
After serving in the trenches of World War I, Jean Diaz recoils with such horror that he renounces love and personal pleasure to immerse himself in scientific research, seeking a machine to prevent war.
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Tag Archives: 1930s
Marius (1931) Alexander Korda, Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Fernand Charpin, Comedy, Drama, Romance

César runs a bar along Marseilles’ port, assisted by his 23 year old son, Marius. Colorful characters abound: M. Panisse, an aging widower and prosperous sail maker; Honorine, a fishmonger with a sidewalk stall near the bar; her daughter, Fanny, who helps her sell cockles; and, various old salts.
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François Premier / Francis the First (1937) Christian-Jaque, Fernandel, Mona Goya, Alexandre Rignault, Comedy

Honorin (Fernandel) is the simple and naive stage manager of a traveling theatre troupe, whose one ambition is to once play the role of the cavalier in the opera “Francis I, or the Loves of the Beautiful Ferroniere”.
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Never the Twain Shall Meet (1931) W.S. Van Dyke, Leslie Howard, Conchita Montenegro, C. Aubrey Smith, Drama

Dan works for Pritchard and Pritchard out of San Francisco and is in love with Maisie, referred to as “the icebox” by his news reporter friend. As one of his ships returns to San Francisco, Dan learns that the Captain has contracted Leprosy and asks Dan to be the guardian of his South Sea island daughter Tamea.
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The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) Archie Mayo, John Cromwell, Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, Basil Rathbone, Adventure, Biography, Romance

Marco Polo travels from Venice to Peking, where he quickly discovers spaghetti and gunpowder and falls in love with the Emperor’s daughter.
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Rogue of the Rio Grande (1930) Spencer Gordon Bennet, José Bohr, Myrna Loy, Walter Miller, Comedy, Musical, Western

El Malo, notorious Mexican bandit, forces the Mayor of Sierra Blanca, Seth Landport, to open the safe and turn over to him 2,000 pesos, which the bandit gives a promissory note for to the Mayor.
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Monte Carlo (1930) Ernst Lubitsch, Jeanette MacDonald, Jack Buchanan, Claud Allister, Comedy, Musical, Romance

Minutes before her wedding to Duke Otto Von Seibenheim, Countess Helene Mara flees, on a whim, to Monte Carlo, where she hopes her luck will save her poor financial state. There, Count Rudolph Farriere is taken by her beauty, but she rebuffs him, not even looking at him.
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The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) Ernst Lubitsch, Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, Comedy, Romance, Musical

Lieutenant Niki of the Austrian royal guard has a new girlfriend, Franzi. He’s crazy about her and is smiling at her while on duty in the street.
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Two Alone (1934) Elliott Nugent, Jean Parker

Mazie, a poor orphan girl, is mistreated by cruel farmer Slag and his wife for whom she works. Read More »
Take a Chance (1933) Monte Brice, Laurence Schwab, James Dunn, June Knight, Lillian Roth, Comedy, Musical

Take a Chance was based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, though only one of the original songs, Eadie Was a Lady, has been retained. The thinnish plot involves the misadventures of a pair of pickpockets, played on Broadway by Jack Haley and Sid Silvers and on film by James Dunn and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards.
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