Number Three Son was home for Thanksgiving so we are already behind on a thread of mine.  Such a shocker. 

1931

Unlike 1930 there are a plethora of options for 1931.  So let's look at the contenders:

City Lights - I love Charlie Chaplin.  He never fails to make me laugh and he usually tugs the heartstrings.  City Lights is frequently considered to be his best feature film and has received tons of accolades from the National Film Registry, AFI, etc.  It is not my personal favorite of his feature films.  That would be either The Gold Rush or Modern Times, depending on the day.  But it's a truly beautiful film and is one of the last great silent films, made four years in to the talking period.  That said, it's a much more poignant than funny movie. 



Monkey Business - We established in 1930 that I love The Marx Brothers.  Monkey Business is one of the Brothers' best films and is just anarchic fun.  The plot is flimsy to the point of being ephemeral.  It's really just the boys goofing around as stowaways on a ship.  And that's more than enough plot for the Marx's at this point in their career.  



"M" - Our first non-American film is one of Fritz Lang's greatest achievements and made Peter Lorre a star.  This is an early police procedural with Lorre as serial killer Hans Beckert.  The film is haunting and Lorre is brilliant.  Lang considered it his favorite of his films and it has been frequently cited as the greatest German film.  This was Lang's first sound film and his use of sound and music is particularly interesting.  



Dracula - I'm not sure that there's a lot to be said about the next two.  They are almost the ur-examples of monster movies (certainly of talking monster movies) and their influence is still felt almost 100 years later.  Lugosi became Dracula for generations (and for many still is).  And Karl Freund's cinematography set the example for horror films for a generation (at least).  



Frankenstein - What Dracula did for Lugosi and vampires, Frankenstein did for Karloff and man-made men.  This, along with Dracula, is one of the building-blocks of horror and monster films.  Both have received countless accolades.  



Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - This was a huge hit when it came out and won Frederic March the Oscar for Best Actor.  It was favorably compared to the silent version with John Barrymore and many still consider it to be the definitive filmed version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel.  Ultimately, though, its legacy pales compared to the previous two films. 



The Public Enemy - The next two films kind of go together like Dracula and Frankenstein did.  The Public Enemy and Little Caesar are ground zero for gangster films.  They made Warner Brothers the gangster/crime studio.  This is the film that made James Cagney not just a star, but an enduring icon of crime films.  And who can possibly forget him smashing a grapefruit in to Mae Clark's face. 



Little Caesar - What the Public Enemy was to Cagney, Little Caesar was to Edward G. Robinson.  While he had had success in theater and some in films, it was playing Rico that made Robinson an icon who would be parodied for the rest of his life.  



Ultimately none of these movies are outside the mainstream.  While only City Lights and Jekyll would hit the top ten of the U.S. box office for 1931, every one of theses films is a stone-cold classics.  

I sincerely love each of these films and will watch any of them at the drop of a hat.  But I think the one I'm most likely to seek out is "M."  Lang simply gets the best out of every technical part of the film and Peter Lorre is absolutely chilling.  I find new things to marvel at with every viewing. 

For your assistance, 1931 in film.  

That's perfectly fine.  My list isn't meant in any way to be comprehensive they're just the ones I personally considered.  I think I may have seen The Front Page once, but I have zero memory of it. 

M, The Front Page, and one that hasn't been mentioned yet, , are the three I've seen most recently - all within the last four or five years. And I've seen Dracula and Frankenstein each enough times that I have a pretty clear idea of them, even though it's been many years (likely 20+) since my last viewing of either. So I'll probably restrict my choice to that group, though I know if I sat down and re-watched the Cagney movie, the Marx Brothers, the Buster Keaton, the Chaplin, etc, there would be many more contenders.

My two favorite films from 1931 are City Lights and Dracula.

I’ve seen them both over and over again.

I cry at the movies pretty regularly. But I never cry the second time I see a movie. Except City Lights. I always cry at the end of City Lights.

And Dracula ... there aren’t very many movies I’ve seen as many times as Dracula. When I first bought my own VHS copy of Dracula, I watched it every night for ten days. And then I watched it once a week for several months. I bet I’ve seen it forty or fifty times in my life.

So I have to choose Dracula.

But WOW, Fritz Lang’s M is great too! It’s very intense! Watching it every night for a week would be exhausting!

I’ve seen Little Caesar a few times as well. The last time was just a few years ago and ITS AMAZING! The first time I saw it, I was about ten, and it’s one of the movies that made me a cinephile instead of just a kid who liked monster movies.

Monkey Business ... God, that scene where they find Maurice Chevalier’s passport and take turns using it to get past customs is as funny as anything in any Marx Brothers movie. Chevalier’s great, and I love his movies, but the first thing I think of when Chevalier is mentioned is the Marx Brothers using his passport to get off the boat!

Recommendations for film buffs who want to see some of the less well-known but worthwhile films of 1931:

The Maltese Falcon - I love this so much. It’s the first adaptation of the famed Dashiell Hammett novel. TCM sometimes runs it with the title Dangerous Female. Dwight Frye gets the Elisa Cook Jr role!

The Miracle Woman - Barbara Stanwyck plays a role that looks an awful lot like a takedown of Aimee Semple McPherson.

Night Nurse - Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell and a very scary Clark Gable. Stanwyck is one of my favorites and this is my favorite Stanwyck movie!

A Free Soul

The Smiling Lieutenant

The Black Camel

The Last Flight - oh boy. This movie ...

Five Star Final - A little reminiscent of The Front Page. Edward G Robinson is the editor. Boris Karloff is one of the reporters. He’s the sleaziest 1930s reporter I’ve ever seen in a 1930s movie about sleazy reporters.

Alice in Wonderland

Platinum Blonde

Blonde Crazy - James Cagney and Joan Blondell

Private Lives - Very possibly Norma Shearer’s best movie.

Mata Hari - My favorite Greta Garbo movie.

Also, a film I might add for consideration to 1930 is Renegades.