1930s

The Rules of the Game (1939)

1930
1. Morocco (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
2. Earth (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Soviet Union)
3. The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, United States)
4. Her Man (Tay Garnett, United States)
5. Laughter (Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, United States)
6. That Night's Wife (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)

7. L'Âge d'or (Luis Buñuel, France)

8. The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau, France)

9. Prix de Beauté (Augusto Genina, France)
10. The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg, Germany)

1931
1. M (Fritz Lang, Germany)
2. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty, United States)
3. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, United States)

4. Dishonored (Josef von Sternberg, United States)

5. The Neighbor's Wife and Mine (Heinosuke Gosho, Japan)
6. À nous la liberté (René Clair, France)

7. Blonde Crazy (Roy Del Ruth, United States)
8. La Chienne (Jean Renoir, France)
9. The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, United States)
10. Le Million (René Clair, France)

1932
1. Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
2. Scarface (Howard Hawks, United States)
3. Boudu Saved from Drowning (Jean Renoir, France)
4. I Was Born, But... (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
5. Me and My Gal (Raoul Walsh, United States)
6. Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, United States)
7. The Man I Killed (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
8. The Old Dark House (James Whale, United States)
9. Back Street (John M. Stahl, United States)
10. Hot Saturday (William A. Seiter, United States)

1933
1. Woman of Tokyo (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
2. Liebelei (Max Ophüls, Germany/Austria)

3. Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, United States)
4. Zero for Conduct (Jean Vigo, France)

5. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (Frank Capra, United States)

6. Hallelujah, I'm a Bum! (Lewis Milestone, United States)

7. Bombshell (Victor Fleming, United States)

8. Little Toys (Sun Yu, China)

9. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, Germany)

10. Sons of the Desert (William A. Seiter, United States)

1934
1. La Signora di tutti (Max Ophüls, Italy)

2. The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
3. L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, France)
4. Story of Floating Weeds (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)

5. Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, United States)
6. Judge Priest (John Ford, United States)

7. The Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
8. Man of Aran (Robert Flaherty, United Kingdom)

9. The Goddess (Wu Yonggang, China)

10. Little Man, What Now? (Frank Borzage, United States)

1935
1. Ruggles of Red Gap (Leo McCarey, United States)
2. Wife! Be Like a Rose! (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
3. The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
4. Steamboat 'Round the Bend (John Ford, United States)
5. Pot Worth a Million Ryo (Yamanaka Sadao, Japan)
6. The Devil is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
7. An Inn at Tokyo (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
8. Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, United States)
9. The Wedding Night (King Vidor, United States)
10. Poppy (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)

1936

1. By the Bluest of Seas (Boris Barnet, Soviet Union)

2. Sisters of the Gion (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)

3. The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir, France)
4. A Day in the Country (Jean Renoir, France)

5. Ceiling Zero (Howard Hawks, United States)

6. Mr. Thank You (Hiroshi Shimizu, Japan)
7. Story of a Cheat (Sacha Guitry, France)

8. Sabotage (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)

9. Rose Hobart (Joseph Cornell, United States)
10. Osaka Elegy (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)

1937
1. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, United States)
2. The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, United States)
3. Angel (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
4. You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, United States)
5. Humanity and Paper Balloons (Yamanaka Sadao, Japan)

6. The Straits of Love and Hate (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
7. Stella Dallas (King Vidor, United States)
8. Young and Innocent (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
9. Easy Living (Mitchell Leisen, United States)
10. The Great Garrick (James Whale, United States)

1938
1. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, United States)
2. The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
3. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany)
4. You and Me (Fritz Lang, United States)

5. Flowers Have Fallen (Tamizo Ishida, Japan)

6. The Masseurs and a Woman (Hiroshi Shimizu, Japan)
7. La Bête humaine (Jean Renoir, France)

8. Four Daughters (Michael Curtiz, United States)

9. Holiday (George Cukor, United States)

10. Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (Mikio Naruse, Japan)

1939
1. The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)

2. The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, France)

3. Stagecoach (John Ford, United States)
4. Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks, United States)
5. Love Affair (Leo McCarey, United States)

6. Midnight (Mitchell Leisen, United States)

7. There's No Tomorrow (Max Ophüls, France)

8. When Tomorrow Comes (John M. Stahl, United States)

9. Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)

10. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, United States)

Trouble in Paradise (1932)

The Decade's Ten Best (in alphabetical order): L'Atalante (Vigo), By the Bluest of Seas (Barnet), I Was Born, But... (Ozu), Make Way for Tomorrow (McCarey), The Rules of the Game (Renoir), Scarface (Hawks), The Scarlet Empress (von Sternberg), La Signora di tutti (Ophüls), The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi), Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch).