1937 in film
Overview of the events of 1937 in film
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
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[ 1]
3
The Good Earth $2,002,000[ 1]
4
Stella Dallas United Artists
$2,000,000[ 2] [ 3]
5
Rosalie MGM
$1,946,000[ 1]
6
Broadway Melody of 1938 $1,889,000[ 1]
7
Captains Courageous $1,688,000[ 1]
8
Lost Horizon Columbia
$1,683,000[ 4]
9
A Day at the Races MGM
$1,602,000[ 1]
10
Thin Ice 20th Century Fox
$1,590,000[ 5]
Events
April 16 – Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West
May 7 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedy Shall We Dance
May 11 – Drama Captains Courageous 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
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
December 21 – Walt Disney 's debut feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 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
Top ten money-making stars
1937 film releases
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 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 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 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 Tom Keene Bezhin Meadow Sergei Eisenstein (U.S.S.R. )Big City Luise Rainer and Spencer Tracy Bizarre, Bizarre Marcel Carné , starring Louis Jouvet and Michel Simon (France )Black Legion Humphrey Bogart Born to the West John Wayne The Bride Wore Red Dorothy Arzner , starring Joan Crawford Brief Ecstasy Paul Lukas (GB )Broadway Melody of 1938 Eleanor Powell and Judy Garland
C
D
A Damsel in Distress Fred Astaire , George Burns and Gracie Allen The Daughter of the Samurai Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami (Germany /Japan )Daughter of Shanghai Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn A Day at the Races Sam Wood , starring the Marx Brothers Dead End William Wyler , starring Sylvia Sidney , Joel McCrea , Humphrey Bogart , Claire Trevor Double Wedding William Powell and Myrna Loy Dreaming Lips Paul Czinner , starring Elisabeth Bergner , Raymond Massey (Britain)Duniya Na Mane India )The Dybbuk Yiddish language film from (Poland )
E
F
G
Gangway Jessie Matthews (GB )Girl Loves Boy Eric Linden The Good Earth Paul Muni and Luise Rainer (Academy Award for Best Actress )Good Morning, Boys Will Hay (GB )Grand Illusion Jean Renoir , starring Jean Gabin and Dita Parlo (France )The Great Barrier Richard Arlen and Lilli Palmer (GB )The Great Garrick Brian Aherne and Olivia de Havilland The Great O'Malley Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart Green Fields Yiddish language filmGribouille a.k.a. The Meddler), starring Raimu and Michèle Morgan (France )
H
La Habanera Douglas Sirk (Germany )Head Over Heels Jessie Matthews (GB )Heidi Shirley Temple High, Wide, and Handsome Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott History is Made at Night 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 WatsonHumanity and Paper Balloons Japan )The Hurricane Dorothy Lamour
I
J
K
L
Lancashire Luck Wendy Hiller (GB )The Last Gangster Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Joan Crawford and William Powell Law for Tombstone Buck Jones Layla and Majnun Abdolhossein Sepanta (Iran)The Life of Emile Zola Paul Muni Lost Horizon Frank Capra , starring Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt Love from a Stranger Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone (GB)Love Is on the Air Nick Grinde , starring Ronald Reagan and June Travis
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
Saratoga Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in her last filmThe Seven Ravens Germany )Seventh Heaven James Stewart and Simone Simon Shall We Dance Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Sidewalks of London Charles Laughton , Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB )Il signor Max Vittorio De Sica (Italy )Silver Blaze 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 Hugo Haas (Czechoslovakia )Slave Ship Warner Baxter and Wallace Beery Slim Henry Fonda Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 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 Victor Schertzinger , starring James Cagney , Evelyn Daw , William Frawley Song at Midnight China )Souls at Sea Gary Cooper and George Raft Stage Door Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers Stand-In Leslie Howard , Joan Blondell , Humphrey Bogart A Star Is Born Janet Gaynor and Fredric March Stella Dallas Barbara Stanwyck Storm in a Teacup Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison (GB )Street Angel Zhou Xuan (China )
T
The Tale of the Fox That Certain Woman Bette Davis and Henry Fonda The Three Garridebs Louis Hector , in the first televised adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character.[ 6] They Gave Him a Gun Spencer Tracy and Gladys George They Won't Forget Claude Rains Thin Ice Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power Think Fast, Mr. Moto Peter Lorre This Is My Affair Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck Thunder in the City Edward G. Robinson , Nigel Bruce , Ralph Richardson (GB )To New Shores Douglas Sirk , starring Zarah Leander (Germany )Topper Constance Bennett , Cary Grant , Roland Young Tovarich Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer Tři vejce do skla Czechoslovakia )True Confession Carole Lombard , Fred MacMurray , John Barrymore
V
W
Y
Yoshiwara Max Ophüls , starring Sessue Hayakawa (France )You Can't Have Everything Alice Faye , Don Ameche , Gypsy Rose Lee You Only Live Once Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney Young and Innocent Alfred Hitchcock (GB )You're a Sweetheart You're Only Young Once Lewis Stone , Mickey Rooney , Cecilia Parker , Fay Holden
Z
Serials
Comedy film series
Animated short film series
Births
January 1 - Suzy Kendall , British 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 19 - Maurice Roëves , British actor (d. 2020 )
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 9 - Marty Krofft , Canadian puppeteer and film producer (d. 2023)
April 12 - Dennis Banks , Native American actor and activist (d. 2017)
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
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 10 - Albert Hall , American actor
November 17 – Peter Cook , English satirist and comedic actor (d. 1995)
November 21
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
References
^ a b c d e f g The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study^ Madsen, Axel (2015). Stanwyck: A Biography . ISBN 978-1-5040-0861-7 Released in August 1937, Stella Dallas grossed more than $2 million. ^ Reid, John Howard (2012). 140 All-Time Must-See Movies for Film Lovers Now Available On DVD . ISBN 978-1-105-75295-7 UA's top domestic box office hit of 1937, with gross rentals close to $2 million. ^ Dick, Bernard F. (1992). Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio . ISBN 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. ^ "All-time Film Rental Champs". Variety ^ First Actor to Portray Sherlock Holmes on TV
Sources
Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success . HarperCollins . ISBN 978-0-06-177889-6
External links
