Cinema 100

1935 Episode 2 (3) - "Top Hat" Directed By: Mark Sandrich Release Date: August 29th, 1935 "A Night at the Opera" Directed By: Sam Wood Release Date: November 15th, 1935 Welcome back to  Cinema 100 , where we dive into the films that defined their eras—and sometimes saved them. Tonight, we’re stepping into 1935 with a true double bill of movie magic:  Top Hat  and  A Night at th...

1935 Episode 1 (2) - "Bride of Frankenstein" Directed By: James Whale Release Date: April 22, 1935 What if the Monster  didn’t die ? What if, after the smoke cleared and the villagers went home, the story of Frankenstein had one more terrifying heartbeat left? That’s exactly where James Whale takes us in 1935’s  The Bride of Frankenstein  — a sequel that doesn’t just reanimate the monste...

SEASON 3 is officially upon us and Will and Robert are excited to dive into the second half of the decade. Hollywood’s golden engine was running at full speed. The Great Depression still lingered, but on the silver screen, audiences found escape. The studio system ruled — MGM, Warner Bros, Paramount — each churning out dreams by the week. Technicolor was starting to pop, but shadows of the past st...

When Will and I started Cinema 100, it was just two guys trying to understand film history — one year at a time. From 1927 on, movie by movie, frame by frame, watching how cinema evolved… and how weve evolved with it. Well 63 movies and 50 episodes later, if you haven't been along for the ride thus far and would like to pick up where we've left off ,now here's your chance as were calli...

1934 Episode 5 (33) "Imitation of Life" Directed By: John Stahl Release Date: November 24, 1934 Let’s be real—few films from the 1930s dare to poke at the raw nerves of America like  Imitation of Life  does. On its face, it’s a story about pancakes and prosperity, a widowed white woman making good in business. But the truth of this film isn’t sweet—it’s bitter. It’s about race, about a B...

1934 Episode 4 (32) "Cleopatra" Directed By: Cecil B. Demille Release Date: August 16th, 1934 "The Scarlett Empress" Directed By: Josef Von Sternberg Release Date: September 15th, 1934 Tonight, we step into a world of queens, power, and spectacle. Two films from 1934, both dripping with ambition, both redefining what the screen could dare to show. First—Cecil B. DeMille’s  Cleo...

1934 - Episode 3 (31) "The Thin Man" Directed By: W.S. Van Dyke Release Date: May 25, 1934 "L'atalante" Directed By: Jean Vigo Release Date: April 25, 1934 Tonight, we journey from the misty waterways of France to the glittering cocktail lounges of New York. First up is  L’Atalante , Jean Vigo’s poetic masterpiece — a dreamlike voyage of newlyweds drifting along the Seine,...

1934 - Episode 2 (30) "The Black Cat" Directed By: Edgar Ulmer Release Date: May 7, 1934 "The Man Who Knew Too Much" Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock Release Date: December 17, 1934 Tonight… the shadows come alive. First up— The Black Cat —where horror drips from every word and Bela Lugosi meets Boris Karloff in a battle of minds and madness. A tale of war, revenge, and sinister a...

1934 - Episode 1 (29) - "It Happened One Night" Directed By: Frank Capra Release Date: February 23, 1934 Before rom-coms had a name, there was  It Happened One Night —a film that changed everything. Released in 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression, this Frank Capra classic gave audiences something they desperately needed: laughter, charm, and hope. Starring Claudette Colbert as...

(27) Rob and Will discuss their Oscar choices from the films watched in the year 1933 and then...It’s 1934, and America is still clawing its way through the Great Depression. Bread lines stretch down city blocks, and families gather around radios, hungry not just for food, but for hope. In Washington, FDR’s New Deal programs are trying to stitch the country back together, one job at a time. Meanwh...

1933 - Episode 5 (27) - "Wild Boys of the Road" Release Date: October 7th, 1933 Directed By: William Hellman Released in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression,  Wild Boys of the Road  is a raw, urgent cry from America’s forgotten youth. Directed by William A. Wellman, this pre-Code drama follows teenagers forced to leave home and ride the rails in search of work, dignity, and su...

1933 - Episode 4 (26) - "Private Life of Henry ViIII" Directed By: Alexander Korda Release Date: September 21, 1933 "Duck Soup" Directed By: Leo McCarey Release Date: November 17th, 1933 1933. The world was in turmoil, but the silver screen shimmered with defiance and wit. In England, Alexander Korda gave us “The Private Life of Henry VIII,” a lavish, biting peek behind the thr...

1933 - Episode 3 (24) - "Morning Glory" Director: Lowell Sherman Release Date: August 18th, 1933 Tonight, we step back into the golden age of Hollywood with a film that shines a spotlight on ambition, dreams, and the price of fame. Released in 1933, Morning Glory stars Katharine Hepburn in her breakout, Oscar-winning role as Eva Lovelace — a young, aspiring actress who arrives in New Yor...

1933 Episode 2 (24) - "Story of Temple Drake" Directed By: Stephen Roberts Release Date: May 6th, 1933 "Design for Living" Directed By: Ernst Lubitsch Release Date: December 29th, 1933 1933 gave us two daring films that tested Hollywood’s boundaries before the Hays Code slammed them shut.  The Story of Temple Drake , based on William Faulkner’s controversial novel, stars Miriam...

1933 - Episode 1 (23) - "King Kong" Directed By: Merian C. Cooper / Earnest Shoedsack Release Date: April 7th, 1933 Cinema 100 introduces you to the year 1933 with ONE BIG STORY! King Kong: The Giant Ape That Conquered Hollywood! Before Jurassic Park, King Kong swung into theaters in 1933, turning a giant ape into a pop culture icon. We explore the movie magic, adventure, and monster-siz...

1933 Draft (22) It's that time again for Will and Robert to draft for the year of 1933. What movies will be drafted and which ones will be left on the editing room floor?! They also discuss their Oscar picks for the movies they watched from the year 1932. Sit back, pop some popcorn and follow along!

1932 - Episode 6 (21) - "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" Director: Mervyn LeRoy Release Date: November 10th, 1932 "A Farewell to Arms" Director: Frank Borage Release Date: December 8th, 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang  and  A Farewell to Arms . At first glance, they might seem like completely different stories—one, a scathing indictment of the American justice system,...

1932 - Episode 5 (20) - "Trouble in Paradise" Director: Ernst Lubitsch Release Date: October 20th, 1932 In 1932, legendary director Ernst Lubitsch delivered  Trouble in Paradise , a sparkling pre-Code romantic comedy that defined sophistication and wit. The film follows a pair of charming con artists—played by Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins—who set their sights on a wealthy perfume...

(19) Will and Robert predict who is going to win Oscar gold at this years Academy Awards. They also reveal their individual Top 10 movies of the year 2024. Listen to see if your favorites made the list.

1932 - Episode 4 (18) - "Grand Hotel" Director: Edmund Goulding Release Date: January 1st, 1932 Step through the grand doors, and welcome to Berlin’s most luxurious destination— Grand Hotel.  A place where the rich, the desperate, the powerful, and the doomed all collide under one lavish roof. This 1932 classic isn’t just a movie—it’s an event. With an all-star cast featuring Greta Garbo...

1932 - Episode 3 (17) - "Scarface" Director: Howard Hawkes Release Date: April 9th, 1932 "Say hello to the original Bad Guy, Tony Camonte. 1932 Hollywood dared to tell the story of a man consumed by power, violence, and ambition. Inspired by real life crime lord, Scarface follows the ruthless rise of Tony Camonte, a trigger happy gangster that carves his name in blood across the cit...

1932 - Episode 2 (16) - "Freaks" Director: Tod Browning Release Date: February 20th, 1932 Will and Robert take a journey into the carnival world of sideshows and secrets with Tod Browning’s 1932 masterpiece, Freaks. This isn’t your typical Hollywood fare—Freaks is a daring and deeply human film that shattered conventions and left audiences stunned. Featuring real sideshow performers, it...

1932 - Episode 1 - "Shanghai Express" - Director: Josef Von Sternberg release date February 12, 1932. Step aboard a locomotive bound for danger, desire, and deception—this is  Shanghai Express . Directed by the master of shadows and intrigue, Josef von Sternberg, this 1932 masterpiece takes us on a journey through war-torn China. At its heart, the luminous Marlene Dietrich stars as the enigmatic a...

Will and Robert introduce the year 1932 by breaking down as usual the state of the United States, the economy and the overall snapshot of time that is the Hollywood and film industry. Join us as we also give Oscar awards out to our list of 1931 movies before we debate and draft our 1932 list of films.

1931 Episode 6 - "A Free Soul" & "Possessed" Directed By: Clarence Brown Join us as we explore the daring pre-code films "A Free Soul" and "Possessed," showcasing Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer in two very different captivating tales of forbidden love and moral conflict that remains thrilling century later! Get ready for a cinematic journey!