The Best '30s Horror Movies
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.Â
- Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong
- Released: 1933
- Directed by: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) travel to the Indian Ocean to do location shoots for Denham's new jungle picture. Along the way, the actress meets and falls ...more - Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles
- Released: 1931
- Directed by: James Whale
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free TrialThis iconic horror film follows the obsessed scientist Dr. Henry Frankenstein as he attempts to create life by assembling a creature from body parts of the deceased. Aided by his loyal misshapen ...more - Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye
- Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
- Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Una O'Connor
- Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart