1. Cool Couples

One of the great reasons to watch 1930s movies is that there are so many cool couples in them. Comedy was a particularly great genre for this era. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas in Ninotchka, and Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in It Happened One Night are just some of the fabulous pairings in 1930's cinema.

2. Screwball Comedies

Screwball comedies were very popular in the 30s and 40s, and came about as a cinematic reaction to the Depression. They often feature a battle of the sexes, in which the women give as good as they get, and plenty of sparkling, witty dialogue. Check out the movies mentioned above, but there are also plenty more for you to enjoy. The Thirties also offered the Marx Brothers comedies, gangster movies and the first (and in many cases, best) versions of movies like King Kong and Les Miserables.

3. Black & White

Black & white movies have a marvelous visual quality about them. The lighting is wonderful and the faces of the actresses look exquisite. Think of how beautiful Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow looked on screen. If you're into photography, you could learn a lot from these movies, with the way they use light to illuminate faces.

4. Fabulous Fashions

Fans of vintage clothing and style will find a lot to admire in 1930s movies. The clothes are of fabulous quality and hang beautifully. If you like making your own clothes, use the clothes worn in these movies as inspiration for your own designs. But it's not just the fashions that are on display. Take a look at the furniture as well, and the wonderful graphic design in the titles.

5. Marvelous Makeup

Vintage-inspired makeup looks are very popular, with countless tutorials showing you how to get the look using modern cosmetics. Pencil-thin brows and strong lips were popular. Wisely, we don't want to pluck our brows so thinly these days, so use this look as inspiration. Try a defined brow and lots of mascara to get that 30's look instead.

6. Super Scripts

If only writers today would come up with quality scripts like Bringing up Baby, The Front Page and All Quiet on the Western Front. The Thirties were also the time of classic horror movies like Frankenstein and Dracula. It really was a 'Golden Age' for cinema, when studios embraced the sound era and filled the screen with clever, innovative, entertaining movies.

7. Endlessly Entertaining

1930's movies have something for every taste. Fans of comedies are extremely well catered for, and there are also musicals, tragedies and historical movies. The Marx Brothers made their best comedies, Hitchcock shot his early talkies, and actors like James Stewart and Cary Grant began their long careers. It would take years to watch all the movies worth seeing!

Why not discover 1930's movies? You'll be amazed at how many amazing movies you've never seen. Don't be put off by the fact they're mostly in black & white; they're really worth watching. What is your favorite era for movies?