1930 films

The Woman Between is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Howard Estabrook. The film stars Lili Damita, Lester Vail, O.P. Heggie, Miriam Seegar and Anita Louise. It was released on August 8, 1931 by RKO Pictures. SYNOPSIS Returning after a long absence, a man learns the woman he fell in love with on the ship going home is his stepmother. A young man returns from Europe after several years of estrangement from his family caused by his disapproval of his father's remarriage after his mother's death. At the family reunion, he learns that his stepmother is the woman with whom he had a shipboard romance on the voyage home. CAST & CREW Lili Damita as Julie Whitcomb Lester Vail as Victor Whitcomb O.P. Heggie as John Whitcomb Miriam Seegar as Doris Whitcomb Anita Louise as Helen Weston Ruth Weston as Mrs. Black Lincoln Stedman as Buddy Blanche Friderici as Mrs. Weston William Morris as Frederick Weston Halliwell Hobbes as Barton Directed by Victor Schertzinger Screenplay by Howard Estabrook Produced by William LeBaron Cinematography J. Roy Hunt Edited by William Hamilton Music by Victor Schertzinger Production company RKO Pictures Distributed by RKO Pictures Release date: August 8, 1931 Running time: 73 minutes Country: United States Language: English

Bear Shooters is a 1930 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 98th (tenth talking) Our Gang short that was released. SYNOPSIS While on a camping trip, the gang comes across poachers. Spud wants to go camping and shoot many bears with Jackie, Chubby, and Farina. But his mother has forced him to look after his little brother Wheezer, who has the croup. In caring for his brother he must periodically apply ointment to his chest. He tells his friends he must stay home and grease Wheezer. He tries to get his sister Mary Ann to do this but she insists on going camping. Spud decides to merely go camping anyway and take both Wheezer and Mary Ann along. The gang all go together in an old dilapidated wagon guided by Dinah The Mule. The trip initially goes smoothly, but after some time two bootleggers who have themselves concealed in the area spot the gang and decide to try to get the gang to leave. One of the bootleggers dresses up in a gorilla suit in order to scare the gang away. Cast & Crew Norman Chaney as Chubby Jackie Cooper as Jackie Allen Hoskins as Farina Bobby Hutchins as Wheezer Mary Ann Jackson as Mary Ann Leon Janney as Donald 'Spud' Pete the Pup as himself Dinah the Mule as herself Directed by Robert F. McGowan Produced by Robert F. McGowan, Hal Roach Cinematography Len Powers Edited by Richard C. Currier Music by Ray Henderson Distributed by MGM Release date May 17, 1930 Running time 20' 16" Country United States Language English NOTES Bear Shooters is a remake of the 1924 silent entry It's a Bear. Allen Hoskins appeared in both films. Bear Shooters is one of four sound Our Gang shorts that fell into the public domain after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s (the other three being School's Out, Our Gang Follies of 1938 and Waldo's Last Stand). As such, these films frequently appear on inexpensive video and/or DVD compilations. Farina, Jackie and Chubby prepare their lunch for the bear hunt in Bear Shooters.

School's Out is a 1930 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 102nd Our Gang short to be released. SYNOPSIS The kids mistake Miss Crabtree's brother for a potential boyfriend, and plot to discourage him. Jackie is trying to circulate a petition among his classmates to keep school open during the summer, as he and the gang are afraid that they might lose Miss Crabtree during summer vacation. In addition, the kids fear that she might get married and therefore no longer be able to teach them. The gang has grown to like Miss Crabtree tremendously, and ride with her in her roadster to school every morning. In the car this particular morning, the kids all try to scare Miss Crabtree away from even considering marriage in the future, but Miss Crabtree states that she wants to get married some day. Later in the day, Miss Crabtree goes into town for lunch and a man named "Jack" stops by the school looking for her. The man is actually Miss Crabtree's brother, but the gang is afraid that Jack is a suitor who wants to marry their teacher. The kids tell the man outlandish lies about Miss Crabtree in order to scare him away ("She has two false sets of teeth and one wooden leg!" "She's got seven husbands!" "And twenty-one kids!"). CAST & CREW Jackie Cooper as Jackie Cooper Norman Chaney as Chubby Chaney Matthew Beard as Hercules Dorothy DeBorba as Echo Allen Hoskins as Farina Bobby Hutchins as Wheezer Mary Ann Jackson as Mary Ann Jackson Donald Haines as Donald Haines Buddy McDonald as Buddy O'Donnell Bobby Young as Robert 'Bonedust' Pete the Pup as himself Directed by Robert F. McGowan Written by H. M. Walker Produced by Hal Roach Cinematography Art Lloyd Edited by Richard C. Currier Music by Leroy Shield, Marvin Hatley Distributed by MGM Release date November 22, 1930 Running time 20' 38" Country United States Language English

Abraham Lincoln, also released under the title D. W. Griffith's "Abraham Lincoln", is a 1930 pre-Code American biographical film about Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her second speaking role, as Ann Rutledge. The script was co-written by Stephen Vincent Benét, author of the Civil War prose poem John Brown's Body (1928), and Gerrit Lloyd. This was the first of only two sound films made by Griffith. SYNOPSIS An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States. The first act of the film covers Lincoln's early life as a storekeeper and rail-splitter in New Salem and his early romance with Ann Rutledge, and his early years as a lawyer and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois. The majority of the film deals with Lincoln's presidency during the American Civil War and culminates with Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre. CAST & CREW W. L. Thorne as Tom Lincoln Lucille La Verne as Mid-Wife Helen Freeman as Nancy Hanks Lincoln Otto Hoffman as Offut Walter Huston as Abraham Lincoln Edgar Deering as Armstrong Una Merkel as Ann Rutledge Russell Simpson as Lincoln's Employer Charles Crockett as Sheriff Kay Hammond as Mary Todd Lincoln Helen Ware as Mrs. Edwards E. Alyn Warren as Stephen A. Douglas Jason Robards as Herndon Gordon Thorpe as Tad Lincoln Ian Keith as John Wilkes Booth Cameron Prudhomme as John Hay (secretary to the president) James Bradbury, Sr. as General Scott Jimmie Eagle as Young Soldier E. Alyn Warren as General Grant Oscar Apfel as Secretary of War Stanton Frank Campeau as General Sheridan Hobart Bosworth as General Lee Henry B. Walthall as Colonel Marshall Directed by D. W. Griffith Written by Stephen Vincent Benét (adapted for the screen), John W. Considine Jr. (story and production adviser), Stephen Vincent Benét and Gerrit Lloyd (continuity and dialogue) Produced by D. W. Griffith, Joseph M. Schenck Cinematography Karl Struss Edited by James Smith, Hal C. Kern (editorial adviser) Music by Hugo Riesenfeld (music arrangements) Production company United Artists Distributed by United Artists Release date: August 25, 1930 Running time: 94 minutes Country: United States Language: English NOTES The film received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times called it "quite a worthy pictorial offering with a genuinely fine and inspiring performance by Walter Huston in the role of the martyred President" and later put it on his year-end list of the ten best films of 1930. "More than an outstanding classic of sound pictures, Abraham Lincoln eclipses the most conservative illusion of a modernized Birth of a Nation", wrote Variety in a rave review. "It is a startlingly superlative accomplishment; one rejuvenating a greatest Griffith. In characterization and detail perfection it is such as to be almost unbelievable." Film Daily called it a "distinguished and human narrative" and wrote that Huston's performance "may be listed as one of the 10 best of the year – or any talker year."John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that it was "by and large.....a pretty high-grade picture." Despite these accolades, however, the film's box office performance was uneven. Abraham Lincoln is part of the David Wark Griffith collection at the Museum of Modern Art, and it was donated as a gift from screenwriter-producer Paul Killiam, a collector of silent movies. Funding for the preservation of this film was provided by The Lillian Gish Trust for Film Preservation, The Film Foundation, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. More recent assessments of Abraham Lincoln have been less effusive in their praise of the film, finding that Abraham Lincoln has not aged well. In 1978, the film was included as one of the choices in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, criticizing the film's historical inaccuracies, instances of clumsy dialogue and Merkel's melodramatic acting style. Glenn Erickson, reviewing the DVD in 2012, wrote that it "comes off as an interesting curio. Its earnest simplicity seems more dated than ever, despite the fine performance of Walter Huston in the lead role." Film historian Melvyn Stokes found that Abraham Lincoln's episodic structure "came at the cost of dramatic tension" and suggested that the film's disappointing box office performance was due to its having "nothing of major importance and relevance to say about its subject to moviegoers of Depression-era America." Abraham Lincoln was the first sound film about the Civil War which veterans of that war could view.

Africa Speaks! is a 1930 American documentary film directed by Walter Futter and narrated by Lowell Thomas. It is an exploitation film. SYNOPSIS Paul L. Hoefler heads a 1928 expedition to Africa capturing wildlife and tribes on film. Explorer Paul Hoefler leads a safari into central Africa and what was then called the Belgian Congo, in the regions inhabited by the Wassara and the famous Ubangi tribes. CAST & CREW Paul L. Hoefler as Himself Lowell Thomas as Narrator Directed by Walter Futter Written by Walter Futter Produced by Walter Futter, Paul L. Hoefler Cinematography Paul L. Hoefler Edited by Walter Futter Production company Mascot Pictures Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date August 15, 1930 Running time 75 minutes Country United States Language English Budget less than $50,000 NOTES Although the film was shot over the fourteen months of the expedition in the Serengeti and in Uganda, a scene involving an attack by a lion on a native was apparently staged at the Selig Zoo in Los Angeles and involved a toothless lion. Hoefler wrote a book entitled Africa Speaks about the expedition that was published in 1931. The title of the film was parodied in the 1940 cartoon Africa Squeaks and the 1949 Abbott and Costello film Africa Screams.

SYNOPSIS Paul L. Hoefler heads a 1928 expedition to Africa capturing wildlife and tribes on film. Explorer Paul Hoefler leads a safari into central Africa and what was then called the Belgian Congo, in the regions inhabited by the Wassara and the famous Ubangi tribes. CAST & CREW Paul L. Hoefler as Himself Lowell Thomas as Narrator Directed by Walter Futter Written by Walter Futter Produced by Walter Futter, Paul L. Hoefler Cinematography Paul L. Hoefler Edited by Walter Futter Production company Mascot Pictures Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date August 15, 1930 Running time 75 minutes Country United States Language English Budget less than $50,000 NOTES Although the film was shot over the fourteen months of the expedition in the Serengeti and in Uganda, a scene involving an attack by a lion on a native was apparently staged at the Selig Zoo in Los Angeles and involved a toothless lion. Hoefler wrote a book entitled Africa Speaks about the expedition that was published in 1931. The title of the film was parodied in the 1940 cartoon Africa Squeaks and the 1949 Abbott and Costello film Africa Screams.

The Apache Kid's Escape is a 1930 American Western film written, produced and directed by Robert J. Horner and starring Jack Perrin and his wife Josephine Hill. It was a remake of The White Outlaw (1929). The film was shot in Valencia, California. Jack Perrin's five-picture deal with Horner ended up in court when Perrin only received $1,425 out of the $2,900 that was agreed upon. SYNOPSIS Staying one step ahead of the law, the Apache Kid helps out a cowboy in trouble. Hurt by his sister's letter saying they can not accept the money he sent for his sick mother as it was obtained illegally, the Apache Kid decides to go on the straight and narrow. Others including Buck Harris and Ted Conway decide to use the Apache Kid's trademark of a chequered scarf to commit robberies. CAST & CREW Jack Perrin as Jim aka The Apache Kid Fred Church as Ted Conway Josephine Hill as Jane Wilson Virginia Ashcroft as Sally Wilson Bud Osborne as Buck Harris Fred Burns as Bill Lang Henry Roquemore as Frank Conway Charles Le Moyne as Another Sheriff Buzz Barton as Tim Wells Horace B. Carpenter as Larry Wilson Starlight the Horse as Himself Directed by Robert J. Horner Written by Robert J. Horner Produced by Robert J. Horner Cinematography Bert Baldridge Edited by William Austin Production company Cosmos Productions Release date: November 22, 1930 Running time: 51 minutes Country: United States Language: English

The Apache Kid's Escape is a 1930 American Western film written, produced and directed by Robert J. Horner and starring Jack Perrin and his wife Josephine Hill. It was a remake of The White Outlaw (1929). The film was shot in Valencia, California. Jack Perrin's five-picture deal with Horner ended up in court when Perrin only received $1,425 out of the $2,900 that was agreed upon. SYNOPSIS Staying one step ahead of the law, the Apache Kid helps out a cowboy in trouble. Hurt by his sister's letter saying they can not accept the money he sent for his sick mother as it was obtained illegally, the Apache Kid decides to go on the straight and narrow. Others including Buck Harris and Ted Conway decide to use the Apache Kid's trademark of a chequered scarf to commit robberies. CAST & CREW Jack Perrin as Jim aka The Apache Kid Fred Church as Ted Conway Josephine Hill as Jane Wilson Virginia Ashcroft as Sally Wilson Bud Osborne as Buck Harris Fred Burns as Bill Lang Henry Roquemore as Frank Conway Charles Le Moyne as Another Sheriff Buzz Barton as Tim Wells Horace B. Carpenter as Larry Wilson Starlight the Horse as Himself Directed by Robert J. Horner Written by Robert J. Horner Produced by Robert J. Horner Cinematography Bert Baldridge Edited by William Austin Production company Cosmos Productions Release date: November 22, 1930 Running time: 51 minutes Country: United States Language: English

Check and Double Check is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film produced and released by RKO Radio Pictures based on the Amos 'n' Andy radio show. The title was derived from a catchphrase associated with the show. Directed by Melville W. Brown, from a screenplay by Bert Kalmar, J. Walter Ruben, and Harry Ruby, it starred Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden, in blackface, in the roles of Andy and Amos, respectively, which they had created for the radio show. The film also featured Duke Ellington and his "Cotton Club Orchestra". SYNOPSIS Amos and Andy run the "Fresh Air Taxicab Company, Incorporated", so named because their one taxi has no top. Their old vehicle has broken down, causing a traffic jam. Stuck in the traffic jam are John Blair and his wife, who were on their way to meet an old family friend at the train station, Richard Williams. When the Blairs do not show up, he makes his own way to their house, where he meets their daughter, Jean, who was also his childhood sweetheart. The two reignite their old flame, much to the chagrin of Ralph Crawford, who has been attempting to woo Jean himself. That night, prior to attending a meeting at their lodge, the Mystic Knights of the Sea, they are hired to transport Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club band to a party being given at the Blair estate. While they are on their way, Richard is confiding to John Blair his feelings for his daughter, and also stating that he has no intention of pursuing Jean unless he can afford to start his own business to support them. After the death of his father, Richard's family lost all their money. He has come up to New York because his grandfather used to own a large home in Harlem, and he hopes to be able to find the deed to it, in order to sell it for the money needed to start his business. He thinks the deed must be hidden somewhere on the property itself. Unknown to Blair or Richard, is that Ralph is eavesdropping on their conversation. After his discussion with Blair, Richard runs into Amos and Andy, who used to work for his father down south, and they are all happy to see one another. Having delivered their fare, the two cab drivers rush back to town to attend their lodge meeting. The lodge has an annual tradition where a pair of members must spend a night in a haunted house in Harlem, and find a document labeled, "Check and Double Check". Once they find it, they are to replace it, in a different location, with their own version, for the lodge members to find the following year. The haunted house in question in none other than the house previously owned by Richard's grandfather. As Amos and Andy are searching for their document, Ralph is also in the house with several of his cohorts, searching for the deed, in order to thwart Richard's chances with Jean. Amos and Andy find their document, but then realize they did not bring any other paper to write their message on and secrete for their lodge brothers. In searching for something to write on, they stumble on the deed to premises. As they are about to write their message on the back, they are interrupted by Ralph and his friends, who believe that the two have found the deed. In the confusion which ensues, the cab drivers hand over what everyone believes is the deed, before they scamper out of the building. However, when they return to the lodge, they realize that they had given the Check and Double Check paper to Ralph, instead of the deed. They do not know the importance of the document they have, but they recognized Richard's grandfather's signature on it, and intend to deliver it to Richard the following day. After failing to find the deed, a heartbroken Richard leaves for the railway station, intending to return home. Amos and Andy arrive at the Blair house too late to give him the deed, but race to the station and are able to hand over the deed just before Richard's train leaves. Now with the deed, Richard can sell the house, open his business, and marry Jean. CAST & CREW Freeman F. Gosden as Amos Charles J. Correll as Andy Brown Sue Carol as Jean Blair Irene Rich as Mrs Blair Ralf Harolde as Ralph Crawford Charles Morton as Richard Williams Edward Martindel as John Blair Rita La Roy as Elinor Crawford Russ Powell as Kingfish Roscoe Ates as Brother Arthur Duke Ellington as himself Robert Homans as butler Directed by Melville W. Brown Written by Bert Kalmar, J. Walter Ruben, Harry Ruby Produced by William LeBaron Cinematography William Marshall Edited by Claude Berkeley Production company RKO Radio Pictures Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures Release date October 25, 1930 Running time: 77 mins. Country: United States Language: English Budget: $967,000 Box office: $1,810,000