Movies · 1931
Hollywood's Golden Dawn and Dark Shadows
In 1931, cinema evolved rapidly as synchronized sound transformed Hollywood and international cinema into a powerhouse of storytelling. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, audiences flocked to theaters to escape into iconic horror, gritty gangster tales, and timeless romantic comedy.
- Charlie Chaplin | Comedy / Romance | USA
City Lights
Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece follows the Tramp as he falls in love with a blind flower girl and tries to raise money for her eye operation.
- Fritz Lang | Crime / Thriller | Germany
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Fritz Lang's German sound masterpiece features Peter Lorre as a child murderer hunted by both the police and the criminal underworld.
- James Whale | Horror | USA
Frankenstein
Boris Karloff delivers an iconic performance as the tragic monster brought to life by an obsessed scientist in this definitive horror classic.
- Tod Browning | Horror | USA
Dracula
Bela Lugosi mesmerizes audiences as the immortal vampire count who travels from Transylvania to London in search of fresh blood.
- William A. Wellman | Crime / Drama | USA
The Public Enemy
James Cagney skyrockets to stardom as a ruthless Prohibition-era gangster climbing the ranks of the Chicago mob.
- Wesley Ruggles | Western | USA
Cimarron
This epic story of the Oklahoma Land Rush became the first Western film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- Mervyn LeRoy | Crime / Drama | USA
Little Caesar
Edward G. Robinson gives a legendary performance as a small-time hoodlum who aggressively fights his way to the top of a crime syndicate.
- F. W. Murnau | Drama / Romance | USA
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
F.W. Murnau's final film beautifully captures a doomed love story between two young lovers breaking sacred Polynesian traditions.
Enjoyed your trip back in time?