1937 in film

Template:Short description Template:Year topic navigation Template:Yearsinfilm The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Jean Harlow's final movie, Saratoga, was domestically the year's top grossing film but internationally, Maytime surpassed it with initial box office of over 4 million dollars.<ref name="Turk">Template:Cite book</ref>

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1937 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1937
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Saratoga	MGM	$2,432,000<ref name="Mannix">Template:Citation.</ref>
2	Maytime		$2,183,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
3	The Good Earth		$2,002,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
4	Stella Dallas	United Artists	$2,000,000<ref name=StanwyckBook>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Reid>Template:Cite book</ref>
5	Rosalie	MGM	$1,946,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
6	Broadway Melody of 1938		$1,889,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
7	Captains Courageous		$1,688,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
8	Lost Horizon	Columbia	$1,683,000<ref name=ColumbiaBook>Template:Cite book</ref>
9	A Day at the Races	MGM	$1,602,000<ref name="Mannix"/>
10	Thin Ice	20th Century Fox	$1,590,000<ref name=AllTime>Template:Cite news</ref>

Events

March 26 – London Films abandons production of I, Claudius two weeks after its female lead, Merle Oberon, is injured in a car crash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 16 – Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West premieres in the US.
May 7 – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedy Shall We Dance premieres in the US.
May 11 – Drama Captains Courageous, starring Spencer Tracy, premieres in New York, going into general release on June 25.
June 7 – Jean Harlow, one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the decade, dies aged 26 at Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles. The official cause of death is listed as cerebral edema, a complication of kidney failure.
June 11 – Marx Brothers comedy A Day at the Races premieres in the U.S.
July 9 – The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
July 23 – Six weeks after Jean Harlow's death, her final film, Saratoga, is released. It is an instant box office success and becomes the year's highest-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career.
September 20 - Japan's Ministry of Finance sanctions the United States by placing restrictions on the transfer of Hollywood box office revenues from Japan to the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
December 21 – Walt Disney's debut feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length cartoon to be made in America, in Technicolor, and in sound, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The film opens nationwide on February 4, 1938, and is a massive box office success, briefly holding the record as the highest-grossing sound film of all time.
Monogram Pictures, who had merged with Republic Pictures two years earlier, decide to separate and distribute their own films again.

Academy Awards

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Best Picture: The Life of Emile Zola – Warner Bros.
Best Director: Leo McCarey – The Awful Truth
Best Actor: Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous
Best Actress: Luise Rainer – The Good Earth
Best Supporting Actor: Joseph Schildkraut – The Life of Emile Zola
Best Supporting Actress: Alice Brady – In Old Chicago

Top ten money-making stars

Rank	Actor/Actress
1.	Shirley Temple
2.	Clark Gable
3.	Robert Taylor
4.	Bing Crosby
5.	William Powell
6.	Jane Withers
7. (tie)	Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers
8.	Sonja Henie
9.	Gary Cooper
10.	Myrna Loy

Notable films

United States unless stated.

Z

Znachor (The Quack), directed by Michał Waszyński – (Poland)

1937 film releases

January–March

January 1937
- 13 January
  - Thunder in the City (GB)
- 14 January
  - Action for Slander
- 17 January
  - Battle of Greed
- 26 January
  - Without Dowry (U.S.S.R.)
- 28 January
  - Pépé le Moko (France)
- 29 January
  - The Good Earth
  - You Only Live Once
- 30 January
  - Black Legion
February 1937
- 2 February
  - Dreaming Lips (Britain)
- 4 February
  - The Daughter of the Samurai (Germany/Japan)
- 12 February
  - Head Over Heels (GB)
  - On the Avenue
- 13 February
  - The Great O'Malley
- 19 February
  - The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
March 1937
- 2 March
  - Lost Horizon
- 3 March
  - Maid of Salem
- 5 March
  - Fire Over England (GB)
  - History is Made at Night
  - Jump for Glory (GB)
- 12 March
  - A Family Affair
  - Nancy Steele Is Missing!
- 22 March
  - Layla and Majnun (Iran)
- 25 March
  - Seventh Heaven
- 26 March
  - Maytime
  - Quality Street
- 27 March
Girl Loves Boy

April–June

April 1937
- 5 April
  - Elephant Boy (GB)
- 9 April
  - The Soldier and the Lady
- 10 April
  - Marked Woman
  - The Tale of the Fox (Germany)
- 16 April
  - Way Out West
- 18 April
  - Love from a Stranger (GB)
- 20 April
  - A Star Is Born
- 23 April
  - The Woman I Love
- 28 April
  - Woman Chases Man
- 30 April
  - Night Must Fall
May 1937
- 7 May
  - Shall We Dance
  - They Gave Him a Gun
- 8 May
  - The Prince and the Pauper
- 9 May
  - Make Way for Tomorrow
  - The Vicar of Bray
- 19 May
  - Academy Award Review of Walt Disney Cartoons
- 21 May
  - Charlie Chan at the Olympics
  - Pick a Star
- 26 May
  - Kid Galahad
- 28 May
  - This Is My Affair
June 1937
- 1 June
  - Knight Without Armour (GB)
  - The Road Back
- 4 June
  - Parnell
- 8 June
  - Grand Illusion (France)
- 11 June
  - A Day at the Races
- 12 June
  - Storm in a Teacup (GB)
- 17 June
  - King Solomon's Mines (GB)
- 23 June
  - Slim
- 25 June
  - Captains Courageous
  - Wee Willie Winkie
- 30 June
  - Silver Blaze

July–September

July 1937
- 6 July
  - The Edge of the World (GB)
- 7 July
  - Easy Living
- 14 July
  - They Won't Forget
- 15 July
  - Ever Since Eve
- 16 July
  - Topper
- 21 July
  - High, Wide, and Handsome
- 23 July
  - Saratoga
- 24 July
  - Street Angel (China)
August 1937
- 3 August
  - You Can't Have Everything
- 4 August
  - Artists and Models
- 6 August
  - Stella Dallas
- 9 August
  - Souls at Sea
- 11 August
  - The Life of Emile Zola
- 19 August
  - Confession
- 20 August
  - Broadway Melody of 1938
- 25 August
  - Humanity and Paper Balloons (Japan)
- 27 August
  - Dead End
- 31 August
  - To New Shores (Germany)
September 1937
- 1 September
  - The Firefly
- 2 September
  - The Prisoner of Zenda
- 3 September
  - Big City
- 5 September
  - One Hundred Men and a Girl
- 7 September
  - It Happened in Hollywood
- 10 September
  - Annapolis Salute
  - Gribouille (France)
- 16 September
  - Victoria the Great (GB)
- 18 September
  - That Certain Woman
- 24 September
  - Tři vejce do skla (Czechoslovakia)
- 26 September
  - The Dybbuk
- 30 September
  - Something to Sing About

October–December

October 1937
- 1 October
  - Madame X
- 2 October
  - Love Is on the Air
- 8 October
  - Stage Door
- 10 October
  - Law for Tombstone
- 12 October
  - Green Fields
- 14 October
  - Think Fast, Mr. Moto
- 15 October
  - The Bride Wore Red
  - Double Wedding
  - Heidi
- 20 October
  - Bizarre, Bizarre (France)
- 21 October
  - The Awful Truth
- 22 October
  - Conquest
  - Yoshiwara (France)
- 23 October
  - The Perfect Specimen
- 29 October
  - Ali Baba Goes to Town
  - Angel
  - Stand-In
- 30 October
  - The Great Garrick
November 1937
- 9 November
  - The Hurricane
- 12 November
  - The Last Gangster
- 19 November
  - A Damsel in Distress
  - Navy Blue and Gold
- 20 November
  - It's Love I'm After
- 25 November
  - Nothing Sacred
December 1937
- 2 December
  - Andula Won (Czechoslovakia)
  - The Seven Ravens (Germany)
- 4 December
  - First Lady
- 7 December
  - Telephone Operator
- 10 December
  - Born to the West
- 17 December
  - Daughter of Shanghai
- 18 December
  - La Habanera (Germany)
- 21 December
  - Skeleton on Horseback (Czechoslovakia)
- 24 December
  - Rosalie
  - True Confession
- 25 December
  - Tovarich
- 29 December
  - You're a Sweetheart
- 31 December
  - Wells Fargo
  - Wise Girl

Serials

Blake of Scotland Yard, starring Ralph Byrd and Herbert Rawlinson
Dick Tracy, starring Ralph Byrd
Jungle Jim
Jungle Menace, starring Frank Buck
The Mysterious Pilot, starring Frank Hawks
The Painted Stallion, starring Ray Corrigan
Radio Patrol
Secret Agent X-9, starring Scott Kolk
S.O.S. Coast Guard, starring Ralph Byrd and Bela Lugosi
Tim Tyler's Luck, starring Frankie Thomas
Wild West Days
Zorro Rides Again, starring John Carroll

Comedy film series

Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)
Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1921–1945)
Our Gang (1922–1944)
Wheeler and Woolsey (1929–1937)
The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927–1938)
Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
Silly Symphonies
- Woodland Café
- Little Hiawatha
- The Old Mill
Screen Songs (1929–1938)
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Scrappy (1931–1941)
Betty Boop (1932–1939)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Happy Harmonies (1934–1938)
Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
Meany, Miny, and Moe (1936-1937)
Donald Duck (1937–1956)

Births

January 1 – Suzy Kendall, British actress
January 2 – Terence Rigby, English actor (d. 2008)
January 4 – Dyan Cannon, American actress
January 10 – John M. Watson Sr., American actor and musician (d. 2006)
January 11 – Felix Silla, Italian actor, musician, stunt artist and voice artist (d. 2021)
January 12 – Shirley Eaton, English actress and model
January 14 – Stefano Satta Flores, Italian actor and voice actor (d. 1985)
January 15 – Margaret O'Brien, American actress
January 16 – Lorraine Bayly, Australian actress, singer, director and writer
January 17 – Dick Durock, American actor and stuntman (d. 2009)
January 24 – Julie Gregg, American actress (d. 2016)
January 30 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
January 31 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
February 1 – Garrett Morris, American comedian, actor and singer
February 2 – Tom Smothers, American comedian and musician (d. 2023)
February 14 – Soher Al Bably, Egyptian actress (d. 2021)
February 17 – Benjamin Whitrow, English actor (d. 2017)
February 19 – David Margulies, American actor (d. 2016)
February 21 – Gary Lockwood, American actor
February 24 – Shawn Elliott, American actor and singer (d. 2016)
February 25 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
February 27 – Barbara Babcock, American character actress
March 2 – BarBara Luna, American actress
March 3 – Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
March 5 – Sal Borgese, Italian actor
March 10 – Joe Viterelli, American actor (d. 2004)
March 19 - Maurice Roëves, British actor (d. 2020)
March 21 – Bill Capizzi, American voice actor (d. 2007)
March 22 – Angelo Badalamenti, American screen composer (d. 2022)
March 23 – Tony Burton, American actor (d. 2016)
March 30
- Warren Beatty, American actor and director
- James D. Brubaker, American film producer (d. 2023)
April 1
- Jordan Charney, American character actor
- Yılmaz Güney, Kurdish director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author (d. 1984)
April 2 – Ken Olfson, American actor (d. 1997)
April 3 – Lawrence Dane, Canadian actor and producer (d. 2022)
April 6
- Terrence Hardiman, English actor (d. 2023)
- Billy Dee Williams, American actor
April 9 - Marty Krofft, Canadian puppeteer and film producer (d. 2023)
April 12 - Dennis Banks, Native American actor and activist (d. 2017)
April 13
- Corinne Cole, American actress
- Edward Fox, English actor
April 15
- Rochelle Oliver, American actress (d. 2024)
- Uldis Pūcītis, Latvian actor (d. 2000)
- Frank Vincent, American actor (d. 2017)
April 18 – Robert Hooks, American actor and producer
April 19 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
April 20 – George Takei, American actor, author and activist
April 22 – Jack Nicholson, American actor
April 27 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)
May 5 – John Martino, American actor
May 8 – Shin Seong-il, South Korean actor (d. 2018)
May 12
- George Carlin, American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic and author (d. 2008)
- Susan Hampshire, English actress
May 16 – Yvonne Craig, American actress (d. 2015)
May 19 – Pat Roach, English actor and professional wrestler (d. 2004)
June 1 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and director
June 2 – Sally Kellerman, American actress and singer (d. 2022)
June 10 – Luciana Paluzzi, Italian actress
June 11
- Johnny Brown, American actor and singer (d. 2022)
- Chad Everett, American actor (d. 2012)
June 14 – Jørgen Leth, Danish director (d. 2025)
June 16 – Charmian May, English character actress (d. 2002)
June 17 - Arthur Schmidt, American film editor (d. 2023)
June 26 – Sombat Metanee, Thai actor and film director (d. 2022)
June 28 – Richard Bright, American actor (d. 2006)
July 2 – Polly Holliday, American actress (d. 2025)
July 6 – Ned Beatty, American character actor (d. 2021)
July 12 – Bill Cosby, American stand-up comedian and actor
July 16 – Ada Rogovtseva, Ukrainian actress
July 19 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
July 20
- Ken Ogata, Japanese actor (d. 2008)
- Timothy Scott, American actor (d. 1995)
July 21 – Gray Frederickson, American film producer (d. 2022)
July 25 – Paul Collins, British actor
July 28 – Viktor Merezhko, Russian screenwriter, actor, writer and television presenter (d. 2022)
August 3
- Steven Berkoff, British actor and playwright
- Richard Foronjy, American actor (d. 2024)
August 5 – Alan Howard, English actor (d. 2015)
August 6 – Barbara Windsor, English comedy actress (d. 2020)
August 8 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor
August 14
- Fran Bennett, American actress (d. 2021)
- Alberta Nelson, American actress (d. 2006)
August 16 – Lorraine Gary, American retired actress
August 17 - Spiros Focás, Greek actor (d. 2023)
August 19 – Evadne Baker, English actress (d. 1995)
August 26 – Kenji Utsumi, Japanese actor (d. 2013)
September 1 – Tsai Chin, Chinese actress, singer and director
September 4
- Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor and director (d. 2006)
- Nicholas Worth, American character actor (d. 2007)
September 6 – Jo Anne Worley, American actress, comedian and singer
September 7
- Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish film actor, producer and director (d. 2022)
- Ray Donn, English actor
- John Phillip Law, American actor (d. 2008)
September 10 – Brian Murray, South African actor and theatre director (d. 2018)
September 13
- Don Bluth, American director and producer
- Meeli Sööt, Estonian actress (d. 2024)
September 21
- Ron Cobb, American-Australian graphic and film designer (d. 2020)
- Aarne Üksküla, Estonian actor (d. 2017)
September 24 – Dee Pollock, American actor (d. 2005)
September 26 – Jerry Weintraub, American producer and actor (d. 2015)
October 7 – Clive Graham, British actor (d. 2007)
October 10
- Vic Tablian, Armenian-British actor
- Peter White, American actor (d. 2023)
October 11 – Ron Leibman, American actor (d. 2019)
October 15 – Linda Lavin, American actress and singer (d. 2024)
October 21 – Édith Scob, French actress (d. 2019)
October 22 – Alan Ladd Jr., American film producer (d. 2022)
November 4 – Loretta Swit, American actress (d. 2025)
November 5 – Harris Yulin, American actor (d. 2025)
November 10 - Albert Hall, American actor
November 17 – Peter Cook, British satirist and comedic actor (d. 1995)
November 21
- Ingrid Pitt, Polish-born British actress (d. 2010)
- Marlo Thomas, American actress and producer
November 23 – Dora Cadavid, Colombian actress, singer and announcer (d. 2022)
November 27 – Rodney Bewes, English actor (d. 2017)
November 30 – Ridley Scott, English director and producer
December 4
- Max Baer Jr., American actor, producer, comedian and director
- David Bailie, South African actor (d. 2021)
December 7
- Kenneth Colley, English actor (d. 2025)
- Larry Hankin, American character actor
December 8 – James MacArthur, American actor (d. 2010)
December 9 – Darwin Joston, American actor (d. 1998)
December 11 - Stephen Moore, English actor (d. 2019)
December 12 – Connie Francis, American singer and actress (d. 2025)
December 13 – Rob Houwer, Dutch producer (d. 2025)
December 16 – Joyce Bulifant, American actress
December 21 – Jane Fonda, American actress
December 29 – Barbara Steele, English actress
December 30 – Zaldy Zshornack, Filipino actor (d. 2002)
December 31 – Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor

Deaths

January 2 – Ross Alexander, 29, American actor, Captain Blood, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Flirtation Walk
January 3 – Perry N. Vekroff, 55, American actor and director, Trailed by Three, A Woman's Experience
January 13 – Martin Johnson, 52, American documentary filmmaker, Congorilla
January 16 – John Miltern, 66, Actor, Big Town
January 21 – Marie Prevost, 40, Canadian-born American actress, The Marriage Circle, The Racket, The Godless Girl, Cain and Mabel
January 31 – Wallace Smith, 48, American writer and illustrator, The Gay Desperado
February 16 – Paul Graetz, 47, German actor, Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk
February 17 – George Hassell, 55, English actor, Captain Blood, Becky Sharp
February 24
- Humphrey Pearson, 43, American screenwriter, Red Salute
- Sir Guy Standing, 63, English actor, Lloyd's of London
March 1 - DeWitt Jennings, 65, American actor, Mutiny on the Bounty
March 6 - Frank Vosper, 37, English actor, Blind Justice
March 11
- W. Graham Browne, 67, Irish actor, The Night of the Party
- John F. Goodrich, 50, American screenwriter, The Last Command
April 2 - Edward Laemmle, 49, American director, Top o' the Morning
April 5 - Émile Pathé, French co-organiser of Pathé Frères
April 7 - Helen Burgess, 20, American actress, The Plainsman, A Doctor's Diary
April 10 - Ralph Ince, 50, American actor and director, The Sea Wolf
April 20 - Fredric Hope, 37, American art director, The Merry Widow
April 24 - Lucy Beaumont, 67, English actress, The Greater Glory
April 29 - William Gillette, 83, American actor, Sherlock Holmes
May 1 – Snitz Edwards, 69, Austro-Hungarian-born American actor, The Thief of Bagdad, The Phantom of the Opera, Seven Chances, College
May 10 – William Tedmarsh, 61, English-American silent film actor
June 5 – Emmett J. Flynn, 54-55, American director, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
June 7
- Jean Harlow, 26, American actress, The Public Enemy, Libeled Lady, Suzy, Red Dust
- Monroe Owsley, 37, American actor, Holiday, Indiscreet, The Keyhole, Ex-Lady
June 25 – Colin Clive, 37, British actor, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein
September 21 – Osgood Perkins, 45, American actor, Scarface, Gold Diggers of 1937
November 13 – Mrs. Leslie Carter, 75, American stage and screen actress, Becky Sharp, Rocky Mountain Mystery
December 21 – Ted Healy, 41, American actor and creator of The Three Stooges, San Francisco, Mad Love, Beer and Pretzels, Soup to Nuts

Film debuts

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References

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Sources

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External links

Template:1937 films