The following is an overview of 1933 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
Walter Leland Catlett was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards.
The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a 1933 American pre-Code drama war film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, and featuring Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Grace Zaring Stone, the film is about an American missionary in Shanghai during the Chinese Civil War who gets caught in a battle while trying to save a group of orphans. Knocked unconscious, she is saved by a Chinese general warlord who brings her to his palace. When the general falls in love with the naive young woman, she fights her attraction to the powerful general and resists his flirtation, yet remains at his side when his fortune turns.
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid-1950s, known as "the male Greta Garbo". Between 1916 and 1963 he appeared in over seventy feature films, sixteen of which were produced in the silent era. He is mainly remembered today for two silent films – The Single Standard and Wild Orchids – he made with fellow Swede Greta Garbo, and his portrayal of the title character in the controversial pre-Code Frank Capra film The Bitter Tea of General Yen.
Phillips Raymond Holmes was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
The Luckiest Girl in the World is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and written by Herbert Fields and Henry Myers. The film stars Jane Wyatt, Louis Hayward, Nat Pendleton, Eugene Pallette, Catherine Doucet and Phillip Reed. The film was released on October 1, 1936, by Universal Pictures.
Great Expectations is a 1934 adaptation of the 1861 Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Filmed with mostly American actors, it was the first sound version of the novel and was produced in Hollywood by Universal Studios and directed by Stuart Walker. It stars Phillips Holmes as Pip, Jane Wyatt as Estella and Florence Reed as Miss Havisham.
Caravan is a 1934 American musical film released by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Erik Charell, and starring Charles Boyer, Loretta Young, Phillips Holmes and Jean Parker. Fox also produced a French language version of this film, Caravane (1934) starring Boyer, Annabella, and Conchita Montenegro, with Lou Tellegen in a small role.
The Forest Rangers is a 1942 American adventure film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Marshall, written by Harold Shumate based on a story by Thelma Strabel, and starring Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, and Susan Hayward. The film was notable for introducing the song "Jingle Jangle Jingle" which became a huge hit for Kay Kyser.
In the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.
Pointed Heels is a 1929 American pre-Code early sound musical comedy film from Paramount Pictures that was directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring William Powell, Helen Kane, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, and Fay Wray. This film was originally filmed in color sequences by Technicolor, but today those color sequences only survive in black-and-white. One of these color sequences was the "Pointed Heels" ballet with Albertina Rasch and her Dancers.
Flying Blind is a 1941 American action comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was the second movie from Pine-Thomas Productions. That company's first three films formed an unofficial "aviation trilogy"; all starred Richard Arlen.
Feketeszárú cseresznye is a Hungarian play by Sándor Hunyady. It was first produced in 1930. The 1933 movie by Richard Boleslawski with the title Storm at Daybreak is based on this story. The main roles are played by Kay Francis and Nils Asther.
Living on Velvet is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Kay Francis, Warren William and George Brent.
Night Court is a 1932 American pre-Code crime film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and written by Bayard Veiller and Lenore Coffee. The film stars Phillips Holmes, Walter Huston, Anita Page, Lewis Stone and Mary Carlisle. The film was released June 4, 1932, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Washington Masquerade is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Charles Brabin and written by John Meehan and Samuel Blythe. The film stars Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley, Nils Asther and Reginald Barlow. The film was released on July 9, 1932, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on 1906 French play by Henri Bernstein. A New York World review drew comparisons with American Madness released by Columbia Pictures the same year.
His Private Life is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by Ethel Doherty, George Marion Jr., Keene Thompson, and Ernest Vajda. The film stars Adolphe Menjou, Kathryn Carver, Margaret Livingston, Eugene Pallette, André Cheron, and Sybil Grove.
The Benson Murder Case is a 1930 American pre-Code crime film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by S. S. Van Dine and Bartlett Cormack. The film stars William Powell, William "Stage" Boyd, Eugene Pallette, Paul Lukas, Natalie Moorhead, Richard Tucker and May Beatty. The film was released on April 13, 1930, by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by S. S. Van Dine. The film had initial copyright notice, and it was renewed in 1957. Under the terms of Title 17 of the U.S. Code, the film will enter the public domain in 2026.
The Man Who Lost Himself is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Brian Aherne, Kay Francis and Nils Asther. Aherne plays a man who encounters his exact double and is later mistaken for the other man who is now dead. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The novel was also previously adapted to film in 1920. The new version shifts the setting from London of the original to New York, although it features several British actors.
Sandy Is a Lady is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and written by Charles Grayson. The film stars Baby Sandy, Billy Lenhart, Kenneth Brown, Eugene Pallette, Nan Grey, Tom Brown, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert and Edgar Kennedy. The film was released on May 21, 1940, by Universal Pictures.
