Depression Viewing

"Uncertain economic times" is putting it mildly. "The fundamentals of our economy are strong" is nearly laughable. I'm no doomsayer, but if we are really heading into something akin to the Great Depression, it can't hurt to know how it was portrayed in popular film the first time around, right? Maybe there someone will have a good 1930s movie on their hamsterwheel-powered ipod and I can watch it over their shoulder while we are both waiting in the breadline.

With that in mind, I posted to Mick LaSalle's blog as I do from time to time, and got a lot of great responses, from movies that dealt directly with the depression, to those that were mostly escapist entertainment at the time, and lots in between. I've only seen a handful of these, so I'm linking to their IMDB pages for reference. Thanks to all the regulars of that blog for the ideas.

If you have additions to the list, please post in the comments and I will update the list. I'd especially love to include more films from the early years of the great depression. Anyway, on to the list:

1931 The Champ imdb
1932 Shanghai Express imdb
1932 I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang imdb
1933 Lady for a Day imdb
1933 Golddiggers of 1933 imdb
1933 Duck Soup imdb
1933 Hallelujah I'm a Bum imdb
1934 It Happened One Night imdb
1934 The Thin Man imdb
1934 Stand Up and Cheer imdb
1935 The Bride of Frankenstein imdb
1935 David Copperfield imdb
1935 Les Miserables imdb
1936 My Man Godfrey imdb
1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town imdb
1937 Big City imdb
1937 Dead End imdb
1938 Boy's Town imdb
1938 You Can't Take It With You imdb
1939 Gone With the Wind imdb
1939 Of Mice and Men imdb
1940 The Grapes of Wrath imdb
1941 Sullivan's Travels imdb
various films by the Three Stooges, Boris Karloff, Shirley Temple