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horror movies and TV The Best '30s Horror Movies  

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List Rules Vote up your favorite horror films that were released in the 1930s

This list of the best 1930s horror movies features some truly terrifying tales of murder, monsters, and mayhem. Fans of the horror genre might scoff at horror films made over 70 years ago, but if you give these movies a chance, they will most assuredly leave your hair standing on end, and your knuckles white.


One of the most iconic horror movies ever made was released in the ‘30s: Tod Browning’s Freaks. Revolutionary, and unlike any movie that came before or afterward, Freaks featured real sideshow performers with real deformities. The original version of the film was deemed too disturbing to be released. The film ruined Browning’s career. The two dominant horror actors of the ‘30s and ‘40s, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, also appear on this list as Dracula and Frankenstein, respectively. The Black Cat was the first of eight films to pit the two on-screen legends against one another.


Also on this list, you’ll find the work of legendary German director Fritz Lang. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, a follow up to Lang’s earlier silent film about the mad doctor, is regarded as one of the finest horror films of the decade. Vote up the best '30s horror movies below, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section. 
list ordered by

1
27 3
Frankenstein is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Frankenstein Boris Karloff, John Boles, Colin Clive - Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial

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2
24 4
Bride of Frankenstein is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Bride of Frankenstein Boris Karloff, Walter Brennan, Billy Barty

3
18 5
The Invisible Man is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Invisible Man Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Una O'Connor

4
20 7
Dracula is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Dracula Bela Lugosi, Tod Browning, Carla Laemmle

5
22 9
Freaks is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Freaks Wallace Ford, Edward Brophy, Roscoe Ates

6
17 6
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Fredric March, Wallace Beery, Miriam Hopkins

7
7 1
King Kong is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
RonnyMerchant added King Kong Fay Wray, Merian C. Cooper, Bruce Cabot

8
12 6
Mystery of the Wax Museum is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Mystery of the Wax Museum Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill, Glenda Farrell

9
12 6
Island of Lost Souls is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Island of Lost Souls Bela Lugosi, Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott

10
14 8
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Oscar Beregi, Sr., Rudolf Klein-Rogge

11
13 9
Vampyr is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Vampyr Sybille Schmitz, Nicolas de Gunzburg, Maurice Schutz

12
11 7
Son of Frankenstein is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Son of Frankenstein Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone

13
11 7
The Mummy is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Mummy Boris Karloff, Edward Van Sloan, Noble Johnson

14
10 6
The Black Cat is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Black Cat Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners

15
8 4
The Murders in the Rue Morgue is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Murders in the Rue Morgue Val Kilmer, Ian McShane, Boris Karloff

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16
7 3
Mad Love is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Mad Love Peter Lorre, Colin Clive, Sara Haden

17
7 3
White Zombie is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
White Zombie Bela Lugosi, Clarence Muse, Madge Bellamy - Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial

18
6 2
M is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
RonnyMerchant added M Peter Lorre, Theo Lingen, Georg John

19
10 8
The Old Dark House is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Old Dark House Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart

20
8 7
The Hound of the Baskervilles is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Hound of the Baskervilles Basil Rathbone, John Carradine, Wendy Barrie

21
7 6
Werewolf of London is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Werewolf of London Valerie Hobson, Spring Byington, J. M. Kerrigan

22
6 6
The Raven is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Raven Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Ian Wolfe

23
5 6
Dracula's Daughter is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Dracula's Daughter Hedda Hopper, Otto Kruger, Halliwell Hobbes

24
4 5
Mark of the Vampire is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Mark of the Vampire Bela Lugosi, Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill

25
4 6
The Invisible Ray is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Invisible Ray Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Beulah Bondi

26
4 7
Doctor X is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Doctor X Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill, Lee Tracy

27
3 6
The Black Room is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Black Room Boris Karloff, Robert (Tex) Allen, Marian Marsh

28
2 5
The Man They Could Not Hang is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Man They Could Not Hang Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Dick Curtis

29
2 5
The Mask of Fu Manchu is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Mask of Fu Manchu Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone

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30
1 4
Murders in the Zoo is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Murders in the Zoo Randolph Scott, Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill

31
1 4
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber... is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Bruce Seton, Aubrey Mallalieu, Tod Slaughter

32
0 3
The Dark Eyes of London is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
RonnyMerchant added The Dark Eyes of London Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Edmon Ryan

33
4 8
Son of Kong is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Son of Kong Helen Mack, Frank Reicher, Noble Johnson

34
3 7
The Walking Dead is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Walking Dead Boris Karloff, Barton MacLane, Edmund Gwenn

35
2 6
The Return of Doctor X is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Return of Doctor X Humphrey Bogart, Wayne Morris

36
1 5
The Bat Whispers is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Bat Whispers Una Merkel, Chester Morris, Gustav von Seyffertitz

37
2 7
Charlie Chan at Treasure Islan... is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island Cesar Romero, Douglas Fowley, Douglass Dumbrille

38
2 7
Maniac is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Maniac Phyllis Diller, Horace B. Carpenter, William Woods - Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial

39
1 6
The Ghoul is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Ghoul Boris Karloff, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke - Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial

40
0 5
Boo! is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Boo! Boris Karloff, Max Schreck, Mae Clarke

41
0 5
The Mad Genius is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Mad Genius Boris Karloff, John Barrymore, Carmel Myers

42
0 5
Kongo is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
Kongo Walter Huston, Lupe Vélez, Conrad Nagel

43
0 5
The Black Camel is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Black Camel Bela Lugosi, Robert Young, J. M. Kerrigan

44
0 6
The Vampire Bat is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Vampire Bat Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Atwill

45
0 6
The Bishop Murder Case is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best '30s Horror Movies
The Bishop Murder Case Basil Rathbone, Roland Young, Delmer Daves