Top 10 Films of 1936

1. "Arigato-san" (Hiroshi Shimizu, Japan)

2. "Swing Time" (George Stevens, RKO)

3. "The Great Ziegfeld" (Robert Z. Leonard, MGM)

4. "Libeled Lady" (Jack Conway, MGM)

5. "Modern Times" (Charles Chaplin, United Artists)

6. "Dodsworth" (William Wyler, United Artists)

7. "My Man Godfrey" (Gregory La Cava, Universal)

8. "Showboat" (James Whale, Universal)

9. "Le Crime de M.Lange" (Jean Renoir, France)

10. "After The Thin Man" (W.S. Van Dyke, MGM)


Other great films:

Ada, to nie wypada (Poland)

Anthony Adverse
Banjo On My Knee

Barbara Radziwillowna (Poland)

Les Bas-fonds (France)
Bedzie lepiej (Poland)
Bohaterowie Sybiru (Poland)

Borneo (Germany)
Born To Dance
By The Bluest Of Seas (Soviet Union)
Cain And Mabel
Captain January
Cesar (France)

Club de femmes (France)

Colleen
Come And Get It
Desire
Dimples
Final Accord (Germany)
Follow The Fleet
Fury
General Spanky
The Ghost Goes West
Gold Diggers Of 1937
Go West Young Man

Intermezzo (Sweden)
Jadzia (Poland)
Jego wielka milosc (Poland)

Marihuana
The Milky Way

Mir kumen on (Poland)

Mr Deeds Goes To Town
The Only Son (Japan)
Our Relations
Pennies From Heaven
Pigskin Parade
Poor Little Rich Girl
Priest Of Darkness (Japan)
Reefer Madness
Le Roman d'un tricheur (France)
Rose Marie
Sabotage (UK)
San Francisco
The Secret Agent (UK)
Sisters Of The Gion (Japan)
The Story Of Louis Pasteur
Stowaway
Straszny dwor (Poland)
Sylvia Scarlett
A Tale Of Two Cities

Tarzan Escapes
Texas Rangers
Theodora Goes Wild
Things To Come (UK)
Three Smart Girls
The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine
White Squadron (Italy)
Yidl mitn Fidl (Poland)

Short Top 3:

1. "Partie de campagne" (Jean Renoir, France)

2. "Night Mail" (Harry Watt, Basil Wright, UK)

3. "The Plow That Broke The Plains" (Pare Lorentz, USA)

Other great shorts:

Bored Of Education
Every Sunday
Give Me Liberty

Helen And Grapes (Soviet Union)

The Lion Dance (Japan)

Rose Hobart

Cartoon Top 10

1. "Donald And Pluto" (Ben Sharpsteen, Disney)

2. "Miss Glory" (Tex Avery, Warner)

3. "Moving Day" (Ben Sharpsteen, Disney)

4. "The Country Cousin" (Wilfred Jackson, Disney)

5. "Popeye The Sailor Meets Sinbad The Sailor" (Dave Fleischer, Paramount)

6. "Thru The Mirror" (David Hand, Disney)

7. "Three Little Wolves" (David Hand, Disney)

8. "Porky In The North Woods" (Frank Tashlin, Warner)


9. "Allegretto" (Oskar Fischinger, USA)

10. "Lil' Ainjil" (Manny Gould, Ben Harrison, Columbia)

Other great cartoons:

Aladdin And The Magic Lamp (Holland)
Alpine Antics
Alpine Climbers
Be Human 

The Birth Of The Robot (UK)

Bold King Cole
Bottles
The Cat Came Back
Cupid Gets His Man
Don't Look Now
The Early Bird And The Worm
Elmer Elephant
Ether Symphony (Holland)
Gold Diggers of '49
Grampy's Indoor Outing
Hra bublinek (Czechoslovakia)
I Love To Singa
I Wanna Be A Lifeguard 

I Wanna Play House

Little Swee'pea
Mickey's Circus
Mickey's Grand Opera
Mickey's Polo Team
Mickey's Rival
Molly Moo Cow And Robinson Crusoe
Not Now
The Old Mill Pond
Play Safe
Porky's Pet
The Prize Package
Rainbow Dance (UK)
Sunday Go To Meetin' Time
The Pups' Christmas
Three Blind Mouseketeers
Tom Thumb
Toonerville Trolley
To Spring
Trolley Ahoy
Two Little Pups
The Village Smithy

Weak films of 1936:

The Amazing Adventure (UK)
The Big Broadcast Of 1937
The Charge Of The Light Brigade
The Children Of Captain Grant (Soviet Union)
The Circus (Soviet Union)
The Cocaine Fiends
Crimes Of Stephen Hawke (UK)
Dancing Pirate
Dodek na froncie (Poland)
The Ex-Mrs Bradford
Gambling With Souls
Garden Of Allah
The General Died At Dawn
The Gorgeous Hussy
The Last Of The Mohicans
Life And Death (China)
Lloyd's Of London
Love On The Run

One In A Million
Osaka Elegy (Japan)
Poppy
The Rogues Tavern
Romeo And Juliet
Roza (Poland)
Suzy
These Three
Valiant Is The Word For Carrie
Wierna rzeka (Poland)
Wife Vs Secretary
Winterset

Weak shorts:

The Chemist
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

Weak cartoons:

Ali Baba
At Your Service Madame
A Battle Royal
Betty Boop And Little Jimmy
Betty Boop And The Little King
Bingo Crosbyana
The Blow Out
Boom Boom
Boulevardier From The Bronx
Christmas Comes But Once A Year
Cobweb Hotel
The Coo Coo Nut Grove
Dick Whittington's Cat
The Fire Alarm
Fish Tales
The Goose That Laid A Golden Egg
Greedy Humpty Dumpty
Happy Days
Happy You And Merry Me
Hawaiian Birds  
I'D Love To Take Orders From You
I'M A Big Shot Now
I'M In The Army Now
It's A Greek Life
Let It Be Me
Little Beau Porky
Little Boy Blue
Little Cheeser
The Little Stranger
Little Nobody
Making Friends
Mickey's Elephant
Milk And Money
More Kittens
More Pep
Mother Pluto
Neptune Nonsense
The Old House
Orphans' Picnic
The Phantom Ship
Plane Dippy
Porky's Moving Day
Porky's Poultry Plant
Porky The Rainmaker
The Pups' Picnic
Shanghaied Shipmates
Softball Game
Somewhere In Dreamland
A Song A Day
Toby Tortoise Returns
Toonerville Picnic 
Toy Town Hall
Training Pigeons
A Waif's Welcome
We Did It
Westward Whoa
When I Yoo Hoo
You're Not Built That Way

Top 3 Musicals of 1936

1. "Swing Time" (George Stevens, RKO)

2. "The Great Ziegfeld" (Robert Z. Leonard, MGM)


3. "Showboat" (James Whale, Universal)

Arigato-san (1936) *****

People like me and Ozu get films made by hard work, but Shimizu is a genius... - Kenji Mizoguchi

A unique masterpiece of the Japanese cinema. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu, it's a chronicle of a bus ride across a long mountain road. The delicate narrative exquisitely threads together various journeys taken by a disparate group of people all travelling from one place to another for various reasons with the small interjections of other passersby on the roadside. Shimizu wrote the script based on Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata's novel.

Bohaterowie Sybiru (1936) ****

Excellent Polish drama set in Siberia during the Soviet Revolution. Co-written and co-starring Eugeniusz Bodo. Directed by Michal Waszynski.

Our Relations (1936) ***

Hilarious Laurel & Hardy farce inspired by William Shakespeare's ''Comedy Of Errors''.

Dimples (1936) ***

Shirley Temple and Frank Morgan star in this Oliver Twistish musical melodrama. Songs:

"Hey What Did The Bluebird Say?"  ***
"He Was A Dandy"  **
"Picture Me Without You"  **
"Get On Board"  *
"Swing Low Sweet Chariot"  *
"Dixie-Anna"  **

Captain January (1936) ***

A typical Shirley Temple musical, but with a memorable tap dance routine with Buddy Ebsen. Songs:

"Early Bird"  **
"At The Codfish Ball"  ***
"The Right Somebody To Love"  **

White Squadron (1936) ***

Cain and Mabel (1936) ***

A Broadway dancer and a boxer pretend to be in love for publicity. Musical numbers:

"Coney Island"  *
"1000 Love Songs"  **

The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1936) ***

A blood feud between two Ozark clans serves as a backdrop to this modern western starring Sylvia Sidney, Fred MacMurray and Henry Fonda. One of the first Hollywood films in Technicolor. Directed by Henry Hathaway.

Papa sie zeni (1936) ***

Zabawna komedia. Znakomite piosenki Henryka Warsa:

"A jednak czegos mi brak"  *
"Co ja zrobie ze mnie sie podobasz"  **
"Ewelina"  **

General Spanky (1936) ***

The only feature film starring Our Gang (also known as Little Rascals).

Ada, to nie wypada (1936) ***

Wonderful musical comedy from Poland. Songs by Zygmunt Wiehler and Jerzy Jurandot:

"Ada, to nie wypada"  **
"Nie kochac w taka noc to grzech"  **
"Golo, wesolo"  **
"Tak jak ty"  *


Ada, to nie wypada:

Wciąż się martwi biedny tatek,
co ma począć, nie wie sam.
Taki jak ja gagatek,
nie lada to kram.
I po każdej nowej psocie,
gdy go dręczy wyczyn mój,
Płaczą z nim wszystkie ciocie
i babcia i wuj.

Ada, to nie wypada!
Tak być nie może, trudna rada!
Na widok wszystkich twoich fantastycznych psot
aż oblewa zimny pot.
Ada, to nie wypada!
Co rusz to wybryk, maskarada,
te eskapady dzikie i figle psie.
Co ty robisz? Zmiłuj się!
Pannie z twojej sfery
w tym wieku za mąż czas,
ty zaś masz maniery,
jak sztubak z niższych klas...
Ada, to nie wypada!
Gdzie wychowanie, gdzie ogłada?
Ten, kto by cię małżeństwem uszczęśliwić chciał,
po tygodniu wpadnie w szał!

Wiem, ma racje biedny papa,
lecz gdy mnie ogarnia bzik,
trudno, przepadło, klapa,
nie wytrzyma mnie nikt!
Nie ma rady! Co ja zrobię,
to wewnętrzny jakiś mus.
Próżno wymyślam sobie
od trzpiotów, od kóz.

Ada, to nie wypada!
Tak być nie może, trudna rada!
Na widok wszystkich twoich fantastycznych psot
aż oblewa zimny pot.
Ada, to nie wypada!
Co rusz to wybryk, maskarada,
te eskapady dzikie i figle psie.
Co ty robisz? Zmiłuj się!
Pannie z twojej sfery
w tym wieku za mąż czas,
ty zaś masz maniery,
jak sztubak z niższych klas...
Ada, to nie wypada!
Gdzie wychowanie, gdzie ogłada?
Ten, kto by cię małżeństwem uszczęśliwic chciał,
po tygodniu wpadnie w szał!


Nie kochac w taka noc to grzech:

Można zamknąć serce przed miłością
I uczynić najsilniejszą z twierdz
W taką noc ktoś jakby więzy rozciął
Miłość wchodzi w taką noc do serc

Nie kochać w taką noc to grzech
Gdy sercu serca brak
Bez tego pusty dźwięk ma śmiech
I wino traci smak
Nie kochać w taką noc to grzech
Gdy tęsknią serca dwa
Gdy ktoś miłości wart jak ty
Ktoś o niej śni jak ja
Czy dzień, czy wiek cię znam
To przecież rzecz obojętna
Przyjemnie z sobą nam
W tę dziwną, pijaną noc
Nie kochać w taka noc to grzech
Kochajmy póki czas
Niech miłość wejdzie w krew i myśl
Niech porwie dziś i nas!

Świat zatonął w księżycowej ciszy
Nad głowami mlecznej drogi szlak
Noc jest blisko, noc miłością dyszy
Serce w piersi tłucze się jak ptak

Nie kochać w taką noc...

Priest Of Darkness (1936) ***

The weakest of the three preserved films directed by Sadao Yamanaka, but still a very fine film about the theft of a small samurai knife.

By The Bluest Of Seas (1936) ***

Visually impressive Soviet film set on an island on the Caspian Sea.

The Only Son (1936) ***

Ozu's first sound film. A remarkable "hahamono" melodrama.

Banjo On My Knee (1936) ***

An uneven piece of pure Americana that greatly improves in the second half. The first half is a Southern melodrama mostly set on the Mississippi River, the second half is a charming musical set in New Orleans. Musical numbers include:

"There's Something In The Air"  **
"St. Louis Woman"  **
"Dixie Medley"  **
"Where The Lazy River Goes By"  ***
"With a Banjo on My Knee"  **

Gold Diggers Of 1937 (1936) ***

Busby Berkeley's musical with golddigging chorus girls, insurance salesmen and show producers. Musical numbers:

"With Plenty Of Money And You" **
"Life Insurance Song" *
"Speaking Of The Weather" *
"With Plenty Of Money And You" (reprise) **
"Let's Put Our Heads Together" **
"Speaking Of The Weather" (reprise) **
"All's Fair In Love And War" ***

Sisters Of The Gion (1936) ***

Interesting Japanese drama about two geisha sisters living in Kyoto's red-light district.

Mir kumen on (1936) ***

Final Accord (1936) ***

German melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk.

Jego wielka milosc (1936) ***

Piosenka Henryka Warsa i Emanuela Schlechtera:

"Nie ma nic piekniejszego od milosci" **

Sylvia Scarlett (1936) ***

This was the biggest box office flop of Katherine Hepburn's career. It's also one of her most memorable films. It's uneven, but very original.

Anthony Adverse (1936) ***

Les Bas-fonds (1936) ***

A poetic realist drama directed by Jean Renoir.

Barbara Radziwillowna (1936) ***

Mr Deeds Goes To Town (1936) ***

The first of many Frank Capra's comedies that pit an idealistic young man against a brutal system. Not nearly as good as "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946), but way better than "Meet John Doe" (1941).

Borneo (1936) ***

Texas Rangers (1936) ***

Fine western about two bandits joining Texas Rangers.

Intermezzo (1936) ***

Ingrid Bergman became a star after appearing in this Swedish melodrama.

Straszny dwor (1936) ***

Adaptacja filmowa slynnej opery Stanislawa Moniuszki.

Pigskin Parade (1936) ***

Marvelously entertaining musical starring Judy Garland in her feature film debut.

Tarzan Escapes (1936) ***

Club de femmes (1936) ***

Marihuana (1936) ***

Valiant Is The Word For Carrie (1936) **

Old-fashioned melodrama about love and sacrifice.

Dodek na froncie (1936) **

"Dodek na froncie", czyli Dymsza na wojnie. Piosenka Henryka Warsa i Emanuela Schlechtera:

"A u mnie siup, a u mnie cyk"  *

Crimes Of Stephen Hawke (1936) **

Well made crime melodrama.

The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) **

Historical drama about the Petticoat Scandal during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

Suzy (1936) **

A mix of romance and spy drama. Surprisingly witless, considering that the screenplay was co-written by Dorothy Parker. The highlight has Cary Grant singing to Jean Harlow.

The Last Of The Mohicans (1936) **

A not entirely successful adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel.

Gambling With Souls (1936) **

Gambling will lead to prostitution, at least accord to this 1930's exploitation flick.

Winterset (1936) **

Badly acted film with atrocious dialogue. But the story is riveting, and the sets worthy of a German Expressionist drama of the 1920's. Loosely inspired by the Sacco and Vanzetti saga, it's a Hollywood idea of a Communist film, but so ineptly executed that few of the people involved in it were ever bothered or persecuted during the McCarthy era.

Lloyd's Of London (1936) **

Interesting, but narratively unfocused historical drama about the famous British insurance company in the 18th and the early 19th centuries. A companion piece to "The House Of Rothschild" (1934), with similar themes and time period, but far less impressive.

The Rogues Tavern (1936) **

Inspired by Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", it's a badly acted, but fast-paced murder mystery set in a remote tavern.

The Children Of Captain Grant (1936) **

Soviet adaptation of Jules Verne's classic novel.

Poppy (1936) **

Sentimental W.C.Fields' comedy about a carnival girl who becomes a rich heiress.

Romeo And Juliet (1936) *

Unbelievably tedious adaptation of Shakespeare's most famous play, with Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer much too old as the leads, and John Barrymore making a ridiculous gay impersonation instead of playing Mercutio. Only Basil Rathbone, as Tybalt, isn't hopelessly miscast. George Cukor directs with a grace of an elephant in a china shop, trampling over Shakespeare's immortal verses.

One In A Million (1936) *

Garden Of Allah (1936) *

Ridiculous melodrama about a Trappist monk who escapes from a monastery.

Roza (1936) *

Polish film about the resistence against the tsarist occupation in the early 20th century.

Dancing Pirate (1936) *

Disappointing musical set in California. Even the Oscar-nominated "The Finale" musical number fails to redeem the movie.

The Cocaine Fiends (1936) *

Badly made film about junkies in 1930's America.

The Circus (1936) *

Boring and ridiculous Soviet film about an American circus performer seeking refuge in the Soviet Union. Directed by Grigori Alexandrov, this musical melodrama has none of the surrealistic anarchy of his "Jolly Fellows" (1934), nor the charm of his "Volga Volga" (1938). A sad failure.

The Amazing Adventure (1936) *

Despite the title, this is an ordinary film about a rich millionaire (Cary Grant) trying to prove that he could survive on his own. Nothing special.

Wierna rzeka (1936) *

Hard to believe that Leonard Buczkowski, who later, after the war, directed some of Poland's best comedies ("Skarb", "Marysia i Napoleon") and musicals ("Zakazane piosenki", "Przygoda na Mariensztacie") has earlier directed such a lifeless, boring and depressing adaptation of Stefan Zeromski's famous novel. It's a patriotic melodrama of the worst kind, as bad as "Pod Twoja obrone" (1933) and "Plomienne serca" (1937). It's very dated, unlike some other similar films from the same period, such as "Tajemnica starego rodu" (1928), which has aged far more gracefully (even though it's a silent movie).

The General Died At Dawn (1936) *

A poor man's "Shanghai Express".

Partie de campagne (1936) ****

Two Parisian women get a short glimpse of true emotions before returning to their suffocating bourgeois life. One of Jean Renoir's greatest films, this 39-minute short was originally planned as a feature.

The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936) ****

Directed by P.Lorentz. Classic documentary about irresponsible agricultural policies that transformed the Great Plains into the Dust Bowl in the early 30's. Length: 26 min.

Night Mail (1936) ****

Directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright. An excellent documentary about night deliveries of mail by trains in Britain. Produced by John Grierson for the GPO Film Unit, with Alberto Cavalcanti as sound director.

Every Sunday (1936) ***

Both Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin made their screen debut in this musical short.

The Lion Dance (1936) ***

An exquisite kabuki performance.

Bored Of Education (1936) ***

Our Gang comedy about a new teacher.

Helen And Grapes (1936) ***

Give Me Liberty (1936) ***

Oscar-winning short about Patrick Henry.

Rose Hobart (1936) ****

An experimental collage film by Joseph Cornell, who cut and re-edited the Universal feature film "East Of Borneo" (1931) into a surrealist short. Cornell was fascinated by the star of "East of Borneo", an actress named Rose Hobart, and named his film after her.

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1936) *

Annoying film about a Spanish fiesta. Interesting only for a brief appearance of Judy Garland with her sisters singing "La Cucaracha".

The Chemist (1936) *

Boring comedy starring Buster Keaton as an inventor.

Go West, Young Man (1936) ***

Mae West plays a famous movie star whose car breaks down in a small town.

The Ghost Goes West (1936) ***

A somewhat precious, but very pleasant comedy set in Britain.

Fury (1936) ***

Spencer Tracy plays an innocent man who faces a lynch mob in a small town.

Desire (1936) ***

Very entertaining comedy about a naive American tourist (Gary Cooper) falling in love with a gorgeous jewel thief (Marlene Dietrich). From its brilliant (and often imitated) opening scene to the end, the film bears an inmistakable, sophisticated touch of its producer, Ernst Lubitsch.

Le Crime de M.Lange (1936) ****

Les oeuvriers d'une imprimerie en faillite forment une cooperative quand leur patron s'enfuit devant ses creanciers. Une comedie noire sur la lutte de classes.