Best Films of 1930: Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front likely remains the greatest (anti)war movie ever made
Made at the dawn of the sound era, All Quiet on the Western Front quite possibly remains the best (anti)war film ever made.
Despite some brave (and not so brave) attempts by other filmmakers ever since – e.g., Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, Steven Spielberg’s (actually more pro- than anti-war) Saving Private Ryan – (once again, quite possibly) no other motion picture has captured the horrors of war with the honesty and the poignancy of Lewis Milestone’s rendition of Erich Maria Remarque’s pacifist 1929 novel.
Youthful Lew Ayres plays – in moving (albeit early-sound-era) fashion – the immature, idealistic German soldier who soon discovers that war has absolutely nothing to do with honor, glory, or lofty causes.
Nazi Germany banned All Quiet on the Western Front. Undoubtedly, 21st-century Nazis and fascists everywhere abhor the film – and its message – just as much.
Best Film
All Quiet on the Western Front – Dir.: Lewis Milestone; Scr.: Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews & George Abbott
Going Wild – Dir.: William A. Seiter; Scr.: Humphrey Pearson & Henry McCarthy
In Gay Madrid – Dir.: Robert Z. Leonard; Scr.: Edwin Justus Mayer, Bess Meredyth & Salisbury Field
The Royal Family of Broadway – Dir.: George Cukor & Cyril Gardner; Scr.: Herman J. Mankiewicz & Gertrude Purcell
Under the Roofs of Paris / Sous les toits de Paris – dir. & Scr.: René Clair
Best Actor
Lew Ayres – All Quiet on the Western Front
Chester Morris – The Bat Whispers
Ramon Novarro – In Gay Madrid
Warner Oland – The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Albert Préjean – Under the Roofs of Paris
Best Actress
Dorothy Peterson – Mothers Cry
Norma Shearer – The Divorcee
Best Supporting Actor
Noah Beery – Golden Dawn
Edward Everett Horton – Reaching for the Moon
Fredric March – The Royal Family of Broadway
Ernest Torrence – Call of the Flesh
Best Supporting Actress
Renée Adorée – Call of the Flesh
May Boley & Ona Munson – Going Wild
Marie Dressler – The Girl Said No
Beryl Mercer – All Quiet on the Western Front
Zelma O’Neal – Follow Thru
Marjorie Rambeau – Min and Bill
Alison Skipworth – Outward Bound
Blanche Sweet – Showgirl in Hollywood
Best Cinematography
All Quiet on the Western Front – Arthur Edeson
The Bat Whispers – Ray June
The Bishop Murder Case – Roy Overbaugh
Call of the Flesh – Merritt B. Gerstad
Follow Thru – Henry Gerrard & Charles Boyle
Romance – William H. Daniels
Best Original Score
In Gay Madrid (score and song score) – Fred E. Ahlert, Xavier Cugat & Herbert Stothart
Under the Roofs of Paris – Armand Bernard
“Best Films of 1930” notes
Lew Ayres All Quiet on the Western Front image: Universal Pictures.