1930 in film

The top ten 1930 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• February 23: Silent screen legend Mabel Normand dies at the age of 37 in Monrovia, California after a lengthy battle with tuberculosis.
• March 10: Release of Goodbye Argentina (Adiós Argentina), the first Argentine film with a (musical) soundtrack. Ada Cornaro has her first starring role and Libertad Lamarque makes her film debut.
• April 6: William Fox sells his interest in Fox Film for $18 million and Harley L. Clarke becomes president.[7][8]
• May 27: Howard Hughes' epic film Hell's Angels premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and features Jean Harlow in her first major role as well as some impressive aerial sequences. Although not a financial success upon its release due to its bloated budget, the film is acclaimed by critics and launches Harlow as one of the 1930s' biggest stars.
• September 3: The Hollywood Reporter is first published.
• September 19: The Love Parade receives a record six Academy Award nominations.
• November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm and a very early form of 70mm film. It is the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era, costing over $2 million. The film is praised for its aesthetic quality and realism that will not become commonplace until many decades later. However, due to the new film format and the film's release during the Great Depression, the film will go on to become a financial failure at the box office.

• Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front – Universal Pictures
• Best Director: Lewis Milestone – All Quiet on the Western Front
• Best Actor: George Arliss – Disraeli
• Best Actress: Norma Shearer – The Divorcee

United States unless stated

• Across the World with Mr & Mrs Martin Johnson
• Hunting Tigers in India
• The Indians Are Coming
• The Jade Box
• The Lightning Express
• The Lone Defender, starring Rin Tin Tin
• Terry of the Times
• The Voice from the Sky

• Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
  • Another Fine Mess (28 min)
  • Night Owls (21 min)
  • Hog Wild (19 min)
  • Laughing Gravy (21 min)
  • Brats (21 min)
  • Below Zero (20 min)
• Crying for the Carolines (5 min)

• Felix the Cat (1919-1936)
  • April Maze (7 min)
  • Skulls and Sculls
  • Hootchy Cootchy Parlais Vous
• Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1933)
• Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
• Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
  • Just Mickey (7 min)
  • The Barnyard Concert (6 min)
  • The Cactus Kid
  • The Fire Fighters
  • The Shindig
  • The Chain Gang
  • The Gorilla Mystery
  • The Picnic
  • Pioneer Days
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
• Silly Symphonies
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • The Cannibal Capers
  • Night
  • Frolicking Fish
  • Arctic Antics
  • Midnight in a Toyshop
  • Monkey Melodies
  • Winter
  • Playful Pan
• Screen Songs (1929–1938)
  • Prisoner's Song (8 min)
• Talkartoons (1929–1932)
  • Dizzy Dishes (first Betty Boop cartoon)
  • Barnacle Bill (second Betty Boop cartoon)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
  • Sinkin' in the Bathtub
  • Congo Jazz
  • Hold Anything
  • The Booze Hangs High
  • Box Car Blues
• Flip the Frog (1930–1933)
  • The Village Barber (7 min)
  • Puddle Pranks (7 min)
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (8 min)
  • Little Orphan Willie
  • Flying Fists (7 min)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Toby the Pup (1930–1931)
  • The Museum
  • Toby the Miner
  • Toby the Fiddler
  • Toby the Showman
  • The Bug House
• "Beary Bear" (1930–1949)
  • "Experiment Gone Wrong"
  • "Hickory's Hijinks"
  • "Piano Problems"
  • "Oh Deer!"
  • "Bushy the Lion"
  • "Trouble in Paris"

• January 3 – Robert Loggia, American actor (died 2015)
• January 10 – Roy E. Disney, American film executive (died 2009)
• January 11 – Rod Taylor, Australian actor (died 2015)
• January 13 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
• January 19 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
• January 29 – Benjamin Tatar, American actor (died 2012)
• January 30 – Gene Hackman, American actor
• February 6 – Allan King, Canadian director (died 2009)
• February 10 – Robert Wagner, American actor
• February 16 – Ricou Browning, American film director, actor, cinematographer and stuntman
• February 20 – Patricia Smith (actress), American actress (died 2011)
• February 27 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
• March 6 – Allison Hayes, American actress (died 1977)
• March 16 – Lotte Ledl, Austrian actress
• March 24 – Steve McQueen, American actor (died 1980)
• March 24 30 – Estella Blain, French actress (died 1982)
• April 1 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (died 2015)
• April 7 – Andrew Sachs, German-born British actor and writer (died 2016)
• April 13 – Roger Browne, American actor
• April 14 – Bradford Dillman, American actor (died 2018)
• April 18 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor
• April 21 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (died 1989)
• April 24 – Richard Donner, American director and producer
• April 25 – Paul Mazursky, American director and actor (died 2014)
• April 28 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (died 1983)
• May 9 – Joan Sims, English actress (died 2001)
• May 11 – Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman (died 2007)
• May 31 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director and producer
• June 1 – Edward Woodward, English actor and singer (died 2009)
• June 15 – Odile Versois, French actress (died 1980)
• June 19
  • Gena Rowlands, American actress
  • Diana Sowle, American actress (died 2018)
• June 29 – Ariadna Welter, Mexican actress (died 1998)
• July 10 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (died 2004)
• July 18 – Burt Kwouk, British-Chinese actor (died 2016)
• August 12 – Peter Weck, Austrian film director and actor
• August 14 – Liz Fraser, English actress (died 2018)
• August 25 – Sir Sean Connery, Scottish-born actor (died 2020)
• September 16 – Anne Francis, American actress (died 2011)
• September 21 – Dawn Addams, English actress (died 1985)
• October 1 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (died 2002)
• October 5 – Yuriy Yakovlev, Bulgarian actor (died 2002)
• October 23 – Gérard Blain, French actor and director (died 2000)
• October 24 – Jack Angel, American voice actor and former radio personality
• December 3 – Jean-Luc Godard, French director
• December 9 – Francesco Maselli, Italian director
• December 11 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor
• December 17 – Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor

• January 31 – Dorothy Seastrom, American actress (born 1903)
• February 23 – Mabel Normand, American actress (born 1892)
• July 7 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British author and creator of Sherlock Holmes (born 1859)
• August 26 – Lon Chaney, American actor (born 1883)
• September 14 – Tommy Mintz, American actor, assistant director (born 1906)
• September 15 – Milton Sills, American actor (born 1882)
• November 8 – Clare Eames, American actress (born 1894)
• December 15 – Diane Ellis, American actress (born 1909)

• Pat O'Brien – Compliments of the Season
• James Cagney – Sinners' Holiday
• John Carradine – Bright Lights
• Buster Crabbe – Good News
• Bing Crosby – King of Jazz
• Frances Dee – Playboy of Paris
• Irene Dunne – Leathernecking
• Jimmy Durante – Roadhouse Nights
• Rex Harrison – The Great Game
• Miriam Hopkins – Fast and Loose
• Ruby Keeler – Show Girl in Hollywood
• Hedy Lamarr – Money on the Street
• Ethel Merman – Her Future
• Laurence Olivier – The Temporary Widow
• Eleanor Powell – Queen High
• Penny Singleton – Good News
• Maureen O'Sullivan – So This Is London
• Spencer Tracy – The Strong Arm