• Fred Astaire was very popular throughout the
1930’s. His defining role was “Funny Face” with Audrey Hepburn.
Not only was Fred
Astaire an outstanding actor, however he was a great singer and dancer.
• Charlie Chaplin was one of the very first superstars of the cinema to convert from silent films to
“talkies”(movies with sounds). His defining role was in the smash hit
“City Lights”.
• W.C.Fields was a famous comical actor.
His defining role was in “My Little
Chickadee” . He also starred in the first version of “Alice in
Wonderland”.
• Errol Flynn’s most memorable role was probably “The
Adventures of Robin
Hood”. However his career ended quickly when he was accused of taking advantage of an underage girl.
• The camera loved the
1930’s superstar Clark
Gable. He starred in the
Civil War classic “Gone
With the Wind”. During his last movie opposite of
Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn claimed , “Can you imagine what being kissed by him meant to me?”
• Ms. Garbo was an actress who was known for her versatility between comedies and dramas. Her defining role was in
“ANNA KARENINA”.
She also received an Oscar nomination for Best
Actress in her first “talkie” film “ANNA CHRISTIE”.
• Myrna Loy was labeled “the queen of
Hollywood”. Her most memorable role was in the series of six “Thin
Man” films. She charmed audiences with her cute look, musical voice, sophistication, and last but not least her great sense of humor.
• The camera absolutely loved the sweet little bundle of joy, Shirley
Temple , her defining role was in the smash hit “ The Little
Colonel”. She also starred in the 1930’s classics “Curly Top” ,
“Heidi” and “Little
Miss Maker”.
• Ginger Roger’s defining role was as
Fred Astaire’s dancing partner in the smash hit “Top
Hat”. She also won best actress for the movie “Kitty
Foyle”.
During the 1930’s the majority of films were comedies. A logical theory to this would be that during the 1930’s The Great Depression was occurring, thus causing more people to go see comedies to relieve their depression. On the other hand, the majority of films in the 1960’s were action films because they were more technologically advanced than the
1930’s.
In the 1930’s the greatest feat of technology was having movies with color and sound. Also another good portion of the movies during the 1960s were romance. This was probably because there was a lot of hippies who strongly treasured l ve.
http://www.movieactors.com/30s.htm
Pekkala, K., Interview, 5 May 2003.
http://www.allposters.com