The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition. Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).
Marked Woman is a 1937 American dramatic crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and Allen Jenkins. Set in the underworld of Manhattan, Marked Woman tells the story of a woman who dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.
Mayo Jane Methot was an American film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 films, as well as in various Broadway productions, and attracted significant media attention for her tempestuous marriage to actor Humphrey Bogart.
Sex is a 1926 play written by and starring Mae West, who used the pen name "Jane Mast". Staged on Broadway, the play received bad reviews, but was a commercial success. It was eventually shut down by the New York City Police Department due to obscenity, and West was sentenced to 10 days in jail because of it.
Hands Across the Table is a 1935 American romantic screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Carole Lombard as a manicurist looking for a rich husband and Fred MacMurray as a poor playboy, with Ralph Bellamy as a wealthy ex-pilot in a wheelchair. The teaming of Lombard and MacMurray was so well received, they went on to make three more films together, The Princess Comes Across (1936), Swing High, Swing Low (1937), and True Confession (1937).
Angel is a 1984 American exploitation thriller film directed by Robert Vincent O'Neil, written by O'Neil and Joseph Michael Cala, and starring Donna Wilkes, Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, and Rory Calhoun. Its plot follows a teenage prostitute in Los Angeles who faces danger when a serial killer begins stalking and murdering young prostitutes.
Shirley Grey was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935.
Now and Forever is a 1934 American drama film directed by Henry Hathaway. The screenplay by Vincent Lawrence and Sylvia Thalberg was based on the story "Honor Bright" by Jack Kirkland and Melville Baker. The film stars Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple in a story about a small-time swindler going straight for his child's sake. Temple sang "The World Owes Me a Living," introducing the future standard. The film was critically well received. Temple adored Cooper, who nicknamed her 'Wigglebritches'. This is the only film in which Lombard and Temple appeared together.
The Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a man who returns to his hometown in a Georgia and attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition, with the help of his childhood friend, played by Beyoncé Knowles.
No More Orchids is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy-drama film starring Carole Lombard and Lyle Talbot as mismatched lovers, based on the novel of the same name by Grace Perkins.
Man of the World is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by Richard Wallace and starring William Powell, Carole Lombard, and Wynne Gibson.
The Admiral Was a Lady is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Edmond O'Brien, Rudy Vallée and Wanda Hendrix. It was an independent production distributed by United Artists. The working title of the film was Once Over Lightly, taken from one of the film's songs.
Lady by Choice is a 1934 American romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequences. Promoted as a follow-up to Frank Capra's 1933 hit Lady for a Day (1933), it resembles the earlier film only in the casting of Robson.
Hollywood Without Make-Up is a 1963 American film produced by Ken Murray and directed by Rudy Behlmer, Loring d'Usseau and Ken Murray (uncredited).
Sinners in the Sun is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Alexander Hall, and starring Carole Lombard, Chester Morris, Adrienne Ames, and Alison Skipworth. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Case Against Mrs. Ames is a 1936 American mystery drama film written by C. Graham Baker and Gene Towne based on a serial of the same name by Arthur Somers Roche originally published in Collier's Weekly magazine in 1934, and then as a novel in 1936. The film was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Madeleine Carroll and George Brent, and features Arthur Treacher, Alan Baxter, Beulah Bondi and Alan Mowbray. Paramount had originally intended to cast Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard in the lead roles.
The Flying Fool is a 1929 aviation-themed film produced and distributed by Pathé Exchange as both a silent film and sound film just as Hollywood was transitioning to filming with sound. Tay Garnett directed and William Boyd, Russell Gleason and Marie Prevost starred.
Dick Turpin is a 1925 American silent historical adventure film directed by John G. Blystone produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring western hero Tom Mix. Mix departs from his usual western roles to play a British historical figure, the highwayman Dick Turpin (1705–1739). A young Carole Lombard was filmed in several scenes which mostly ended up on the cutting room floor.
