1923-1939 Jazz, Blues, Spirituals and Black music and dance performances in films
by enriquemadera | created - 08 Aug 2019 | updated - 6 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake Sing Snappy Songs (1923)
3 min | Documentary, Short, Music
In a rare filmed record, the famed songwriters and vaudevillians perform. One of De Forest's earliest experimental sound films.
Directors: J. Searle Dawley, Lee De Forest | Stars: Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake
Votes: 77
parts of 2 songs
2. Eubie Blake Plays His Fantasy on Swanee River (1923)
Short, Music
Blake plays the neoclassical piece on the piano. The highest notes failed to record in this seminal experiment with synchronized sound.
Star: Eubie Blake
Votes: 17
3. The Jubilee Four (1924)
Short
African-American gospel group The Jubilee Four perform in a short film produced in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.
Director: Lee De Forest | Star: The Jubilee Four
4. Sunrise (1927)
Passed | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Bodil Rosing
Votes: 53,867 | Gross: $0.54M
Fletcher Henderson: part of 1 song
5. Black and Tan (1929)
Not Rated | 19 min | Short, Drama, Music
Duke Ellington in a jazz musical short with a tragic plotline.
Director: Dudley Murphy | Stars: Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Fredi Washington, Hall Johnson Choir
Votes: 595
Duke Ellington: all or part of 5 songs
6. St. Louis Blues (1929)
Not Rated | 16 min | Short, Drama, Music
In her only known film appearance, legendary blues singer Bessie Smith witnesses her lover's betrayal, then sings a powerful rendition of the title song.
Director: Dudley Murphy | Stars: Bessie Smith, Jimmy Mordecai, Isabel Washington, Hall Johnson Choir
Votes: 471
Bessie Smith
7. Show Boat (1929)
Passed | 147 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A mostly silent version of Edna Ferber's original novel, with some songs from the musical as a last-minute addition
Directors: Harry A. Pollard, Arch Heath | Stars: Laura La Plante, Joseph Schildkraut, Emily Fitzroy, Otis Harlan
Votes: 316
Jules Bledsoe: 2 songs; Dixie Jubilee Singers: all or part of 4 songs
8. Jailhouse Blues (1929)
7 min | Short, Musical
Director: Basil Smith | Stars: Mamie Smith, J. Homer Tutt, Peter Grainger, Billy Mitchell
Mamie Smith: all or part of 2 songs
9. Hallelujah (1929)
Passed | 109 min | Drama, Musical
A sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray
Votes: 2,000
Nina Mae McKinney: 3 songs
Jules Bledsoe: 2 songs
11. Manhattan Serenade (1929)
20 min | Short, Musical
Director: Sammy Lee | Stars: Raymond Hackett, Mary Doran, Brox Sisters, Nina Mae McKinney
Votes: 11
Nina Mae McKinney: 1 song
12. On with the Show! (1929)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A musical advertised as the first 100% natural color, all-singing production. The plot concerns a wide-eyed former hatcheck girl who takes the place of a rebellious star.
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Arthur Lake, Betty Compson, Joe E. Brown, Sally O'Neil
Votes: 376
Ethel Waters: 2 songs
13. Music Hath Harms (1929)
Passed | 21 min | Comedy, Short, Music
In Harlem, Bud Peagler's "Barbecue Lunch and Poolroom" (the home of Brunswick Stew), also serves as the meeting place and hangout for many citizens and organizations such as 'The Sons and ... See full summary »
Director: Walter Graham | Stars: Spencer Williams, Roberta Hyson, Harry Tracy, Nathan Curry
Votes: 20
14. Harlem-Mania (1929)
8 min | Short, Music
Opens with a man singing. He is followed by a couple of tap dancers and a comic drummer who is also unique. The person playing the keyboards may not ever be outperformed.
Director: Murray Roth | Stars: The Norman Thomas Quintette, Stanley Brown, Alphonse Kennedy, Norman Thomas
Votes: 23
Norman Thomas Quintette: all or part of 3 songs
15. Fowl Play (1929)
Passed | 23 min | Short, Comedy
In this two-reel short, adapted and adjusted from Hugh Wiley's "Wildcat", the comedy team of Buck (Ford Washington Lee) and Bubbles (John W. Bubbles), simple in their methods and refreshing... See full summary »
Director: Carl Harbaugh | Stars: Ford Washington Lee, John W. Bubbles, Spencer Williams
16. After Seben (1929)
15 min | Short, Musical
Director: S. Jay Kaufman | Stars: James Barton, Elaine Arden, Mattie Purnell, George Snowden
Chick Webb
17. On the Levee (1929)
8 min | Short, Musical
Director: Basil Smith | Stars: Jules Bledsoe, Ike Paul, Ismay Blakely
Jules Bledsoe: all or part of 3 songs
18. Low Down - A Bird's Eye View of Harlem (1929)
Short, Musical
Director: Murray Roth | Stars: The Washboard Serenaders, Mary Barnes, Billie Griffin, Jimmy Johnston
Washboard Serenaders
19. Cora Green, the Famous Creole Singer (1929)
Short, Musical
Director: Murray Roth | Star: Cora Green
20. Red Nichols and His Five Pennies (1929)
Short, Music
Musical performance from the Roaring Twenties by this hot jazz combo, featuring Dixieland jazz, a singer and trumpet trio.
Director: Murray Roth | Stars: Red Nichols, Eddie Condon, The Five Pennies, Egon Petri
Votes: 24
all or part of 5 songs
21. Brown Gravy (1929)
18 min | Short, Musical
Director: William Watson | Stars: Sam McDaniel, Georgia Jubilee Singers, Evelyn Preer, Edward Thompson
Georgia Jubilee Singers
22. Ben Pollack and His Park Central Orchestra (1929)
8 min | Short, Musical
Director: Bryan Foy | Stars: Ben Pollack, Ray Bauduc, Al Beller, Larry Binyon
Jack Teagarden (with Ben Pollack): part of 4 songs
23. Check and Double Check (1930)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy
Typical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party.... See full summary »
Director: Melville W. Brown | Stars: Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich
Votes: 434
Duke Ellington: all or part of 3 songs
24. Murder for Sale (1930)
102 min | Comedy, Musical
The young wife of a rich old husband is prevented of a fling by a gentleman-burglar, who falls in love to her.
Director: Hanns Schwarz | Stars: Ralph Arthur Roberts, Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Heinz Rühmann
Votes: 109
Sidney Bechet
25. Swing High (1930)
Passed | 95 min | Drama, Musical
To avoid hostilities, Maryan, the ward of Doc May, a medicine show owner, induces Pop Garner, a circus owner, to join forces with her guardian. Doc May and Daphne, his wife, work as clowns;... See full summary »
Director: Joseph Santley | Stars: Helen Twelvetrees, Fred Scott, Dorothy Burgess, John Sheehan
Votes: 64
Clarence Muse: 1 song
26. Dixiana (1930)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In antebellum New Orleans, two men vie for the affections of a beautiful young girl during Mardi Gras.
Director: Luther Reed | Stars: Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey
Votes: 425
Bill Robinson: part of 1 song
27. They Learned About Women (1930)
Passed | 95 min | Musical, Drama
When Jack and Jerry are not playing professional baseball with the Blue Sox, they are packing them in on the Vaudeville circuit. Jack is engaged to Mary, but a gold digger named Daisy has ... See full summary »
Directors: Jack Conway, Sam Wood | Stars: Gus Van, Joe Schenck, Bessie Love, Mary Doran
Votes: 266
Nina Mae McKinney: part of 1 song
28. Buddy Traps in 'Sound Effects' (1930)
Short, Musical
Juvenile drummer, Buddy Traps [sic], later known as Buddy Rich, taps out harmony out of a wide assortment of objects, from drums to bottles, can, chairs, and whatnot.
Director: Murray Roth | Star: Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
29. Czar of Broadway (1930)
79 min | Crime, Drama
A reporter is assigned to do a story on a notorious racketeer.
Director: William James Craft | Stars: John Wray, Betty Compson, John Harron, Claud Allister
Votes: 25
Mildred Bailey: ghost singer on 1 song
30. Dear Old Southland (1930)
4 min | Short, Music
A rare early forerunner of the music video, in which bass-baritone Jules Bledsoe is seen singing "Dear Old Southland", a song with new lyrics, but melody adapted from the famous spiritual "Deep River".
Star: Jules Bledsoe
Jules Bledsoe: 1 song
31. Yamekraw (1930)
10 min | Short, Musical
In a wordless story with semi-surreal stage sets, a poor black man ventures from his ramshackle rural home to the big city, where a dancing girl in a dive two-times him. He returns to his home and wife's arms.
Director: Murray Roth | Stars: Louise Cook, Hugo Mariani, Jimmy Mordecai, Margaret Simms
Votes: 85
Louise Cook dancer
32. Hellbound Train (1930)
50 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
If you listen to jazz, you will go to Hell, where the scorching fires of torment are mighty and endless.
Directors: Eloyce Gist, James Gist
Votes: 292
silent film with plot about Jazz putting you on the track to hell
33. Georgia Rose (1930)
Musical
Director: Harry A. Gant | Stars: Clarence Brooks, Irene Wilson, Evelyn Preer, Roberta Hyson
34. Deep South (1930)
10 min | Short, Comedy, Musical
A father and daughter are leaving their southern plantation. This makes them sad, so they sing nostalgic songs.
Stars: Willie Best, Daisy Bufford, Clarence Muse, Hall Johnson Choir
Votes: 16
35. Dirigible (1931)
Passed | 100 min | Adventure
Jack Bradon is tasked to reach the South Pole with a dirigible.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Ralph Graves, Hobart Bosworth
Votes: 704
Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
36. Safe in Hell (1931)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a New Orleans woman flees to a Caribbean island. While she awaits her fiancé, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, John Wray
Votes: 2,041
Nina Mae McKinney: part of 1 song
37. The Exile (1931)
93 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A young man named Jean in post-World War I Chicago falls in love with a beautiful girl named Edith. He proposes to her, but realizes that she's involved in the rackets and won't leave them,... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Eunice Brooks, Stanley Morrell, Celeste Cole, Kathleen Noisette
Votes: 190
First All-Black Talkie: Don Heywood Band with Leonard Harper & Chorines; Celeste Cole singer; Louise Cook & Roland Holder dancers
38. Heaven on Earth (1931)
Passed | 77 min | Drama
A young boy finds out that the man he thought was his father actually killed his real father, then adopted him.
Directors: Russell Mack, Bert Glennon | Stars: Lew Ayres, Anita Louise, Harry Beresford, Slim Summerville
Votes: 34
Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
39. The Darktown Revue (1931)
18 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Musical numbers and comedy routines.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Celeste Cole, Amon Davis, Donald Heywood, Sara Martin
Votes: 107
Don Heywood Choir with Celese Cole singer
40. Pardon Us (1931)
Approved | 56 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.
Director: James Parrott | Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Wilfred Lucas
Votes: 2,820
41. Minnie the Moocher (1932)
Passed | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Betty Boop and Bimbo run away from home, but that night they are scared by a chorus of ghosts singing the title song.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Cab Calloway, Billy Murray, William Pennell
Votes: 1,724
Cab Calloway: all or part of 3 songs
42. Smash Your Baggage (1932)
10 min | Short, Musical
A group of redcaps in a train station perform musical numbers to raise money for a sick member of their group.
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Small's Paradise Entertainers, Wayman Carver, Sidney Catlett, Leonard Davis
Votes: 160
Small's Paradise Entertainerd: all or part of 5 songs
43. Harlem Is Heaven (1932)
69 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
The director and star of a Harlem theater troupe puts his feelings aside to help unite two lovers.
Director: Irwin Franklyn | Stars: Bill Robinson, Eubie Blake, John 'Spider Bruce' Mason, Putney Dandridge
Votes: 52
Bill Robinson, Eubie Blake
44. The Black King (1932)
72 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
An unscrupulous minister starts a 'back to Africa' movement.
Director: Bud Pollard | Stars: A.B. DeComathiere, Vivianne Baber, Knolly Mitchell, Dan Michaels
Votes: 64
all or part of 2 songs
45. Big City Blues (1932)
Passed | 63 min | Comedy, Drama
Young man from small town moves to New York City looking for better life.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Jobyna Howland, Ned Sparks
Votes: 887
Clarence Muse: all or part of 2 songs
46. I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You (1932)
7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Betty Boop and friends meet Louis Armstrong on a jungle safari.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: Louis Armstrong, Ann Little, Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, Billy Murray
Votes: 381
Louis Armstrong: all or part of 3 songs
47. If I Had a Million (1932)
Passed | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
A dying tycoon gives million-dollar windfalls to eight people picked from the city directory.
Directors: James Cruze, H. Bruce Humberstone, Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Z. McLeod, Stephen Roberts, William A. Seiter, Norman Taurog, Lothar Mendes | Stars: Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, George Raft
Votes: 2,302
Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
48. I Ain't Got Nobody (1932)
9 min | Animation, Short, Music
The Mills Brothers perform two songs with the Bouncing Ball.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: The Mills Brothers, Donald Mills, Harry Mills, Herbert Mills
Votes: 76
Mills Brothers: all or part of 2 songs
49. The Big Broadcast (1932)
Passed | 88 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A radio-singer, Bing Hornsby, is none-too-concerned about his job, and an affair with Mona leads to his dismissal. When it appears Hornsby is getting and paying a lot of attention to his ... See full summary »
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: Stuart Erwin, Bing Crosby, Leila Hyams, George Burns
Votes: 286
Cab Calloway: 3 songs; Mills Brothers: 1 song
50. A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932)
10 min | Short, Comedy, Fantasy
A husband who listens to jazz instead of mopping the floor is brained with a mop by his wife; he dreams he's King of Jazzmania, a land of soapsuds where Louis Armstrong performs 'I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You' and 'Shine'.
Director: Aubrey Scotto | Stars: Louis Armstrong, Fanny Belle DeKnight, Sidney Easton
Votes: 209
Louis Armstrong: 2 songs
51. Pie, Pie, Blackbird (1932)
11 min | Short, Musical
Two boys eat a blackberry pie, then they and their mother are transported to a musical set where Eubie Blake and his band are playing some great jazz.
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Eubie Blake, Nina Mae McKinney, The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard Nicholas
Votes: 203
Eubie Blake: all or part of 5 songs; Nina Mae McKinney: all or part of 2 songs; Nicholas Brothers: part of 1 song
52. Veiled Aristocrats (1932)
48 min | Drama
John Walden, left home 20 years earlier and has been "passing" as white in a town where no one knew of his background. He returns home to take his now grown sister back with him so she too ... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Lucille Lewis, Walter Fleming, Laura Bowman, Lawrence Chenault
Votes: 180
Bernardine Mason: all or part of 2 songs; Mabel Garrett: part of 1 song
53. Ten Minutes to Live (1932)
Not Rated | 58 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
A movie producer offers a nightclub singer a role in his latest film, but all he really wants to do is bed her. She knows, but accepts anyway. Meanwhile, a patron at the club gets a note ... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Lawrence Chenault, A.B. DeComathiere, Laura Bowman, Willor Lee Guilford
Votes: 288
Don Haywood: arranger and bandleader
54. Snow-White (1933)
7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Trouble starts when the queen's magic mirror says Betty Boop is fairest. Cab Calloway sings "St. James Infirmary Blues."
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Roland Crandall | Stars: Cab Calloway, Billy Murray, Mae Questel
Votes: 2,216
Cab Calloway: part of 1 song
55. Dinah (1933)
8 min | Animation, Short, Music
The Mills Brothers perform the title song with Bouncing Ball; cartoon animals load and sail the cargo ship 'Dinah Lee' to Mills music.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Dave Tendlar | Stars: Donald Mills, Harry Mills, Herbert Mills, John Mills
Votes: 58
Mills Brothers
56. That's the Spirit (1933)
11 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Two night watchmen hear songs performed in a haunted pawn shop.
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Noble Sissle, Cora La Redd, The Washboard Serenaders, F.E. Miller
Votes: 123
Noble Sissle: all or part of 6 songs; Washboard Serenaders: part of 1 song
57. The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)
7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Betty Boop goes to see the fearsome Old Man of the Mountain for herself; he sings the title song and a duet with Betty.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Bernard Wolf | Stars: Cab Calloway, Bonnie Poe
Votes: 691
Cab Calloway: all or part of 4 songs
58. When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba (1933)
4 min | Animation, Short, Music
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Bernard Wolf | Stars: Donald Mills, Harry Mills, Herbert Mills, John Mills
Votes: 48
Mills Brothers: all or part of 2 songs
59. A Bundle of Blues (1933)
Not Rated | 9 min | Short, Music
Duke Ellington and his orchestra play two jazz compositions plus 'Stormy Weather' (sung by Ivy Anderson).
Director: Fred Waller | Stars: Duke Ellington, Ivie Anderson, Florence Hill, Bessie Dudley
Votes: 159
Duke Ellington: all or part of 5 songs (1 sung by Ivie Anderson)
60. Rufus Jones for President (1933)
21 min | Short, Comedy, Family
Rufus Jones, a black child, is elected President of the United States in this short musical comedy. The film features song and dance numbers by a seven year old Sammy Davis Jr..
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Ethel Waters, Sammy Davis Jr., Hamtree Harrington, Dusty Fletcher
Votes: 231
Ethel Waters: 3 songs; Sammy Davis Jr.: 1 song
61. The Big Benefit (1933)
20 min | Short, Music
A grab-bag of singers and dancers featuring, at the time, New York-based performers such as Rae Sanuels, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the four Mullen Sisters and the team of Evans & Mayer. ... See full summary »
Director: Lynn Shores | Stars: Rae Samuels, Bill Robinson, Ann Seymour, Edith Evans
Votes: 6
Bill Robinson: part of 1 song
62. I Heard (1933)
7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The miners at Never Mine go to Betty Boop's Tavern (a jazz-jumpin' place) for lunch; back in the mine, Bimbo delves into weird realms.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: Don Redman, Billy Murray, Mae Questel
Votes: 242
Don Redman: all or part of 3 songs
63. Hollywood on Parade No. A-12 (1933)
10 min | Short, Comedy, Musical
In this short subject, performer Cliff Edwards introduces musical numbers and archival footage of various Hollywood stars, connecting them loosely with a "tribute" to theme songs -- none of... See full summary »
Director: Louis Lewyn | Stars: Cliff Edwards, Clarence Muse, Warren William, Constance Bennett
Votes: 29
Clarence Muse: 1 song
64. The Emperor Jones (1933)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Music
Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.
Directors: Dudley Murphy, William C. de Mille | Stars: Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, Fredi Washington
Votes: 1,262
Paul Roberson: all or part of 4 songs; James P. Johnson: part of 1 song
65. Scandal (1933)
30 min | Short, Musical
A musical comedy telling a simple story of backstage life and romance.
Director: Jack Goldberg | Stars: Lucky Millinder, Putney Dandridge, Joe Byrd, Gattie De Gaston
Lucky Millinder
66. Barber Shop Blues (1933)
10 min | Short, Musical
An elderly barber shop owner wins a sweepstake and uses the winnings to elaborately remodel his run-down shop. For in-house entertainment he hires his musician friends as the jazz orchestra and the four shoeshiners are skilled tap dancers.
Director: Joseph Henabery | Stars: Claude Hopkins, Claude Hopkins & Orchestra, Orlando Roberson, The Four Step Brothers
Votes: 91
Four Step Brothers (with Claude Hopkins)
67. Stoopnocracy (1933)
11 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
An animated short chronicling the adventures of Colonel Stoopnagle and Budd.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel | Stars: Budd Hulick, F. Chase Taylor, Harold Nicholas
Votes: 241
Harold Nicholas (imitating Cab Calloway): part of 1 song
68. Change Your Luck (1933)
Passed | 19 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Director: Ray McCarey | Stars: Ethel Waters, Southernaires Quartet
Ethel Waters & Southernaires Quartet
69. Boswell Sisters (1933)
20 min | Musical, Short
Director: Monte Brice | Stars: Connee Boswell, Martha Boswell, Vet Boswell, The Boswell Sisters
70. International House (1933)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy
Assorted wacky characters converge on a Chinese hotel to bid on a new invention: television.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: W.C. Fields, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Rudy Vallee, Stuart Erwin
Votes: 1,469
Cab Calloway: 1 song
71. On the Air and Off (1933)
20 min | Musical, Short
Director: Lynn Shores | Stars: Nick Lucas, Adelaide Hall, Mary Bovard, The Murray Trio
Adelaide Hall
72. Nick Kenny's Radio Thrills No. 2 (1933)
Passed | 19 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Radio Reporter Nick Kenny does a little socializing in his radio studio, greeting and schmoozing with radio performers of the day such as Arthur Tracy, Leo Reisman, Mildred Bailey, Donald ... See full summary »
Director: Monte Brice | Stars: Nick Kenny, Armida, Arthur L. Jarrett, Arthur Tracy
Mildred Bailey
73. Broadway Bill (1934)
Approved | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A runaway heiress and her sister's husband join forces to race the latter's fast horse, Broadway Bill.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Walter Connolly, Helen Vinson
Votes: 1,160
Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
74. Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934)
Not Rated | 10 min | Musical, Short
This jazz musical short has a comedy plot about marital infidelity.
Director: Fred Waller | Stars: Cab Calloway, Sidney Easton, Fredi Washington, Floyd Marmon
Votes: 275
parts of 3 songs
75. King for a Day (1934)
TV-G | 21 min | Short, Comedy, Musical
A talented tap dancer who can't get an audition uses his prowess at playing craps to gain ownership of a musical show, making himself the star.
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Bill Robinson, Ernest Whitman, Dusty Fletcher, Babe Matthews
Votes: 198
Bill Robinson: all or part of 6 songs (2 with Hattie Noel)
76. Murder at the Vanities (1934)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Music, Musical
A homicide detective with an eye for the ladies, investigating a murder in Earl Carroll's Vanities, allows the music revue to continue during the investigation.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle
Votes: 976
Duke Ellington: part of 1 song
77. Operator 13 (1934)
Passed | 85 min | Drama, History, Musical
Union spy Gail Loveless impersonates a black maid in the early days of the Civil War, but complications arise when she falls in love with a Confederate officer.
Director: Richard Boleslawski | Stars: Marion Davies, Gary Cooper, Jean Parker, Katharine Alexander
Votes: 1,504
Mills Brothers: part of 3 songs
78. The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
Passed | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After greedy men have Edmond Dantes unjustly imprisoned for 20 years for innocently delivering a letter entrusted to him, he escapes to get his revenge on them.
Director: Rowland V. Lee | Stars: Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer
Votes: 3,242
Clarence Muse: 1 song
79. Zou Zou (1934)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Musical, Romance
Zou Zou tries to help her childhood friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murder.
Director: Marc Allégret | Stars: Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Pierre Larquey, Yvette Lebon
Votes: 661
Josephine Baker: 3 songs
80. Oh, What a Business! (1934)
18 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Director: Milton Schwarzwald | Stars: Joe Smith, Charles Dale, Gloria Grafton, The Russian Revels
Ink Spots
81. Kid Millions (1934)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy (Eddie Cantor) who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but must go to Egypt to claim it.
Directors: Roy Del Ruth, Willy Pogany | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, Ethel Merman, George Murphy
Votes: 590
Harold Nicholas: all or part of 2 songs
82. Judge Priest (1934)
Passed | 80 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Judge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, uses common sense and considerable humanity to dispense justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Anita Louise, Henry B. Walthall
Votes: 2,520
Hattie McDaniel: all or part of 5 songs
83. Death at a Broadcast (1934)
71 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
When an actor is murdered at the BBC Inspector Gregory finds he has many suspects to choose from.
Director: Reginald Denham | Stars: Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Lilian Oldland, Henry Kendall
Votes: 366
Elisabeth Welch: 1 song
84. Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Musical, Mystery
Unscrupulous agent Rush makes singing waiter Clayton a big radio star while Peggy, who has lost her own radio show, helps Clayton.
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, Ginger Rogers, The Mills Brothers
Votes: 452
Mills Brothers: all or part of 3 songs
85. Don Redman & His Orchestra (1934)
10 min | Short, Music
In a nightclub setting, Don Redman and His Orchestra perform three songs, and one number is performed by singers/tap dancers 'Red' and Struggie. (For the list of songs, check the soundtrack listing).
Director: Joseph Henabery | Stars: Don Redman, Red & Struggie, Red, Struggie
Votes: 95
all or part of 4 songs
86. Belle of the Nineties (1934)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Ruby Carter, the American Beauty queen of the night club-sporting world, shifts her operations from St. Louis to New Orleans, mostly to get away from prizefighter Tiger Kid. Installed as ... See full summary »
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Mae West, Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown, John Miljan
Votes: 917
Duke Ellington: all or part of 3 songs (sung by Mae West)
87. Broadway Varieties (1934)
20 min | Short, Musical
Director: Milton Schwarzwald | Stars: Warren Boyde, Adelaide Hall, The Mosconi Brothers, Charles Timblin
Adelaide Hall
88. Bubbling Over (1934)
Passed | 20 min | Short, Comedy, Music
A family play on the nerves of a hard working housewife, but they soon get busy when a rich relative is due to arrive.
Director: Leigh Jason | Stars: Ethel Waters, Southernaires Quartet, Hamtree Harrington, Frank H. Wilson
Votes: 70
Ethel Waters: 2 songs; Southernaires Quartet: 2 songs
89. Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1934)
11 min | Short, Music
Musical and dance acts perform, first at a night club, then at a "rent party."
Director: Roy Mack | Stars: Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Sally Gooding, Fredi Washington, Hamtree Harrington
Votes: 81
all or part of 7 songs
90. Babbitt (1934)
Approved | 74 min | Drama
Middle-aged George F. Babbitt is a leading citizen in the town of Zenith, the fastest-growing community in America according to its town sign. George is a large part of that growth as a property developer and realtor.
Director: William Keighley | Stars: Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Claire Dodd, Maxine Doyle
Votes: 350
Hattie McDaniel: 1 song
91. Betty Boop's Rise to Fame (1934)
Passed | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A reporter interviews Max Fleischer about his creation, and Betty illustrates with excerpts from three prior cartoons.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Myron Waldman | Stars: Cab Calloway, Dave Fleischer, Max Fleischer, Bonnie Poe
Votes: 411
Cab Calloway: parts of 2 songs
92. Rhythm on the Roof (1934)
Approved | 11 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Bob Crosby feels inferior to brother Bing, but needs to land a big band job before he can marry sweetheart Toby. Auditioning for Anson Weeks' band, he fantasizes about Toby and some barely clad showgirls.
Director: George M. Arthur | Stars: Anson Weeks, Bob Crosby, Toby Wing, Frank Saputo
Votes: 17
Bob Crosby: all or part of 4 songs
93. Many Happy Returns (1934)
Approved | 64 min | Comedy, Music
Gracie Allen assumes the "management" of the shop owned by her papa Horatio Allen, turning it into a radio station and then an aviary, with the usual Gracie Allen logic. While distracted, ... See full summary »
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: George Burns, Gracie Allen, George Barbier, Joan Marsh
Votes: 64
Duke Ellington: 1 song (with Guy Lombardo)
94. Strictly Dynamite (1934)
Passed | 71 min | Comedy, Music
A struggling writer finds success writing scripts for a radio comic at the expense of his high-brow ambitions.
Director: Elliott Nugent | Stars: Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, Norman Foster, William Gargan
Votes: 172
Mills Brothers: 2 songs
95. Gift of Gab (1934)
Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Music
Conceited radio announcer irritates everyone else at the station.
Director: Karl Freund | Stars: Edmund Lowe, Gloria Stuart, Ruth Etting, Phil Baker
Votes: 182
Ethel Waters & Beale Street Boys: 1 song
96. Well, by George! (1934)
18 min | Short, Comedy, Music
Director: Milton Schwarzwald | Stars: Georgie Price, Ramona, The Ink Spots, The Twelve Mentonettes
Ink Spots
97. Drums o' Voodoo (1934)
70 min | Drama
In a small Southern town, Baptist preacher Amos Berry and a local voodoo priestess, Auntie Hagar, get together to thwart the aims of a pimp who has come to town to recruit a beautiful young... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Hoerl | Stars: Laura Bowman, Augustus Smith, Morris McKenny, Lionel Monagas
Votes: 42
98. After the Dance (1935)
Approved | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Starring Nancy Carroll, George Murphy, Thelma Todd, Jack La Rue, Arthur Hohl, Thurston Hall Directed by Leo Bulgakov Print: black/white Runtime: 60 min. Genre: drama In this tuneful crime ... See full summary »
Director: Leo Bulgakov | Stars: Nancy Carroll, George Murphy, Thelma Todd, Jack La Rue
Votes: 100
Clarence Muse: part of 1 song
99. Temptation (1935)
Crime, Musical, Drama
Helen Ware, an artist's model, known as the Brown Venus is sad, discouraged and unhappy. When her men friends learn that she often poses nude, they try to become unduly "friendly" or just ... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Andrew Bishop, Ethel Moses, Lorenzo Tucker, Hilda Rogers
Votes: 16
100. Sanders of the River (1935)
Approved | 85 min | Adventure, Drama, Music
A British District Officer in Nigeria in the 1930s rules his area strictly but justly. He struggles with gun-runners and slavers with the aid of a loyal native chief.
Director: Zoltan Korda | Stars: Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks, Nina Mae McKinney, Robert Cochran
Votes: 732
Paul Robeson: 5 songs (1 with Nina Mae McKinney)
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