1931 in film - Definition and Overview

Events

Top grossing films

1. Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff
2. Ingagi, starring Sir Hubert Winstead
3. Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore

Academy Awards

• Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM
• Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul
• Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ
• Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Best Actress: Marie Dressler - Min and Bill
• Best Actress: Helen Hayes - The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years. And there were two awards given in 1932 for 'Best Actor'. That's how there are 3 'Best Actor', 2 'Best Actress' awards for 1931 films.

Movies released

Movies released in 1931 include:

• The Champ, starring Wallace Beery
• Cimarron, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne
• City Lights, starring Charlie Chaplin
• Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Fredric March
• Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff
• A Free Soul, starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable
• Ingagi, starring Sir Hubert Winstead
• Indiscreet, starring Gloria Swanson
• Little Caesar, starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
• M, starring Peter Lorre
• Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore
• Min and Bill - starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Director: George W. Hill.
• Monkey Business, starring Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx
• Pardon Us, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
• Platinum Blonde, starring Loretta Young, Robert Williams and Jean Harlow
• Possessed, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
• The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell
• The Sin of Madelon Claudet, starring Helen Hayes
• Smart Money, starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney
• The Smiling Lieutenant, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert
• Tabu, directed by F.W. Murnau
• This Modern Age, starring Joan Crawford
• Waterloo Bridge, directed by James Whale

Births

• January 5 - Robert Duvall, actor and director
• January 14 - Caterina Valente, singer, actress
• January 17 - James Earl Jones, actor
• January 19 - Tippi Hedren, actress
• February 6 - Mamie Van Doren
• March 22 - William Shatner, actor
• July 1 - Leslie Caron, French actress
• Sylvia Lopez, European actress (d. 1959)

Deaths