Screen Chronology: 1935 to 1939
Compiled by John Kenrick

• **** - Sensational
• *** - Good entertainment
• ** - Beats a finger in the eye
• * - You'd rather mow a lawn
• (NO stars) - Run for your life

Many of these films are hardly ever screened, and in some cases no complete prints survive. I include comments only on those I have seen.

1935

• All the King's Horses
• Big Broadcast of 1936, The ** - All-star specialties don't do much to enliven a nonsensical plot involving a troubled radio station.
• Broadway Gondolier
• Broadway Hostess
• Broadway Melody of 1936 *** - Dancer Eleanor Powell woos childhood sweetheart, producer Robert Taylor. Great numbers, stylish MGM fun.
• Coronado
• Curly Top
• Dizzy Dames
• Every Night at Eight
• Folies Bergère
• George White's 1935 Scandals
• Girl Friend, The
• Go Into Your Dance
• Goin' to Town
• Gold Diggers of 1935
• Harmony Lane
• Here Comes the Band
• Here's to Romance
• Hooray for Love
• I Dream Too Much
• I Live For Love
• In Caliente
• In Person
• Lottery Lover
• Love Me Forever
• Love In Bloom
• Metropolitan
• Millions in the Air
• Mississippi
• Music Is Magic
• Naughty Marietta **** - Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are paired for the first time in this tale of a French noblewoman fleeing an unwanted marriage in colonial New Orleans.
• Night at the Opera, A
• Night is Young, The
• Old Homestead, The
• Old Man Rhythm
• Paris In Spring
• Reckless
• Redheads on Parade
• Roberta **** - Jerome Kern's score is the highlight of this stage hit about romance in a Parisian fashion house. Astaire and Rogers steal it all in supporting roles.
• Rumba
• Ship Cafe
• Shipmates Forever
• Stars Over Broadway
• Stolen Harmony
• Sweet Adeline
• Sweet Surrender
• Thanks a Million
• This Is the Life
• To Best the Band
• Top Hat **** - Astaire and Rogers in the definitive romantic musical comedy, set in a glorious art deco vision of Venice. Glorious Irving Berlin score and some of the most unforgettable dance moments ever filmed.
• Two For Tonight
• Under the Pampas Moon

1936

• Anything Goes ** - Merman and a few Porter songs are intact, but this 1934 stage hit is heavily revamped to serve as a vehicle for Bing Crosby.
• Banjo On My Knee
• Big Broadcast of 1937, The
• Bohemian Girl, The
• Born to Dance *** - Eleanor Powell dances up a storm, and Jimmy Stewart sings Cole Porter's "Easy to Love."
• Broadway Melody of 1936 *** - Jeck Benny plays a columnist out to ruin producer Robert Taylor. Eleanor Powel dances up a storm, and there's a hit-filled Freed-Brown score.
• Cain and Mabel
• Can This Be Dixie?
• Captain January
• Colleen
• College Holiday
• Collegiate
• Dancing Feet
• Dancing Pirate, The
• Dimples
• Follow the Fleet **** - Nautical magic as Astaire and Rogers do their thing with the US Navy, assisted by a fine Irving Berlin score. Includes "Let's Face the Music and Dance."
• Follow Your Heart
• Frankie and Johnny
• Gay Desperado, The
• Gay Love
• Give Us This Night
• Go West Young Man
• Great Ziegfeld, The **** - Oscar-winning story of Broadway's most famous producer includes some excellent musical sequences, and a socko performance by Luise Rainer.
• Green Pastures, The
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• Hats Off
• Hearts Divided
• Hi, Gaucho!
• King of Burlesque
• King Steps Out, The
• Klondike Annie
• Laughing Irish Eyes
• Let's Sing Again
• Murder at the Cabaret
• Music Goes Round, The
• Paddy O'Day
• Palm Springs
• Pigskin Parade
• Poor Little Rich Girl
• Rainbow On the River
• Rose of the Rancho
• Rose-Marie *** - Opera star Jeanette MacDonald falls for Canadian Mountie Nelson Eddy. Campy fun includes "Indian Love Call" ("When I'm calling you-oo-oo-oo") and the classic final scene.
• Rhythm On the Range
• San Francisco *** - Singer Jeanette MacDonald woos club owner Clark Gable (with an assist from Father Spencer Tracy). Great earthquake sequence and classic title tune add up to a delightfully corny finale.
• Show Boat **** - Superb screen version of the stage classic, with Broadway legends Helen Morgan and Paul Robeson recreating their signature roles.
• Sing Baby, Sing
• Sing Me a Love Song
• Singing Kid, The
• Sitting On the Moon
• Song and Dance Man, The
• Stage Struck
• Stowaway
• Strike Me Pink ** - Meager Eddie Cantor vehicle boosted somewhat by a young Ethel Merman.
• Swing Time **** - Dance team in love, frustrated by misunderstandings. Astaire and Rodgers at their best, with a luscious Kern-Fields score -- as wonderful as it gets!
• Three Cheers For Love
• Three Smart Girls
• Under Your Spell
• Walking On Air
• With Love and Kisses

1937

• Ali Baba Goes to Town
• Artists & Models
• Blossoms On Broadway
• Broadway Melody of 1938 *** - Skip the plot and relish Eleanor Powell's dancing, Sophie Tucker's kvelling, and Judy Garland's legend-making "Dear Mr. Gable."
• Champagne Waltz
• Damsel in Distress, A **** - Fred Astaire woos British noblewoman Joan Fontaine, with comic assist from Burns & Allen and a fantastic Gershwin score. A total winner!
• Day at the Races, A
• Double Or Nothing
• 52nd Street
• Firefly, The
• Gold Diggers of 1937 ** - Generally weak Busby Berkeley musical boasts "Plenty of Money and You."
• High, Wide, and Handsome ** - Some scholars rave over this basically dull tale of oil riggers in love. The Kern-Hammerstein score includes the popular "Folks Who Live On the Hill."
• Hitting A New High 
• Hollywood Hotel ** - Silly talent contest plot, but a grand score includes "Hooray for Hollywood."
• Holy Terror, The
• I'll Take Romance
• Life Begins in College
• Life of the Party, The
• Make a Wish
• Manhattan Merry Go Round
• Maytime **** - Eddy and MacDonald as ill-fated lovers in the 19th Century opera world. One of the team's finest, with a scene stealing performance by John Barrymore.
• Mountain Music
• Music For Madame
• New Faces of 1937
• On The Avenue
• One Hundred Men and a Girl
• One In a Million
• Ready, Willing and Able
• Rhythm In the Clouds
• Rosalie *** - West Point cadet Nelson Eddy sings and princess Eleanor Powell dances up a storm. Lavish, mindless fun.
• Shall We Dance? **** - Astaire and Rogers fall in love while pretending to be married, all set to a Gershwin score. Dee-licious!
• Sing and Be Happy
• Singing Marine, The
• Something to Sing About
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs **** - The first of Disney's full-length animated musicals remains a timeless treasure for audiences of all ages.
• Swing High, Swing Low
• Swing It Professor
• Swing While You're Able
• Talent Scout
• That Girl From Paris
• Thin Ice
• This Way Please
• Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
• Thrill of a Lifetime
• 23 1/2 Hours Leave
• Varsity Show *** - Dick Powell as a Broadway producer staging a show at his old college. Enjoyable revue-like line up of songs and routines.
• Vogues
• Wake Up and Live
• Waikiki Wedding
• When You're In Love
• You Can't Have Everything
• You're a Sweetheart

1938

• Alexander’s Ragtime Band **** - Bandleader Tyrone Power romances singer Alice Faye in this cavalcade of Irving Berlin tunes. Ethel Merman is on hand, and its all great entertainment.
• Artists and Models Abroad
• Big Broadcast of 1938, The ** - All star casting can't redeem this ragtag collection of songs and skits. One classic - Bob Hope and Shirley Ross introduce "Thanks For the Memory."
• Breaking the Ice
• Carefree *** - Psychiatrist Astaire falls in love with patient Rogers, set to an Irving Berlin score. Not this team's best, but still loads of fun.
• Cocoanut Grove
• College Swing
• Cowboy From Brooklyn * - Dick Powell as a singing radio cowboy? Yikes.
• Doctor Rhythm
• Every Day's a Holiday
• Everybody Sing
• Fisherman's Wharj
• Freshman Year
• Garden of the Moon
• Girl of the Golden West, The
• Give Me a Sailor
• Going Places
• Gold Diggers in Paris
• Goldwyn Follies, The ** - The last score from composer George Gershwin is the main attraction in this otherwise silly revue. Semi-plot concerns a producer taking advice from a member of the movie going public -- yeah, right.
• Great Waltz, The *** - Based on the life of Waltz king Johann Strauss, with amazing coloratura by Miliza Korjus and a memorable non-singing performance by Luise Rainer. Mindless fun but well worth watching.
• Happy Landing
• Hawaii Calls
• Hold That Co-Ed
• Hollywood Hotel *** - Berkeley's last for Warners, with some great numbers enlivening shenanigans in a drive-in diner.
• In Old Chicago *** - Brothers Tyrone Power and Don Ameche yearn for singer Alice Faye while Chicago burns. 
• Josette
• Joy of Living
• Just Around the Corner
• Kentucky Moonshine
• Lady Objects, The
• Let Freedom Ring
• Listen Darling
• Little Miss Broadway ** - Shirley Temple energizes Edna May Oliver's theatrical boarding house -- so-so.
• Love and Hisses
• Love Finds Andy Hardy
• Mad About Music **** - Deanna Durbin is a lonely schoolgirl in one of her most entertaining films.
• My Lucky Star
• Outside of Paradise
• Paris Honeymoon
• Radio City Revels
• Rascals
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
• Romance In The Dark
• Sally, Irene and Mary
• Sing You Sinners
• St. Louis Blues
• Start Cheering
• Straight, Place and Show
• Sweethearts **** - Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald as married stage stars -- their wittiest vehicle. If you want to see what all the fuss was about, this film is their surprise winner.
• Swing Sister, Swing
• Swing Your Lady
• Thanks For Everything
• That Certain Age
• Three Musketeers * - This boorish Ritz Brothers embarrassment is no relation to the Friml operetta.
• Three Smart Girls Grow Up
• Tropic Holiday

1939

• At the Circus
• Babes In Arms **** - Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland put on a show to help out their struggling vaudevillian families -- a breezy delight, with great musical sequences..
• Balalika
• Broadway Serenade
• East Side of Heaven
• Everything's On Ice
• First Love
• Great Victor Herbert, The
• Gulliver's Travels *** - RKO's attempt at an animated feature can't beat Disney, but offers enjoyable version of Swift's classic tale,
• Hawaiian Nights
• Honolulu
• Ice Follies of 1939
• Man About Town
• Naughty But Nice
• On Your Toes ** - All the songs are removed from Rodgers & Hart's stage hit -- leaving only the "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" Ballet.
• Rose of Washington Square *** - Alice Faye stars in this tear jerker obviously based on Fanny Brice's infamous marriage to Nick Arnstein. Al Jolson is wasted in a supporting role.
• Second Fiddle
• Some Like It Hot * - No relation to the Billy Wilder masterpiece; Bob Hope considered this his worst film.
• Star Maker, The
• Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The **** Astaire & Rogers sparkle in their last RKO musical, a loving tribute to America's first important dance couple.
• Swanee River ** - Dona Ameche stars as songwriter Stephen Foster -- passable story assisted by strong musical numbers.
• That's Right, You're Wrong
• They Shall Have Music
• Three Smart Girls Grow Up
• Underpup, The
• Way Down South
• Wizard of Oz, The **** - Judy Garland and a now legendary supporting cast in one of Hollywood's finest achievements. Gorgeous, heartwarming and thoroughly magical.