The following is an overview of 1932 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. In this year, the Puppetoons series of short animated films, Mitternacht, is produced by Hungarian animator George Pal.
Events October 1 – Australia produces its first musical film, His Royal Highness December 9 – Henri Diamant-Berger's French-language version of Les trois mousquetaires is the first sound adaptation of Dumas's novel. The Film Daily Yearbook for the United States listed the following as the ten leading headline events of the year. Sidney Kent leaves Paramount Pictures and joins Fox Film. Merlin H Aylesworth succeeds Hiram S Brown as president of RKO. Jesse L. Lasky leaves Paramount and becomes an independent producer for Fox. Sam Katz leaves Paramount. James R Grainger leaves Fox and is succeeded by John D Clark, formerly of Paramount. Publix and Fox decentralization of cinemas. New industry program, including standard exhibition contract along lines of 5-5-5, proposed by Motion Picture Theater Owners of America and Allied. Joe Brandt retires from Columbia Pictures, joins World-Wide, and later resigns again. Two Radio City theaters open, under direction of "Roxy", with coincident acquisition of the Rockefeller interests of 100,000 shares of RKO stock and 100,000 shares of RCA stock. Experimentation with exclusive runs.
Other notable events include: Disney releases Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor The term "Tollywood" is first used to describe the cinema of West Bengal, based at Tollygunge
Academy Awards
The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Conrad Nagel. Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and July 31, 1932, were eligible to receive awards.
Major awards: Best Picture: Grand Hotel – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Best Director: Frank Borzage – Bad Girl Best Actor: Fredric March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Wallace Beery – The Champ Best Actress: Helen Hayes – The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Note: Prior to 1933 awards were not based on calendar years, which is how there are no Best Actor, Best Actress or Best Director awards for 1932 films. The 1931–32 awards went to 1931 films.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1932 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1932 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 The Sign of the Cross Paramount $2,738,993 2 The Kid from Spain United Artists $2,621,000 3 EmmaMGM $1,409,000. 4Hell Divers $1,244,000 5 Grand Hotel $1,235,000 6 Prosperity $1,166,000 7 Tarzan the Ape Man $1,112,000 8 One Hour with You $1,100,000 9 Smilin' Through $1,004,000 10 A Farewell to ArmsParamount $1,000,000
Top Ten Money Making Stars Exhibitors selected the following as the Top Ten Money Making Stars for 1931–1932 in Quigley Publishing Company's first annual poll.
RankActor/Actress1.Marie Dressler2.Janet Gaynor3.Joan Crawford4.Charles Farrell5.Greta Garbo6.Norma Shearer7.Wallace Beery8.Clark Gable9.Will Rogers10.Joe E. Brown
Notable films United States unless stated
# 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis
A The Age of Consent, directed by Gregory La Cava Air Mail, directed by John Ford, starring Ralph Bellamy, Gloria Stuart and Pat O'Brien American Madness, directed by Frank Capra, starring Walter Huston and Pat O'Brien The Animal Kingdom, directed by Edward H. Griffith, starring Ann Harding, Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy Anton Spelec, Sharp-Shooter (Anton Špelec, ostrostřelec), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia) As You Desire Me, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Erich von Stroheim L'Atlantide, directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Brigitte Helm – (Germany/France) Attorney for the Defense, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Edmund Lowe and Evelyn Brent
B Back Street, directed by John M. Stahl, starring Irene Dunne and John Boles The Bartered Bride (Die verkaufte Braut), directed by Max Ophüls – (Germany) The Beast of the City, directed by Charles Brabin, starring Walter Huston, Jean Harlow and Wallace Ford The Big Broadcast, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Bing Crosby and Leila Hyams Big City Blues, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Joan Blondell and Eric Linden The Big Stampede, directed by Tenny Wright, starring John Wayne and Noah Beery A Bill of Divorcement, directed by George Cukor, starring John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn and Billie Burke Bird of Paradise, directed by King Vidor, starring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea Das blaue Licht (The Blue Light), starring and directed by Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany) A Blonde Dream (Ein blonder Traum), directed by Paul Martin, starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Willi Forst – (Germany) Blonde Venus, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant Blondie of the Follies, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove, and Jimmy Durante Boudu Saved from Drowning (Boudu sauvé des eaux), directed by Jean Renoir, starring Michel Simon – (France) Broken Lullaby, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Lionel Barrymore Business and Pleasure, directed by David Butler, starring Will Rogers
C The Cabin in the Cotton, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Richard Barthelmess and Bette Davis Call Her Savage, directed by John Francis Dillon, starring Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland and Thelma Todd Charlie Chan's Chance (lost), directed by John G. Blystone, starring Warner Oland Cruiser Emden (Kreuzer Emden), starring and directed by Louis Ralph – (Germany)
D Dance Pretty Lady, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB) Dancers in the Dark, directed by David Burton, starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack Oakie The Dark Horse, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Warren William and Bette Davis The Dentist, directed by Leslie Pearce, starring W. C. Fields Destry Rides Again, directed by Benjamin Stoloff, starring Tom Mix Devil and the Deep, directed by Marion Gering, starring Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton and Cary Grant Downstairs, directed by Monta Bell, starring John Gilbert
E–F Emma, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Marie Dressler and Myrna Loy F.P.1 (F.P.1 antwortet nicht), directed by Karl Hartl – (Germany) Faithless, directed by Harry Beaumont, starring Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Montgomery Fanny, directed by Marc Allégret, starring Raimu – (France) A Farewell to Arms, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou Fast Life, directed by Harry A. Pollard, starring William Haines, Madge Evans and Conrad Nagel Flesh, directed by John Ford, starring Wallace Beery, Ricardo Cortez and Karen Morley Flowers and Trees, a Walt Disney animated short Forbidden, directed by Frank Capra, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou and Ralph Bellamy Freaks, directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford and Leila Hyams
G–H Goodnight, Vienna, directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Jack Buchanan and Anna Neagle – (GB) Grand Hotel, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone Hell Divers, directed by George Hill, starring Wallace Beery, Clark Gable and Conrad Nagel Horse Feathers, directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring the Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd Hotel Splendide, directed by Michael Powell – (GB)
I I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell I Was Born, But... (Otona no miru ehon – Umarete wa mita keredo), directed by Yasujirō Ozu – (Japan) If I Had a Million, starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, Jack Oakie and W. C. Fields The Impatient Maiden, directed by James Whale, starring Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke Island of Lost Souls, directed by Erle C. Kenton, starring Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen and Leila Hyams, based on the 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells Ivan – directed by Alexander Dovzhenko – (U.S.S.R.)
J–K Jack's the Boy directed by Walter Forde, starring Jack Hulbert – (GB) Jewel Robbery, directed by William Dieterle, starring William Powell and Kay Francis The Kid from Spain, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Eddie Cantor Kuhle Wampe, oder: Wem gehört die Welt? (Kuhle Wampe, or: Who Owns the World?), directed by Slatan Dudow – (Germany)
L The Last Mile, directed by Samuel Bischoff, starring Preston Foster The Last of the Mohicans, 12-part serial directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason, starring Harry Carey Law and Order, directed by Edward L. Cahn, starring Walter Huston and Harry Carey Lord Camber's Ladies, directed by Benn Levy, starring Gerald du Maurier and Gertrude Lawrence – (GB) The Local Bad Man, directed by Otto Brower, starring Hoot Gibson Love Me Tonight, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald and Myrna Loy The Lucky Number, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Gordon Harker – (GB)
M The Man Who Played God, directed by John G. Adolfi, starring George Arliss and Bette Davis Me and My Gal, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett Merrily We Go to Hell, directed by Dorothy Arzner, starring Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March The Midshipmaid, directed by Albert de Courville, starring Jessie Matthews – (GB) Million Dollar Legs, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jack Oakie and W. C. Fields The Missing Rembrandt (lost), directed by Leslie S. Hiscott, starring Arthur Wontner and Ian Fleming – (GB) The Most Dangerous Game, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks and Robert Armstrong The Mouthpiece, directed by James Flood and Elliott Nugent, starring Warren William Movie Crazy, directed by Clyde Bruckman, starring Harold Lloyd Mr. Robinson Crusoe, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Douglas Fairbanks The Mummy, directed by Karl Freund, starring Boris Karloff Murders in the Rue Morgue, directed by Robert Florey, starring Bela Lugosi and Sidney Fox
N–O Night After Night, directed by Archie Mayo, starring George Raft and Mae West Night at the Crossroads (La Nuit du carrefour), directed by Jean Renoir – (France) No Man of Her Own, directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Odds 777, directed by George Schnéevoigt – (Denmark) The Old Dark House, directed by James Whale, starring Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton and Raymond Massey One Hour with You, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald One Way Passage, directed by Tay Garnett, starring William Powell and Kay Francis
P Pack Up Your Troubles, directed by George Marshall and Ray McCarey, starring Laurel and Hardy The Passionate Plumber, directed by Edward Sedgwick, starring Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante Payment Deferred, directed by Lothar Mendes, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan The Phantom President, directed by Norman Taurog, starring George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante Polly of the Circus, directed by Alfred Santell, starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable Prosperity, directed by Sam Wood, starring Marie Dressler, Polly Moran and Anita Page
R Rain, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Joan Crawford and Walter Huston Rasputin and the Empress, directed by Richard Boleslawski, starring John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore Rasputin, Demon with Women (Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen), directed by Adolf Trotz, starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany) Raid in St. Pauli (Razzia in St. Pauli), directed by Werner Hochbaum – (Germany) Red Dust, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor and Gene Raymond Red-Haired Alibi, directed by Christy Cabanne