The Best of 1930
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- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorAleksandr DovzhenkoStarsStepan ShkuratSemyon SvashenkoYuliya SolntsevaIn the peaceful countryside, Vassily opposes the rich kulaks over the coming of collective farming.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsCharles FarrellMary DuncanDavid TorrenceA Chicago waitress falls in love with a Minnesota farmer, and decides to face a life in the country.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGary CooperMarlene DietrichAdolphe MenjouA cabaret singer and a Legionnaire fall in love, but their relationship is complicated by the results of his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who wants her for himself.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsWalter HustonPhillips HolmesConstance CummingsAfter a failed attempt at running for governor, D.A. Mark Brady is appointed warden of the state prison where many of the criminals he prosecuted are incarcerated.
- DirectorJean CocteauStarsEnrique RiveroElizabeth Lee MillerPauline CartonTold in four episodes - an unnamed artist is transported through a mirror into another dimension, where he travels through various bizarre scenarios.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsNorma ShearerRobert MontgomeryChester MorrisWhen a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithStarsHans Adalbert SchlettowUno HenningNorah BaringA former barber escapes from a high security prison. Flashback story of an escape from the lonely, high-security Dartmoor Prison.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakEdgar G. UlmerRochus GlieseStarsErwin SplettstößerBrigitte BorchertWolfgang von WaltershausenTwo men and two women enjoy a pleasant Sunday at the beach amid the unending toil of the working week.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBarbara StanwyckRalph GravesLowell ShermanAn upper-crust artist hires a 'party girl' as a model; romance follows.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsAlbert PréjeanPola IlléryEdmond T. GrévilleAlbert is smitten for Pola but ends up wrongly committed in jail, in the meantime her affections are sought after by his friend, and on his release both love and friendship must be tested.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsGary CooperFay WrayEmma DunnAn outlaw and con-man's plan to bilk an old woman out of a fortune takes an unexpected turn.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsFritz KampersGustav DiesslHans-Joachim MöbisA group of German solders fight on the front line in France at the end of World War I.
- DirectorHoward HughesEdmund GouldingJames WhaleStarsBen LyonJames HallJean HarlowBrothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.
- DirectorBoris KaufmanJean VigoWhat starts off as a conventional travelogue turns into a satirical portrait of the town of Nice on the French Cote d'Azur, especially its wealthy inhabitants.
- DirectorGeorge W. HillWard WingStarsChester MorrisWallace BeeryLewis StoneA convict falls in love with his new cellmate's sister, only to become embroiled in a planned break-out which is certain to have lethal consequences.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsRichard BarthelmessDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Neil HamiltonWorld War I ace Dick Courtney derides the leadership of his superior officer, but Courtney is soon promoted to squadron commander and learns harsh lessons about sending subordinates to their deaths.
- DirectorVictor HeermanStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxMayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBrigitte HorneyAribert MogEmilia UndaPeter Winkler's new job offer is about to take him away from his lover Hella, but he has been keeping it a secret from her. Mutual lack of trust and vicious gossip threatens their relationship as they plan to make their farewells.
- DirectorAugusto GeninaStarsLouise BrooksGeorges CharliaAugusto BandiniLucienne, typist and gorgeous bathing beauty, decides to enter the 'Miss Europe' pageant sponsored by the French newspaper she works for. She finds her jealous lover Andre violently disapproves of such events and tries to withdraw, but it's too late; she's even then being named Miss France. The night Andre planned to propose to her, she's being whisked off to the Miss Europe finals in Spain, where admirers swarm around her. Win or lose, what will the harvest be?
- DirectorRaoul WalshLouis R. LoefflerStarsJohn WayneMarguerite ChurchillEl BrendelBreck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsJeanette MacDonaldJack BuchananClaud AllisterA countess flees to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, where she is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierStarsWilliam PowellMarion ShillingNatalie MoorheadJohn Nelson, a well-to-do businessman, is escorting a woman he knows as Ethel Barry to the door of her apartment suite when a man steps out of the shadows and angrily demands to know where she has been. The embarrassed Nelson excuses himself and goes to his rooms in the same hotel. The woman rushes into his apartment followed by the man who met her in the hall. The man threatens her with violence and Nelson comes to her defense. In the ensuing fight, the man is knocked out of the window and falls to his death to the pavement many stories down. He is charged with the killing and his only witness that can prove self-defense for him has disappeared, and can not be found.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsDita ParloGinette MaddieAndrée BrabantDenise, an orphaned girl, moves to Paris where she hopes to find work at her uncle's store. But the glamorous department store 'Aux Bonheur des Dames' across the street crunches all the little businesses around. She finds a position there.
- DirectorWilhelm ThieleStarsWilly FritschLilian HarveyHeinz RühmannWilly, Kurt and Hans are broke, so they sell their car and open a filling station. Then they all fall in love with the same girl.
- DirectorRobert MiltonRay EnrightStarsLeslie HowardDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Beryl MercerLater remade as "Between Two Worlds."
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisScott KolkWilliam Powell plays William Foster, a slick attorney who stays within the law, but specializes in representing crooks and shady characters. He's adept at keeping them out of jail, winning acquittals, and having decisions reversed, thus springing criminals out of prison. He is romantically involved with dancer Irene Manners (Kay Francis), who is two-timing him, although she wants to marry him. She kills a man driving while out with her other man, Jack Defoe (Scott Kolk), who takes the blame. Unfortunately, a ring Foster had just given Irene is found at the crime scene. Foster ends up defending Jack, but when the ring is found, he thinks he is protecting Irene, so pleads guilty to jury tampering, which he had done for the first time to save Irene. After his plea, the the prosecuting DA confides that Jack would have gotten off...
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveIan MaclarenDavid MannersIn France, 1917, an alcoholic captain is afraid that his new replacement, his sweetheart's brother, will betray his downfall.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsRonald ColmanKay FrancisDavid TorrenceA distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed "The Amateur Cracksman". When he meets a woman and falls in love he decides to "retire" from that life, but an old friend comes to him with a predicament that entails him committing one last job.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJohn McCormackAlice JoyceMaureen O'SullivanBroken hearts in Ireland. Sean is a great tenor, in semi-retirement, living in a village close to Mary, the woman he's always loved. Mary's aunt convinced her to marry a man for his money; he's has recently deserted her, leaving her penniless. She and her two children, Eileen and Tad, move in with the selfish and austere aunt and are miserable. Eileen is falling in love with Fergus, a young man who's off to Dublin to seek his fortune. Sean is drawn out of retirement and goes on tour in America. At his first concert, he's nervous and out of sorts until the last song, when peace descends on him like a gift. What has happened, and can family life be set right?
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsWilliam PowellJean ArthurKay FrancisA big-time, but honest gambler has to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps, and taking up gambling.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMinoru TakadaHiroko KawasakiSatoko DateA small-time hood wants to go straight for a good girl but finds that starting over isn't as simple as it sounds.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMitsuko IchimuraTokihiko OkadaChishû RyûA desperate man with a sick daughter decides to commit a robbery in order to help her. He begins to feel remorse though, which makes him question his decision.
- DirectorGeorge CukorLouis J. GasnierStarsWalter HustonKay FrancisKenneth MacKennaMarya is the wife of medical student Victor Sablin, who finds it impossible to deal with military life when he is inducted into the Russian army during World War I.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGrant WithersMary AstorRegis ToomeyEvents take an unhappy turn for two Bill and Jack, two locomotive engineers, after Bill is attracted to his best friend's wife.
- DirectorPierre ColombierStarsIrène WellsAdrien LamyFlorenceWhen a bourgeois US couple slumming it at a small cabaret is told the dancer roughing up his partner is just fun, they mistakenly think as they get more drunk and silly, that all that later happens is just fun as well.
- DirectorCarl JunghansStarsVera BaranovskayaTheodor PistekMána ZenískováRealistic portrait of a poor working family in late 20s Prague: the washerwoman mother whose burial is held after she scalds herself; the alcoholic father; the manicurist daughter who becomes pregnant.
- DirectorCharles VanelStarsCharles VanelSandra MilovanoffChristiane TourneurA pit worker is crippled by an accident and his wife flirts with another man.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTatsuo SaitôKaoru FutabaKinuyo TanakaA story of a college student (Tatsuo Saitô) and his schoolmates trying to pass the exams by cheating.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCharles FarrellRose HobartEstelle TaylorLiliom learns his wife is pregnant and robs a bank. During the getaway, he is killed and given a chance to return to Earth. He quickly learns the only way to make his wife and daughter happy is to leave them with cherished memories.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsGreta GarboCharles BickfordGeorge F. MarionA young woman reunites with her estranged father and falls in love with a sailor, but struggles to tell them about her dark past.