The following is an overview of 1936 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Clarence Linden Crabbe II, known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on the silver screen and later television. He starred in a variety of popular feature films and movie serials released between 1933 and the 1950s, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.
Edward Gildea De Corsia was an American radio, film, and television actor, best remembered for his roles as the ex-wrestler murderer Willie Garzah in the film The Naked City (1948) and as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).
The Buccaneer is a 1958 pirate-war film made by Paramount Pictures starring Yul Brynner as Jean Lafitte, Charles Boyer and Claire Bloom. Charlton Heston played a supporting role as Andrew Jackson, the second time that Heston played Jackson, having portrayed him earlier in the 1953 film The President's Lady. The film was shot in Technicolor and VistaVision, the story takes place during the War of 1812, telling a heavily fictionalized version of how the privateer Lafitte helped in the Battle of New Orleans and how he had to choose between fighting for America or for the side most likely to win, the United Kingdom.
Walter Reed was an American stage, film and television actor.
Mackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that was broadcast in syndication and produced in 1958–1959. The series is narrated by Art Gilmore, and was produced by Ziv Television Programs.
Baby Face Nelson is a 1957 American film noir crime film based on the real-life 1930s gangster, directed by Don Siegel, co-written by Daniel Mainwaring—who also wrote the screenplay for Siegel's 1956 sci-fi thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers—and starring Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon as Dillinger, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam, John Hoyt and Elisha Cook Jr.
Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in more than one hundred American films, usually playing villains and gangsters, including the first season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Captain Juan Ortega.
The Californians is a half-hour American Western television series, set during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, which was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959, for 69 episodes.
Enchanted Island is a 1958 American Technicolor adventure film distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Allan Dwan, produced by Benedict Bogeaus, and written by Harold Jacob Smith, James Leicester, and Al Stillman. It is based on Herman Melville's novel Typee, which was also the film's working title. The title song, "Enchanted Island", written by Stillman and Robert Allen, was performed on the soundtrack by The Four Lads, who had a hit recording of the song on Columbia Records.
Code 3 is an American crime drama that aired in syndication in 1956 and 1957. The stories were all based on actual files of the Los Angeles sheriff's office.
Illegal Traffic is a 1938 American crime film directed by Louis King and written by Robert Yost, Lewis R. Foster and Stuart Anthony. The film stars J. Carrol Naish, Mary Carlisle, Robert Preston, Judith Barrett, Pierre Watkin, Buster Crabbe and George McKay. The film was released on November 4, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Tip-Off Girls is a 1938 American crime film directed by Louis King, written by Maxwell Shane, Robert Yost and Stuart Anthony, and starring Mary Carlisle, Lloyd Nolan, Roscoe Karns, Buster Crabbe, J. Carrol Naish, Evelyn Brent and Anthony Quinn. It was released on April 1, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Hunted Men is a 1938 American drama film directed by Louis King and written by William R. Lipman and Horace McCoy. The film stars Lloyd Nolan, Mary Carlisle, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish, Delmar Watson and Buster Crabbe. The film was released on May 27, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Arizona Mahoney is a 1936 American Western film directed by James P. Hogan and written by Stuart Anthony and Robert Yost. The film stars Joe Cook, Robert Cummings, June Martel, Buster Crabbe, Marjorie Gateson and John Miljan. It is based on the short story "Stairs of Sand" by Zane Grey. The film was released on December 4, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.
The Colorado Kid is a 1937 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Charles F. Royal. The film stars Bob Steele, Marion Weldon, Karl Hackett, Ernie Adams, Ted Adams and Frank LaRue. The film was released on December 6, 1937, by Republic Pictures.
Desert Pursuit is a 1952 American Western film directed by George Blair and starring Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey and George Tobias. The film is based on the story "Horse Thieves' Hosanna" by Kenneth Perkins, originally published in the December 1948 issue of Blue Book. IMDb and other sources credit the screenplay to a novel called "Starlight Canyon." However, Perkins never published a novel under that title. Among his papers at the Bancroft Library is a typescript story titled "Starlight Canyon" with a handwritten note identifying the title under which it was published.
Border Badmen is a 1945 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Milton Raison. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Lorraine Miller, Charles King, Ray Bennett and Arch Hall Sr. The film was released on October 10, 1945, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Milton Raison and George Wallace Sayre. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien, John Merton, Milton Kibbee and Ted Adams. The film was released on May 1, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Law and Order is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Sam Robins. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien, Sarah Padden, Wanda McKay and Charles King. The film was released on August 21, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
