1934 in film

See also: *1933 in film *1934 *1935 in film *1930s in film *years in film *film

Events

*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn (of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) finally purchased the film rights to The Wizard of Oz from L. Frank Baum for $40,000.00.
*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade
*April 19 - Fox Studios releases Stand Up and Cheer!, with five-year-old Shirley Temple in a relatively minor role. Shirley steals the show. Fox, which had been near bankruptcy, owns a gold mine.
*May 18 - Paramount releases Little Miss Marker, with Shirley Temple, on loan from Fox, in the title role.
*June 13 - An amendment to the Production Code establishes the Production Code Administration, and requires all films to obtain a certificate of approval before being released.
* November 12 - The musical Babes in Toyland debuts, featuring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as comic relief (see Laurel and Hardy).
*December 11 - Fox releases Bright Eyes, starring their hot new property, Shirley Temple. Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollypop".

Top grossing films

# Viva Villa! # The Black Cat# Let's Try Again

Academy Awards

*Best Picture: It Happened One Night - Columbia Pictures
*Best Actor: Clark Gable - It Happened One Night
*Best Actress: Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night
*Academy Award for Best Director: Frank Capra - It Happened One Night

Movies released

Movies released in 1934 include:
Anne of Green Gables, starring Anne Shirley
The Barretts of Wimpole Street, starring Charles Laughton, Fredric March, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Norma Shearer
Belle of the Nineties, starring Mae West
The Black Cat, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
Bright Eyes, starring Shirley Temple
Broadway Bill, starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy; directed by Frank Capra
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back, starring Ronald Colman
Burn 'Em Up Barnes, starring Jack Mulhall
The Case of the Howling Dog, starring Warren William as Perry Mason
The Cat and the Fiddle, starring Ramon Novarro and Jeanette MacDonald
Charlie Chan in London, starring Warner Oland
Charlie Chan's Courage, starring Warner Oland
The Circus Clown, starring Joe E. Brown
The Clairvoyant, starring Claude Rains and Fay Wray
Cleopatra, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Claudette Colbert
The Count of Monte Cristo starring Robert Donat
Crime Without Passion starring Claude Rains
Dames, a Busby Berkeley musical starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, ZaSu Pitts, Berton Churchill and Hugh Herbert. Director: Ray Enright
Dark Hazard, starring Edward G. Robinson
Death on the Diamond starring Robert Young
Death Takes a Holiday, starring Fredric March
Fashions of 1934, starring William Powell and Bette Davis
Fog Over Frisco, starring Bette Davis
Forsaking All Others, starring Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
Gambling Lady, starring Barbara Stanwyck
The Gay Bride, starring Carole Lombard
The Gay Divorcee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
The Girl from Missouri, starring Jean Harlow
Grand Canary
Here Comes the Navy, starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien
The House of Rothschild, starring George Arliss and Loretta Young
Imitation of Life, starring Claudette Colbert and Warren William
It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, directed by Frank Capra
It's a Gift, starring W.C. Fields
Jimmy the Gent, starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
Judge Priest, starring Will Rogers
Kid Millions, starring Eddie Cantor
L' Atalante
Let's Try Again, starring Clive Brook and Diana Wynyard
Little Man, What Now?, starring Margaret Sullavan
The Little Minister, starring Katharine Hepburn and John Beal
Little Miss Marker, starring Shirley Temple
The Lost Patrol, starring Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff and Wallace Ford
The Lucky Texan, starring John Wayne
Madame DuBarry, starring Dolores del Rio
The Man From Utah, starring John Wayne
Man of Aran (Documentary)
The Man Who Knew Too Much, a Hitchcock thriller starring Leslie Banks and Peter Lorre
The Man with Two Faces, starring Edward G. Robinson
Manhattan Melodrama, starring Clark Gable, William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Merry Widow, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald
Mystery Mountain
Of Human Bondage, starring Leslie Howard and Bette Davis
The Old Fashioned Way, starring W.C. Fields
One Night of Love, starring Grace Moore
Our Daily Bread, starring Karen Morley and Tom Keene
The Richest Girl in the World, starring Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea and Fay Wray
Riptide, starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery
The Scarlet Empress, starring Marlene Dietrich
The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon
The Silver Streak, starring Charles Starrett
Six of a Kind, starring Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland and W.C. Fields
Spitfire, starring Katharine Hepburn
The St. Louis Kid, starring James Cagney
Stand Up and Cheer! starring Warner Baxter and Madge Evans, and featuring five-year-old Shirley Temple.
The Star Packer, starring John Wayne
Tarzan and His Mate, starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
The Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Trail Beyond, starring John Wayne
Treasure Island, starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper
Twentieth Century, starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard
Twenty Million Sweethearts, starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers
Villa, Villa!, starring Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo and Fay Wray
We're Not Dressing, starring Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard
We're Rich Again, starring Edna May Oliver and Billie Burke
A Wicked Woman, starring Mady Christians, Jean Parker and Charles Bickford
Wonder Bar, starring Al Jolson
You're Telling Me!, starring W.C. Fields

Short film series

Buster Keaton (1917-1941)
Our Gang (1922-1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1926-1940)

Animated short film series

Krazy Kat (1925-1940)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927-1938)
Mickey Mouse (1928-1953)
Silly Symphonies (1929-1939)
Screen Songs (1929-1938)
Looney Tunes (1930-1969)
Terrytoons (1930-1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931-1969)
Scrappy (1931-1941)
Betty Boop (1932-1939)
Popeye (1933-1957)
Willie Whopper (1933-1934)
ComiColor Cartoons (1933-1936)
Cubby Bear (1933-1934)
The Little King (1933-1934)
Happy Harmonies (1934-1938)
Cartune Classics (1934-1935)
Color Rhapsodies (1934-1949)
Amos & Andy (1934)

Births

*January 22 - Bill Bixby, television actor (+ 1993)
*February 11 - Tina Louise, actress.
*September 20 - Sophia Loren, Italian actress.
*November 5 - Kira Muratova, Russian director.

Deaths

* January 30 - Dorothy Dell, 19, actress, road accident
* March 21 - Lilyan Tashman, 34, actress
* July 28 - Marie Dressler, Academy Award winning actress