Full disclosure: there are more than 100 images here. But 100 Images from the Films of 1930 sounds better than 105 images from the Films of 1930, doesn’t it? Well, I’ve finally come to the end of the 1930 Watchlist. It feels good, but it also right on time. Momentum plummeted towards the end, so it was a snail’s pace cross over the finish line.

Over the next two weeks I will be rounding out my 1930 coverage. Posts will consist of, in addition to this, the What I’ll Remember post and the Top Ten which will include write-ups on the films and the year in general. Previous 1930 coverage can be found here:

Top Ten By Year: 1930 Poll Results

Movie Poster Highlights: 1930

What follows is a visual celebration of 1930. While viewing over fifty 1930 films in the past six months, I gradually collected screenshots of images that jumped out as something I wanted to capture and cherish for the future. For this post I chose personal favorites from that sizable collection. The images are arrange purposefully. I tried to group together shots that had something visually in common, whether it be content or blocking. I hope you enjoy them. I started doing this with 1978. You can find a sampling of my favorite shots from that year in my What I’ll Remember post. But it was 1925 where this aspect of the Top Ten By Year Project really took off. You can find that here. I promise you won’t regret it; there are so many incredible images from 1925. The same goes for 1930, or at least, I hope you agree.

What are some of your favorite shots or images from 1930 film?

Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)

Liliom (director: Frank Borzage/cinematographer: Chester Lyons)

The Doorway to Hell (director: Archie Mayo/cinematographer: Barney McGill)

The Blue Angel (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Günther Rittau)

For the Defense (director: John Cromwell/cinematographer: Charles Lang)

City Girl (director: F.W. Murnau/cinematographer: Ernest Palmer)

The Dawn Patrol (director: Howard Hawks/cinematographer: Ernest Haller)

City Girl (director: F.W. Murnau/cinematographer: Ernest Palmer)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Way for a Sailor (director: Sam Wood/cinematographer: Percy Hilburn)

Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

The Dawn Patrol (director: Howard Hawks/cinematographer: Ernest Haller)

Liliom (director: Frank Borzage/cinematographer: Chester Lyons)

Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

City Girl (director: F.W. Murnau/cinematographer: Ernest Palmer)

Morocco (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Lee Garmes/Lucien Ballard)

Aimless Walk (short) (director: Alexander Hammid)

The Big Trail (director: Raoul Walsh/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson)

The Big Trail (director: Raoul Walsh/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson)

The Big Trail (director: Raoul Walsh/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson)



Just Imagine (director: David Butler/cinematographer: Ernest Palmer)

Madam Satan (director: Cecil B. DeMille/cinematographer: Harold Rosson)

Madam Satan (director: Cecil B. DeMille/cinematographer: Harold Rosson)

Follow Thru (directors: Lloyd Corrigan, Laurence Schwab/cinematographer: Charles P. Boyle)

King of Jazz (director: John Murray Anderson/cinematographer: Jerome Ash, Hal Mohr, Ray Rennahan)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

King of Jazz ( director: John Murray Anderson/cinematographer: Jerome Ash, Hal Mohr, Ray Rennahan)

King of Jazz (director: John Murray Anderson/cinematographer: Jerome Ash, Hal Mohr, Ray Rennahan)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

Die Drei von der Tankstelle (director: Wilhelm Theile/cinematographer: Franz Planer)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

The Doorway to Hell (director: Archie Mayo/cinematographer: Barney McGill)

Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

Min and Bill (director: George W. Hill/cinematographer: Harold Wenstrom)

Paid (director: Sam Wood/cinematographer: Charles Rosher)

Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

The Bat Whispers (director: Roland West/cinematographer: Robert H. Planck)

Murder! (director: Alfred Hitchcock/cinematographer: Jack E. Cox)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

A Notorious Affair (director: Lloyd Bacon/cinematographer: Ernest Haller)

Ladies of Leisure (director: Frank Capra/cinematographer: Joseph Walker)

La Petite Lise (director: Jean Grémillon/cinematographer: Jean Bachelet, Rene Colas)

The Dawn Patrol (director: Howard Hawks/cinematographer: Ernest Haller)

Morocco (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Lee Garmes/Lucien Ballard)

L’Age d’Or (director: Luis Buñuel/cinematographer: Albert Duverger)

Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

The Big House (director: George W. Hill/cinematographer: Harold Wenstrom)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

The Big House (director: George W. Hill/cinematographer: Harold Wenstrom)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Hell’s Angels (director: Howard Hughes/cinematographer: Elmer Dyer, etc, etc)

Hell’s Angels (director: Howard Hughes/cinematographer: Elmer Dyer, etc, etc)

The Big Trail (director: Raoul Walsh/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson)

Liliom (director: Frank Borzage/cinematographer: Chester Lyons)

Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

Dance of the Hands (short) (director: Norman Bel Geddes)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Dance of the Hands (short) (director: Norman Bel Geddes)

Street of Chance (director: John Cromwell/cinematographer: Charles Lang)

Morocco (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Lee Garmes/Lucien Ballard)

Our Blushing Brides (director: Harry Beaumont/cinematographer: Merritt B. Gerstad)



The Divorcee (director; Robert Z. Leonard/cinematographer: Norbert Brodine)

The Blue Angel (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Günther Rittau)



Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)

Die Drei von der Tankstelle (director: Wilhelm Theile/cinematographer: Franz Planer)

King of Jazz (director: John Murray Anderson/cinematographer: Jerome Ash, Hal Mohr, Ray Rennahan)



King of Jazz (director: John Murray Anderson/cinematographer: Jerome Ash, Hal Mohr, Ray Rennahan)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)



Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

Laughter (director: Harry d’Abbadie d’Arrast/cinematographer: George J. Folsey)



Feet First (director: Clyde Bruckman, Harold Lloyd/cinematographer: Henry N. Kohler, Walter Lundin)



L’Age d’Or (director: Luis Buñuel/cinematographer: Albert Duverger)



L’Age d’Or (director: Luis Buñuel/cinematographer: Albert Duverger)

Blood of a Poet (director: Jean Cocteau/cinematographer: Georges Périnal)



Borderline (director/cinematographer: Kenneth MacPherson)

The Blue Angel (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Günther Rittau)

Morocco (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Lee Garmes/Lucien Ballard)

Ladies of Leisure (director: Frank Capra/cinematographer: Joseph Walker)

Hell’s Angels (director: Howard Hughes/cinematographer: Elmer Dyer, etc, etc)

The Blue Angel (director: Josef von Sternberg/cinematographer: Günther Rittau)

Swing You Sinners! (short) (director: Dave Fleischer)



Le roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox) (director: Irene Starewicz, Wladyslaw Starewicz/cinematographer: W. Starerwicz)

Le roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox) (director: Irene Starewicz, Wladyslaw Starewicz/cinematographer: W. Starerwicz)

Au bonheur des dames (director: Julien Duvivier/cinematographers: Andre Dantan, Rene Guichard, Emile Pierre, Armand Thirard)



Hell’s Angels (director: Howard Hughes/cinematographer: Elmer Dyer, etc, etc)

All Quiet on the Western Front (director: Lewis Milestone/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson, Karl Freund)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Prix de beauté (director: A. Genina/cinematographer: Rudolph Maté, Louis Née)



Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

Madam Satan (director: Cecil B. DeMille/cinematographer: Harold Rosson)



Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday) (directors: Siodmak, Ulmer, etc/cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan)

Ladies of Leisure (director: Frank Capra/cinematographer: Joseph Walker)



Our Blushing Brides (director: Harry Beaumont/cinematographer: Merritt B. Gerstad)



Just Imagine (director: David Butler/cinematographer: Ernest Palmer)

Madam Satan (director: Cecil B. DeMille/cinematographer: Harold Rosson)

Follow Thru (directors: Lloyd Corrigan, Laurence Schwab/cinematographer: Charles P. Boyle)

Follow Thru (directors: Lloyd Corrigan, Laurence Schwab/cinematographer: Charles P. Boyle)

The Big Trail (director: Raoul Walsh/cinematographer: Arthur Edeson)