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]
Aimless WalkAlexandr 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.
It's a BirdHarold MuellerCharles Bowers, Lowell ThomasUnited StatesSemi-animated short where an egg transforms into an automobile[9]
Ein Lichtspiel: Schwarz/Weiss/Grau László Moholy-Nagy Weimar Republic
Light RhythmsFrancis Brugière, Oswell BlakestonUnited KingdomLight-oriented, non-animated abstract film[10]
Mechanical PrinciplesRalph SteinerUnited StatesAbstract film based on machinery; sometimes dated to 1933[11]
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[12]
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"[13]
The Story of a NobodyJo Gerson, Louis HirshmanUnited StatesExperiment in subjective camerawork, Lost film[14]
Studie(s) Nr. 2-4Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animations; Nr. 4 Lost[15]
R.5, Ein Spiel in Linien (Studie Nr. 5)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Studie Nr. 6Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Such Is LifeCarl JunghansVera Baranovskaya, Theodor PištěkCzechoslovakiaCzech avant-garde social realist feature; silent[16]
Tomatoes Another DayJames Sibley Watson Jr.United StatesAbsurdist comedy written by Alec Wilder[17]
The TrapM.G. MacPherson, Jean MichelsonUnited StatesArtkino production, Lost film[6]
Wochenende (Weekend)Walter RuttmannWeimar RepublicAudio-only film collage; no image[18]
YamekrawMurray RothHugo Marianni & His MediterraneansUnited StatesVitaphone "opera film" visualization of tone poem by James Price Johnson, heavily indebted to German expressionism.[19][20][21]
1931
Autumn FireHerman G. WeinbergErna Bergman, Willy HildebrandUnited StatesCinematic poem; mixed nature and city film[6]
A Bronx MorningJay LeydaUnited StatesCity film; silent[22]
City of ContrastsIrving BrowningUnited StatesCity film[23][6]
Dance FilmRalph SteinerUnited StatesDance film[6]
A Day in Santa FeLynn Riggs, James HughesUnited StatesCity film[10][24]
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[25][26]
LimiteMário PeixotoOlga Breno, Raul SchnoorBrazilAdvertised as 'pure cinema;' first Brazilian avant-garde film[27]
At the Prague CastleAlexandr 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[28][29]
Studie(s) Nr. 7-9Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Surf and SeaweedRalph SteinerUnited StatesPhotographic abstract film, sometimes dated to 1930.[30]
The Light Penetrates the DarknessOtakar Vávra, František PilátCzechoslovakiaPhotographic abstract film[31]
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[32]
BurleskaJan KučeraCzechoslovakiaExperimental short; Kučera's only film[33]
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[34][35]
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
Koloraturen (Coloratura)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Kuhle Wampe Bertolt Brecht, Slatan Dudow Weimar Republic Agitprop film, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Hanns Eisler.
Land of the SunSeymour SternUnited StatesExperimental documentary[36][25]
Little GeezerTheodore HuffUnited StatesGenre parody[6][37]
Ornament Sound ExperimentsOskar FischingerWeimar RepublicSynthetic sound experiments[15]
Poem 8Emlen EttingMary Binney Montgomery, Caresse CrosbyUnited StatesDance film, shot in 8mm, silent[38]
Před maturitou (Before Matriculation)Svatopluk Innemann, Vladislav VančuraJindřich Plachta, František SmolíkCzechoslovakiaSemi-experimental feature film[33][39]
Qué vivá México!Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori AlexandrovFélix Balderas, Martín HernándezMexicoBegun in 1931, never completed by Eisenstein; edited into numerous other films[40]
Studie(s) Nr. 10-11Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Studie Nr. 12Oskar Fischinger, Hans FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation[15]
Sur les bords de la caméra (Pictures on the Sideline) Henri Storck Belgium
Visions of Lourdes Charles Dekeukeleire Belgium
1933
7 till 5Norman McLarenUnited KingdomAmateur city film[41]
Dawn to DawnJosef Berne, Seymour SternJulie Haydon, Ole M. Ness, Frank EklofUnited Statesa.k.a. "Black Dawn," short, Naturalist melodrama[42][6][43]
DeserterVsevolod PudovkinBoris Livanov, Vasili KovriginSoviet UnionAsynchronous use of sound and image[44]
Drobiazg Melodyjny (Moment Musical)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandRayographic animation, Lost[3]
Footnote to FactLewis JacobsUnited StatesCity film[45]
G-3Ralph SteinerUnited StatesAlso dated to 1932[6][46]
Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan Luis Buñuel Abel Jacquin, Alexandre O'Neill Spain Documentary, co-written by Buñuel and Surrealist poet Pierre Unik, with music by Darius Milhaud
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.[47]
Lot in SodomJames Sibley Watson Jr., Melville WebberFriedrich Haak, Hildegarde WatsonUnited StatesExperimental short based on Biblical story[48]
Mr. Motorboat's Last StandJohn Flory, Theodore HuffLeonard StirrupUnited StatesSatire[6][43]
On the Sunny SideVladislav VančuraFilip Balek-Brodský, Hana BečkováCzechoslovakiaDidactic feature film[33][49]
Une nuit sur le mont chauveAlexandre Alexieff, Claire ParkerFranceFirst pinscreen animation, also dated to 1934, 1931[50]
Oil—A Symphony in MotionM.G. MacPherson, Jean MichelsonUnited StatesOnly extant Artkino production[6][35]
OramundeEmlen EttingCaresse Crosby, Mary Binney MontgomeryUnited StatesDance film[35][51]
Poslovi konzula Dorgena (Consul Dorgen's Business)Oktavijan MiletićŠime Marov, Ivan Alpi-RauchYugoslaviaExperimental dramatic short; won a prize awarded by Louis Lumière[52][53]
Prostoy sluchay (A Simple Case)Vsevolod PudovkinAleksandr Baturin, Mariya BelousovaSoviet UnionNaturalist drama, begun in 1931; silent[54]
PuebloSeymour SternUnited StatesExperimental documentary; never finished, Lost film[25]
SynchromyMary Ellen Bute, Lewis Jacobs, Joseph SchillingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, never completed[55]
Tilly Losch in the Dance of Her HandsNorman Bel GeddesTilly LoschUnited StatesDance film, dated 1930-33[35]
The Earth SingsKarel Plicka, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakiaExperimentally edited ethnographic semi-documentary, with music score[4]
Zéro de conduite Jean Vigo France
1934
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 McLarenUnited KingdomAmateur film; montage experiments[56]
La Joie de vivreAnthony Gross, Hector HoppinFranceStylized, surreal animated film[57]
The FuriesSlavko VorkapichUnited StatesSurreal special effects insert for feature, "Crime without Passion"[58]
HandsRalph Steiner, Willard Van DykeUnited StatesSponsored by the Works Project Administration; also dated 1936-7 and edited into later films[59][14]
Happiness (1935 film)Aleksandr MedvedkinPetr Zinoviev, Elena EgorovaSoviet UnionSoviet satire; stylized, silent[60]
The Hearts of AgeWilliam Vance, Orson WellesVirginia Nicolson, Orson WellesUnited StatesAmateur experimental film, made at the Todd School, Chicago[35]
Kreise (Circles)Oskar FischingerWeimar RepublicAbstract animation, exists in two versions, color[15]
LiebesspielOskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, first exhibited posthumously; silent[15]
Man of Aran Robert J. Flaherty Ireland Fictionalised documentary
Marijka nevěrnice (Faithless Maritza)Vladislav VančuraHana Maria PravdaCzechoslovakiaSemi-experimental feature[33][61]
Muratti Greift Ein (Muratti Gets in the Act)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyDancing cigarette animation, Gasparcolor[15]
PrisonerRoman FreulichGeorge Sari, Jack RockwellUnited StatesExpressionistic short, made in Hollywood, lost film[6]
Quadrate (Squares)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, silent, Gasparcolor[15]
Rhythm in LightMary Ellen ButeUnited StatesAbstract animation[62]
Ein Spiel in Farben (A Play in Colors)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, a.k.a. Studie No. 11a, color[15]
Studie Nr. 13 (Coriolan Fragment)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation, unfinished[15]
Sweet Land of LibertyLeo HurwitzUnited StatesSatirical documentary; Lost film[63]
Žijeme v Praze (We Live in Prague)Otakar VávraCzechoslovakiaCity film[64]
1935
A Colour Box Len Lye United Kingdom
Colour CocktailNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation; lost film[65]
Ghost Town: The Story of Fort LeeTheodore Huff, Mark BorgatteUnited StatesSemi-documentary[23]
Gypsy NightJosef Berne, Harold HechtUnited StatesMusical short, set in a Gypsy camp, color[66]
The Hands on TuesdayČeněk ZahradníčekCzechoslovakia[67][33]
HollywoodVic Kandel, Robert Del DucaUnited StatesSatire, Lost film[63]
Kinetic MolpaiTed ShawnTed Shawn and his Men DancersUnited StatesModern dance film[68]
Komposition in Blau (Composition in Blue)Oskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract animation in Gasparcolour[15]
NovemberOtakar Vávra, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakia[69][33]
Muratti PrivatOskar FischingerNazi GermanyDancing cigarette animation, black and white[15]
Pie in the SkyRalph Steiner, Elia Kazan, Molly Day Thatcher, Irving LernerElia Kazan, Russell CollinsUnited StatesSatire[70]
Pink Guards On ParadeOskar FischingerNazi GermanyAbstract advertisement, Gasparcolor, unfinished; recreation on video made in 2000 by William Moritz[15]
PoisonMan RayMan Ray, Meret OppenheimFranceDouble "portrait" film of Ray and Oppenheim[71]
Polychrome PhantasyNorman McLarenCanadaAbstract animation, color[72]
Synchromy No. 2Mary Ellen Bute, Ted NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation[73]
Zwarcie (Short Circuit)Stefan Themerson, Franciszka ThemersonPolandAbstract animation, music by Witold Lutoslawski, Lost[3]
1936
145 W 21Rudy BurckhardtPaul Bowles, Aaron CoplandUnited States[74]
The Birth of the Robot Len Lye United Kingdom
Black and White RhapsodyMartin FričCzechoslovakiaCity film[33]
DadaMary Ellen Bute, produced by Ted NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation, black and white[75]
Hell UnlimitedHelen Biggar, Norman McLarenUnited KingdomAnti-war political short[76]
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[77]
Rose HobartJoseph CornellRose HobartUnited StatesCollage film[78]
1937
Even—As You and ILeRoy Robbins, Harry HayHy HirshUnited States
EscapeMary Ellen Bute, produced by Ted NemethUnited StatesAbstract animation, color[79]
Monsieur Fantômas Ernst Moerman Belgium
An Optical PoemOskar FischingerUnited StatesAbstract animation, distributed by MGM, color[15]
ParabolaMary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, Bill Nemeth, Rutherford BoydUnited StatesAbstract animation[80]
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[10]
Silnice spívá (The Highway Sings)Elmar Klos, Alexandr HackenschmiedCzechoslovakiaExperimental advertising film[4]
1938
BookstallsJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, title added posthumously; Silent[10][81]
Carousel: Animal OperaJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film[10]
The Children's JuryJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, Silent[10]
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[10]
Family Film José Val del Omar Spain
Fragment from Caroland's MansionFrank StauffacherUnited States[82]
Jack's DreamJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, put into a final form by Larry Jordan ca. 1970[10]
N or NW Len Lye United Kingdom
Thimble TheaterJoseph CornellUnited StatesCollage film, title added posthumously; Silent[10]
Tree Trunk to HeadLewis JacobsChaim GrossUnited StatesSemi-documentary, silent[83]
1939
The CityRalph Steiner, Willard Van DykeUnited StatesCity film for New York World's Fair, written by Pare Lorentz[84]
Dance of the ColorsHans FischingerGermanyAbstract animation, color[15]
HaitiRudy BurckhardtUnited States[85]
Love on the WingNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color[86]
ScherzoNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color[87]
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, animation by McLaren[88]
Stars and StripesNorman McLarenUnited KingdomAbstract animation, color[87]
Time in the Sun Marie Seton United Kingdom Composite film, made of footage shot by Sergei Eisenstein for Qué vivá México![89]
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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
  1. imdb entry
  2. DVD Savant review of "Le fin du monde"
  3. Themerson Archive Filmography
  4. Monoskop Hackenschmied bio
  5. imdb entry
  6. Jan Christopher Horak, ed. Lovers of Cinema: The First American Avant-Garde, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison WI 1995
  7. imdb entry
  8. Crying for the Carolines (1930)
  9. imdb entry
  10. Unseen Cinema Program
  11. imdb entry
  12. imdb entry
  13. imdb entry
  14. Bruce Posner, ed. Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film, Black Thistle Press/Anthology Film Archives, NYC 2001
  15. [Moritz, William. Optical Poetry, filmography]
  16. BAM/PFA Film Program Archived 2013-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  17. imdb entry
  18. Jesse Shapins, "Walter Ruttmann's Weekend" Archived 2011-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Hans Koert -- "Yamekraw: Rhapsody in Black and White
  20. Jennifer Fleeger -- Sounding American: Hollywood, Opera and Jazz. Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York, 2014 ppg. 44-51
  21. Richard Koszarski -- Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff. Rutgers University Press, Piscataway, NJ 2008, ppg. 155-159
  22. imdb entry
  23. Unseen Cinema program
  24. imdb entry
  25. Ira H. Gallen, Seymour Stern: American Film Critic, Guardian and Prophet SEYMOUR STERN: AMERICAN FILM CRITIC, GUARDIAN and PROPHET by D.W. GRIFFITH - DIRECTOR on Myspace
  26. imdb entry
  27. William Drew, "Mário Peixoto"
  28. imdb entry
  29. The Art of Memory
  30. imdb entry
  31. imdb entry The Light Penetrates the Dark (1931)
  32. imdb entry
  33. Peter Hames: Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition, Edinburgh University Press, 2009
  34. imdb entry
  35. Unseen Cinema program
  36. Lewis Jacobs, Experimental Cinema in America Part One: 1921-1941, Hollywood Quarterly Vol.3 No. 2, Winter 1947-48
  37. imdb entry
  38. imdb entry
  39. imdb entry
  40. Herman G. Weinberg, Unanswered Question: Eisenstein's Qué vivá México! in Bruce Posner, ed. Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film, Black Thistle Press/Anthology Film Archives, NYC 2001
  41. 7 Till 5 (1933)
  42. imdb entry
  43. imdb entry
  44. Soviet Films blog
  45. imdb entry
  46. First Light: Steiner
  47. Allmovie review of "L'Age d'or"
  48. imdb entry
  49. imdb entry
  50. imdb entry
  51. imdb entry
  52. Europa film treasures Archived 2013-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  53. imdb entry
  54. Soviet Films blog
  55. imdb entry
  56. imdb entry
  57. La Joie de Vivre - 1934 - Europa Film Treasures Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  58. Unseen Cinema on DVD
  59. NARA entry
  60. Russian Film Symposium essay
  61. imdb entry
  62. imdb entry
  63. Film and Photo League Filmography
  64. Monoskop Vávra bio
  65. imdb entry
  66. imdb entry
  68. 100 Dance Treasures: Ted Shawn
  69. Vávra Monoskop Bio
  70. imdb entry
  71. Ikono: "Man Ray Three Short Films and a documentary Archived 2014-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
  72. imdb entry
  73. imdb entry
  74. Rudy Burckhardt Films DVD
  75. Bute Research site at CVM
  76. imdb entry
  77. Criterion Collection, "Redes"
  78. Senses of Cinema essay
  79. Bute research site at CVM
  80. imdb entry
  81. John C. Film Notes Blog
  82. Unseen Cinema program #11
  83. imdb entry
  84. imdb entry
  85. Richard Bartone, "Notes on Four Films by Rudolph Burckhardt"
  86. imdb entry
  87. imdb entry
  88. Bute Research site at CVM
  89. "Movie Review - - THE SCREEN; 'Time in the Sun,' a Documentary of Mexico, Based on Eisenstein's Material, at the Fifth Avenue - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
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