Best Picture 1938
Films I've seen from best to worst
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- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardWendy HillerWilfrid LawsonA phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.
- DirectorRichard WallaceLewis MilestoneGilbert PrattStarsJanet GaynorDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Roland YoungThrown out of the Riviera, a family of grifters meets a lonely, vulnerable rich old woman and insinuate themselves into her life while they sponge off her.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsAnnabellaJean-Pierre AumontLouis JouvetOn the meandering Canal St. Martin, at the Parisian Hôtel du Nord, a nearly fatal gunshot separates a dejected young couple. But, amid a sad but beautiful panorama of lively characters, love has the final say. Can life be a fairy tale?
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinMichel SimonMichèle MorganA military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.
- DirectorMichael CurtizWilliam KeighleyStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandBasil RathboneWhen Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence in 1190s England, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a resistance movement.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonJane BryanAllen JenkinsFormer bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.
- DirectorMark DonskoyStarsAleksei LyarskyVarvara MassalitinovaMikhail TroyanovskiyA drama reveals the great writer's inauspicious early years as an orphan raised by conniving relatives.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsRobert TaylorMargaret SullavanFranchot ToneThe close friendship of three German soldiers is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman, who is dying of tuberculosis.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinJulien CaretteSimone SimonIn this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJean ArthurJames StewartLionel BarrymoreThe son of a snobbish Wall Street banker becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHenry FondaGeorge BrentIn 1850s Louisiana, a free-spirited Southern belle loses her fiancé due to her stubborn vanity and pride, and vows to win him back.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsErrol FlynnBasil RathboneDavid NivenBritish flying aces in World War I contend with the harsh realities of war.
- DirectorChristian-JaqueStarsErich von StroheimMichel SimonArmand BernardStrange things happen at night at the Saint-Argil secondary school. Baume, Sorgues and Macroy, three of the school's pupils, discover a suspicious man on the premises. Shortly after this unsettling event, pupils begin to go missing.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyPat O'BrienHumphrey BogartA priest tries to stop a gangster from corrupting a group of street kids.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsRonald ColmanBasil RathboneFrances DeeVagabond poet François Villon rises to high office in 1463 Paris.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsDavid AlbrittonArvo AskolaJack BeresfordThe document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsReginald OwenGene LockhartKathleen LockhartAn elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorMarcel PagnolStarsFernandelOrane DemazisFernand CharpinMeeting a movie team on location near his house, a young man gets a lot of encouragement for his dreaming career as a movie star in what was only sarcasm from the members of the team. This is the characteristic of a schpountz: someone who sees himself as a born movie comedian and is blind on the critics to his dream. After he has signed a fake contract which he blindly takes as genuine even if it is ridiculous, he goes to Paris without money to make his career.
- DirectorGustaf MolanderStarsIngrid BergmanTore SvennbergAnders HenriksonAn embittered woman, leader of a criminal gang, has a change of heart.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsSheigo AraiJack BeresfordRalf BerzsenyiThe document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, orchestrated as Nazi propaganda.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersRalph BellamyA psychiatrist falls in love with the woman he's supposed to be nudging into marriage with someone else.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsRobert TaylorVivien LeighLionel BarrymoreA brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettBrian AherneAlan MowbrayDizzy society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome "tramp" who shows up at her doorstep and soon ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of her pretty Geraldine.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsGinger RogersJames StewartJames EllisonA professor marries a nightclub singer, much to the consternation of his family and friends back home.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsLuise RainerMelvyn DouglasRobert YoungThe beautiful, frivolous wife of a plantation owner in antebellum Louisiana proves unsatisfactory at running the household, leading her serious-minded husband to enlist the help of her unmarried sister.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeJulien DuvivierStarsNorma ShearerTyrone PowerJohn BarrymoreThe tragic life of Marie Antoinette, who became queen of France in her late teens.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsTommy KellyJackie MoranAnn GillisTom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral and witnessing a murder.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonHumphrey BogartClaire TrevorA brilliant Park Avenue doctor becomes a criminal in order to do research into the criminal mind.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsClaudette ColbertGary CooperEdward Everett HortonAfter learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsRobert DonatRosalind RussellRalph RichardsonAn enthusiastic young doctor happily embarks on his career, but it isn't long before he finds out what being a doctor really entails.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsMieko TakamineShin TokudaijiShin'ichi HimoriTwo blind masseurs travel to a mountain retreat. One of them falls for a visiting lady from Tokyo and investigates a series of thefts.
- DirectorBen SharpsteenStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyRichard EdwardsMickey and Donald ride in a trailer pulled by Goofy, who doesn't realize his car has separated from the trailer as they travel down a mountain.
- DirectorRobert B. SinclairStarsLuise RainerPaulette GoddardAlan MarshalAspiring actress Louise Mauban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at night. She daydreams and "acts" her way through life, and her fellow students at school begin to suspect her stories are just that - fabrications. After Louise begins to weave an actual meeting with a debonair playboy into a fantasy of club dates and romance, her co-student Nana discovers the lie when she too meets the playboy. Nana sets a trap for Louise, and the result is an end to one fantasy and the realization of another.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierVictor FlemingJosef von SternbergStarsLuise RainerFernand GraveyMiliza KorjusIn 1845 Vienna, Johann Strauss II (Fernand Gravey) - 'Jonahi' to his friends - would rather write and perform waltzes than anything else, this at a time when a waltz is not considered proper society music. After he is fired from his clerical bank job because of his preoccupation with composing, he decides to follow his passion and form an orchestra. After some famed opera singers, including Carla Donner (Miliza Korjus), hear his music, they expose Johani's music to the masses, to royalty and to music publisher Julius Hofbauer (Hugh Herbert). As such, Johani becomes the toast of Vienna. With his new found musical fame, Johani's life, which includes his work in the European Revolutions, changes. He becomes torn for his love for his loving and faithful wife Poldi Vogelhuber (Luise Rainer) and his more emotionally passionate but somewhat destructive love for Carla Donner, who herself is involved with Count Anton Hohenfried (Lionel Atwill).
- DirectorBurt GillettBill RobertsStarsWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerEddie HoldenInspired by the Grimm's fairy tale, this classic 1938 Mickey cartoon finds our hero (voiced by Walt Disney) battling a hilariously huge "problem.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsClaude RainsFay BainterJackie CooperA homeless woman named Hannah drifts into the lives of the kindly Ward family, in a small Indiana town in 1919. Hannah makes herself useful as a cook and housekeeper and stays with the Wards... but her real interest is in meeting their neighbor, teenager Peter Trimble. It turns out that Peter is the son she bore out of wedlock and gave up for adoption, and now Hannah has returned to town to see what sort of young man her son has become.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsWalter HustonJames StewartGene ReynoldsEthan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who ministers to the human soul, while his son Jason yearns to be a doctor, helping people in the earthly realm.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCharles BoyerHedy LamarrSigrid GurieA wanted jewel thief ensconced in the Casbah meets a beautiful woman who makes him long for an escape.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerAlice FayeDon AmecheThis send-up of ragtime song and dance begins in 1915 San Francisco when society boy Roger Grant decides to pursue popular rather than serious music.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxA penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play.
- DirectorDick RickardStarsDon WilsonWalt DisneyMilt KahlFerdinand is a quiet, gentle bull who only wants to stop and smell the flowers. After he is stung by a bee, the townspeople believe he is ferocious and take him to the bullfight.
- DirectorJack KingStarsClarence NashDonald Duck is Scoutmaster of his nephews on a camping trip at Yellowstone National Park, but his lack of leadership skills results in the Scouts having to help the Scoutmaster out of one predicament after another.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsClark GableMyrna LoySpencer TracyJim is a test pilot. His wife Ann and best friend Gunner try their best to keep him sober. But the life of a test pilot is anything but safe.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsClaude RainsJohn GarfieldJeffrey LynnA musician is blessed with four musical prodigies, all girls, and cursed when a troubled young composer enters the lives of his Four Daughters.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsSpencer TracyMickey RooneyHenry HullWhen a death row prisoner tells him he wouldn't have led a life of crime if only he had had one friend as a child, Father Edward Flanagan decides to start a home for young boys.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsDeanna DurbinHerbert MarshallGail PatrickA young woman at a girl's school in Switzerland makes up stories about, and writes herself letters, from an imaginary explorer-adventurer father, and is eventually put in a position where she has to produce him. Interesting things happen after she talks a visiting Englishman into helping her out.
- DirectorArthur B. WoodsStarsEmlyn WilliamsAnna KonstamAllan JeayesA convict, just out of prison, is implicated in a murder and goes on the run, hitching a ride with a truck driver.
- DirectorJean GrémillonStarsRaimuPierre BlancharMadeleine RenaudAn innocent man spends time in prison for murder, then escapes and falls in love with the wife of the real perpetrator.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerAlice FayeDon AmecheThe O'Leary brothers--honest Jack and roguish Dion--become powerful figures, and eventually rivals, in Chicago on the eve of its Great Fire.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyPatricia EllisStan, who has remained faithfully at his World War I post for twenty years, finally comes home where his best friend, Ollie, takes him in, thus allowing him to discover the many conveniences of the modern world.
- DirectorLeigh JasonStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaSam LeveneAfter the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves them wrong.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsLoretta YoungRichard GreeneWalter BrennanRomeo and Juliet story set amidst horse racing in Kentucky. The family feud of lovers Jack and Sally goes back to the Civil War and is kept alive by her Uncle Peter.
- DirectorBen HolmesStarsJoan FontaineAllan LaneBilly GilbertA millionaire's son works as a milkman for a month to win a bet with his father. While delivering milk he falls in love with a young debutante whom he mistakes for a maid.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsCharles LaughtonVivien LeighRex HarrisonPickpocket Libby gets support from street performer Charles, and her dancing leads to her invitation to theater patron Harley's party which in turn launches Libby's stage career while Charles keeps on struggling in the streets.
- DirectorJosé Val del Omar
- DirectorJoseph SantleyStarsJoan FontaineDerrick De MarneyCecil KellawaySocially prominent Michael Ashburn, is the chief assistant to Rufus Trent, wealthy London loan broker. He has allowed himself to become engaged to the Rufus' daughter, Roberta, the match engineered primarily by socially-ambitious Mrs. Trent. As Michael is closing the shop in the late afternoon, a man named Douglas takes out a large loan, using his niece's (Julie Evans) earring as a deposit. He scurries right off with the money but, to his dismay, Michael finds that the earrings are fastened to Julie's ears and can not be removed. Much to his socially-prominent position he is very disgusted as he must now keep a guard of her. Soon, he finds himself in jail and Julie has his flat keys. Julie spends the night in his flat, and Michael gets out of jail in time to hurry home where Julie is just leaving. His fiancée Roberta shows up, and Roberta isn't thrilled to find another woman leaving Michael's apartment early in the morning, so the engagement is broken. This delights her father. Actually, it kind of delights Michael but he is a gentleman and wouldn't say so. Could all of this have been a planned scheme by some party unknown?