The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)

[4] Barbara Stanwyck plays an engaged Christian missionary who is separated from her husband-to-be during the Chinese civil war in Shanghai. She is rescued by General Yen (Danish actor Nils Asther with 'squinty eyes' makeup), who takes her to his…
Wuthering Heights (1939)

Wuthering Heights (1939)

[4] On the barren moors of Yorkshire, a young girl befriends an orphan boy her father brings home from a trip to Liverpool. The friendship turns romantic, but when the girl's father dies, her nasty blood brother becomes master of…
Baby Face (1933)

Baby Face (1933)

[8] Barbara Stanwyck stars as Lily Powers, the poor daughter of a speakeasy owner, who takes an old philosopher's advice to start using her feminine wiles (or 'lily power') to get ahead in life. After her nasty father dies in…
Madame Butterfly (1932)

Madame Butterfly (1932)

[3] Sylvia Sidney and Cary Grant star in this iteration of Madame Butterfly, the shitty-ass story of a geisha who marries an American Navy officer who leaves her and never comes back. The concept, alone, makes me cringe. Granted, this…
Forbidden (1932)

Forbidden (1932)

[8] Barbara Stanwyck plays a lonely librarian who falls in love with Adolph Menjou on a cruise, but her joy is short-lived in this tragic love story directed by Frank Capra. Stanwyck finds out her beau is already married (to…
The Last Outpost (1935)

The Last Outpost (1935)

[6] Cary Grant and Claude Rains star as British officers whose paths cross time and again on the Eastern front of World War I. The two become friends after Rains saves Grant from Kurdish raiders. Grant then goes on to…
A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

[4] Katharine Hepburn's affection for director George Cukor began with this, her feature film debut. A Bill of Divorcement stars John Barrymore as a man returning home after five years in a mental asylum. During that time, his wife (Billie…
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

[7] Errol Flynn stars in his most enduring performance in this romantic action adventure that has captured audiences of all ages for more than three-quarters of a century. You know the story: In the absence of King Richard, Prince John…
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

[8] James Cagney and Pat O'Brien star as a criminal and a priest who grew up on the streets of New York, rekindling their friendship and mentoring a new gang of street rats through O'Brien's youth ministry. At first, the…
Alice Adams (1935)

Alice Adams (1935)

[7] Katharine Hepburn stars as a poor young woman trying to enter snobbish social circles to find a husband in this first major film directed by George Stevens (Woman of the Year, Gunga Din). Hepburn's character eventually lands a doting…