List of avant-garde films of the 1930s

A list of avant-garde and experimental films made in the 1930s. Unless where noted, all films had sound and were in black and white.

TitleDirectorCastNationNotes
1930
L'Âge d'OrLuis BuñuelGaston Modot, Lya Lys, Max ErnstFranceSurrealist feature, produced by Charles de Noailles[1]
Autour de la fin du mondeEugène DeslawAbel GanceFranceExtraordinary, semi-experimental "making of" documentary shot on set of Abel Gance's "La fin du monde;" silent [2]
Apteka (Pharmacy)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandRayographic animation, lost [3]
Bezucelná procházka (Aimless Walk)Alexandr Hackenschmied (Alexander Hammid)CzechoslovakiaCity film [4]
BorderlineKenneth MacPhersonPaul Robeson, Hilda DoolittleUnited KingdomPool film; silent [5]
A City SymphonyHerman G. WeinbergUnited StatesCity film, never shown, disassembled and partly used in Autumn Fire [6]
Crying for the CarolinesLeon Schlesinger, Neil McGuireMilton CharlesUnited StatesA "Spooney Melodie;" Semi-abstract music short [7][8]
Earth Oleksandr Dovzhenko Soviet Union Silent feature; part of the director's Ukraine Trilogy.[9]
It's a BirdHarold MuellerCharles Bowers, Lowell ThomasUnited StatesSemi-animated short where an egg transforms into an automobile [10]
Ein Lichtspiel: Schwarz/Weiss/Grau László Moholy-Nagy Weimar Republic
Light RhythmsFrancis Brugière, Oswell BlakestonUnited KingdomLight-oriented, non-animated abstract film[11]
Mechanical PrinciplesRalph SteinerUnited StatesAbstract film based on machinery; sometimes dated to 1933 [12]
Mennschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday)Curt Siodmak, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann, Rochus GlieseErwin Splettstößer, Brigitte BorchertWeimar RepublicCity film, partly written by Billy Wilder; silent[13]
The Power of SuggestionM.G. MacPherson, Jean MichelsonUnited StatesArtkino production, Lost film [6]
À Propos de Nice Jean Vigo France City film
Romance SentimentaleGrigory Alexandrov, Sergei EisensteinMara GriyFrance"Étude cinematographique" [14]
The Story of a NobodyJo Gerson, Louis HirshmanUnited StatesExperiment in subjective camerawork, Lost film [15]
Studie(s) Nr. 2-4Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animations; Nr. 4 Lost [16]
R.5, Ein Spiel in Linien (Studie Nr. 5)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Studie Nr. 6Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Takový je zivot (Such is Life)Karl JunghansVera Baranovskaya, Theodor PistekCzechoslovakiaSlovak avant-garde social realist feature; silent [17][18]
Tomatoes Another DayJames Sibley Watson, Jr.United StatesAbsurdist comedy written by Alec Wilder[19]
The TrapM.G. MacPherson, Jean MichelsonUnited StatesArtkino production, Lost film [6]
Wochenende (Weekend)Walter RuttmannWeimar RepublicAudio-only film collage; no image [20]
YamekrawMurray RothHugo Marianni & His MediterraneansUnited StatesVitaphone "opera film" visualization of tone poem by James Price Johnson, heavily indebted to German expressionism.[21][22][23]
1931
Autumn FireHerman G. WeinbergErna Bergman, Willy HildebrandUnited StatesCinematic poem; mixed nature and city film [6]
A Bronx MorningJay LeydaUnited StatesCity film; silent [24]
City of ContrastsIrving BrowningUnited StatesCity film [25][6]
Dance FilmRalph SteinerUnited StatesDance film [6]
A Day in Santa FeLynn Riggs, James HughesUnited StatesCity film[11][26]
Douro, Faina Flouval Manoel de Oliveira Portugal City film
Enthusiasm: Symphony of the DonbassDziga VertovSoviet UnionDocumentary film with montage of both visuals and sound
Hearts of the WestTheodore HuffUnited StatesGenre parody [6]
Imperial ValleySeymour SternUnited StatesExperimental documentary, sometimes dated to 1932 or 1933; Stern taken off production which was finished by others, Lost film [27][28]
LimiteMário PeixotoOlga Breno, Raul SchnoorBrazilAdvertised as 'pure cinema;' first Brazilian avant-garde film [29]
Na Prazském hrade (The Prague Castle)Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakiaSemi-documentary [4]
Panther Woman of the Needle Trades, or The Lovely Life of Little LisaRalph SteinerElizabeth Hawes, Morris CarnovskyUnited StatesSatire, print extant at MOMA [6]
Portrait of a Young Man in Three MovementsHenwar RodakiewiczUnited StatesFeature length experimental film, begun in 1925 [30][31]
Studie(s) Nr. 7-9Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Surf and SeaweedRalph SteinerUnited StatesPhotographic abstract film, sometimes dated to 1930.[32]
Svetlo proniká tmou (Light Penetrates the Darkness)Otakar Vávra, Frantisek PilátCzechoslovakiaPhotographic abstract film [33]
Taris, roi de l'eau Jean Vigo France Documentary about a swimming champion
1932
Blood of a PoetJean CocteauLee Miller, Pauline Carton, Odette TalazacuezFranceSurrealist feature, produced by Charles de Noailles; often misdated to 1930-31[34]
BurleskaJan KučeraCzechoslovakiaExperimental short; Kučera's only film[35]
DestinyJosef BerneUnited StatesDated "ca. 1932"[6]
EuropaStefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandAbstract animation, based on the poem by Anatol Stern; lost, but partially reconstructed in 1984[3]
The Fortune TellerJerome HillUnited StatesTinting and hand-coloring added in the 1960s [36][37]
Granite, a.k.a. The QuarryRalph SteinerUnited States[6]
Harbor ScenesRalph SteinerUnited States[6]
Histoire du soldat inconnu Henri Storck Belgium
L'idée Berthold Bartosch France Surreal animation; music by Arthur Honegger[38]
Koloraturen (Coloratura)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Kuhle Wampe Bertolt Brecht, Slatan Dudow Weimar Republic Agitprop film, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Hanns Eisler.[39]
Land of the SunSeymour SternUnited StatesExperimental documentary [40][27]
Little GeezerTheodore HuffUnited StatesGenre parody [6][41]
Ornament Sound Experiment, a.k.a. Experiments in Hand-Drawn SoundOskar FischingerWeimar RepublicSynthetic sound experiment [16]
Poem 8Emlen EttingMary Binney Montgomery, Caresse CrosbyUnited StatesDance film, shot in 8mm, silent [42]
Pred maturitou (Before Matriculation)Sviatopluk Immermann, Vladislav VancuraJindřich Plachta, Frantisek SmolíkCzechoslovakiaSemi-experimental feature film [35][43]
Qué vivá México!Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori AlexandrovFélix Balderas, Martín HernándezMexicoBegun in 1931, never completed by Eisenstein; edited into numerous other films [44]
Studie(s) Nr. 10-11Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Studie Nr. 12Oskar Fischinger, Hans FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation [16]
Sur les bords de la caméra (Pictures on the Sideline) Henri Storck Belgium
Visions of Lourdes Charles Dekeukeleire Belgium
1933
7 till 5Norman McLarenScotlandAmateur city film [45]
Dawn to DawnJosef Berne, Seymour SternJulie Haydon, Ole M. Ness, Frank EklofUnited Statesa.k.a. "Black Dawn," short, Naturalist melodrama[46][6][47]
DeserterVsevolod PudovkinBoris Livanov, Vasili KovriginSoviet UnionAsynchronous use of sound and image [48]
Drobiazg Melodyjny (Moment Musical)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandRayographic animation, Lost [3]
Footnote to FactLewis JacobsUnited StatesCity film [49]
G-3Ralph SteinerUnited StatesAlso dated to 1932 [6][50]
Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan Luis Buñuel Abel Jacquin, Alexandre O'Neill Second Spanish Republic Documentary, co-written by Buñuel and Surrealist poet Pierre Unik, with music by Darius Milhaud[51]
In the Icy Wastes of Dialectical MaterialismLuis Buñuel, Charles de NoaillesFranceRe-edited section of L'age d'or, rendered as comedy and shown in leftist theaters in Eastern Europe; lost.[52]
Kreise (Circles)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation, exists in two versions, color [16]
Lot in SodomJames Sibley Watson, Jr., Melville WebberFriedrich Haak, Hildegarde WatsonUnited StatesExperimental short based on Biblical story [53]
Mr. Motorboat's Last StandJohn Flory, Theodore HuffLeonard StirrupUnited StatesSatire [6][47]
Na slunecní strane (On the sunnyside)Vladislav VančuraFilip Balek-Brodský, Hana BeckovaCzechoslovakiaDidactic feature film [35][54]
Une nuit sur le mont chauveAlexandre Alexieff, Claire ParkerFranceFirst pinscreen animation, also dated to 1934, 1931 [55]
Oil—A Symphony in MotionM.G. MacPherson, Jean MichelsonUnited StatesOnly extant Artkino production[6][37]
OramundeEmlen EttingCaresse Crosby, Mary Binney MontgomeryUnited StatesDance film [37][56]
Poslovi konzula Dorgena (Consul Dorgen's Business)Oktavijan MiletićŠime Marov, Ivan Alpi-RauchKingdom of YugoslaviaExperimental dramatic short; won a prize awarded by Louis Lumière [57][58]
Prostoy sluchay (A Simple Case)Vsevolod PudovkinAleksandr Baturin, Mariya BelousovaSoviet UnionNaturalist drama, begun in 1931; silent [59]
PuebloSeymour SternUnited StatesExperimental documentary; never finished, Lost film [27]
SynchromyMary Ellen Bute, Lewis Jacobs, Joseph SchillingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, never completed [60]
Tilly Losch in the Dance of Her HandsNorman Bel GeddesTilly LoschUnited StatesDance film, dated 1930-33 [37]
Zem spieva (The Earth Sings)Karel Plicka, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakiaExperimentally edited ethnographic semi-documentary, with music score [4]
Zéro de conduite Jean Vigo France
1934
Atom věčnosti (Atoms of Eternity) Čeněk Zahradníček Czechoslovakia
Beyond This Open Road B. Vivian Braun United Kingdom
Café UniversalRalph SteinerUnited StatesSatire featuring members of The Group Theatre [6]
Camera Makes WhoopeeNorman McLarenScotlandAmateur film; montage experiments [61]
La Joie de vivreAnthony Gross, Hector HoppinFranceStylized, surreal animated film [62]
The FuriesSlavko VorkapichUnited StatesSurreal special effects insert for feature, "Crime without Passion" [63]
HandsRalph Steiner, Willard Van DykeUnited StatesSponsored by the Works Project Administration; also dated 1936-7 and edited into later films [64][15]
Happiness (1934 film)Aleksandr MedvedkinPetr Zinoviev, Elena EgorovaSoviet UnionSoviet satire; stylized, silent [65]
The Hearts of AgeWilliam Vance, Orson WellesVirginia Nicolson, Orson WellesUnited StatesAmateur experimental film, made at the Todd School, Chicago [37]
LiebesspielOskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, first exhibited posthumously; silent [16]
Man of Aran Robert J. Flaherty Irish Free State Fictionalised documentary[66]
Marijka nevernice (Faithless Maritza)Vladislav VancuraHana Maria PravdaCzechoslovakiaSemi-experimental feature [35][67]
Muratti Greift Ein (Muratti Gets in the Act)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyDancing cigarette animation, color [16]
PrisonerRoman FreulichGeorge Sari, Jack RockwellUnited StatesExpressionistic short, made in Hollywood, lost film [6]
Quadrate (Squares)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, silent [16]
RectanglesOskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, silent, unfinished [16]
Rhythm in LightMary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, Melville WebberUnited StatesAbstract animation [68]
Ein Spiel in Farben (A Play in Colors)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, a.k.a. Studie No. 11a, color [16]
Studie Nr. 13 (Coriolan Fragment)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, unfinished [16]
Sweet Land of LibertyLeo HurwitzUnited StatesSatirical documentary; Lost film [69]
Žijeme v Praze (We Live in Prague)Otakar VávraCzechoslovakiaCity film [70]
1935
A Colour Box Len Lye United Kingdom
Colour CocktailNorman McLarenScotlandAbstract animation; lost film [71]
Ghost Town: The Story of Fort LeeTheodore Huff, Mark BorgatteUnited StatesSemi-documentary [25]
Gypsy NightJosef Berne, Harold HechtUnited StatesMusical short, set in a Gypsy camp, color [72]
The Hands on Tuesday Čeněk Zahradníček Czechoslovakia
HollywoodVic Kandel, Robert Del DucaUnited StatesSatire, Lost film [69]
Kinetic MolpaiTed ShawnTed Shawn and his Men DancersUnited StatesModern dance film [73]
Komposition in Blau (Composition in Blue)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation in Gasparcolour [16]
Listopad (November)Otakar Vávra, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakia[74][35]
Muratti PrivatOskar FischingerNazi GermanyDancing cigarette animation [16]
Pie in the SkyRalph Steiner, Elia Kazan, Molly Day Thatcher, Irving LernerElia Kazan, Russell CollinsUnited StatesSatire [75]
Pink Guards On ParadeOskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract advertisement, unfinished; completed in 2000 by William Moritz [16]
PoisonMan RayMan Ray, Meret OppenheimFranceDouble "portrait" film of Ray and Oppenheim [76]
Polychrome PhantasyNorman McLarenScotlandAbstract animation, color [77]
Synchromy No. 2Mary Ellen Bute, Ted NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation [78]
Zwarcie (Short Circuit)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandAbstract animation, music by Witold Lutoslawski, Lost [3]
1936
145 W 21Rudy BurckhardtPaul Bowles, Aaron CoplandUnited States[79]
AllegrettoOskar FischingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, black & white, 2 versions [16]
The Birth of the Robot Len Lye United Kingdom
Cernobílá rapsodie (Black and White Rhapsody)Martin FricCzechoslovakiaCity film [35]
DadaMary Ellen Bute, Ted NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation [80]
Hell UnlimitedHelen Biggar, Norman McLarenScotlandAnti-war political short [81]
The New Architecture and the London Zoo László Moholy-Nagy United Kingdom
RedesEmilio Gómez Muriel, Fred ZinnemannSilvio Hernández, Rafael HinojosaMexicoCinematography by Paul Strand, music by Silvestre Revueltas; Eisenstein-influenced revolutionary film [82]
Rose HobartJoseph CornellRose HobartUnited StatesCollage film [83]
1937
Even—As You and ILeRoy Robbins, Harry HayHy HirshUnited States
EscapeMary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, Bill NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation [84]
Monsieur Fantômas Ernst Moerman Belgium
An Optical PoemOskar FischingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, distributed by MGM, color [16]
ParabolaMary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, Bill Nemeth, Rutherford BoydUnited StatesAbstract animation [85]
Przygoda Czlowieka Poczciwego (The Adventure of a Good Citizen)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandSatire [3]
Seeing the World No. 1: A Trip to New York CItyRudy BurckhardtUnited StatesCity film[11]
Silnice spívá (The Highway Sings)Elmar Klos, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakiaExperimental advertising film[4]
1938
BookstallsJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, title added posthumously; Silent [11][86]
Carousel: Animal OperaJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film [11]
The Children's JuryJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, Silent [11]
The Children's Trilogy: Cotillion, The Midnight Party, The Children's PartyJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, put into a final form by Larry Jordan ca. 1967-70, Silent [11]
Family Film José Val del Omar Second Spanish Republic
Fragment from Caroland's MansionFrank StauffacherUnited States[87]
Jack's DreamJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, put into a final form by Larry Jordan ca. 1970 [11]
N or NW Len Lye United Kingdom
Thimble TheaterJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, title added posthumously; Silent [11]
Tree Trunk to HeadLewis JacobsChaim GrossUnited StatesSemi-documentary, silent [88]
1939
The CityRalph Steiner, Willard Van DykeUnited StatesCity film for New York World's Fair, written by Pare Lorentz[89]
Dance of the ColorsHans FischingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, color [16]
HaitiRudy BurckhardtUnited States[90]
Love on the WingNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color [91]
ScherzoNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color [92]
Spare Time Humphrey Jennings United Kingdom Short documentary about British people at leisure, inspired by Mass Observation
Spook SportMary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, Norman McLarenUnited StatesAbstract animation, color [93]
Stars and StripesNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color [92]
Time in the Sun Marie Seton United Kingdom Composite film, made of footage shot by Sergei Eisenstein for Qué vivá México![94]

References

  • Jan Christopher Horak, ed. Lovers of Cinema: The First American Avant-Garde, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison WI 1995
  • Paul Rotha and Roger Manvell, "Movie Parade: A Pictorial Survey of the Cinema" London: The Studio, 1936
  • Parker Tyler, "Underground Film: A Critical History" New York: Da Capo Press, 1995 (originally published in 1969)
  • David Curtis, "Experimental Cinema" New York: Universe Books, 1970
  • Bruce Posner, ed. Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film, Black Thistle Press/Anthology Film Archives, NYC 2001
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  76. Ikono: "Man Ray Three Short Films and a documentary Archived 2014-01-31 at the Wayback Machine.
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