List of horror films of the 1930s

Horror films
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A list of horror films released in the 1930s. The American horror film was properly created in the 1930s, most notably the Universal Horror film productions.^[1] White Zombie is considered to be the first feature length zombie film and has been described as the archetype and model of all zombie movies.^[2][3] A number of Hollywood actors made a name for themselves in horror films of this decade, in particular Bela Lugosi (Dracula, 1931) and Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, 1931). Fredric March won an Academy Award for Best Actor in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1931.^[4] Films of this era frequently took their inspiration from the literature of gothic horror^[5] and more often dealt with themes of science versus religion rather than supernatural themes.^[6]

Many horror films of this era provoked public outcry and censors cut many of the more violent and gruesome scenes from such films as Frankenstein, Island of Lost Souls and The Black Cat.^[7][8] In 1933, the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) introduced an "H" rating for films labeled "Horrific" for "any films likely to frighten or horrify children under the age of 16 years"^[9] and only a year later Hollywood initiated a strict production code limiting the violence and sexuality that could be portrayed in films.^[10] In 1935, the President of the BBFC Edward Shortt, wrote "although a separate category has been established for these [horrific] films, I am sorry to learn they are on the increase...I hope that the producers and renters will accept this word of warning, and discourage this type of subject as far as possible."^[9] As the United Kingdom was a significant market for Hollywood, American producers listened to Shortt's warning, and the number of Hollywood produced horror films decreased in 1936.^[9] A trade paper Variety reported that Universal Studios abandonment of horror films after the release of Dracula's Daughter was that "European countries, especially England are prejudiced against this type product [sic]."^[9]

At the end of the decade, a profitable re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein would encourage Universal to produce Son of Frankenstein (1939), starting off a resurgence of the horror film that would continue into the mid-1940s.^[11]

Horror films released in the 1930s

Title	Director	Cast	Country	Notes
1931
Dracula	Tod Browning	Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan		[12]
Dracula	George Melford	Carlos Villarias, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton |		[13]
Svengali	Archie Mayo	John Barrymore, Marian Marsh		[14]
Frankenstein	James Whale	Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Mae Clarke		[12]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Rouben Mamoulian	Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart		[12]
The Phantom	Alan James	Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Allene Ray, Niles Welch		[15]
1932
Castle Sinister	Widgey R. Newman	Haddon Mason, Wally Patch		[16]
Doctor X	Michael Curtiz	Lionel Atwill, Lee Tracy, Fay Wray		[12]
Freaks	Tod Browning	Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams		[12]
Island of Lost Souls	Erle C. Kenton	Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams		[17]
Kongo	William J. Cowen	Walter Huston, Lupe Vélez, Conrad Nagel		[18][19]
The Mask of Fu Manchu	Charles J. Brabin, Charles Vidor, King Vidor	Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley		[19]
The Monster Walks	Frank Strayer	Vera Reynolds, Sheldon Lewis		[12]
The Most Dangerous Game	Ernest B. Schoedsack	Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks		[20]
The Mummy	Karl Freund	Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners		[12]
Murders in the Rue Morgue	Robert Florey	Sidney Fox, Bela Lugosi		[12][19]
The Old Dark House	James Whale	Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lillian Bond		[12][19]
Unheimliche Geschichten	Richard Oswald	Paul Wegener, Harald Paulsen, Roma Bahn		[21]
Vampyr	Carl Theodor Dreyer	Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Jan Hieronimko		[22]
White Zombie	Victor Halperin	Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn		[12]
1933
La Llorona	Ramón Peon	Ramón Pereda, Virginia Zuri, Carlos Orellana		[23]
The Ghoul	T. Hayes Hunter	Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson, Anthony Bushell		[12]
The Invisible Man	James Whale	Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Henry Travers, William Harrigan		[17]
The Monkey's Paw	Wesley Ruggles, Ernest B. Schoedsack	Ivan Simpson, C. Aubrey Smith, Bramwell Fletcher		[12][24]
Murders in the Zoo	Edward Sutherland	Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott		[12]
Mystery of the Wax Museum	Michael Curtiz	Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh		[12]
Night of Terror	Benjamin Stoloff	Bela Lugosi, George Meeker, Tully Marshall		[25]
Supernatural	Victor Halperin	Carole Lombard, Alan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne		[12]
The Vampire Bat	Frank Strayer	Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne		[12]
1934
The Black Cat	Edgar G. Ulmer	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Jacqueline Wells		[12]
Black Moon	Roy William Neill	Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Dorothy Burgess		[12]
Chloe, Love is Calling You	Marshall Neilan	Olive Borden, Georgette Harvey, Reed Howes		[26]
House of Mystery	William Nigh	Ed Lowry, Verna Hillie, John Sheehan		[27]
Maniac	Dwain Esper	Bill Woods, Thea Ramsey		[12]
The Phantom of the Convent	Fernando de Fuentes	Marta Roel, Carlos Villatoro, Enrique del Campo		[28]
The Tell-Tale Heart	Brian Desmond Hurst	Norman Dryden, John Kelt, Yolande Terrell		[29]
1935
The Black Room	Roy William Neill	Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh		[12]
Bride of Frankenstein	James Whale	Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger, Dwight Frye		[12]
Condemned to Live	Frank Strayer	Ralph Morgan, Maxine Doyle, Russell Gleason		[12]
The Crime of Dr. Crespi	John H. Auer	Erich Von Stroheim, Dwight Frye, Paul Guilfoyle		[12]
Mad Love	Karl Freund	Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy, Sara Haden		[12]
Mark of the Vampire	Tod Browning	Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi		[12]
Ouanga	George Terwilliger	Fredi Washington, Sheldon Leonard, Philip Brandon		[30]
The Raven	Lew Landers, Louis Friedlander	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware		[12]
Der Student von Prag (1935 film)	Arthur Robison	Anton Wohlbrueck, Dorothea Wieck, Theodor Loos		[31]
Werewolf of London	Stuart Walker	Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson		[12]
1936
The Devil-Doll	Tod Browning	Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan		[32]
Dracula's Daughter	Lambert Hillyer	Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden		[12]
Fährmann Maria	Frank Wisbar	Sybille Schmitz, Peter Voss, Aribert Mog		[33]
The Golem	Julien Duvivier	Harry Baur, Germaine Dussey, Roger Karl		[33]
The Invisible Ray	Lambert Hillyer	Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake, Frank Lawton, Walter Kingsford		[12]
El Baúl Macabro	Miguel Zacarias	Esther Fernandez, Ramón Pereda, René Cardona		[34]
The Man Who Changed His Mind	Robert Stevenson	Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, John Loder, Frank Cellier		[12]
Revolt of the Zombies	Victor Halperin	Dorothy Stone, Dean Jagger, Roy D'Arcy, Robert Noland		[12]
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	George King	Tod Slaughter, Stella Rho, John Singer, Eve Lister		[35][36]
The Walking Dead	Michael Curtiz	Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, Edmund Gwenn, Marguerite Churchill		[12]
1939
Buried Alive	Victor Halperin	Paul McVey, Beverly Roberts, Wheeler Oakman		[37]
The Cat and the Canary	Elliott Nugent	Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal		[38]
The Dark Eyes of London	Walter Summers	Béla Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt		[39]
The Devil's Daughter	Arthur H. Leonard	Nina Mae McKinney, Jack Carter, Hamtree Harrington, Ida James		[40]
The Face at the Window	George King	Tod Slaughter, John Warwick		[41]
The Gorilla	Allan Dwan	The Ritz Brothers, Anita Louise, Patsy Kelly		[42]
La Herencia Macabra	José Bohr	Miguel Arenas, Consuela Frank, Ramón Armengod		[43]
The Man They Could Not Hang	Nick Grinde	Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox, Roger Pryor, Don Beddoe		[12]
The Return of Doctor X	Vincent Sherman	Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Dennis Morgan, John Litel		[44]
Son of Frankenstein	Rowland V. Lee	Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson		[12]
Torture Ship	Victor Halperin	Lyle Talbot, Irving Pichel, Julie Bishop, Sheila Bromley		[45]

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