The House of Rothschild is a 1934 American pre-Code historical drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Arliss, Loretta Young and Boris Karloff. It was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the play by George Hembert Westley, and chronicles the rise of the Rothschild family of European bankers.
The Green Goddess is a 1930 American pre-Code film directed by Alfred E. Green. It was a remake of the 1923 silent film, which was in turn based on the play of the same name by William Archer. It was produced by Warner Bros. using their new Vitaphone sound system, and adapted by Julien Josephson.
Becky Sharp is a 1935 American Technicolor historical drama film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Miriam Hopkins who was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Other supporting cast were William Faversham, Frances Dee, Cedric Hardwicke, Billie Burke, Alison Skipworth, Nigel Bruce, and Alan Mowbray.
Merrily We Live is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Eddie Moran and Jack Jevne. It stars Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne and features Ann Dvorak, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke, Tom Brown, Alan Mowbray, Clarence Kolb, and Patsy Kelly. The film was produced by Hal Roach for Hal Roach Studios, and was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
George Arliss was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he won for his performance as Victorian-era British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929) – as well as the earliest-born actor to win the honour. He specialized in successful biopics, such as Disraeli, Voltaire (1933), and Cardinal Richelieu (1935), as well as light comedies, which included The Millionaire (1931) and A Successful Calamity (1932).
Gold Diggers of 1937 is a Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, with Glenda Farrell and Victor Moore.
On the Avenue is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, George Barbier, and The Ritz Brothers. Many of the songs were composed by Irving Berlin. Many of the plot details were used in Let's Make Love. Initially, the movie was called Out Front.
La Cucaracha is a 1934 American short musical film directed by Lloyd Corrigan. The film was designed by Robert Edmond Jones, who was hired by Pioneer Pictures to design the film in a way to show the new full-color Technicolor Process No. 4 at its best. Process No. 4 had been used since 1932, mainly in Walt Disney cartoons. Jock Whitney and his cousin C. V. Whitney, the owners of Pioneer, were also major investors in Technicolor. La Cucaracha was made like a short feature and cost about $65,000. The usual short film at that time cost little more than $15,000 to film.
Suspense is a 1913 American silent short film thriller directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. Weber also wrote the scenario and stars in the film with Valentine Paul. The film features early examples of a split screen shot and a car chase. The Internet Movie Database lists Lon Chaney as having an unconfirmed and uncredited brief role; however, this is disputed by silentera.com, which states "Despite attributions to the contrary, Lon Chaney does not appear in the film."
Gene Gerrard was an English film and stage actor, and occasional film director. He starred in light musical comedies but returned to his stage career by the 1930s.
Midshipman Easy is a 1935 British adventure film directed by Carol Reed and starring Hughie Green, Margaret Lockwood and Harry Tate. The screenplay concerns a young man who runs away from home, joins the navy and goes to sea in the 1790s. He rescues a captive woman from a Spanish ship and battles pirates and smugglers. The film was based on the novel Mr Midshipman Easy (1836) by Frederick Marryat.
Milton Rosmer was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his screen debut in The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1915) and continued to act in theatre, film and television until 1956. In 1926 he directed his first film The Woman Juror and went on to direct another 16 films between 1926 and 1938.
The Devil (1918) is a Hungarian film version of Ferenc Molnár's play, directed by Michael Curtiz. The film was remade for American audiences by James Young in 1921, starring George Arliss in his film debut.
It's a Bet is a 1935 British comedy drama film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Gene Gerrard, Helen Chandler and Judy Kelly. It was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures. The film's sets were designed by the art director David Rawnsley.
Ivan F. Simpson was a Scottish film and stage actor.
George Hayes was a British stage, television and film actor.
Ward Greene was an American writer, editor, journalist, playwright, and general manager of the comic syndicate King Features Syndicate. He is known for overseeing the works of Alex Raymond and other writers and artists at King Features Syndicate, as well as writing Raymond's Rip Kirby comic strip from 1946 until his death.
Swing It, Professor is an independently produced 1937 musical comedy directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Pinky Tomlin, Paula Stone and Milburn Stone. The musical numbers were written by Connie Lee, Al Heath and Buddy LeRoux, and was produced by Conn Productions, Inc. The film capitalised on the swing dance craze.
Maude T. Howell (1887-1964) was an American screenwriter, producer, and assistant director active primarily during the 1930s. She was one of few women to hold an assistant directing position at the time.
Rothchild is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Marco de Gastyne and starring Harry Baur, Fred Pasquali and Paul Pauley. It was remade as a 1935 British film The Guv'nor starring George Arliss.
