Login
Login

1931 in film#1931 film releases

{{Short description|none}}

{{Year nav topic5|1931|film|television|radio|music}}

{{Yearsinfilm}}

The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; margin:auto;"

|+ Highest-grossing films of 1931

RankTitleDistributorDomestic rentals
style="text-align:center;"| 1

|City Lights

| United Artists

| $2,000,000{{cite book |last1=Block |first1=Alex Ben |last2=Wilson |first2=Lucy Autry |title=George Lucas's blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success |url=https://archive.org/details/georgelucassbloc00alex/page/160/mode/2up?q=City+Lights |url-access=registration |date=March 30, 2010 |pages=160–161 |publisher=It Books |isbn=978-0-0619-6345-2}}

style="text-align:center;"| 2

|Trader Horn

| MGM

| $1,642,000{{Citation|title=The Eddie Mannix Ledger|publisher=Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study|place=Los Angeles, California}}.

style="text-align:center;"| 3

|Palmy Days

| United Artists

| $1,601,000{{cite news |author=Jones, Lon|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11816878 |title=Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?. |newspaper= The Argus |location=Melbourne |date=March 4, 1944 |access-date=August 6, 2012 |page=3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine |via=National Library of Australia}}

style="text-align:center;"| 4

|The Man Who Came Back

|rowspan="2"|Fox Film

| $1,400,000{{sfn|Finler|2003|pp=356-357}}

style="text-align:center;"| 5

| Merely Mary Ann

| $1,300,000{{sfn|Finler|2003|pp=356-357}}

style="text-align:center;"| 6

|Arrowsmith
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

| United Artists
Paramount

| $1,250,000{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32824883 |title=Film World |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=October 19, 1934 |accessdate=April 19, 2014 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

style="text-align:center;"| 7

|A Connecticut Yankee

| Fox Film

| $1,200,000[https://archive.org/stream/international193738quig#page/942/mode/2up/search/%22box+office%22 Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938) (pg. 942)]; accessed April 19, 2014

style="text-align:center;"| 8

|Cimarron

| RKO

| $1,122,000Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56

style="text-align:center;"| 9

|Bad Girl

| Fox Film

| $1,100,000{{sfn|Finler|2003|pp=356-357}}

style="text-align:center;"| 10

|Possessed

| MGM

| $1,030,000

Events

  • January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million.{{cite news|work=Variety|title=Att'y Gen Scans R-K-O-Pathe Deal on Plea of Defeated Insurgents|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety101-1931-01#page/n2/mode/1up|page=3|date=January 7, 1931|access-date=May 8, 2018}}
  • March 14: Alam Ara, the first Indian-made sound film, premieres at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay.
  • June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, Ships of Hate.{{AFI film|id=5676|title=Ships of Hate}}
  • July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada.{{cite book|work=The Film Daily Yearbook 1932|title=Ten Leading Events in the News of Motion Pictures During the Year 1931|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmdailyyearboo00film_2#page/9/mode/1up|page=9|access-date=May 8, 2018}}
  • November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke.
  • December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved.

Best money stars

Variety reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking.{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety105-1932-01#page/n0/mode/1up|title=Six Best Money Stars|date=January 5, 1932|work=Variety|page=1}}

class="wikitable"
Actor
George Arliss

Ronald Colman

Wallace Beery
Maurice Chevalier
Clark Gable
Edward G. Robinson
Will Rogers

The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked the same.

class="wikitable"
Actress
Constance Bennett
Joan Crawford
Marlene Dietrich
Greta Garbo

Marie Dressler

Janet Gaynor
Norma Shearer

Academy Awards

{{Main|4th Academy Awards}}

{{Main|5th Academy Awards}}

The 4th Academy Awards were awarded to films completed and screened released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Most Nominations: Cimarron (RKO Pictures) – 7

Major Awards

Most Awards: Cimarron – 3 (Best Picture; Best Adaptation and Best Art Direction)

Cimarron was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only one to do so for 59 years (until Dances with Wolves won in 1991). It received a then-record seven nominations, and was the first film to win more than two awards.

The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932,{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/5th.html |title=The 5th Academy Awards – 1933 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904093854/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/5th.html |archive-date=2012-09-04 }} at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Conrad Nagel. Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards.

Most nominations: Arrowsmith (Samuel Goldwyn Productions) and The Champ (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) – 4

Major Awards

Most Awards: Bad Girl (Best Director and Best Adaptation) and The Champ (Best Actor and Best Original Story) – 2

Note: The Academy Award for Best Picture went to 1932's Grand Hotel.

1931 film releases

=January–March=

=April–June=

=July–September=

=October–December=

Notable films released in 1931

United States unless stated

=0-9=

=A=

=B=

=C=

=D=

=E=

=F=

=G=

=H=

=I=

=J=

=K=

=L=

=M=

=N=

=O=

=P=

=Q=

=R=

=S=

=T=

=W=

Serials

Short film series

Animated short film series

Births

Deaths

Film debuts

{{column list|

}}

References

;Citations

{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography

{{Refbegin}}

  • {{Cite book

|last1=Block

|first1=Alex Ben

|last2=Wilson

|first2=Lucy Autrey

|title=George Lucas's blockbusting: a decade-by-decade survey of timeless movies, including untold secrets of their financial and cultural success

|location=New York, New York

|publisher=ItBooks

|year=2010

}}

  • {{Cite book

|last=Finler

|first=Joel Waldo

|title=The Hollywood Story

|publisher=Wallflower Press

|year=2003

|isbn=978-1-903364-66-6

}}

{{Refend}}

External links

  • [https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature,short&release_date=1931-01-01,1931-12-31&adult=include&sort=num_votes,desc List of 1931 films] at IMDb
  • [https://www.imdb.com/search/name/?death_date=1931-01-01,1931-12-31&adult=include List of 1931 deaths] at IMDb
  • [https://www.imdb.com/search/name/?birth_date=1931-01-01,1931-12-31&adult=include List of 1931 births] at IMDb

{{1931 films}}

Category:Film by year