The following is an overview of 1933 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
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The top ten 1933 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
More information Rank, Title ...
Highest-grossing films of 1933
Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
1 |
Roman Scandals |
United Artists |
$2,443,000[1] |
2 |
I'm No Angel |
Paramount |
$2,250,000[1] |
3 |
Gold Diggers of 1933 |
Warner Bros. |
$2,202,000[2] |
4 |
She Done Him Wrong |
Paramount |
$2,200,000[3] |
5 |
The Bowery |
United Artists/Twentieth Century |
$2,000,000[4] |
6 |
Tugboat Annie |
MGM |
$1,917,000[5] |
7 |
Footlight Parade |
Warner Bros. |
$1,601,000[2] |
8 |
Dancing Lady |
MGM |
$1,490,000[5] |
9 |
42nd Street |
Warner Bros. |
$1,438,000[2] |
10 |
Dinner at Eight |
MGM |
$1,398,000[5] |
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The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading news events of the year in North America.[6]
Other notable events include:
- January 11 – Radio City Music Hall in New York City starts showing films.[7]
- January 20 – The film Ecstasy premieres in Czechoslovakia film; its foreign distribution presents difficulties as 18-year-old actress Hedy Lamarr is seen naked in it.
- March – Director Fritz Lang is informed by Joseph Goebbels that release of Lang's crime-thriller The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in Germany will not be permitted by the newly formed Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The German-language premiere takes place on April 21 in Budapest (Hungary). On April 20, Lang divorces his wife, the film's writer Thea von Harbou, and on July 31 leaves Germany permanently, initially settling in Paris.[8]
- March 2 – King Kong premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City;[9] opening weekend takings are estimated at US$90,000.
- March 9 – Punyal na Ginto (The Golden Dagger), the first Filipino-language film made in the Philippines, is released.[10]
- March 11 – 42nd Street sparks a comeback for musical film.[7]
- June 6 – Chemical company executive Richard Hollingshead opens a drive-in theater near Camden, New Jersey, according to his U.S patent granted May 16.[11][12]
- September 6 – Daily Variety, a trade newspaper, is published for the first time in Hollywood.[13]
- October 10 – John Wayne appears as Singin' Sandy Saunders in Riders of Destiny.
- December 29 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appear on screen together for the first time in Flying Down to Rio.
- Ang Aswang, the first sound film made in the Philippines, is released.[14]
- Makata At Paraluman (The Poet and the Maiden), the first talking film in vernacular made in the Philippines, is released.[15]
- British Film Institute founded.[16]
- GPO Film Unit established in the United Kingdom under John Grierson, taking over responsibility for documentary film making from the Empire Marketing Board.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) once again expresses interest in The Wizard of Oz books for a series of animated shorts, but once again fail to make a deal with the estate of creator L. Frank Baum.
- The Private Life of Henry VIII becomes the first British film to win an American Academy Award. Featured actor Charles Laughton wins the 1933 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The film is the first British production to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- The book Upton Sinclair Presents William Fox is published, detailing what William Fox considers to be the conspiracy that forced him from control of Fox Film in 1930.
The 6th Academy Awards were held on March 16, 1934, at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. They were hosted by Will Rogers and Rogers also presented all of the awards. This was the last time that the Oscars' eligibility period was spread over two different calendar years, creating the longest time frame for which films could be nominated: the seventeen months from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.
Most nominations: Cavalcade (Fox Film); A Farewell to Arms (Paramount Pictures) and Lady for a Day (Columbia Pictures) – 4
Major awards:
Most Awards: Cavalcade – 3 (Outstanding Production; Best Director; Best Art Direction)
United States unless stated
A
- Adorable, directed by William Dieterle, starring Janet Gaynor
- After Tonight, directed by George Archainbaud, starring Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland
- Alice in Wonderland, directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Charlotte Henry, Richard Arlen, Gary Cooper, W. C. Fields, Cary Grant and Jack Oakie
- Ann Vickers, directed by John Cromwell, starring Irene Dunne and Walter Huston
B
- Baby Face, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent
- Beauty for Sale, directed by Richard Boleslawski, starring Madge Evans, Alice Brady and Una Merkel
- Bed of Roses, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Constance Bennett and Joel McCrea
- A Bedtime Story, directed by Norman Taurog, starring Maurice Chevalier and Helen Twelvetrees
- Berkeley Square, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Leslie Howard
- Bitter Sweet, directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Anna Neagle – (GB)
- The Bitter Tea of General Yen, directed by Frank Capra, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther
- Blood Money, directed by Rowland Brown, starring George Bancroft
- Bombshell, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, Franchot Tone, Pat O'Brien and Una Merkel
- The Bowery, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper and Fay Wray
- Bureau of Missing Persons, directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Bette Davis, Lewis Stone, Pat O'Brien and Glenda Farrell
- By Candlelight, directed by James Whale
C
- Cash, directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Robert Donat – (GB)
- Cavalcade, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook
- Convention City (lost), directed by Archie Mayo, starring Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou, Dick Powell and Mary Astor
- Counsellor at Law, directed by William Wyler, starring John Barrymore and Bebe Daniels
D
- Dancing Lady, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone
- Daybreak (Tiānmíng), directed by Sun Yu – (China)
- Deluge, directed by Felix E. Feist, starring Sidney Blackmer
- The Deserter (Dezertir), directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin – (U.S.S.R.)
- Design for Living, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Fredric March, Gary Cooper and Miriam Hopkins
- The Devil's Brother, directed by Hal Roach, starring Laurel and Hardy
- Dick Turpin, directed by Victor Hanbury, starring Victor McLaglen – (GB)
- Dinner at Eight, directed by George Cukor, starring Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy and Billie Burke
- Doctor Bull, directed by John Ford, starring Will Rogers
- Don Quixote, directed by G.W. Pabst, starring Feodor Chaliapin – (France/GB)
- Dora's Dunking Doughnuts, directed by Harry Edwards, starring Shirley Temple
- Dragnet Girl (Hijōsen no Onna), directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Kinuyo Tanaka – (Japan)
- Duck Soup, directed by Leo McCarey, starring the Marx Brothers
E
- The Eagle and the Hawk, directed by Stuart Walker, starring Fredric March, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and Jack Oakie
- Ecstasy (Extase), directed by Gustav Machatý, starring Hedy Lamarr – (Czechoslovakia)
- The Emperor Jones, starring Paul Robeson
- Employees' Entrance, starring Warren William and Loretta Young
- Ever in My Heart, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Ex-Lady, starring Bette Davis
G
- Gabriel Over the White House, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Walter Huston, Produced by William Randolph Hearst
- Ganga Bruta, directed by Humberto Mauro, starring Durval Bellini and Déa Selva (Brazil)
- The Ghoul, starring Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke and Ernest Thesiger – (GB)
- The Ghost Camera, directed by Bernard Vorhaus, starring Ida Lupino, John Mills – (GB)
- Going Hollywood, starring Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Patsy Kelly, Fifi D'Orsay and Sterling Holloway
- Gold Diggers of 1933, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers and Warren William
- The Good Companions, directed by Victor Saville, starring Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn and John Gielgud – (GB)
- Goodbye Again, starring Joan Blondell and Warren William
L
- Ladies They Talk About, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Lady for a Day, directed by Frank Capra, starring Warren William and May Robson
- Lady Killer, starring James Cagney
- Liebelei, directed by Max Ophüls – (Germany)
- Life Is a Dog (Život je pes), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia)
- Little Toys (Xiáo wǎnyì), directed by Sun Yu – (China)
- Little Women, directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett
- Looking Forward, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Lionel Barrymore
- Lot in Sodom, starring Friedrich Haak
- Loyalties, starring Basil Rathbone – (GB)
M
- Man's Castle, starring Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young
- The Mayor of Hell, starring James Cagney
- Men Must Fight, starring Diana Wynyard
- Midnight Club, starring George Raft and Clive Brook
- Midnight Mary, directed by William A. Wellman, starring Loretta Young
- The Midnight Patrol, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
- Money for Speed, directed by Bernard Vorhaus, starring John Loder and Ida Lupino – (GB)
- The Monkey's Paw, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
- Morning Glory, starring Katharine Hepburn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Mr. Skitch, starring Will Rogers
- Mystery of the Wax Museum, starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray
P
- Parachute Jumper, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bette Davis and Frank McHugh
- Passing Fancy (Dekigokoro), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan)
- Peg o' My Heart, starring Marion Davies, Onslow Stevens and J. Farrell MacDonald
- Penthouse, starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
- Perfect Understanding, starring Gloria Swanson and Laurence Olivier – (GB)
- Pick-Up, starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft
- Picture Snatcher, starring James Cagney
- Pilgrimage, directed by John Ford
- The Power and the Glory, starring Spencer Tracy
- The Private Life of Henry VIII, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Charles Laughton – (GB)
- The Prizefighter and the Lady, starring Max Baer, Myrna Loy, Primo Carnera and Jack Dempsey
- Professional Sweetheart, starring Ginger Rogers
S
- S.O.S Iceberg (S.O.S. Eisberg), starring Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany)
- Secret of the Blue Room, starring Paul Lukas, Gloria Stuart and Lionel Atwill
- Secrets, starring Mary Pickford in her last film
- She Done Him Wrong, starring Mae West and Cary Grant in his first notable film role
- She Had to Say Yes, starring Loretta Young and Lyle Talbot, directed by Busby Berkeley and George Amy
- The Son of Kong, starring Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack
- Sons of the Desert, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
- A Southern Maid, starring Bebe Daniels and Clifford Mollison – (GB)
- Spring Silkworms (Chung Can) – (China)
- State Fair, starring Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers and Lew Ayres
- Storm at Daybreak, starring Walter Huston and Kay Francis
- The Story of Temple Drake, starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack La Rue
- The Stranger's Return, starring Miriam Hopkins and Lionel Barrymore
- A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes film written by Robert Florey, directed by Edwin Marin, starring Reginald Owen as Holmes and Warburton Gamble as Watson
- Supernatural, starring Carole Lombard, Alan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne and Randolph Scott
T
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, directed by Fritz Lang, starring Otto Wernicke – (Germany)
- This Day and Age, Cecil B. Demille's now cult-favorite, starring Richard Cromwell and featuring then-teenager: Baby Peggy.
- This Is America, the first full-length documentary feature film ever made.[17]
- This Week of Grace' directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Gracie Fields – (Britain)
- Three-Cornered Moon, starring Claudette Colbert and Richard Arlen
- Three Little Pigs, an animated short
- Tillie and Gus, starring Alison Skipworth and W. C. Fields
- Today We Live, starring Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper
- Tonight Is Ours, starring Fredric March and Claudette Colbert
- Topaze, starring John Barrymore and Myrna Loy
- Torch Singer, starring Claudette Colbert
- Tugboat Annie, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
- Turn Back the Clock, starring Lee Tracy and Mae Clarke
V-W
- The Vampire Bat, starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray
- Viktor und Viktoria – (Germany)
- Voltaire, starring George Arliss
- When Ladies Meet, starring Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy
- The Wandering Jew, starring Conrad Veidt
- What! No Beer?, starring Buster Keaton
- The White Rose, directed by Mohammed Karim, starring Mohammed Abdel Wahab – (Egypt)
- The World Changes, starring Mary Astor and Paul Muni
- Wild Boys of the Road, starring Frankie Darro and Edwin Phillips
- The Working Man, starring George Arliss and Bette Davis
- January 6 – Mark Forest, American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2022)
- January 8 – Jean-Marie Straub, French director (d. 2006)
- January 9
- January 12 – Liliana Cavani, Italian director
- January 18 – John Boorman, English director
- January 23 – Chita Rivera, American actress, dancer and singer (d. 2024)
- January 28 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
- February 2 – Tony Jay, English actor, voice actor and singer (d. 2006)
- February 3 – Polde Bibič, Slovenian film and stage actor and memoir writer (d. 2012)
- February 9 – Ronnie Claire Edwards, American actress (d. 2016)
- February 12 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director, screenwriter and producer
- February 13
- February 14 – Madhubala, Indian actress (d. 1969)
- February 16 – Ron Faber, American actor (d. 2023)
- February 18
- Yoko Ono, Japanese multimedia artist, singer and songwriter
- Željko Senečić, Croatian film, television production designer (d. 2018)
- Mary Ure, Scottish actress (d. 1975)
- March 2 – Ziva Rodann, Israeli-American actress and mime artist
- March 3
- March 7 - Donald Douglas, Scottish actor
- March 11 – Sandra Milo, Italian actress (d. 2024)
- March 12 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
- March 13 - Gloria McMillan, American actress (d. 2022)
- March 14 – Michael Caine, English actor
- March 19
- March 22 – Richard Easton, Canadian actor (d. 2019)
- March 23 – Laura Soveral, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
- March 24 - William Smith, American actor (d. 2021)
- April 2 - Joseph Rigano, American character actor (d. 2014)
- April 5 – Frank Gorshin, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
- April 9 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor (d. 2021)
- April 14 – Shani Wallis, British actress and singer
- April 15 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)
- April 16 – Ric Mancini, American actor (d. 2006)
- April 18 - Harold Innocent, English actor (d. 1993)
- April 19 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
- April 20 – George R. Robertson, Canadian actor (d. 2023)
- April 22 – Mark Damon, American actor and producer (d. 2024)
- April 26 – Carol Burnett, American actress, television host and comedian
- April 29 – Willie Nelson, American musician and actor
- May 10 – Francoise Fabian, French actress
- May 14 - Siân Phillips, Welsh actress
- May 20 – Constance Towers, American actress and singer
- May 21 – Richard Libertini, American actor (d. 2016)
- May 23 – Joan Collins, English actress
- May 28 - Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (d. 2010)
- June 1 - Antony Ponzini, American actor (d. 2002)
- June 8 - Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host (d. 2014)
- June 9 - Mario Donatone, Italian actor (d. 2020)
- June 11 – Gene Wilder, American actor (d. 2016)
- June 20
- June 21 – Bernie Kopell, American character actor
- July 6 - Sajjad Kishwar, Pakistani actor (d. 2022)
- July 12 - Max Julien, American actor (d. 2022)
- July 13 - Theresa Amayo, Brazilian actress (d. 2022)
- July 24 – John Aniston, Greek-born American actor (d. 2022)
- July 25 - Ken Swofford, American actor (d. 2018)
- July 26
- July 29
- August 1 – Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian (d. 2009)
- August 2 – Tom Bell, English actor (d. 2006)
- August 10 - Lynn Cohen, American actress (d. 2020)
- August 13 - Vyjayanthimala, Indian former actress
- August 16 – Julie Newmar, American actress, dancer and singer
- August 18 – Roman Polanski, Polish director
- August 19 – Debra Paget, American actress and entertainer
- August 21 – Barry Norman, English critic (d. 2017)
- August 25 – Tom Skerritt, American actor
- August 28 – Philip French, English critic (d. 2015)
- September 4 – Richard S. Castellano, American actor (d. 1988)
- September 14 - Zoe Caldwell, Australian-born actress (d. 2020)
- September 15 - Henry Darrow, American character actor (d. 2021)
- September 17 – Pat Crowley, American actress
- September 18
- September 19 – David McCallum, British-American actor and musician (d. 2023)
- September 22 - Robert Banas, American actor and dancer (d. 2024)
- September 27 - Kathleen Nolan, American actress
- September 28 – Robert Hogan, American actor (d. 2021)
- September 29
- September 30
- October 24
- J. J. Johnston, American actor and writer (d. 2022)
- Enzo Robutti, Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, playwright and writer (d. 2022)
- October 25 - Peter Dennis, English actor (d. 2009)
- November 3 – Jeremy Brett, English actor (d. 1995)
- November 9 - Louise Troy, American actress (d. 1994)
- November 13 - Karl-Otto Alberty, German actor (d. 2015)
- November 17 – Terry, American performing Cairn Terrier (d. 1945)
- November 19 - Larry King, American television and radio host (d. 2021)
- November 21 - J. Don Ferguson, American character actor (d. 2008)
- November 25 – Kathryn Crosby, American actress (d. 2024)
- November 26 - Robert Goulet, American-Canadian actor and singer (d. 2007)
- November 28 – Hope Lange, American actress (d. 2003)
- November 30
- December 3 - Rosalind Knight, English actress (d. 2020)
- December 4 – Wink Martindale, American radio personality, game show host and producer
- December 5 - Adolph Caesar, American actor (d. 1986)
- December 8 - Ana Ofelia Murguía, Mexican actress (d. 2023)
- December 10 - Mako, Japanese-American actor (d. 2006)
- December 13 – Lou Adler, American producer
- December 15 – Tim Conway, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- December 22 - Elizabeth Hubbard, American actress (d. 2023)
- December 26 - Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer (d. 2019)
- December 31 - Edward Bunker, American actor (d. 2005)
- January 3 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-born American actor and director (born 1896)
- January 25 – Lewis J. Selznick, Ukrainian-born American producer (born 1870)
- February 15 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-born American director/producer of animated films, alleged co-creator of Felix the Cat (born 1885/87)
- February 23 – David Horsley, English-born American film executive (born 1873)
- February 26 – Spottiswoode Aitken, American actor (born 1868)
- March 8 – Alan Roscoe, American actor (born 1886)
- March 23 – Francine Mussey, French actress (born 1897)
- May 15 – Ernest Torrence, Scottish actor (born 1878)
- June 18 – Harry Sweet, American actor and director (born 1901)
- June 29 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor (born 1887)
- June 30 – Georg Blomstedt, Swedish actor (born 1872)
- August 18 – James Williamson, Scottish film developer and film director (born 1855)
- August 28 – Helen Dunbar, American actress (born 1863)
- September 23 – Sime Silverman, 60, American newspaper publisher, founder of Variety
- September 24 – Ferdinand Bonn, German actor (born 1861)
- October 5 – Renée Adorée, French actress (born 1898)
- October 30 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (born 1869)
- December 19 – Jimmie Adams, American comedian (born 1888)
- December 22 - William J. Dyer, American actor (born 1881)
Glancy, H Mark (1995). "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921–51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15: 55–73. doi:10.1080/01439689500260031.
Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft, McFarland & Company, 2013, pp. 42-43
The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
Variety, Wednesday 1 August 1933, page 14 (retrieved 28 May 2018) – Film Reviews page – This Is America (review)