top secret scientific programs. Extensive location shooting was done in New England, around Washington Union Station and in FBI laboratories.
The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries. They were announced on 31 December 1986 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1987 in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Belize, Antigua & Barbuda, and St Christopher & Nevis.
The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1974.
Thanks for Everything is a 1938 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter, written by Curtis Kenyon and Harry Tugend, and starring Adolphe Menjou, Jack Oakie, Jack Haley, Arleen Whelan, Tony Martin and Binnie Barnes. It was released on December 23, 1938, by 20th Century Fox.
We Have Our Moments is a 1937 American comedy mystery film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Sally Eilers, James Dunn and Mischa Auer.
