Best Movies of 1931 by Rank

Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language
5 Stars, Top 100
23
1
Fritz Lang
Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos
Crime / Thriller / Detective / Pre-Noir / Cult
Germany
German
5 Stars, Top 100
93
2
Charles Chaplin
Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Family
USA
English (Semi-Silent)
5 Stars
269
3
James Whale
Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff, Edward Van Sloan
Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi
USA
English
5 Stars
272
4
René Clair
Raymond Cordy, Henri Marchand, Rolla France, Paul Ollivier, Jacques Shelly
Comedy / Musical
France
French
5 Stars
336
5
William A. Wellman
James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Donald Cook, Leslie Fenton
Action / Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
5 Stars
364
6
René Clair
Annabella, René Lefèvre, Jean-Louis Allibert, Paul Ollivier
Musical / Comedy
France
French
5 Stars
448
7
Jean Renoir
Michel Simon, Janie Marese, Georges Flamant, Roger Gaillard
Drama
France
French
5 Stars
469
8
Tod Browning
Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler
Horror
USA
English
4.5 Stars
506
9
Mervyn LeRoy
Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
4.5 Stars
787
10
Rouben Mamoulian
Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert
Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi
USA
English
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Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language
4.5 Stars
805
11
Lewis Milestone
Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien
Comedy
USA
English
4.5 Stars
962
12
F.W. Murnau, Robert J. Flaherty
Anne Chevalier, Matahi
Documentary / Drama / Romance
USA
English
4 Stars
1152
13
Norman Z. McLeod
Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx
Comedy / Gangster / Family
USA
English
4 Stars
1365
14
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Fritz Kampers, Alexander Granach, Ernst Busch
Drama
Germany / France
French
3.5 Stars
1520
15
King Vidor
Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates
Drama / Sports
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1583
16
Leontine Sagan
Emilia Unda, Dorothea Wieck, Hedwig Schlichter, Hertha Thiele
Drama / Romance
Germany
German
3.5 Stars
1593
17
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
G.W. Pabst, Lotte Lenya, Rudolf Forster, Carola Neher, Reinhold Schünzel
Musical / Romance / Drama
Germany
German
3.5 Stars
1674
18
King Vidor
Walter Miller, Sylvia Sidney, William Collier Jr., Estelle Taylor, Beulah Bondi
Drama / Crime
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1746
19
Wesley Ruggles
Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier Jr.
Drama / Western / Epic
USA
English
3.5 Stars
1865
20
Alexander Korda, Marcel Pagnol
Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin, Alida Rouffe
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France
French
3.5 Stars
1981
21
Ernst Lubitsch
Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins
Comedy / Romance / Musical
USA
English
3 Stars
2137
22
Sidney Franklin
Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Roland Young, Zasu Pitts
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
3 Stars
2147
23
Edgar Selwyn
Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone, Neil Hamilton, Cliff Edwards, Jean Hersholt
Drama
USA
English
3 Stars
2149
24
James W. Horne
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Hall, Charles Dorety, Harry Bernard
Short / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2200
25
John Ford
Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, A.E. Anson
Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2205
26
Frank Borzage
Sally Eilers, James Dunn, Minna Gombell
Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2214
27
Frank Capra
Loretta Young, Robert Williams, Jean Harlow, Halliwell Hobbes, Reginald Owen
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2233
28
Rouben Mamoulian
Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas, William 'Stage' Boyd
Crime / Pre-Noir / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2352
29
James Whale
Mae Clarke, Kent Douglass, Doris Lloyd, Frederick Kerr, Bette Davis
Drama / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2364
30
George Melford, Enrique Tovar Ávalos
Carlos Villarías, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton, Pablo Álvarez Rubio
Drama / Fantasy / Horror
USA
Spanish
2.5 Stars
2402
31
Norman Taurog
Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green, Jackie Searl
Family / Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2403
32
Josef von Sternberg
Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Gustav von Seyffertitz
Drama / War / Spy / Action / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2423
33
Mervyn LeRoy
Edward G. Robinson, Marian Marsh, H.B. Warner, Anthony Bushell
Crime / Horror / Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2465
34
Clarence Brown
Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore, James Gleason, Clark Gable
Drama / Romance / Crime / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2591
35
Jacques Feyder
Greta Garbo, Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann, Salka Viertel, Herman Bing
Drama / Romance
USA / Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2606
36
Frank Lloyd
Ann Harding, Clive Brook, Conrad Nagel, Cecilia Loftus
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2606
36
W.S. Van Dyke
Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, Duncan Renaldo, Mutia Omoolu
Adventure / Action / Biography / Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2608
37
Sidney Franklin
Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Reginald Denny, Jean Hersholt, Una Merkel
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Ardeshir Irani
Master Vithal, Zubeida, Jillo, J. Sushila, Prithviraj Kapoor, Elizer
Drama / Fantasy / Romance
India
Hindi
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Josef von Sternberg
Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Irving Pichel, Frederick Burton
Romance / Drama / Crime / Thriller
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Harry Beaumont
Joan Crawford, Lester Vail, Cliff Edwards, William Bakewell, William Holden
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Erik Charell
Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Otto Wallburg, Conrad Veidt, Carl-Heinz Schroth
Comedy / Musical / Romance
Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Heinosuke Gosho
Atsushi Watanabe, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Ichimura, Satoko Date, Shinichi Himori
Comedy / Drama
Japan
Japanese
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Varick Frissell, George Melford
Louise Huntington, Charles Starrett, Arthur Vinton, Bob Bartlett, Wilfred Grenfell
Adventure / Drama
Canada / USA
English
2.5 Stars
2628
38
Victor Saville
Brian Aherne, Madeleine Carroll, Gordon Harker, Gibb McLaughlin, George Merritt
War / Drama
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2635
39
Alfred Santell
Janet Gaynor, Warner Baxter, Una Merkel, John Arledge, Claude Gillingwater
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2635
39
F.W. Kraemer, Milton Rosmer
Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Carson, George Merritt, Sam Livesey, Beatrix Thompson
Drama / History / Period Film / Biography
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Anthony Asquith
Fay Compton, Tony Bruce, Carl Harbord, Dennis Hoey
War / Epic
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Géza von Bolváry
Trude von Molo, Willi Forst, Gustaf Gründgens
Drama / Crime / Caper
Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Sergei Yutkevich
Yuri Korvin-Krukovsky, V. Fedoseyev, Nikolai Michurin
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Victor Trivas, George Shdanoff
Ernst Busch, Hugh Douglas, Louis Douglas, Georges Péclet,
War / Drama
Germany
French
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Rowland Brown
Spencer Tracy, Marguerite Churchill, Sally Eilers
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Claude King, Douglas Scott
Adventure
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Nikolai Ekk
Nikolai Batalov, Yvan Kyrlya, Mikhail Dzhagofarov
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2645
40
Alexis Granowsky
Aribert Mog, Margot Ferra, Ernst Busch, Leo Monosson
Drama
Germany
German
2.5 Stars
2645
40
William K. Howard
Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, Ralph Bellamy, C. Aubrey Smith
Drama / War
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2661
41
Jay Leyda
Short / Experimental
USA
English (Silent)
2.5 Stars
2661
41
Marvin Breckinridge
Mary Breckinridge
Documentary
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2661
41
Anthony Young
John J. Bradley, Emile Gauvreau
Documentary / War / History
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2667
42
Mario Peixoto
Olga Breno, Tatiana Rey, Raul Schnoor, Brutus Pedreira, Iolanda Bernardes
Drama / Romance / Experimental
Brazil
Portuguese (Silent)
2.5 Stars
2697
43
Dziga Vertov
Documentary / Experimental
Soviet Union
Russian
2.5 Stars
2719
44
David Burton, Dudley Murphy
Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Norman Foster, Claudia Dell, Florence Britton
Drama / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
William K. Howard
Edmund Lowe, Jeanette MacDonald, Roland Young, J.M. Kerrigan, Una Merkel
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
John Francis Dillon
Richard Barthelmess, Fay Wray, Regis Toomey, Robert Elliott, Clark Gable
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Max Fleischer, Dave Fleischer
Animation / Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Irving Cummings
George O'Brien, Sally Eilers, Rita La Roy, Humphrey Bogart, James Kirkwood
Western / Action / Crime / Romance
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Robert F. McGowan
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard, Norman 'Chubby' Chaney, Jackie Cooper, Dorothy DeBorba
Family / Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Roy Del Ruth
Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges, Una Merkel, Robert Elliott
Action / Drama / Mystery / Detective / Film-Noir / Crime
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Richard Wallace, Edward Goodman
William Powell, Carole Lombard, Wynne Gibson, Guy Kibbee, Lawrence Gray
Comedy / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Ub Iwerks
Animation / Short / Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Harry Sweet
Edgar Kennedy, Pert Kelton, Franklin Pangborn, Georgie Billings, Arthur Housman
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Hal Roach
Zasu Pitts, Thelma Todd, Elizabeth Forrester, Eddie Dunn, Donald Novis
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
James Parrott
Charley Chase, Thelma Todd, Dorothy Granger, Kay Deslys, Carlton Griffin
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
unknown
Karl Dane, George K. Arthur
Short / Comedy
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Alfred Hitchcock
Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph
Comedy / Romance / Drama / Adventure
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
unknown
Documentary / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Alfred Hitchcock
C.V. France, Helen Haye, Jill Esmond, Edmund Gwenn, John Longden, Phyllis Konstam
Drama
UK
English
2.5 Stars
2719
44
Casey Robinson
Joe Smith, Charles Dale
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2751
45
Roy Del Ruth
James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Louis Calhern, Noel Francis
Comedy / Drama / Crime / Romance / Gangster
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2751
45
Joris Ivens
Short / Documentary / Experimental
Netherlands
Dutch
2.5 Stars
2751
45
D.W. Griffith
Hal Skelly, Zita Johann, Charlotte Wynters, Evelyn Baldwin
Drama
USA
English
2.5 Stars
2776
46
Gustav Machatý
Ladislav H. Struna, Magda Maderova, Jirina Sejbalová
Drama / Romance
Czechoslovakia / Austria
Czech
Rating
Rank
No
Starring
Genre
Country
Language