1932 Year in Review and Top 10

Another year is now complete, the sixth since I started this project. 1932 turned out to be a very good year at the movies, as filmmakers finally got comfortable with the new sound format and the staginess of the early talkies began to disappear. This was also the pre-code area, so directors were allowed to be a little more risque', which I think is evident byt he films that populate my top 10 list.

The changing of the guard had taken full effect by now, as only a few of the successful silent directors were still making quality films, the most notable being Josef Von Sternberg and Ernst Lubitsch. Harold Lloyd is the only silent comedy star that I saw in 1932, albeit his entry was a pretty good one that suggests his talkie ventures were better than they've been remembered. There was another hidden gem from Frank Capra, who was still two years away from making his first well known classic (It Happened One Night).





Reviews of all films I saw from 1932 can be found here. Without further ado, here are my choices for the top 10 films from 1932...

10. Shanghai Express (Josef Von Sternberg)

9. I Was Born, But.... (Yasujiro Ozu)

8. One Hour With You (Ernst Lubitsch)

7. The Old Dark House (James Whale)

6. One Way Passage (Tay Garnett)

5. Me and My Gal (Raoul Walsh)

4. Freaks (Tod Browning)

3. American Madness (Frank Capra)

2. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy)

1. Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch)

Best Director

Tod Browning, Freaks
Frank Capra, American Madness
Mervyn LeRoy, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
*Ernst Lubitsch, Trouble in Paradise
James Whale, The Old Dark House


Best Lead Actor

*Walter Huston, American Madness
Herbert Marshall, Trouble in Paradise
Paul Muni, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Edward G. Robinson, Two Seconds
Spencer Tracy, Me and My Gal


Best Lead Actress

Joan Bennett, Me and My Gal
Marlene Dietrich, Shanghai Express
*Miriam Hopkins, Trouble in Paradise
Jeanette McDonald, One Hour With You
Barbara Stanwyck, Forbidden


Best Supporting Actor

Edward Ellis, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Preston Foster, Two Seconds
*Jean Hersholt, Grand Hotel
Frank McHugh, One Way Passage
Pat O'Brien, American Madness


Best Supporting Actress

Joan Crawford, Grand Hotel
Constance Cummings, American Madness
*Kay Francis, Trouble in Paradise
Aline McMahon, One Way Passage
Genevieve Tobin, One Hour With You


Best Screenplay

American Madness
Freaks
Me and My Gal
Two Seconds
*Trouble in Paradise


Best Editing

American Madness
*I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang
One Way Passage
Two Seconds
Trouble in Paradise


Best Cinematoraphy

*A Farewell to Arms
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
The Old Dark House
One Way Passage
Trouble in Paradise


Best Costume Design

Grand Hotel
Movie Crazy
One Hour With You
*Shanghai Express
Trouble in Paradise


Best Art Direction

Freaks
Grand Hotel
Movie Crazy
*The Old Dark House
Trouble in Paradise