ICM Forum

ICM Forum's Favorite Films from 1929

There were 36 voters and 135 different films voted for in this poll. The table below shows all films that received at least 20.5 points.

Rank	Title	AKA	Director	Points Received	Number of Ballots	Number of IMDB Votes	Link
1	Chelovek s kino-apparatom	Man with a Movie Camera	Dziga Vertov	305	29	22673
2	Die Büchse der Pandora	Pandora's Box	Georg Wilhelm Pabst	267	24	9823
3	Un chien andalou		Luis Buñuel	195	20	46252
4	Tagebuch einer Verlorenen	Diary of a Lost Girl	Georg Wilhelm Pabst	193	18	4094
5	Lucky Star		Frank Borzage	187.5	19	1182
6	A Cottage on Dartmoor	Escape from Dartmoor	Anthony Asquith	142	13	1008
7	Frau im Mond	Woman in the Moon	Fritz Lang	121.5	14	3058
8	The Love Parade		Ernst Lubitsch	111	10	1980
9	Blackmail		Alfred Hitchcock	102	15	9698
10	Finis terrae		Jean Epstein	97	10	505
10	Big Business		Leo McCarey, James W. Horne	97	9	2882
10	Novyy Vavilon	The New Babylon	Leonid Trauberg, Grigoriy Kozintsev	97	9	752
13	Arsenal		Aleksandr Dovzhenko	94	9	1848
14	Turksib		Victor A. Turin	89	8	356
15	Asphalt		Joe May	81	10	1350
16	Spite Marriage		Edward Sedgwick	78	10	1894
17	Chemi bebia	My Grandmother	Kote Mikaberidze	76	7	269
18	Regen		Joris Ivens, Mannus Franken	75	12	1561
19	Staroye i novoye	Old and New / The General Line	Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei M. Eisenstein	73	11	1350
20	Jenseits der Straße - Eine Tragödie des Alltags	Harbor Drift	Leo Mittler	70	6	93
21	Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück	Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness	Phil Jutzi	66	9	257
21	Vesnoy	In Spring	Mikhail Kaufman	66	6	122
23	Erotikon	Seduction	Gustav Machatý	64.5	9	493
24	Liberty		Leo McCarey	62	5	1571
25	The Cocoanuts		Joseph Santley, Robert Florey	59	7	7060
25	Oblomok imperii	Fragment of an Empire	Fridrikh Ermler	59	5	352
27	The Skeleton Dance		Walt Disney	58	9	4271
28	Brumes d'automne		Dimitri Kirsanoff	52	7	564
28	La perle	The Pearl	Henri d' Ursel	52	5	196
30	Applause		Rouben Mamoulian	49	5	1284
31	Hallelujah		King Vidor	45	4	1560
31	Laila		George Schnéevoigt	45	4	231
33	Piccadilly		Ewald André Dupont	44	5	1374
34	Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü	White Hell of Pitz Palu	Arnold Fanck, Georg Wilhelm Pabst	41	5	910
35	Thunderbolt		Josef von Sternberg	35.5	8	525
35	Where East Is East		Tod Browning	35.5	4	496
37	The Kiss		Jacques Feyder	34	4	963
38	Dynamite		Cecil B. DeMille	30.5	2	379
38	Eternal Love		Ernst Lubitsch	30.5	2	453
40	H2O		Ralph Steiner	30	6	655
40	Hjärtats triumf	False Gold	Gustaf Molander	30	3	30
42	The Way of Lost Souls	The Woman He Scorned	Paul Czinner	29	2	61
43	The Broadway Melody		Harry Beaumont	27	4	6515
43	Perfect Day		James Parrott	27	4	1449
43	Seven Footprints to Satan		Benjamin Christensen	27	2	329
46	Die wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna	The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna	Hanns Schwarz	26.5	4	215
47	Gardiens de phare	The Lighthouse Keepers	Jean Grémillon	25	3	146
47	Mocny czlowiek		Henryk Szaro	25	2	198
49	Peau de pêche	Peach Skin	Marie Epstein, Jean Benoît-Lévy	24	3	39
50	The Bishop Murder Case		David Burton, Nick Grinde	23	2	608
51	Bulldog Drummond		F. Richard Jones	21	3	891
51	Montparnasse		Eugene Deslaw	21	3	115
51	A dança dos paroxismos		Jorge Brum do Canto	21	2	98
51	Histoire de détective		Charles Dekeukeleire	21	2	74
55	La femme et le pantin	The Woman and the Puppet	Jacques de Baroncelli	20.5	2	74
55	Lady of the Pavements		D.W. Griffith	20.5	2	75
55	La merveilleuse vie de Jeanne d'Arc	Saint Joan the Maid	Marco de Gastyne	20.5	2	72

Films that received 1st-place votes
(ranked in order of number of first-place votes received, then by total points received)

6 - Chelovek s kino-apparatom -- connordenney, joachimt, klaus78, lineuphere, Leopardi, Melvelet
5 - Die Büchse der Pandora -- Bing147, Caracortada, DudeLanez, hurluberlu, Opio
4 - Un chien andalou -- jeff_v, morrison-dylan-fan, murnaunosferatu, Mysterious Dude
1 - Tagebuch einer Verlorenen -- brokenface
1 - Lucky Star -- MoTH
1 - A Cottage on Dartmoor -- Mifune
1 - Frau im Mond -- Hanemann2
1 - The Love Parade -- Rufus-T
1 - Blackmail -- timshelboy
1 - Big Business -- frbrown
1 - Novyy Vavilon -- St. Gloede
1 - Arsenal -- prodigalgodson
1 - Chemi bebia -- Fergenaprido
1 - Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück -- beavis
1 - Vesnoy -- viktor-vaudevillain
1 - The Cocoanuts -- gromit82
1 - Oblomok imperii -- Traveller
1 - Brumes d'automne -- insomnius
1 - La perle -- OldAle1
1 - Dynamite -- Angel Glez
1 - Eternal Love -- rnilsson19
1 - Seven Footprints to Satan -- sol
1 - The Greene Murder Case -- George Eastman (1 ballot, 20 points)

The following voter submitted an unranked ballot:
cayado-coro

From the predecessor poll

On the IMDb Classic Film board, a version of this poll for 1929 was conducted in 2011.
The top 24 films that time around were:

01. Chelovek s kino-apparatom / The Man with a Movie Camera … Dziga Vertov (this time: 1)
02. Die Büchse der Pandora / Pandora’s Box … Georg Wilhelm Pabst (2)
03. Un chien andalou … Luis Bunuel (3)
04. Blackmail … Alfred Hitchcock (9)
05. The Love Parade … Ernst Lubitsch (8)
06. The Skeleton Dance … Walt Disney (27)
07. Lucky Star … Frank Borzage (5)
08. Arsenal … Aleksandr Dovzhenko (15)
09. Hallelujah … King Vidor (31)
10. Tagebuch einer Verlorenen / Diary of a Lost Girl … Georg Wilhelm Pabst (4)
11. Big Business … Leo McCarey (10)
12. Piccadilly … Arnold Bennett (33)
13. Frau im Mond / Woman in the Moon … Fritz Lang (7)
14. A Cottage on Dartmoor … Anthony Asquith (6)
15. The Cocoanuts … Florey & Santley (25)
16. Asphalt … Joe May (15)
17. Queen Kelly … Erich von Stroheim (ineligible now; listed as a 1932 film)
18. Wrong Again … Leo McCarey (no ballots this time)
19. (tie) The Iron Mask … Allan Dwan (2 ballots, 11.5 points)
19. (tie) Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü / White Hell of Pitz Palu … Georg Wilhelm Pabst (34)
21. Spite Marriage … Edward Sedgwick (16)
22. Liberty … Leo McCarey (24)
23. The Broadway Melody … Harry Beaumont (43)
24. Brumes d’automne … Dimitri Kirsanoff (28)

And the awards go to …

Oscars
In this era, the Oscar eligibility year did not correspond to the calendar year. (By “this era,” I mean 1929, although it’s also true for the era that we’re living in now.) The surrounding years, 1928 and 1930, were polled on the IMDb Classic Film board in 2015 and 2012, respectively.

1928-1929:
The Academy did not announce official nominations this year, only the winners. The nominees as currently known were reconstructed by the Academy later.
43. The Broadway Melody (winner)
112. Alibi (Roland West) (1 ballot, 5 points)
119. The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (Charles Reisner) (1 ballot, 3 points)

zz. In Old Arizona (listed as a 1928 film by IMDb; did not place in the top 50 in the predecessor poll conducted in 2015)
zz. The Patriot (listed as a 1928 film by IMDb, but is a lost film)

1929-1930:
8. The Love Parade
96. Disraeli (Alfred E. Green) (2 ballots, 10 points)

zz. All Quiet on the Western Front (winner) (listed as a 1930 film by IMDb; placed 2nd in the predecessor poll conducted in 2012)
zz. The Divorcee (listed as a 1930 film by IMDb; placed 20th in the predecessor poll)
zz. The Big House (listed as a 1930 film by IMDb; placed 24th in the predecessor poll)

Shorts
The following works under 45 minutes long made the main list:

3. Un chien andalou
10. Big Business
18. Regen
24. Liberty
27. The Skeleton Dance
28. Brumes d'automne
28. La perle
40. H2O
43. Perfect Day
51. Montparnasse

Your mileage may vary
The following feature is well-known (over 1,000 votes) and reasonably well-liked (average rating of 7.0 or higher) by IMDb users, but it didn't make a big impression here:

The Iron Mask (over 1100 votes, 2 ballots, 11.5 points)

The next poll will be for 1998, and the one after that will be for 1933.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

The results can be found as a list at:
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/icm+ ... /gromit82/

All films receiving votes can be found at:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls089323159/

Wow, cheers gromit! That was some lightspeed poll-tallying.

Nice to see Vertov nab the top spot, and cool that Arsenal placed so high too. Guess I gotta get along to Finis terrae, sadly missed a screening a few years ago...

Incredible work, Gromit!

And exciting results as well.

Had not expected Finis terrae or Novyy Vavilon to claw their way into the top 10, even if they only made it in thanks to a three-way tie for 10th place.

Also nice to get such a night break from the overabundance of US cinema - granted, that was a given for '29 (don't think I had more than 1 on my top 20).

Man with a Movie Camera and Pandora's Box are excellent winners. I don't quite get how Love Parade and Blackmail managed.

Thanks to the ICM list (again, incredibly fast and great work) I can also instantly see that I have seen 46/57, leaving a full 11 to go. Namely:

29. La perle (short)
30. Applause (Mamoulian) - Musical
36. Where East Is East (Browning)
37. The Kiss (Feyder) - Does this finally have a good version?
38. Dynamite (DeMille) (Talkie)
41. Hjärtats triumf / False Gold (Molander)
44. Perfect Day (short)
50. The Bishop Murder Case (Talkie)
51. Bulldog Drummond (Talkie)
52. Montparnasse (Short)
56. Lady of the Pavements (Griffith) (Talkie)

Wih the exception of Feyder's The Kiss none of these really intruige me, though I used to be a Browning fan, so should squeeze in Where East is East at some point. I might also watch the Molander. The talkies I'll likely skip.

V informative

Thanks

Off the top of my head - LEBOWSKI as a 98 front runner? Any wagers???

I'll offer the winner a choice between my autographed 8 x 10 colour glossy of Vera Hruba Ralston, or a racy early nude study of Eric Blore frolicking on the set of ISLAND OF LOST MEN

St. Gloede wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 8:06 am Incredible work, Gromit!

And exciting results as well.

Had not expected Finis terrae or Novyy Vavilon to claw their way into the top 10, even if they only made it in thanks to a three-way tie for 10th place.

Also nice to get such a night break from the overabundance of US cinema - granted, that was a given for '29 (don't think I had more than 1 on my top 20).

Man with a Movie Camera and Pandora's Box are excellent winners. I don't quite get how Love Parade and Blackmail managed.

Thanks to the ICM list (again, incredibly fast and great work) I can also instantly see that I have seen 46/57, leaving a full 11 to go. Namely:

29. La perle (short)
30. Applause (Mamoulian)
36. Where East Is East (Browning) - Musical
37. The Kiss (Feyder) - Does this finally have a good version?
38. Dynamite (DeMille) (Talkie)
41. Hjärtats triumf / False Gold (Molander)
44. Perfect Day (short)
50. The Bishop Murder Case (Talkie)
51. Bulldog Drummond (Talkie)
52. Montparnasse (Short)
56. Lady of the Pavements (Griffith) (Talkie)

Wih the exception of Feyder's The Kiss none of these really intruige me, though I used to be a Browning fan, so should squeeze in Where East is East at some point. I might also watch the Molander. The talkies I'll likely skip.

You had Dekeukeleire's Histoire de détective on your list, so if it weren't for your (borderline insane) aversion to shorts, I'd certainly recommend La perle, which very much comes out of the same tradition. I remember Applause being pretty original and ahead of it's time as well, though that's one I'd need to see again myself.

Thanks for the results gromit! No real surprises here, and little meaningful change in the 10 years since this was run on the CFB. I think this is a year where there haven't been a lot of recent discoveries or revivals, though I would note that Oblomok imperii which ranked high on my list is a fairly recent restoration and has probably been seen a lot more in the last few years than it had been a decade ago. Highest unseen for me are

17 Chemi bebia
20 Jenseits der Straße - Eine Tragödie des Alltags
21 Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück
21 Vesnoy
31 Laila

Had planned to see 2 or 3 of them but just couldn't get into it. Did re-watch Die Büchse der Pandora and Blackmail though, both of which held up from distant decades-old memories, especially the former.

St. Gloede wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 8:06 am ...
36. Where East Is East (Browning) - Musical
...
With the exception of Feyder's The Kiss none of these really intruige me, though I used to be a Browning fan, so should squeeze in Where East is East at some point. I might also watch the Molander. The talkies I'll likely skip.

Unless my memory has really, really faded, the Browning film is not a musical, but a silent exotic drama with good performances and a somewhat bizarre story, typical of the director's work with Chaney.

Opio wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 11:47 pm

St. Gloede wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 8:06 am ...
36. Where East Is East (Browning) - Musical
...
With the exception of Feyder's The Kiss none of these really intruige me, though I used to be a Browning fan, so should squeeze in Where East is East at some point. I might also watch the Molander. The talkies I'll likely skip.

Unless my memory has really, really faded, the Browning film is not a musical, but a silent exotic drama with good performances and a somewhat bizarre story, typical of the director's work with Chaney.

That slid in the wrong place - meant for Applause.

OldAle1 wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 5:25 pm Thanks for the results gromit! No real surprises here, and little meaningful change in the 10 years since this was run on the CFB. I think this is a year where there haven't been a lot of recent discoveries or revivals, though I would note that Oblomok imperii which ranked high on my list is a fairly recent restoration and has probably been seen a lot more in the last few years than it had been a decade ago. Highest unseen for me are

17 Chemi bebia
20 Jenseits der Straße - Eine Tragödie des Alltags
21 Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück
21 Vesnoy
31 Laila

Had planned to see 2 or 3 of them but just couldn't get into it. Did re-watch Die Büchse der Pandora and Blackmail though, both of which held up from distant decades-old memories, especially the former.

All 5 are really well worth seeing. Vesnoy holds a candle to anything Vertov did (IMO) and My Grandmother is hilarious and incredible. Also, as the title may mislead you to believe the film is about someone's grandmother - the phrase is essentially slang for "bullshit" and is an attack of bureaucracy. Surreal, visually incredible, hectic and really fun.

OldAle1 wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 5:11 pm

St. Gloede wrote: ↑February 22nd, 2021, 8:06 am Incredible work, Gromit!

And exciting results as well.

Had not expected Finis terrae or Novyy Vavilon to claw their way into the top 10, even if they only made it in thanks to a three-way tie for 10th place.

Also nice to get such a night break from the overabundance of US cinema - granted, that was a given for '29 (don't think I had more than 1 on my top 20).

Man with a Movie Camera and Pandora's Box are excellent winners. I don't quite get how Love Parade and Blackmail managed.

Thanks to the ICM list (again, incredibly fast and great work) I can also instantly see that I have seen 46/57, leaving a full 11 to go. Namely:

29. La perle (short)
30. Applause (Mamoulian)
36. Where East Is East (Browning) - Musical
37. The Kiss (Feyder) - Does this finally have a good version?
38. Dynamite (DeMille) (Talkie)
41. Hjärtats triumf / False Gold (Molander)
44. Perfect Day (short)
50. The Bishop Murder Case (Talkie)
51. Bulldog Drummond (Talkie)
52. Montparnasse (Short)
56. Lady of the Pavements (Griffith) (Talkie)

Wih the exception of Feyder's The Kiss none of these really intruige me, though I used to be a Browning fan, so should squeeze in Where East is East at some point. I might also watch the Molander. The talkies I'll likely skip.

You had Dekeukeleire's Histoire de détective on your list, so if it weren't for your (borderline insane) aversion to shorts, I'd certainly recommend La perle, which very much comes out of the same tradition. I remember Applause being pretty original and ahead of it's time as well, though that's one I'd need to see again myself.

I'm not averse to silents if it is a strong recommendation. Will seek it out.

Forgot to say

I was hoping someone would have WHY BRING THAT UP? on their ballot - Mack & Moran vehicle "blackface" comedians .

If anyone has seen it curious as to your source - Thanks in advance

I'm imagining a still of the stars is now too unwoke to post so I won't risk it, but here is leading lady Evelyn Brent, my main interest (Its one of 8-10 surviving early films I have yet to see