The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez, known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer, and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
The Mummy's Hand is a 1940 American horror film directed by Christy Cabanne and produced by Ben Pivar for Universal Studios. Shot in black-and-white, the film is about the ancient Egyptian mummy of Kharis, who is kept alive with a brew of tana leaves by The High Priest and his successor Andoheb. Meanwhile, archeologists Steve Banning and Babe Jenson persuade magician Solvani to finance an expedition in search of the tomb of Princess Ananka. They are joined by Solvani's daughter Marta, and followed by Andoheb who is also the professor of Egyptology at the Cairo Museum. Kharis is ordered to kill off expedition members Dr. Petrie and Ali, while Andoheb becomes attracted to Marta who he plans to kidnap and make immortal.
Palooka is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Stuart Erwin in the title role, Lupe Velez and Jimmy Durante, and based on the comic strip by Ham Fisher. The film was adapted by Jack Jevne, Arthur Kober, Gertrude Purcell, Murray Roth and Ben Ryan from the comic strip. The film is also known as The Great Schnozzle in the United Kingdom.
Wolf Song is a 1929 American sound part-talkie Western romance film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Gary Cooper and Lupe Vélez. While the film has a few sequences with dialog, the majority of the film featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
Hollywood Party, also known under its working title of The Hollywood Revue of 1933 and Star Spangled Banquet, is a 1934 American pre-Code musical film starring Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Jimmy Durante, Lupe Vélez and Mickey Mouse. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Each sequence featured a different star with a separate scriptwriter and director assigned.
Hollywood on Parade (1932–1934) is a series of short subjects released by Paramount Pictures.
Lady of the Pavements is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lupe Vélez, William Boyd, and Jetta Goudal. The screenplay was written by Sam Taylor, with contributions from an uncredited Gerrit Lloyd. While the film has a few talking sequences, the majority of the film features a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
The Menace is a 1932 American pre-Code American crime drama film directed by Roy William Neill. The screenplay by Roy Chanslor, Dorothy Howell, and Charles Logue is based on the 1927 novel The Feathered Serpent by Edgar Wallace.
The Morals of Marcus is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Miles Mander and starring Lupe Vélez, Ian Hunter and Adrianne Allen. The screenplay concerns an archaeologist who finds a woman hiding in his luggage who has escaped from a harem and they eventually fall in love and marry. The Morals of Marcus was previously filmed twice as silents in 1915 and in 1921.
The Mind of Mr. Reeder is a 1939 British mystery crime film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Will Fyffe as Mr. Reeder, with Kay Walsh, George Curzon, and supporting roles for Chili Bouchier, John Warwick and Ronald Shiner.
High Flyers is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Cline and starring the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey in their final film together. Robert Woolsey died less than a year after the film was released. The supporting cast includes Lupe Vélez, Margaret Dumont, Marjorie Lord, Paul Harvey and Jack Carson. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures.
This is a complete filmography of Mexican film actress Lupe Vélez. Vélez began her career in 1927, when she abandoned her native Mexico to start a career as an exotic beauty in the 1920s Hollywood. Vélez began her career in Mexico as a dancer, before moving to the U.S., where she worked in vaudeville. She was seen by Fanny Brice, who promoted her, and Vélez soon entered films, making her first appearance in 1927. Vélez's first feature-length film was The Gaucho (1927), starring Douglas Fairbanks. By the end of the decade, she had progressed to leading roles. With the advent of talking pictures, Vélez acted in comedies. She worked with directors like D. W. Griffith, Victor Fleming, William Wyler, and Cecil B. DeMille, among others, and with stars like Gary Cooper, Warner Baxter, Jimmy Durante, Oliver Hardy, and Stan Laurel, among others.. But she became disappointed with her film career, and moved to New York, where she worked in Broadway productions. Returning to Hollywood in 1939, she made a series of comedies named Mexican Spitfire. The Spitfire films rejuvenated Vélez's career. She also made some films in Mexico. Vélez was one of the first Mexican actresses to succeed in Hollywood. The others are Dolores del Río, Katy Jurado, and, in more recent years, Salma Hayek.
Tiger Rose is a 1929 American Pre-Code early sound adventure film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Fitzmaurice and is based on a 1917 play, Tiger Rose, by Willard Mack. This film is a remake of the 1923 film Tiger Rose Warner Bros. silent that starred Lenore Ulric, who also starred on Broadway in Mack's play. Among the cast members in this film are Monte Blue, Lupe Vélez and Rin Tin Tin.
The River of Stars is a 1921 British silent adventure film directed by Floyd Martin Thornton and starring Teddy Arundell, Harry Agar Lyons and Faith Bevan. It was based on the 1913 novel The River of Stars by Edgar Wallace featuring Commissioner Sanders.
Gypsy Melody is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Lupe Vélez, Alfred Rode and Jerry Verno. It was made at Elstree Studios. The sets were designed by art director John Mead.
The Broken Wing is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Lloyd Corrigan and written by Grover Jones and William Slavens McNutt, adapted from the play of the same name by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. The film stars Lupe Vélez, Leo Carrillo, Melvyn Douglas, George Barbier, Willard Robertson, Claire Dodd and Arthur Stone. The Broken Wing was released on March 21, 1932, by Paramount Pictures.
Honolulu Lu is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Charles Barton and written by Eliot Gibbons. The film stars Lupe Vélez, Bruce Bennett, Leo Carrillo, Marjorie Gateson, Don Beddoe and Forrest Tucker. The film was released December 11, 1941, by Columbia Pictures.
Mexican Spitfire refers to a series of eight comedy films released by RKO Pictures between 1940 and 1943 starring Lupe Vélez and Leon Errol. The movies featured the character of Carmelita Fuentes, a sympathetic but temperamental Mexican singer who leaves her career and native country to meet and marry Dennis Lindsay, an elegant and handsome American advertising executive.
I Killed the Count is a 1939 British mystery film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring Ben Lyon, Syd Walker, Terence de Marney. It was shot at Highbury Studios.
