Last Updated on 23 October 2024

I searched far and wide for lists of best movies made in the 1930s. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed, not just from one genre or year, and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 21 lists. I took the 21 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. I ended up averaging the rankings each movie got (there were 167 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 21) were:

  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) – 19 lists
  • M (1931) – 16 lists
  • Bringing Up Baby (1938) – 16 lists
  • City Lights (1931) – 15 lists
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – 15 lists
  • It Happened One Night (1934) – 14 lists
  • Stagecoach (1939) – 14 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best 30s Movies RankedDownload

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