1937 in film explained
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1937 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1937| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|
| 1 | Saratoga | MGM | $2,432,000[1] |
|---|
| 2 | Maytime | $2,183,000 |
|---|
| 3 | The Good Earth | $2,002,000 |
|---|
| 4 | Stella Dallas | United Artists | $2,000,000[2] [3] |
|---|
| 5 | Rosalie | MGM | $1,946,000 |
|---|
| 6 | Broadway Melody of 1938 | $1,889,000 |
|---|
| 7 | Captains Courageous | $1,688,000 |
|---|
| 8 | Lost Horizon | Columbia | $1,683,000[4] |
|---|
| 9 | A Day at the Races | MGM | $1,602,000 |
|---|
| 10 | Thin Ice | 20th Century Fox | $1,590,000[5] |
|---|
|
Events
- April 16 – Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West premieres in the US.
- May 7 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedy Shall We Dance premieres in the US.
- May 11 – Drama Captains Courageous, starring Spencer Tracy, premieres in New York, going into general release on June 25.
- June 7 – Jean Harlow, one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the decade, dies aged 26 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. The official cause of death is listed as cerebral edema, a complication of kidney failure.
- June 11 – Marx Brothers comedy A Day at the Races premieres in the U.S.
- July 9 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
- July 23 – Six weeks after Jean Harlow's death, her final film, Saratoga, is released. It is an instant box office success and becomes the year's highest-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career.
- December 21 – Walt Disney's debut feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length cartoon to be made in America, in Technicolor, and in sound, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The film opens nationwide on February 4, 1938, and is a massive box office success, briefly holding the record as the highest-grossing sound film of all time.
- Monogram Pictures, who had merged with Republic Pictures two years earlier, decide to separate and distribute their own films again.
Academy Awards
See main article: 10th Academy Awards.
Top ten money-making stars
1937 film releases
January–March
- January 1937
- 13 January
- 14 January
- 17 January
- 26 January
- 28 January
- 29 January
- 30 January
- February 1937
- 2 February
- 4 February
- 12 February
- 13 February
- 19 February
- March 1937
- 2 March
- 3 March
- 5 March
- 12 March
- 22 March
- 25 March
- 26 March
- 27 March
- Girl Loves Boy
April–June
- April 1937
- 5 April
- 9 April
- 10 April
- 16 April
- 18 April
- 20 April
- 23 April
- 28 April
- 30 April
- May 1937
- 7 May
- 8 May
- 9 May
- 19 May
- 21 May
- 26 May
- 28 May
- June 1937
- 1 June
- 4 June
- 8 June
- 11 June
- 12 June
- 17 June
- 23 June
- 25 June
- 30 June
July–September
- July 1937
- 6 July
- 7 July
- 14 July
- 15 July
- 16 July
- 21 July
- 23 July
- 24 July
- August 1937
- 3 August
- 4 August
- 6 August
- 9 August
- 11 August
- 19 August
- 20 August
- 25 August
- 27 August
- 31 August
- September 1937
- 1 September
- 2 September
- 3 September
- 5 September
- 7 September
- 10 September
- 16 September
- 18 September
- 24 September
- 26 September
- 30 September
October–December
- October 1937
- 1 October
- 2 October
- 8 October
- 10 October
- 12 October
- 14 October
- 15 October
- 20 October
- 21 October
- 22 October
- 23 October
- 29 October
- 30 October
- November 1937
- 9 November
- 12 November
- 19 November
- 20 November
- 25 November
- December 1937
- 2 December
- 4 December
- 7 December
- 10 December
- 17 December
- 18 December
- 21 December
- 24 December
- 25 December
- 29 December
- 31 December
Notable films released in 1937
United States unless stated.
A
B
- Battle of Greed, starring Tom Keene
- Bezhin Meadow, directed by Sergei Eisenstein (U.S.S.R.)
- Big City, starring Luise Rainer and Spencer Tracy
- Bizarre, Bizarre (Drôle de drame ou L'étrange aventure du Docteur Molyneux), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Louis Jouvet and Michel Simon (France)
- Black Legion, starring Humphrey Bogart
- Born to the West, starring John Wayne
- The Bride Wore Red, directed by Dorothy Arzner, starring Joan Crawford
- Brief Ecstasy, starring Paul Lukas (GB)
- Broadway Melody of 1938, starring Eleanor Powell and Judy Garland
C
D
- A Damsel in Distress, starring Fred Astaire, George Burns and Gracie Allen
- The Daughter of the Samurai (Die Tochter des Samurai / Atarashiki tsuchi), directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami (Germany/Japan)
- Daughter of Shanghai, starring Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn
- A Day at the Races, directed by Sam Wood, starring the Marx Brothers
- Dead End, directed by William Wyler, starring Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor
- Double Wedding, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
- Dreaming Lips, directed by Paul Czinner, starring Elisabeth Bergner, Raymond Massey (Britain)
- Duniya Na Mane (The Unexpected) (India)
- The Dybbuk, Yiddish language film from (Poland)
E
F
G
- Gangway, starring Jessie Matthews (GB)
- Girl Loves Boy. starring Eric Linden
- The Good Earth, starring Paul Muni and Luise Rainer (Academy Award for Best Actress)
- Good Morning, Boys, starring Will Hay (GB)
- Grand Illusion, directed by Jean Renoir, starring Jean Gabin and Dita Parlo (France)
- The Great Barrier, starring Richard Arlen and Lilli Palmer (GB)
- The Great Garrick, starring Brian Aherne and Olivia de Havilland
- The Great O'Malley, starring Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart
- Green Fields – a Yiddish language film
- Gribouille (The Meddler), starring Raimu and Michèle Morgan (France)
H
- La Habanera, directed by Douglas Sirk (Germany)
- Head Over Heels, starring Jessie Matthews (GB)
- Heidi, starring Shirley Temple
- High, Wide, and Handsome, starring Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott
- History is Made at Night, starring Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur
- The Hound of the Baskervilles / Der Hund Von Baskerville (German) Sherlock Holmes film directed by Carl Lamac, starring Bruno Guttner as Holmes, and Fritz Odemar as Watson
- Humanity and Paper Balloons (Ninjō Kami Fūsen) (Japan)
- The Hurricane, starring Dorothy Lamour
I
J
K
L
- Lancashire Luck, film debut of Wendy Hiller (GB)
- The Last Gangster, starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, starring Joan Crawford and William Powell
- Law for Tombstone, directed by and starring Buck Jones
- Layla and Majnun directed by Abdolhossein Sepanta (Iran)
- The Life of Emile Zola, starring Paul Muni
- Lost Horizon, directed by Frank Capra, starring Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt
- Love from a Stranger, starring Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone (GB)
- Love Is on the Air, directed by Nick Grinde, starring Ronald Reagan and June Travis
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
- Saratoga, starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in her last film
- The Seven Ravens (Germany)
- Seventh Heaven, starring James Stewart and Simone Simon
- Shall We Dance, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
- Sidewalks of London (a.k.a. St. Martin's Lane), starring Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB)
- Il signor Max, starring Vittorio De Sica (Italy)
- Silver Blaze (British), a Sherlock Holmes film directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes, Ian Fleming as Watson and Lyn Harding as Moriarty; released in U.S. as Murder at the Baskervilles
- Skeleton on Horseback (Bílá nemoc), directed by and starring Hugo Haas (Czechoslovakia)
- Slave Ship, starring Warner Baxter and Wallace Beery
- Slim, starring Henry Fonda
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, first American feature-length animated film. Directed by David Hand, William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen, starring Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Harry Stockwell, Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw, Billy Gilbert, Eddie Collins, Moroni Olsen, and Stuart Buchanan
- The Soldier and the Lady
- Something to Sing About, directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring James Cagney, Evelyn Daw, William Frawley
- Song at Midnight (Ye ban ge sheng) (China)
- Souls at Sea, starring Gary Cooper and George Raft
- Stage Door, starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers
- Stand-In, starring Leslie Howard, Joan Blondell, Humphrey Bogart
- A Star Is Born, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March
- Stella Dallas, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- Storm in a Teacup, starring Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB)
- Street Angel (Malu tianshi), starring Zhou Xuan (China)
T
- The Tale of the Fox (Germany)
- That Certain Woman, starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda
- The Three Garridebs, starring Louis Hector, in the first televised adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character.[6]
- They Gave Him a Gun, starring Spencer Tracy and Gladys George
- They Won't Forget, starring Claude Rains
- Thin Ice, starring Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power
- Think Fast, Mr. Moto, starring Peter Lorre
- This Is My Affair, starring Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck
- Thunder in the City, starring Edward G. Robinson, Nigel Bruce, Ralph Richardson (GB)
- To New Shores, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Zarah Leander (Germany)
- Topper, starring Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young
- Tovarich, starring Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer
- Tři vejce do skla (Three eggs in a glass) (Czechoslovakia)
- True Confession, starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, John Barrymore
V
W
Y
- Yoshiwara, directed by Max Ophüls, starring Sessue Hayakawa (France)
- You Can't Have Everything, starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Gypsy Rose Lee
- You Only Live Once, starring Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney
- Young and Innocent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (GB)
- You're a Sweetheart
- You're Only Young Once, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Z
Serials
Comedy film series
Animated short film series
Births
- January 1 - Suzy Kendall, English actress
- January 4 – Dyan Cannon, American actress
- January 7 – Harvey Evans, American actor (d. 2021)
- January 10 – John M. Watson Sr., American actor and musician (d. 2006)
- January 11 – Felix Silla, Italian actor, musician, stunt artist and voice artist (d. 2021)
- January 12 – Shirley Eaton, English actress and model
- January 14 – Stefano Satta Flores, Italian actor and voice actor (d. 1985)
- January 15 – Margaret O'Brien, American actress
- January 16 – Lorraine Bayly, Australian actress, singer, director and writer
- January 17 – Dick Durock, American actor and stuntman (d. 2009)
- January 24 – Julie Gregg, American actress (d. 2016)
- January 30 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
- January 31 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
- February 1 – Garrett Morris, American comedian, actor and singer
- February 2 – Tom Smothers, American comedian and musician (d. 2023)
- February 14 – Soher Al Bably, Egyptian actress (d. 2021)
- February 17 – Benjamin Whitrow, English actor (d. 2017)
- February 19 – David Margulies, American actor (d. 2016)
- February 21 – Gary Lockwood, American actor
- February 24 – Shawn Elliott, American actor and singer (d. 2016)
- February 25 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
- February 27 – Barbara Babcock, American character actress
- March 2 – BarBara Luna, American actress
- March 3 – Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
- March 5 – Sal Borgese, Italian actor
- March 10 – Joe Viterelli, American actor (d. 2004)
- March 21 – Bill Capizzi, American voice actor (d. 2007)
- March 22 – Angelo Badalamenti, American screen composer (d. 2022)
- March 23 – Tony Burton, American actor (d. 2016)
- March 30
- April 1 – Jordan Charney, American character actor
- April 2 – Ken Olfson, American actor (d. 1997)
- April 3 – Lawrence Dane, Canadian actor and producer (d. 2022)
- April 6
- April 13
- April 15
- April 18 – Robert Hooks, American actor and producer
- April 19 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
- April 20 – George Takei, American actor, author and activist
- April 22 – Jack Nicholson, American actor
- April 27 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)
- May 5 – John Martino, American actor
- May 8 – Shin Seong-il, South Korean actor (d. 2018)
- May 12
- George Carlin, American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic and author (d. 2008)
- Susan Hampshire, English actress
- May 13 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
- May 16 – Yvonne Craig, American actress (d. 2015)
- May 19 – Pat Roach, English actor and professional wrestler (d. 2004)
- June 1 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and director
- June 2 – Sally Kellerman, American actress and singer (d. 2022)
- June 10 – Luciana Paluzzi, Italian actress
- June 11
- June 14 – Jørgen Leth, Danish director
- June 16 – Charmian May, English character actress (d. 2002)
- June 17 - Arthur Schmidt, American film editor (d. 2023)
- June 26 – Sombat Metanee, Thai actor and film director (d. 2022)
- June 28 – Richard Bright, American actor (d. 2006)
- July 2 – Polly Holliday, American retired actress
- July 6 – Ned Beatty, American character actor (d. 2021)
- July 12 – Bill Cosby, American stand-up comedian and actor
- July 16 – Ada Rogovtseva, Ukrainian actress
- July 19 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
- July 20
- July 21 – Gray Frederickson, American film producer (d. 2022)
- July 25 – Paul Collins, British actor
- July 28 – Viktor Merezhko, Russian screenwriter, actor, writer and television presenter (d. 2022)
- August 3
- August 5 – Alan Howard, English actor (d. 2015)
- August 6 – Barbara Windsor, English comedy actress (d. 2020)
- August 8 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- August 14
- August 16 – Lorraine Gary, American retired actress
- August 19 – Evadne Baker, English actress (d. 1995)
- August 26 – Kenji Utsumi, Japanese actor (d. 2013)
- September 1 – Tsai Chin, Chinese actress, singer and director
- September 4
- September 6 – Jo Anne Worley, American actress, comedian and singer
- September 7
- September 10 – Brian Murray, South African actor and theatre director (d. 2018)
- September 13
- September 21
- September 24 – Dee Pollock, American actor (d. 2005)
- September 26 – Jerry Weintraub, American producer and actor (d. 2015)
- October 7 – Clive Graham, British actor (d. 2007)
- October 10
- October 11 – Ron Leibman, American actor (d. 2019)
- October 15 – Linda Lavin, American actress and singer
- October 21 – Édith Scob, French actress (d. 2019)
- October 22 – Alan Ladd Jr., American film producer (d. 2022)
- November 4 – Loretta Swit, American actress
- November 5 – Harris Yulin, American actor
- November 17 – Peter Cook, English satirist and comedic actor (d. 1995)
- November 21
- Ingrid Pitt, Polish-born British actress (d. 2010)
- Marlo Thomas, American actress and producer
- November 23 – Dora Cadavid, Colombian actress, singer and announcer (d. 2022)
- November 27 – Rodney Bewes, English actor (d. 2017)
- November 30 – Ridley Scott, English director and producer
- December 4
- December 7 – Kenneth Colley, English actor
- December 8 – James MacArthur, American actor (d. 2010)
- December 9 – Darwin Joston, American actor (d. 1998)
- December 12 – Connie Francis, American singer and actress
- December 16 – Joyce Bulifant, American actress
- December 21 – Jane Fonda, American actress
- December 29 – Barbara Steele, English actress
- December 30 – Zaldy Zshornack, Filipino actor (d. 2002)
- December 31 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
Deaths
- January 2 – Ross Alexander, 29, American actor, Captain Blood, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Flirtation Walk
- January 21 – Marie Prevost, 40, Canadian-born American actress, The Marriage Circle, The Racket, The Godless Girl, Cain and Mabel
- April 7 - Helen Burgess, 20, American actress, The Plainsman, A Doctor's Diary
- May 1 – Snitz Edwards, 69, Austro-Hungarian-born American actor, The Thief of Bagdad, The Phantom of the Opera, Seven Chances, College
- May 10 – William Tedmarsh, 61, English-American silent film actor
- June 7
- Jean Harlow, 26, American actress, The Public Enemy, Libeled Lady, Suzy, Red Dust
- Monroe Owsley, 37, American actor, Holiday, Indiscreet, The Keyhole, Ex-Lady
- June 25 – Colin Clive, 37, British actor, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein
- September 21 – Osgood Perkins, 45, American actor, Scarface, Gold Diggers of 1937
- November 13 – Mrs. Leslie Carter, 75, American stage and screen actress, Becky Sharp, Rocky Mountain Mystery
- December 21 – Ted Healy, 41, American actor and creator of The Three Stooges, San Francisco, Mad Love, Beer and Pretzels, Soup to Nuts
Debuts
Sources
- Book: Block. Alex Ben. Wilson. Lucy Autrey. 2010. George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. HarperCollins. 978-0-06-177889-6.
External links
Notes and References
- .
- Book: Madsen, Axel. Stanwyck: A Biography. 2015. 978-1-5040-0861-7. Released in August 1937, Stella Dallas grossed more than $2 million..
- Book: Reid, John Howard. 140 All-Time Must-See Movies for Film Lovers Now Available On DVD. 2012. 978-1-105-75295-7. UA's top domestic box office hit of 1937, with gross rentals close to $2 million..
- Book: Dick, Bernard F.. Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio. 1992. 978-0-8131-5215-8. Lost Horizon was probably least successful. It was budgeted at $1.66 million, but the combined U.S. and Canadian gross was only $1,683 million, thus barely covering production costs..
- News: Variety. All-time Film Rental Champs. October 15, 1990.
- http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-actor-to-portray-sherlock-holmes-on-tv-/ First Actor to Portray Sherlock Holmes on TV
