The following is an overview of 1930 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
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The top ten 1930 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
More information Rank, Title ...
Highest-grossing films of 1930
Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
1 |
Whoopee! |
United Artists |
$2,655,000[1] |
2 |
Check and Double Check |
RKO |
$1,751,000[2] |
3 |
All Quiet on the Western Front |
Universal |
$1,634,000[3] |
4 |
Hell's Angels |
United Artists |
$1,600,000[4] |
5 |
The Big House |
MGM |
$1,279,000[5] |
6 |
Common Clay |
Fox Film |
$1,246,000[3] |
7 |
Min and Bill |
MGM |
$1,223,000[5] |
8 |
Song o' My Heart |
Fox Film |
$1,200,000[6] |
9 |
Son of the Gods |
First National |
$1,069,000[7] |
10 |
The Dawn Patrol |
$1,061,000[7] |
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United States unless stated
A
- Abi and Rabi, starring and directed by Ovanes Ohanian – (Iran)
- Abraham Lincoln, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Walter Huston and Una Merkel
- L'Âge d'Or (The Golden Age), directed by Luis Buñuel – (France)
- All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Lew Ayres and Louis Wolheim
- Alraune, directed by Richard Oswald – (Germany)
- Animal Crackers, directed by Victor Heerman, starring the Marx Brothers
- Anna Christie, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Greta Garbo
- The Arizona Kid, directed by Alfred Santell, starring Warner Baxter and Carole Lombard
B
- The Bad Man, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Walter Huston
- The Bat Whispers, directed by Roland West, starring Chester Morris and Una Merkel
- The Benson Murder Case, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring William Powell
- Big Boy, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson
- The Big House, directed by George Hill, starring Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone and Robert Montgomery
- The Big Pond, directed by Hobart Henley, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert
- The Big Trail, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring John Wayne
- Billy the Kid, directed by King Vidor, starring Johnny Mack Brown and Wallace Beery
- Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel), directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings – (Germany)
- The Blood of a Poet (Le Sang d'un Poète), directed by Jean Cocteau – (France)
- Borderline, directed by Kenneth Macpherson, starring Paul Robeson – (GB)
- Bride of the Regiment (lost), directed by John Francis Dillon, starring Walter Pidgeon
- Bright Lights, directed by Michael Curtiz
C
- Call of the Flesh, directed by Charles Brabin, starring Ramón Novarro
- The Cat Creeps (lost), directed by Rupert Julian, starring Helen Twelvetrees
- Chasing Rainbows, directed by Charles Reisner, starring Charles King, Bessie Love, Jack Benny and Marie Dressler
- Check and Double Check, directed by Melville W. Brown, starring Amos 'n' Andy
- Children of Pleasure, directed by Harry Beaumont
- City Girl, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Mary Duncan and Charles Farrell
- Common Clay (lost), directed by Victor Fleming, starring Constance Bennett and Lew Ayres
- The Cuckoos, directed by Paul Sloane, starring Wheeler & Woolsey
D
- Danger Lights, directed by George B. Seitz, starring Louis Wolheim, Robert Armstrong and Jean Arthur
- The Dawn Patrol, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Neil Hamilton
- The Devil to Pay!, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Ronald Colman, Loretta Young and Myrna Loy
- The Divorcee, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Conrad Nagel and Robert Montgomery
- Dixiana, directed by Luther Reed, starring Bebe Daniels and Wheeler & Woolsey
- Doughboys, directed by Edward Sedgwick, starring Buster Keaton and Cliff Edwards
F
- Fast and Loose, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan
- Feet First, directed by Clyde Bruckman, starring Harold Lloyd
- The Florodora Girl, directed by Harry Beaumont, starring Marion Davies
- The Flute Concert of Sanssouci (Das Flötenkonzert von Sans-souci), directed by Gustav Ucicky, starring Otto Gebühr – (Germany)
- Follow Thru, directed by Laurence Schwab and Lloyd Corrigan, starring Charles 'Buddy' Rogers
- Free and Easy, directed by Edward Sedgwick, starring Buster Keaton, Anita Page and Robert Montgomery
H
- Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes, starring Jean Harlow and Ben Lyon
- Her Man, directed by Tay Garnett, starring Helen Twelvetrees
- High Society Blues, directed by David Butler, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell
- Hold Everything (lost), directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Joe E. Brown
- Holiday, directed by Edward H. Griffith, starring Ann Harding and Mary Astor
L
- Ladies Love Brutes, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring George Bancroft, Mary Astor and Fredric March
- Ladies of Leisure, directed by Frank Capra, starring Barbara Stanwyck
- A Lady to Love, directed by Victor Sjöström, starring Vilma Bánky and Edward G. Robinson
- Leathernecking, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Irene Dunne
- Let's Go Native, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Jack Oakie and Jeanette MacDonald
- Liliom, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Charles Farrell and Rose Hobart
- Lightnin', directed by Henry King, starring Will Rogers, Louise Dresser and Joel McCrea
- Loose Ankles, directed by Ted Wilde, starring Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Lord Byron of Broadway, directed by Harry Beaumont and William Nigh
- The Lottery Bride, directed by Paul L. Stein, starring Jeanette MacDonald, Joe E. Brown and ZaSu Pitts
M
- Madam Satan, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Kay Johnson
- Mamba, directed by Albert S. Rogell, starring Jean Hersholt and Eleanor Boardman
- Mammy, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Al Jolson
- The Man from Blankley's (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring John Barrymore and Loretta Young
- A Man from Wyoming, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Gary Cooper
- Manslaughter, directed by George Abbott, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March
- Min and Bill, directed by George Hill, starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
- Montana Moon, directed by Malcolm St. Clair, starring Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown
- Monte Carlo, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald
- Morocco, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and Adolphe Menjou
- Murder!, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Herbert Marshall – (GB)
- The Mystery of the Yellow Room [fr] (Le Mystère de la chambre jaune), directed by Marcel L'Herbier – (France)
P
- Paid, directed by Sam Wood, starring Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong and Marie Prevost
- Paramount on Parade, an all-star revue
- Peacock Alley, directed by Marcel de Sano, starring Mae Murray
- People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag), directed by Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer – (Germany)
- Prix de Beauté (Beauty Prize), directed by Augusto Genina, starring Louise Brooks – (France)
- Puttin' On the Ritz, directed by Edward Sloman, starring Harry Richman and Joan Bennett
R
- Raffles, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Ronald Colman and Kay Francis
- Reaching for the Moon, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Bebe Daniels
- Renegades, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy and Noah Beery Sr.
- The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Warner Oland, Jean Arthur and Neil Hamilton
- The Rogue Song (lost), directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Lawrence Tibbett
- The Royal Family of Broadway, directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner, starring Fredric March and Mary Brian
S
- Show Girl in Hollywood, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Alice White
- Son of the Gods,,directed by Frank Lloyd. starring Richard Barthelmess and Constance Bennett
- Song o' My Heart, directed by Frank Borzage, starring John McCormack
- The Song of Love (La canzone dell'amore), directed by Gennaro Righelli – (Italy)
- Soup to Nuts, directed by Benjamin Stoloff, starring Ted Healy and His Stooges
- Spring Is Here, directed by John Francis Dillon
- St. Jorgen's Day (Prazdnik svyatogo Yorgena), directed by Yakov Protazanov – (U.S.S.R.)
- Street of Chance, directed by John Cromwell, starring William Powell, Jean Arthur and Kay Francis
- Sweet Kitty Bellairs, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Claudia Dell and Walter Pidgeon
T
- Tarakanova, directed by Raymond Bernard – (France)
- The Temporary Widow, directed by Gustav Ucicky, starring Lilian Harvey and Laurence Olivier – (GB/Germany)
- Three Faces East, directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim
- The Three from the Filling Station (Die Drei von der Tankstelle), directed by Wilhelm Thiele, starring Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch – (Germany)
- Tom Sawyer, directed by John Cromwell, starring Jackie Coogan
- True to the Navy, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Clara Bow and Fredric March
- Two Hearts in Waltz Time (Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt), directed by Géza von Bolváry – (Germany)
- January 3
- January 6 - Professor Tanaka, American wrestler, boxer, actor and martial artist (died 2000)
- January 10 – Roy E. Disney, American film executive and Walt Disney's nephew (died 2009)[11]
- January 11
- January 12 – Edgar Landsbury, British-born Irish-American producer (died 2024)
- January 13 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress (died 2023)
- January 19 – Tippi Hedren, American actress[13]
- January 20 – Henry Woolf, British actor (died 2021)
- January 24 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016)
- January 29 – Benjamin Tatar, American actor (died 2012)
- January 30 – Gene Hackman, American actor[14]
- February 6 – Allan King, Canadian director (died 2009)
- February 10 – Robert Wagner, American actor
- February 16 – Ricou Browning, American film director, actor, cinematographer and stuntman (died 2023)
- February 20 – Patricia Smith, American actress (died 2011)
- February 22 – Giuliano Montaldo, Italian film director, screenwriter and actor (died 2023)
- February 24 – Barbara Lawrence, American actress, model (died 2013)
- February 27 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
- March 6 – Allison Hayes, American actress (died 1977)
- March 12 – Scoey Mitchell, American actor, writer and director (died 2022)
- March 13 – Harrison Young, American character actor (died 2005)
- March 16 – Lotte Ledl, Austrian actress
- March 21 – Pauline Stroud, British actress (died 2022)
- March 24 – Steve McQueen, American actor (died 1980)
- March 29 – Naser Malek Motiei, Iranian actor, director (died 2018)[15]
- March 30
- April 1 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (died 2015)
- April 5
- Mary Costa, American singer and actress
- Marietta Marich, American actress, singer, writer, stage director and television host (died 2017)
- April 7 – Andrew Sachs, German-born British actor and writer (died 2016)
- April 13 – Roger Browne, American actor
- April 14 – Bradford Dillman, American actor (died 2018)
- April 18 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor
- April 19 – Dick Sargent, American actor (died 1994)
- April 21 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (died 1989)
- April 23 – Alan Oppenheimer, American actor
- April 24 – Richard Donner, American director and producer (died 2021)
- April 25 – Paul Mazursky, American director and actor (died 2014)
- April 28 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (died 1983)
- April 29 - Jean Rochefort, French actor (died 2017)
- May 4
- May 5 – Will Hutchins, American actor
- May 9 – Joan Sims, English actress (died 2001)
- May 11 – Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman (died 2007)
- May 31 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director and producer
- June 1
- June 4
- June 9 - Terry Norris, Australian actor (died 2023)
- June 15 – Odile Versois, French actress (died 1980)
- June 19
- June 25 - George Murdock, (died 2012)
- June 29 – Ariadna Welter, Mexican actress (died 1998)
- July 5 - Tommy Cook, American producer, screenwriter and actor
- July 8 - Jerry Vale, American actor and singer (died 2014)
- July 10
- July 12 - Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, writer, director and singer (died 2023)
- July 13 - Darrell Sandeen, American character actor (died 2009)
- July 18 – Burt Kwouk, British-Chinese actor (died 2016)
- July 19 - Rhoda Williams, American actress (died 2006)
- July 20 - Sally Ann Howes, English actress and singer (died 2021)[16]
- July 21 - Lukas Heller, German-born screenwriter (died 1988)
- July 24 - Jacqueline Brookes, American actress (died 2013)
- July 25 - Annie Ross, British-American singer and actress (died 2020)
- July 28 - Alfie Curtis, British actor (died 2017)
- July 30 - Tony Lip, American actor (died 2013)
- August 1
- August 5 - Joan Weldon, American actress, singer (died 2021)
- August 11 - Paul Soles, Canadian actor (died 2021)
- August 12 – Peter Weck, Austrian film director and actor
- August 14 – Liz Fraser, English actress (died 2018)
- August 17 - Harve Bennett, American producer and screenwriter (died 2015)
- August 25 – Sir Sean Connery, Scottish actor (died 2020)
- August 28 - Ben Gazzara, American and director (died 2012)
- September 16 – Anne Francis, American actress (died 2011)
- September 17 - David Huddleston, American actor (died 2016)
- September 21 – Dawn Addams, English actress (died 1985)
- September 26 - Philip Bosco, American actor (died 2018)
- October 1 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (died 2002)
- October 5
- October 6 - Lou Cutell, American actor (died 2021)
- October 8 - James Olson, American actor (died 2022)
- October 10 - Joan O'Hara, Irish actress (died 2007)
- October 13 - Paul Kent, American actor (died 2011)
- October 23 – Gérard Blain, French actor and director (died 2000)
- October 24 – Jack Angel, American voice actor and former radio personality (died 2021)
- November 3 - Lois Smith, American character actress
- November 5
- November 15 - Whitman Mayo, American actor (died 2001)
- November 20 - Bernard Horsfall, English actor (died 2013)
- November 23 - Robert Easton, American actor (died 2011)
- December 3 – Jean-Luc Godard, French director (died 2022)
- December 9 – Francesco Maselli, Italian director (died 2023)
- December 11 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor (died 2022)
- December 13 - Robert Prosky, American actor (died 2008)
- December 17 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
- December 20 - Noel Ferrier, Australian actor, television personality and producer (died 1997)
Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56
"All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. October 15, 1990. p. M150.
Eyman, Scott (1997). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930. ISBN 978-0-6848-1162-8. Hell's Angels was a financial disaster, grossing $1.6 million domestically, with another million coming in from foreign markets.
The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
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 10 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551