A Star is Born (1937)
[6] Janet Gaynor and Fredric March star in a love story so good, they've made it four times now -- most recently with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the roles. Gaynor plays a small-town girl with dreams of becoming…
Live, Love and Learn (1937)
[6] Robert Montgomery is a care-free painter and Rosalind Russell is a socialite looking for a more rustic lifestyle. In the tradition of screwball comedy, the unlikely lovers get married and revel in their poverty. But after Montgomery's talent catches…
The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
[7] Twins Billy and Bobby Mauch do very well as the title characters in this lavish production of Mark Twain's oft-told tale of mistaken identity. Claude Rains takes the role of villainy this time, playing an evil Earl who forces…
Marked Woman (1937)
[6] Five ladies of ill repute muster the courage to take the stand against their evil nightclub boss in this Bette Davis vehicle. Davis overacts a tad (doesn't she always?), but Humphrey Bogart is reliable in the role of the…
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
[7] Paul Muni stars as Emile Zola, the famous French author whose critical writings brought the scorn of the French government, especially when he came out in support of a wrongfully-condemned army officer. The first half of this film, directed…
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
[8]
Leo McCarey won the best director Oscar for The Awful Truth, released the same year, but told the Academy they’d awarded him for the wrong picture. He may be right. Make Way for Tomorrow is a disarming, bonafide love story between an elderly couple (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when the bank forecloses on their home. The film is remarkably restrained and unsentimental for its time. The characters constantly mask their true feelings, fending off melodrama by acting against our immediate expectations.