Academy Award for Best Picture (1930s) facts for kids

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the most important Oscars. These awards are given out every year to people who make movies. The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) decides who wins. Winning Best Picture means a movie is considered the best film of that year.

What is the Best Picture Oscar?

The Best Picture Oscar is the top award given at the Academy Awards. It celebrates the movie that is thought to be the most outstanding film. This award goes to the producers of the movie. Producers are the people who oversee the entire making of a film. They make sure everything comes together, from getting the money to hiring the right people.

Best Picture Winners of the 1930s

The award was first called "Best Picture" in 1930. Here are the amazing movies that won this big award during the 1930s. We'll also look at some other great films that were nominated.

1930/1931 Winner: Cimarron

• Cimarron – This movie was made by RKO Radio and produced by William LeBaron. It was a Western film about settlers moving to Oklahoma.
• Other nominated films included:
  • East Lynne
  • The Front Page
  • Skippy
  • Trader Horn

1931/1932 Winner: Grand Hotel

• Grand Hotel – This film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was produced by Irving Thalberg. It was a drama with many famous stars. It showed different stories happening at the same time in a fancy hotel.
• Other nominated films included:
  • Arrowsmith
  • Bad Girl
  • The Champ
  • Five Star Final
  • One Hour with You
  • Shanghai Express
  • The Smiling Lieutenant

1932/1933 Winner: Cavalcade

• Cavalcade – This Fox movie was produced by Winfield Sheehan. It followed a British family through many important historical events.
• Other nominated films included:
  • 42nd Street
  • A Farewell to Arms
  • I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
  • Lady for a Day
  • Little Women
  • The Private Life of Henry VIII
  • She Done Him Wrong
  • Smilin' Through
  • State Fair

1934 Winner: It Happened One Night

• It Happened One Night – This romantic comedy from Columbia was produced by Harry Cohn. It was a huge hit and won many Oscars. It's about a rich heiress and a newspaper reporter.
• Other nominated films included:
  • The Barretts of Wimpole Street
  • Cleopatra
  • Flirtation Walk
  • The Gay Divorcee
  • Here Comes the Navy
  • The House of Rothschild
  • Imitation of Life
  • One Night of Love
  • The Thin Man
  • Viva Villa!
  • The White Parade

1935 Winner: Mutiny on the Bounty

• Mutiny on the Bounty – This adventure film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was produced by Irving Thalberg and Albert Lewin. It tells the true story of a famous mutiny at sea.
• Other nominated films included:
  • Alice Adams
  • Broadway Melody of 1936
  • Captain Blood
  • David Copperfield
  • The Informer
  • The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Les Misérables
  • Naughty Marietta
  • Ruggles of Red Gap
  • Top Hat

1936 Winner: The Great Ziegfeld

• The Great Ziegfeld – This musical biography from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was produced by Hunt Stromberg. It told the story of a famous Broadway showman.
• Other nominated films included:
  • Anthony Adverse
  • Dodsworth
  • Libeled Lady
  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • San Francisco
  • The Story of Louis Pasteur
  • A Tale of Two Cities
  • Three Smart Girls

1937 Winner: The Life of Emile Zola

• The Life of Emile Zola – This biographical film from Warner Bros. was produced by Henry Blanke. It was about the life of a famous French writer.
• Other nominated films included:
  • The Awful Truth
  • Captains Courageous
  • Dead End
  • The Good Earth
  • In Old Chicago
  • Lost Horizon
  • One Hundred Men and a Girl
  • Stage Door
  • A Star Is Born

1938 Winner: You Can't Take It With You

• You Can't Take it With You – This comedy-drama from Columbia was produced by Frank Capra. It's about a quirky family and their unusual way of life.
• Other nominated films included:
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood
  • Alexander's Ragtime Band
  • Boys Town
  • The Citadel
  • Four Daughters
  • La Grande illusion
  • Jezebel
  • Pygmalion
  • Test Pilot

1939 Winner: Gone with the Wind

• Gone with the Wind – This epic historical drama was produced by David O. Selznick. It was a huge success and is one of the most famous movies ever made. It tells a story set during the American Civil War.
• Other nominated films included:
  • Dark Victory
  • Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  • Love Affair
  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
  • Ninotchka
  • Of Mice and Men
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Wuthering Heights