Best Biographies by Year
2126
247
1940
William Keighley
James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh
Biography / Drama / War / Comedy
USA
English
2157
255
1940
Lloyd Bacon
Pat O'Brien, Gale Page, Ronald Reagan
Drama / Biography / Sports
USA
English
2254
277
1940
Mark Donskoy
Nikolai Valbert, Stepan Kayukov, Nikolai Dorokhin, Nikolai Plotnikov
Biography / Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2272
283
1940
William Dieterle
Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp, Maria Ouspenskaya
Biography / Drama
USA
English
2342
301
1940
John Cromwell
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard, Minor Watson
Biography / Drama / History
USA
English
2630
401
1940
Michael Curtiz
Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale
Action / Adventure / Biography / Drama / Romance / Western / History
USA
English
2663
413
1940
Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas
Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2725
440
1940
Irving Cummings
Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold, Warren William
Biography / Drama / History / Musical
USA
English
NR
-
1940
Clarence Brown
Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart
Biography / Drama / Period Film
USA
English
574
36
1939
John Ford
Henry Fonda, Alice Brady
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
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1809
183
1939
Henry King, Otto Brower
Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn
Adventure / Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
2248
274
1939
Mark Donskoy
Aleksei Lyarsky, Irina Zarubina, Varvara Massalitinova, Ye. Lilina
Biography / Drama / Period Film
Soviet Union
Russian
2328
296
1939
Henry King, Irving Cummings
Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull
Western / Biography
USA
English
2456
341
1939
William Dieterle
Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Donald Crisp
Biography / Drama / Romance / History
USA
English
2591
390
1939
Michael Curtiz
Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale
Biography / Drama / Romance / History / Period Film
USA
English
2630
401
1939
Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Yuliya Solntseva
Yevgeni Samojlov, Ivan Skuratov, Luka Lyashenko, Nina Nikitina
Drama / War / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
2630
401
1939
Irving Cummings
Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart
Biography / Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2647
408
1939
Hans Steinhoff
Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Viktoria von Ballasko
Drama / Biography
Germany
German
2725
440
1939
H.C. Potter
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, Walter Brennan, Lew Fields
Biography / Musical / Romance / War
USA
English
510
27
1938
Sergei M. Eisenstein, Dmitri Vasilyev
Nikolai Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov
War / Action / Drama / History / Epic / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
1488
139
1938
Henry King
Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman
Musical / Drama / Romance / Biography
USA
English
1733
170
1938
W.S. Van Dyke
Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Robert Morley, Anita Louise
Biography / Drama / Romance / History / Epic
USA
English
1805
182
1938
Mark Donskoy
Aleksei Lyarsky, Varvara Massalitinova, Mikhail Troyanovsky
Biography / Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2326
295
1938
Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming, Josef von Sternberg
Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, Miliza Korjus, Hugh Herbert, Lionel Atwill
Biography / Drama / Musical
USA
English
2630
401
1938
Vladimir Petrov
Nikolai Simonov, Alla Tarasova, Nikolai Cherkasov, Irina Zarubina, Mikhail Zharov
Biography / Drama / History / War / Epic
Soviet Union
Russian
2630
401
1938
Allan Dwan
Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Annabella, J. Edward Bromberg, Joseph Schildkraut
Drama / History / Romance / Adventure / Biography
USA
English
2725
440
1938
unknown
Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Short / Documentary / Biography / Music
UK
English
331
14
1937
William Dieterle
Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard
Drama / Biography
USA
English
2337
298
1937
Vladimir Petrov
Nikolai Simonov, Mikhail Zharov
War / Drama / History / Epic / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
2419
327
1937
Carmine Gallone
Annibale Ninchi, Camillo Pilotto, Fosco Giachetti, Francesca Braggi
Drama / Epic / History / Biography
Italy
Italian
2437
333
1937
Herbert Wilcox
Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook, Walter Rilla, H.B. Warner, Mary Morris
Drama / History / Romance / Biography
UK
English
2663
413
1937
C. Allen Alexander
George Washington Carver
Documentary / Biography / History
USA
English (Silent)
1171
92
1936
William Dieterle
Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson
Drama / Biography / Period Film
USA
English
1340
116
1936
Alexander Korda
Charles Laughton, Gertrude Lawrence, Elsa Lanchester
Drama / Period Film / Biography
UK
English
1351
118
1936
Robert Z. Leonard
William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer
Musical / Biography / Drama
USA
English
1448
133
1936
Anatole Litvak
Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux,
Romance / Drama / History / Period Film / Biography
France
French
1561
146
1936
John Ford
Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Claude Gillingwater
Drama / Biography
USA
English
2591
390
1936
Abel Gance
Harry Baur, Annie Ducaux, Jany Holt, Andre Nox, Jane Marken, Lucas Gridoux
Biography / Drama / Music / Period Film / Romance
France
French
2591
390
1936
John Ford, Leslie Goodwins
Katharine Hepburn, Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Douglas Walton
Biography / Drama / History
USA
English
2625
400
1936
Vishnupant Govind Damle, Sheikh Fattelal
Vishnupant Pagnis, Gauri, B. Nandrekar, Shankar Kulkarni
Drama / Biography / Religion
India
Hindi
2630
401
1936
Cecil B. DeMille
Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Helen Burgess
Biography / War / Western / Epic
USA
English
2647
408
1936
Robert Stevenson
Cedric Hardwicke, Nova Pilbeam, John Mills, Felix Aylmer
Drama / History / Biography
UK
English
2663
413
1936
Pare Lorentz
Thomas Chalmers
Documentary / Short / Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
2699
423
1936
Luis Trenker
Luis Trenker, Viktoria Von Ballasko, Elise Aulinger
Western / History / Drama / Biography
Germany
German
2647
408
1935
Julien Duvivier
Jean Gabin, Edwige Feuillère, Juliette Verneuil, Vanah Yami
Adventure / Drama / Religion / Epic / Biography
France
French
2647
408
1935
Martin Fric
Palo Bielik, Zlata Hajdúková, Andrej Bagar
Adventure / Romance / Biography
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2699
423
1935
Carmine Gallone
Mártha Eggerth, Phillips Holmes, Donald Calthrop
Biography / Drama / Musical
Italy
Italian
859
64
1934
Josef von Sternberg
Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge
Drama / History / Biography / Period Film
USA
English
1175
94
1934
Jack Conway, Howard Hawks, William A. Wellman
Wallace Beery, Fay Wray
Western / Action / Biography
USA
English
1518
144
1934
Cecil B. DeMille
Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Joseph Schildkraut, Ian Keith
Drama / Epic / History / Romance / Biography
USA
English
1769
175
1934
Alfred L. Werker
George Arliss, Boris Karloff, Loretta Young, Robert Young
Drama / Romance / Biography
USA
English
2388
316
1934
Sidney Franklin
Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan
Drama / Romance / Biography / Period Film
USA
English
2630
401
1934
Dziga Vertov
V.I. Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Joseph Stalin, Dolores Ibárruri
Documentary / History / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
2647
408
1934
Paul Czinner
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Elisabeth Bergner, Flora Robson
Drama / History / Biography / Period Film
UK
English
2647
408
1934
Georgi Vasilyev, Sergei Vasilyev
Boris Babochkin, Leonid Kmit, Varvara Myasnikova
Drama / War / Biography
Soviet Union
Russian
2702
426
1934
Alexander Korda
Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon, Binnie Barnes, Joan Gardner
Biography / Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK
English
607
37
1933
Rouben Mamoulian
Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith
Drama / Romance / History / Period Film / Biography
USA
English
740
48
1933
Alexander Korda
Charles Laughton, Robert Donat
Drama / History / Biography / Epic
UK
English
2497
350
1933
Lev Kuleshov
Konstantin Khokhlov, Ivan Novoseltsev, Vasili Kovrigin, Andrei Fajt
Drama / Biography / Experimental
Soviet Union
Russian
2725
440
1933
Victor Saville
Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall, Conrad Veidt, Edmund Gwenn, Gerald du Maurier
Biography / War / Spy
UK
English
2607
395
1931
W.S. Van Dyke
Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, Duncan Renaldo, Mutia Omoolu
Adventure / Action / Biography / Drama
USA
English
2637
403
1931
F.W. Kraemer, Milton Rosmer
Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Carson, George Merritt, Sam Livesey, Beatrix Thompson
Drama / History / Period Film / Biography
UK
English
2432
331
1930
D.W. Griffith
Walter Huston, Una Merkel, William L. Thorne, Lucille La Verne, Helen Freeman
Biography / Drama / War / History
USA
English
2630
401
1930
King Vidor
Johnny Mack Brown, Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Karl Dane, Wyndham Standing
History / Western / Biography
USA
English
2725
440
1930
H.P. Carver
Chief Yellow Robe, Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, Chief Akawanush, Spotted Elk
Drama / Action / History / Biography / Documentary
USA
English
2727
442
1930
unknown
Richard E. Byrd, Clair D. Alexander, Bernt Balchen, George H. Black
Documentary / Adventure / Biography / History
USA
English
1415
128
1929
Alfred E. Green
George Arliss, Doris Lloyd, David Torrence
Drama / Biography
USA
English
2630
401
1929
Frank Lloyd
Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner, Ian Keith, Marie Dressler
Drama / History / Biography / Romance / Epic
USA
English (Semi-Silent)
66
5
1928
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Drama / History / Biography / Religion
France
French (Silent)
2630
401
1928
Alan Crosland
Dolores Costello, Conrad Nagel, John Miljan, Marc McDermott, Pasquale Amato
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English (Semi-Silent)
218
8
1927
Abel Gance
Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmond Van Daële
Drama / War / Epic / History / Biography
Sweden / Italy / France / Czechoslovakia / Germany
French (Silent)
2630
401
1927
Alexandre Volkoff
Ivan Mozzhukhin, Suzanne Bianchetti, Diana Karenne, Jenny Jugo, Rina De Liguoro
Biography / Drama / Period Film
France
French (Silent)
2461
344
1924
Phil Rosen
George A. Billings, Danny Hoy, Ruth Clifford, Nell Craig, Irene Hunt
Drama / Biography / History
USA
English (Silent)
2725
440
1924
Herbert G. Ponting
Robert Falcon Scott, Herbert G. Ponting
Documentary / Biography
UK
English (Silent)
2630
401
1923
Clifford Smith
William S. Hart, Ethel Grey Terry, Kathleen O'Connor, Jim Farley, Jack Gardner
History / Western / Biography
USA
English (Silent)
635
38
1922
Robert J. Flaherty
Nanook, Nyla, Cunayou, Allee, Allegoo
Documentary / Drama / Biography
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1920
Ernst Lubitsch
Henny Porten, Emil Jannings, Paul Hartmann, Ludwig Hartau, Aud Egede Nissen
Drama / Biography / History / Period Film
Germany
German (Silent)
2725
440
1920
Lawrence C. Windom
Babe Ruth, Ruth Taylor, William Sheer, Margaret Seddon, Frances Victory
Biography / Comedy / Drama / Sports
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1919
Ernst Lubitsch
Pola Negri,Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, Eduard von Winterstein
Drama / History / Biography / Period Film
Germany
German (Silent)
2630
401
1917
Fred Paul
Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Irene Vanbrugh, Henry S. Irving, Gerald du Maurier
Drama / Romance / Biography
UK
English (Silent)
NR
-
1917
J. Gordon Edwards
Theda Bara, Fritz Leiber, Thurston Hall, Alan Roscoe, Herschel Mayall
Biography / Drama / History / Epic
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1916
Cecil B. DeMille
Geraldine Farrar, Raymond Hatton, Hobart Bosworth, Theodore Roberts, Wallace Reid
Adventure / Drama / History / Mystery / War / Biography / Epic
USA
English (Silent)
2725
440
1915
Charles Brabin
Henry B. Walthall, Warda Howard, Ernest Maupain, Eleanor Thompson, Marian Skinner
Biography / Drama / Romance
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1914
Christy Cabanne
Irene Hunt, W.H. Lawrence, Walter Long, Teddy Sampson, Pancho Villa, Raoul Walsh
Action / Biography / Drama / War
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1912
Henri Desfontaines, Louis Mercanton
Sarah Bernhardt, Lou Tellegen, Max Maxudian, Jean Angelo, Georges Charmeroy
Biography / Drama / Romance / History
France
French (Silent)
2766
455
1912
James Keane, André Calmettes
Robert Gemp, Frederick Warde, Albert Gardner, James Keane, George Moss
Drama / History / Biography / Epic
France / USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1911
William G.B. Barker
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Arthur Bourchier, Violet Vanbrugh, Laura Cowie
Drama / History / Biography
UK
English (Silent)
2630
401
1909
J. Stuart Blackton
Pat Hartigan, Julia Arthur, William Humphrey, Charles Kent, Edith Storey
Biography / Drama / Family
USA
English (Silent)
2630
401
1906
Charles Tait
Elizabeth Tait, John Tait, Bella Cola, Vera Linden, Frank Mills, Ollie Wilson
Biography / Drama
Australia
English (Silent)
