Overview of the events of 1936 in film
The following is an overview of1936 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)[ edit ] The top ten 1936 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1936 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Great Ziegfeld MGM $3,089,000[ 1] 2 San Francisco $2,868,000[ 2] 3 The Plainsman Paramount $2,278,533[ 3] 4 After the Thin Man MGM $1,992,000[ 1] 5 Modern Times United Artists $1,800,000[ 4] 6 Anthony Adverse Warner Bros. $1,783,000[ 5] 7 Strike Me Pink United Artists $1,700,000[ 4] 8 Rose Marie MGM $1,695,000[ 1] 9 Swing Time RKO $1,624,000[ 6] 10 Libeled Lady MGM $1,601,000[ 1]
January 9 – Silent screen actorJohn Gilbert , perhaps best known for his appearances in films such asThe Merry Widow andThe Big Parade , dies suddenly of a heart attack at hisBel Air home, aged 38. February 15 – firstRepublic serial ,Darkest Africa , is released. May 29 –Fritz Lang 's first Hollywood film,Fury , starringSpencer Tracy andBruce Cabot , is released. September 14 – Film producerIrving Thalberg , often referred by many as the "Boy Wonder of Hollywood", dies from pneumonia at his home inSanta Monica , aged 37. Top Ten Money Making Stars [ edit ] Exhibitors selected the following as theTop Ten Money Making Stars of the Year inQuigley Publishing Company 's annual poll.[ 7]
A poll of the top Western stars was also published for the first time.[ 8]
United States unless stated.
January 193616 January 17 January 20 January 22 January 24 January 28 January 30 January February 19366 February 7 February 14 February 15 February 19 February 20 February 22 February 25 February 28 February 29 February March 19361 March 2 March 6 March 9 March 13 March 18 March 20 March 22 March 28 March 30 March April 19364 April 10 April 11 April 16 April 20 April 24 April 30 April May 19366 May 8 May 11 May 17 May 19 May 20 May 26 May 28 May 29 May June 19365 June 6 June 14 June 15 June 17 June 20 June 26 June July 193610 July 16 July 22 July 24 July 28 July 29 July August 193610 August 20 August 26 August 27 August 28 August September 19361 September 2 September 4 September 6 September 9 September 10 September 11 September 15 September 23 September 25 September 26 September 30 September October 19361 October 6 October 9 October 15 October 16 October 20 October 22 October 27 October 30 October November 19361 November 6 November 12 November 13 November 16 November 20 November 25 November 26 November 27 November December 19361 December 2 December 11 December 12 December 20 December 21 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 31 December Notable films released in 1936 [ edit ] United States unless stated.
Accused , directed byThornton Freeland , starringDouglas Fairbanks Jr. andDolores del Río – (GB )Achhoot Kanya (Untouchable Maiden) , directed byFranz Osten , starringAshok Kumar andDevika Rani – (India )After the Thin Man , directed byW. S. Van Dyke , starringWilliam Powell ,Myrna Loy andJames Stewart Allá en el Rancho Grande (Out on the Great Ranch) , directed byFernando de Fuentes , starringTito Guízar andEsther Fernández – (Mexico )The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss , directed byAlfred Zeisler , starringCary Grant andMary Brian – (GB )Anthony Adverse , directed byMervyn LeRoy , starringFredric March andOlivia de Havilland Anything Goes , directed byLewis Milestone , starringBing Crosby ,Ethel Merman andIda Lupino Augustus the Strong (August der Starke) , directed byPaul Wegener , starringMichael Bohnen – (Germany /Poland )Black Eyes (Cheshmhay-e Siah) , directed byAbdolhossein Sepanta – (Iran )Blood on Wolf Mountain (Láng shān dié xuě jì) , directed byFei Mu , starringLi Lili – (China )The Bohemian Girl , directed byJames W. Horne andCharley Rogers , starringLaurel and Hardy The Bold Caballero , directed byWells Root , starringRobert Livingston Born to Dance , directed byRoy Del Ruth , starringEleanor Powell ,James Stewart andUna Merkel Broken Blossoms , directed byJohn Brahm , starringDolly Haas andEmlyn Williams – (GB )Bullets or Ballots , directed byWilliam Keighley , starringEdward G. Robinson ,Joan Blondell andHumphrey Bogart By the Bluest of Seas (U samogo sinego morya) , directed byBoris Barnet – (USSR )Cain and Mabel , directed byLloyd Bacon , starringMarion Davies andClark Gable Camel Through the Eye of a Needle (Velbloud uchem jehly) , directed by and starringHugo Haas – (Czechoslovakia )Camille , directed byGeorge Cukor , starringGreta Garbo ,Robert Taylor andLionel Barrymore Captain January , directed byDavid Butler , starringShirley Temple The Case Against Mrs. Ames , directed byWilliam A. Seiter , starringMadeleine Carroll andGeorge Brent Ceiling Zero , directed byHoward Hawks , starringJames Cagney andPat O'Brien César , directed byMarcel Pagnol , starringRaimu – (France )The Charge of the Light Brigade , directed byMichael Curtiz , starringErrol Flynn andOlivia de Havilland Charlie Chan at the Opera , directed byH. Bruce Humberstone , starringWarner Oland andBoris Karloff The Children of Captain Grant (Deti kapitana Granta) , directed byVladimir Vajnshtok – (USSR )Circus (Tsirk) , directed byGrigori Aleksandrov , starringLyubov Orlova – (USSR )Collegiate , directed byRalph Murphy , starringJack Oakie ,Frances Langford andBetty Grable Come and Get It , directed byHoward Hawks andWilliam Wyler , starringEdward Arnold ,Joel McCrea andWalter Brennan Craig's Wife , directed byDorothy Arzner , starringRosalind Russell andJohn Boles The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Le Crime de Monsieur Lange) , directed byJean Renoir , starringRené Lefèvre – (France )Crime Over London , directed byAlfred Zeisler , starringMargot Grahame andPaul Cavanagh – (GB )Kundal Lal Saigal and Jamuna in Devdas, Barua's 1936 Hindi version. Daniel Boone , directed byDavid Howard , starringGeorge O'Brien The Desert Island (Lang tao sha) , directed byWu Yonggang – (China )Desire , directed byFrank Borzage , starringMarlene Dietrich andGary Cooper Devdas , directed byPramathesh Barua , starringK. L. Saigal – (India )The Devil Doll , directed byTod Browning , starringLionel Barrymore andMaureen O'Sullivan Dimples , directed byWilliam A. Seiter , starringShirley Temple andFrank Morgan Dodsworth , directed byWilliam Wyler , starringWalter Huston ,Ruth Chatterton ,Mary Astor andDavid Niven Dracula's Daughter , directed byLambert Hillyer , starringOtto Kruger andGloria Holden Dusty Ermine , directed byBernard Vorhaus , directed byBernard Vorhaus , starringAnthony Bushell andJane Baxter – (GB )The Garden of Allah , directed byRichard Boleslawski , starringMarlene Dietrich andCharles Boyer The General Died at Dawn , directed byLewis Milestone , starringGary Cooper andMadeleine Carroll General Spanky , directed byFred Newmeyer andGordon Douglas , starringSpanky McFarland Girl Friends (Podrugi) , directed byLev Arnshtam , starringZoya Fyodorova – (USSR )Go West, Young Man , directed byHenry Hathaway , starringMae West ,Warren William andRandolph Scott Gold Diggers of 1937 , directed byLloyd Bacon , starringDick Powell ,Joan Blondell andGlenda Farrell The Gorgeous Hussy , directed byClarence Brown , starringJoan Crawford ,Robert Taylor ,Lionel Barrymore ,Franchot Tone ,Melvyn Douglas andJames Stewart The Great Ziegfeld , directed byRobert Z. Leonard , starringWilliam Powell ,Myrna Loy ,Luise Rainer andFrank Morgan Green Pastures , directed byMarc Connelly andWilliam Keighley , starringRex Ingram andEddie "Rochester" Anderson Laburnum Grove , directed byCarol Reed , starringEdmund Gwenn andCedric Hardwicke – (GB )The Last of the Mohicans , directed byGeorge B. Seitz , starringRandolph Scott The Last Outlaw , directed byChristy Cabanne , starringHarry Carey andHoot Gibson The Lawless Nineties , directed byJoseph Kane , starringJohn Wayne Legion of Terror , directed byCharles C. Coleman , starringBruce Cabot Let's Go With Pancho Villa (Vámonos con Pancho Villa) , directed byFernando de Fuentes – (Mexico )Libeled Lady , directed byJack Conway , starringJean Harlow ,William Powell ,Myrna Loy andSpencer Tracy Limelight , directed byHerbert Wilcox , starringAnna Neagle – (GB )Little Lord Fauntleroy , directed byJohn Cromwell , starringFreddie Bartholomew andDolores Costello Lloyd's of London , directed byHenry King , starringFreddie Bartholomew ,Madeleine Carroll andTyrone Power Love Before Breakfast , directed byWalter Lang , starringCarole Lombard ,Preston Foster andCesar Romero Love in Exile , directed byAlfred L. Werker , starringClive Brook andHelen Vinson – (GB )Love on the Run , directed byW. S. Van Dyke . starringJoan Crawford ,Clark Gable andFranchot Tone The Lower Depths (Les Bas-fonds) , directed byJean Renoir , starringJean Gabin – (France )The Man Who Changed His Mind , directed byRobert Stevenson , starringBoris Karloff – (GB )Mayerling , directed byAnatole Litvak starringCharles Boyer andDanielle Darrieux – (France )Men Are Not Gods , directed byWalter Reisch , starringMiriam Hopkins andGertrude Lawrence – (GB )A Message to Garcia , directed byGeorge Marshall , starringWallace Beery ,Barbara Stanwyck andJohn Boles The Milky Way , directed byLeo McCarey , starringHarold Lloyd andAdolphe Menjou Modern Times , aCharlie Chaplin film, withPaulette Goddard The Moon's Our Home , directed byWilliam A. Seiter , starringMargaret Sullavan ,Henry Fonda andWalter Brennan Mr. Deeds Goes to Town , directed byFrank Capra , starringGary Cooper andJean Arthur My Man Godfrey , directed byGregory La Cava , starringWilliam Powell andCarole Lombard Palm Springs , directed byAubrey Scotto , starringFrances Langford ,Guy Standing andDavid Niven Paradise Road (Ulička v ráji) , directed byMartin Frič , starringHugo Haas – (Czechoslovakia )Pennies from Heaven , directed byNorman Z. McLeod , starringBing Crosby ,Madge Evans andLouis Armstrong The Petrified Forest , directed byArchie Mayo , starringLeslie Howard ,Bette Davis andHumphrey Bogart The Plainsman , directed byCecil B. DeMille , starringGary Cooper ,Jean Arthur andCharles Bickford Poor Little Rich Girl , directed byIrving Cummings , starringShirley Temple ,Alice Faye andGloria Stuart Poppy , directed byA. Edward Sutherland , starringW. C. Fields The Prisoner of Shark Island , directed byJohn Ford , starringWarner Baxter andGloria Stuart Private Number , directed byRoy Del Ruth , starringLoretta Young ,Robert Taylor andBasil Rathbone Ramona , directed byHenry King , starringLoretta Young andDon Ameche Rebellion , directed byLynn Shores , starringTom Keene andRita Hayworth Red River Valley , directed byB. Reeves Eason , starringGene Autry Redes , directed byFred Zinnemann – (Mexico )Reefer Madness , directed byLouis J. Gasnier Rembrandt , directed byAlexander Korda , starringCharles Laughton – (GB )Road Gang , directed byLouis King , starringDonald Woods The Road to Glory , directed byHoward Hawks , starringFredric March ,Warner Baxter andLionel Barrymore Romeo and Juliet , directed byGeorge Cukor , starringNorma Shearer ,Leslie Howard ,John Barrymore andBasil Rathbone Rose Marie , directed byW. S. Van Dyke , starringJeanette MacDonald andNelson Eddy Sabotage , directed byAlfred Hitchcock , starringSylvia Sidney andOskar Homolka – (GB )San Francisco , directed byW. S. Van Dyke , starringClark Gable ,Jeanette MacDonald andSpencer Tracy Satan Met a Lady , directed byWilliam Dieterle , starringBette Davis andWarren William Secret Agent , directed byAlfred Hitchcock , starringMadeleine Carroll ,Peter Lorre ,John Gielgud andRobert Young – (GB )Show Boat , directed byJames Whale , starringIrene Dunne ,Allan Jones andPaul Robeson Silly Billies , directed byFred Guiol , starringWheeler & Woolsey The Singing Kid , directed byWilliam Keighley , starringAl Jolson Sisters of the Gion (Gion no kyōdai) , directed byKenji Mizoguchi – (Japan )Small Town Girl , directed byWilliam Wellman , starringJanet Gaynor ,Robert Taylor ,Lewis Stone andJames Stewart Son of Mongolia (Syn Mongolii) , directed byIlya Trauberg – (Mongolia )Sportszerelem (Love of Sport) , directed byLászló Kardos – (Hungary )Spy of Napoleon , directed byMaurice Elvey , starringRichard Barthelmess andDolly Haas – (GB )The Story of Louis Pasteur , directed byWilliam Dieterle , starringPaul Muni Stowaway , directed byWilliam A. Seiter , starringShirley Temple ,Robert Young andAlice Faye Strike Me Pink , directed byNorman Taurog , starringEddie Cantor andEthel Merman Sutter's Gold , directed byJames Cruze , starringEdward Arnold Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , directed byGeorge King , starringTod Slaughter – (GB )Swing Time , directed byGeorge Stevens , starringFred Astaire andGinger Rogers Tarzan Escapes , directed byRichard Thorpe , starringJohnny Weissmuller andMaureen O'Sullivan The Texas Rangers , directed byKing Vidor , starringFred MacMurray ,Jack Oakie andJean Parker Theodora Goes Wild , directed byRichard Boleslawski , starringIrene Dunne andMelvyn Douglas These Three , directed byWilliam Wyler , starringMiriam Hopkins ,Merle Oberon andJoel McCrea Things to Come , directed byWilliam Cameron Menzies , starringRaymond Massey ,Ralph Richardson andCedric Hardwicke – (GB )Three Godfathers , directed byRichard Boleslawski , starringChester Morris ,Lewis Stone andWalter Brennan Till We Meet Again , directed byRobert Florey , starringHerbert Marshall andGertrude Michael Too Many Parents , directed byRobert F. McGowan , starringFrances Farmer The Trail of the Lonesome Pine , directed byHenry Hathaway , starringFred MacMurray ,Sylvia Sidney andHenry Fonda Tudor Rose , directed byRobert Stevenson , starringCedric Hardwicke ,Nova Pilbeam andJohn Mills – (GB )The Walking Dead , directed byMichael Curtiz , starringBoris Karloff ,Ricardo Cortez andEdmund Gwenn Where There's a Will , directed byWilliam Beaudine , starringWill Hay andGraham Moffatt – (GB )Whom the Gods Love , directed byBasil Dean , starringStephen Haggard – (GB )Wife vs. Secretary , directed byClarence Brown , starringClark Gable ,Jean Harlow ,Myrna Loy andJames Stewart Windbag the Sailor , directed byWilliam Beaudine , starringWill Hay ,Moore Marriott andGraham Moffatt – (GB )A Woman Rebels , directed byMark Sandrich , starringKatharine Hepburn andHerbert Marshall Animated short film series [ edit ] January 9 –K Callan , American author and actress January 18 –Tim Barlow , English actor (d. 2023) January 22 –Nyree Dawn Porter , English actress (d. 2001) January 27 –Troy Donahue , American actor (d. 2001) January 28 –Alan Alda , American actor February 3 –Jeanine Basinger , American film historian February 4 –Gary Conway , American actor and screenwriter February 11 –Burt Reynolds , American actor (d. 2018) February 12 February 14 February 17 –Jim Brown , American actor (d. 2023) February 29 –Alex Rocco , American actor (d. 2015) March 1 –Georgina Spelvin , born Shelley Graham, Americanpornographic film actress March 5 –Dean Stockwell , American actor (d. 2021) March 8 –Sue Ane Langdon , American actress March 9 –Marty Ingels , American actor, comedian, comedy sketch writer and theatrical agent (d. 2015) March 19 –Ursula Andress , Swiss actress March 23 –Luisa Mattioli , Italian actress (d. 2021) April 9 –Avery Schreiber , American actor and comedian (d. 2002) April 12 –Charles Napier , American character actor (d. 2011) April 19 –Andy Romano , American actor (d. 2022) April 29 -Lane Smith , American actor (d. 2005) May 1 –Danièle Huillet , French director (d. 2006) May 4 –Eleanor Coppola , American documentary filmmaker, artist, and writer (d. 2024) May 9 May 12 –Millie Perkins , American former actress May 14 –Bobby Darin , American singer, songwriter, actor (d.1973 ) May 17 –Dennis Hopper , American actor and performance artist (d. 2010) May 20 –Anthony Zerbe , American actor May 23 –Charles Kimbrough , American actor (d. 2023) May 27 –Louis Gossett Jr. , American actor (d. 2024) May 28 –John Wilder , American producer, writer and former actor May 30 –Keir Dullea , American actor June 3 –Larry McMurtry , American novelist and screenwriter (d. 2021) June 4 –Bruce Dern , American actor June 8 –James Darren , American actor, director and singer (d. 2024) June 19 -Takeshi Aono , Japanese voice actor and narrator (d. 2012) June 22 –Kris Kristofferson , American actor, musician and songwriter (d. 2024) June 24 June 27 –Shirley Anne Field , English actress (d. 2023) July 1 –Ron Masak , American actor (d. 2022) July 5 –Shirley Knight , American actress (d. 2020) July 8 -William Cort , American actor (d. 1993) July 9 –Dick Richards , American director, producer and screenwriter July 9 -Richard Wilson , Scottish actor, theatre director and broadcaster July 24 July 25 -August Schellenberg , Canadian actor (d. 2013) August 5 -John Saxon , American actor (d. 2020) August 15 -Pat Priest , American actress August 16 -Anita Gillette , American actress August 17 –Floyd Westerman , American musician, political activist, and actor (d. 2007) August 18 –Robert Redford , American actor and director August 20 August 25 –Hugh Hudson , English director (d. 2023) September 7 –Bruce Gray , Canadian actor (d. 2017) September 11 -Charles Dierkop , American character actor (d. 2024) September 14 -Walter Koenig , American actor and screenwriter September 19 -Anna Karen , British-South African actress (d. 2022) September 20 September 21 -Burr DeBenning , American character actor (d. 2003) September 24 -Jim Henson , American puppeteer, animator, actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1990) October 8 -Leonid Kuravlyov , Russian actor (d. 2022) October 9 –Brian Blessed , English actor October 16 October 19 -Tony Lo Bianco , Italian-American actor (d. 2024) October 23 -Philip Kaufman , American director and screenwriter October 24 –David Nelson , American actor, director and producer (d. 2011) October 26 -Shelley Morrison , American actress (d. 2019) October 28 -Joe Spinell , American character actor (d. 1989) November 4 -Jan Tříska , Czech actor (d. 2017) November 9 –Teddy Infuhr , American child actor (d. 2007) November 19 -Dick Cavett , American television personality, comedian and former talk show host November 25 -Matt Clark , American actor November 27 –Joel Barcellos , Brazilian actor (d. 2018) December 1 -Melissa Jaffer , Australian actress December 3 December 5 -John Erwin , American voice actor (d. 2024) December 6 -David Ossman , American writer and comedian December 8 –David Carradine , American actor and martial artist (d. 2009) December 10 –Howard Smith , American journalist, director and producer (d. 2014) December 13 -Cliff Emmich , American actor (d. 2022) December 18 -Gary Gray , American child actor (d. 2006) December 22 –Hector Elizondo , American actor December 23 December 25 –Ismail Merchant , Indian film producer (d. 2005) December 28 -Rhys McConnochie , New Zealand-born Australian actor December 29 –Mary Tyler Moore , American actress (d. 2017) January 9 January 24 –Harry T. Morey , American actor (b. 1873) February 20 –Max Schreck , German actor (b. 1879) February 28 –Justus Hagman , Swedish actor (b. 1859) April 6 –Väinö Lehmus , Finnish actor (b. 1886) June 7 -Jobyna Howland , American actress (b. 1880) June 17 –Henry B. Walthall , American actor (b. 1878) July 11 -James Murray , American actor (b. 1901) September 14 –Irving Thalberg , American film producer (b. 1899) October 10 -William H. Tooker , American actor October 17 –Suzanne Bianchetti , French actress (b. 1889) ^a b c d The Eddie Mannix Ledger , Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study .^ Turk, Edward Baron (1998).Hollywood Diva: A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald . University of California Press. pp. 364-365 .ISBN 0-520-21202-9 . ^ Birchard, Robert S. (2004).Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood . University Press of Kentucky.ISBN 9780813123240 . ^a b Finler, Joel Waldo (2003).The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press. pp. 356–357 .ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6 . ^ Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 16 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551 ^ Richard Jewel (1994) 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931–1951',Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television , Vol. 14 No. 1, p.55 ^ "The Biggest Money Making Stars of 1936" .Motion Picture Herald .Quigley Publishing Company . January 9, 1937. p. 13. RetrievedApril 24, 2018 .^ "Exhibitors Name Biggest Western Draws" .Motion Picture Herald .Quigley Publishing Company . January 9, 1937. p. 18. RetrievedApril 24, 2018 .