<!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->

The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Events

  • January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million.
  • March 14: Alam Ara, the first Indian-made sound film, premieres at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay.
  • June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, Ships of Hate.
  • July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada.
  • November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke. at a ceremony held at The Ambassador Hotel

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 2

|Trader Horn

| MGM

| $1,642,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 3

|Palmy Days

| United Artists

| $1,601,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 4

|The Man Who Came Back

|rowspan="2"|Fox Film

| $1,400,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 5

| Merely Mary Ann

| $1,300,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 6

|Arrowsmith<br>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

| United Artists<br>Paramount

| $1,250,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 7

|A Connecticut Yankee

| Fox Film

| $1,200,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 8

|Cimarron

| RKO

| $1,122,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 9

|Bad Girl

| Fox Film

| $1,100,000

|-

! style="text-align:center;"| 10

|Possessed

| MGM

| $1,030,000

{|class="wikitable"

|-

!Actor

|-

|George Arliss<br>

Ronald Colman

|-

|Wallace Beery

|-

|Maurice Chevalier

|-

|Clark Gable

|-

|Edward G. Robinson

|-

|Will Rogers

|}

The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked the same.

  • July 24 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2018)
  • July 27 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor, musician and comedian (died 2018)
  • July 28 – Darryl Hickman, American actor, voice artist, screenwriter and television executive (died 2024)
  • August 1 - Pat Heywood, Scottish actress (died 2024)
  • August 19
  • Elena Cotta, Italian actress
  • Marianne Koch, German actress
  • August 23 – Barbara Eden, American actress
  • August 12 – William Goldman, American screenwriter and novelist (died 2018)
  • August 31 – Noble Willingham, American actor (died 2004)
  • September 4 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer and dancer (died 2024)
  • September 9
  • Zoltán Latinovits, Hungarian actor (died 1976)
  • Margaret Tyzack, English actress (died 2011)
  • September 10 – Philip Baker Hall, American actor (died 2022)
  • September 12
  • Ian Holm, English actor (died 2020)
  • Bill McKinney, American character actor (died 2011)
  • Silvia Pinal, Mexican actress (died 2024)
  • September 13 – Barbara Bain, American actress
  • September 17 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (died 2005)
  • September 20
  • Peter Palmer, American actor (died 2021)
  • Ned Tanen, American producer (died 2009)
  • September 21 – Larry Hagman, American actor and director (died 2012)
  • September 29
  • Eddie Barth, American actor (died 2010)
  • Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress and sex symbol (died 2015)
  • September 30 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
  • October 10 – Román Chalbaud, Venezuelan director (died 2023)
  • October 12 - Yvonne Gilan, Scottish actress (died 2018)
  • October 19 - Rubens de Falco, Brazilian actor (died 2008)
  • October 21 – Vivian Pickles, English actress
  • October 25 - Bob Gurr, American amusement ride designer and Imagineer
  • October 30 - Ann Roth, American costume designer and actress
  • November 3 – Monica Vitti, Italian actress (died 2022)
  • November 5 - Gil Hill, American actor (died 2016)
  • November 6 – Mike Nichols, German-born director (died 2014)
  • November 10 – Don Henderson, English actor (died 1997)
  • November 12 – Mary Louise Wilson, American actress, singer and comedian
  • November 18 - Brad Sullivan, American character actor (died 2008)
  • November 30 – Jack Ging, American actor (died 2022)
  • December 2 – Nadja Regin, Serbian actress (died 2019)
  • December 3 - Jaye P. Morgan, retired American singer, actress and game show panellist
  • December 9
  • Paddi Edwards, British-American actress (died 1999)
  • William Reynolds, American actor (died 2022)
  • December 11
  • Anne Heywood, British actress (died 2023)
  • Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress
  • December 20 - Mala Powers, American actress (died 2007)
  • December 23 – Ronnie Schell, American actor and stand-up comedian
  • December 24 - Robert Ridgely, American actor (died 1997)
  • December 28 – Martin Milner. American actor (died 2015)

Deaths

  • February 18 - Louis Wolheim, American silent film/early sound film actor (born 1880)
  • March 11 – F. W. Murnau, German director (born 1888)
  • March 16 - James Neill, American silent film actor
  • March 24
  • Charles Clary, silent film actor (born 1873)
  • Robert Edeson, stage and screen actor (born 1868)
  • April 9 - Thomas Santschi, American screen actor (born 1880)
  • June 7 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor (born 1880)
  • August 14 – Janie Marèse, French actress (born 1908)
  • September 13 – Lawrence D'Orsay, English actor (born 1853)
  • October 18 - Thomas Edison, inventor (born 1847)
  • November 27 – Lya De Putti, Hungarian actress (born 1899)
  • December 23 – Tyrone Power, Sr., stage and film veteran, father of movie star Tyrone Power (born 1869)

Film debuts

References

;Citations

;Bibliography

  • List of 1931 films at IMDb
  • List of 1931 deaths at IMDb
  • List of 1931 births at IMDb