The following is an overview of 1930 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Charles Joseph Parrott, known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with producer Hal Roach. Chase was the elder brother of comedian/director James Parrott.
Anita Garvin was an American stage performer and film actress who worked in both the silent and sound eras. Before her retirement in 1942, she reportedly appeared in over 350 shorts and features for various Hollywood studios. Her best known roles are as supporting characters in Hal Roach comedies starring Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase.
That's Entertainment! is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film That's Dancing!, and a third installment in 1994.
Marion Byron was an American silent film actress and comedian.
That's Entertainment, Part II is a 1976 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a sequel to That's Entertainment! (1974). Like the previous film, That's Entertainment, Part II was a retrospective of famous films released by MGM from the 1930s to the 1950s. Some posters for the film use Part 2 rather than Part II in the title.
Abie's Irish Rose is a 1928 early sound (part-talkie) film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Jean Hersholt, and J. Farrell MacDonald. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film based on the 1922 play Abie's Irish Rose by Anne Nichols. The film was later remade in 1946. In the 1930s, author Nichols revealed that her deal with Paramount brought her $300,000 plus half the film's profits.
Mamba is a 1930 American pre-Code film, released by Tiffany Pictures. It was shot entirely in Technicolor and stars Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes, Josef Swickard, Claude Fleming, William Stanton and William von Brincken. It was based on a story by Ferdinand Schumann-Heink and John Reinhardt and was advertised as the First Drama In Natural Color as all previous color features in sound had featured musical numbers.
The Girl on the Barge is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Edward Sloman and starring Jean Hersholt and Sally O'Neil. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects along with English intertitles. The sound was recorded using the Western Electric Sound System process. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was filmed in Whitehall, NY. The town is looking for a copy of the movie but it appears to no longer be extant.
Our Modern Maidens is a 1929 American synchronized sound comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film starts Joan Crawford in her last film role without dialogue, the film also stars Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Anita Page.
Our Blushing Brides is a 1930 American pre-Code society comedy/romantic melodrama directed and produced by Harry Beaumont and starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian.
Are You Listening? is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring William Haines, Madge Evans and Anita Page. It was based on the novel of the same name by J. P. McEvoy, published the same year.
4 Clowns is a 1970 documentary compilation film written and directed by Robert Youngson that studies the golden age of comedy through a compilation of rare silent film footage of the works of Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase and Buster Keaton. It was the last feature film project of producer, director, and writer Robert Youngson.
Hardboiled Rose is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by F. Harmon Weight and released by Warner Bros. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film starred Myrna Loy, William Collier, Jr., and John Miljan.
The Woman on the Jury is a lost 1924 American silent drama film produced and released by Associated First National and directed by Harry Hoyt. It is based on a Broadway stage play, The Woman on the Jury, and stars Sylvia Breamer and Bessie Love. The story was refilmed in 1929 as an early talkie under the title The Love Racket starring Dorothy Mackaill.
Night Watch is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Paul Lukas and Donald Reed. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. The film was an adaptation of the dramatic 1921 play In the Night Watch, written by Michael Morton. The film is set almost entirely on a French warship at the beginning of the First World War. Night Watch was the first of Korda's films to feature sound.
The Climax is a 1930 American thriller film directed by Renaud Hoffman and written by Lillian Ducey, Julien Josephson, Leslie Mason and Clarence Thompson. The film is adapted from the play of the same name by Edward Locke. The Climax stars Jean Hersholt, Kathryn Crawford, LeRoy Mason, John Reinhardt and Henry Armetta. The film was released on January 26, 1930, by Universal Pictures.
The Furnace is a lost 1920 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor, written by Julia Crawford Ivers based upon the 1920 novel of the same name by Leslie Beresford. It was distributed by Realart Pictures.
The Sap is a 1929 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and written by De Leon Anthony and Robert Lord. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film is based on the 1924 play The Sap by William A. Grew. The film stars Edward Everett Horton, Alan Hale Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Russell Simpson, Jerry Mandy and Edna Murphy. The film was released by Warner Bros. on November 9, 1929. This film was the last "part-talkie" produced by the studio.
Red Hot Rhythm (1929) is an American pre-Code early sound musical film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Alan Hale Sr., Kathryn Crawford, Walter O'Keefe, and Josephine Dunn.
