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Overview of the events of 1921 in film
This article is about films in the year 1921. For the Indian film about the Mappila Uprising, see
1921 (1988 film). For the Indian horror film, see
1921 (2018 film). For the Chinese film about the Chinese Communist Party, see
1921 (2021 film).
Overview of the events of 1921 in film
This is an overview of 1921 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top nine films released in 1921 by U.S. gross are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1921
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Metro
$4,500,000
[1]
2
The Kid
First National
$2,500,000
[1]
3
(tie)
The Three Musketeers
The Sheik
United Artists
Paramount
$1,500,000
[1]
5
The Affairs of Anatol
Paramount
$1,191,789
[2]
6
Fool's Paradise
$906,937
[2]
7
Forbidden Fruit
$848,121
[2]
8
School Days
Warner Bros.
$546,000
[3]
9
Why Girls Leave Home
$410,000
[3]
Events
January 21 – The
silent
comedy drama
The Kid , written by, produced by, directed by and starring
Charlie Chaplin (in his
Tramp character) – his first full-length film as a director – and featuring
Jackie Coogan , is released in the United States. It is the year's second-highest-grossing film.
March 6 – The silent
epic
war film
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , adapted for the screen by
June Mathis , is released in the United States. It is the year's highest-grossing film (and the sixth-best-grossing silent film of all time), propels
Rudolph Valentino to stardom and inspires a
tango craze and a fashion for
gaucho pants.
August 29 – Broadway's first $1 million theatre,
Loew's State opens.
September 5 – Popular comedian
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle attends a party at the
St. Francis Hotel , San Francisco, during which actress
Virginia Rappe is fatally injured; although he is eventually acquitted of rape and manslaughter, the scandal derails his career.
October 21 –
George Melford 's silent film
The Sheik , which enhances leading actor
Rudolph Valentino 's international reputation as a
Latin lover , is premiered in Los Angeles. Within the first year of its release, it exceeds $1 million in ticket sales.
October 26 – The
Chicago Theatre , which will be the oldest surviving French-style
Baroque Revival grand movie palace, opens.
The
experimental short
documentary film
Manhatta is shot by painter
Charles Sheeler and photographer
Paul Strand in New York City.
Notable films released in 1921
United States unless stated.
A
The Ace of Hearts , directed by
Wallace Worsley , starring
Lon Chaney and
Leatrice Joy
Action (lost), directed by
John Ford , starring
Hoot Gibson
The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick (lost), directed by
Thomas Bentley , starring
Frederick Volpe – (
GB )
The Adventures of Tarzan , 15-part serial directed by
Robert F. Hill and
Scott Sidney , starring
Elmo Lincoln
The Affairs of Anatol , directed by
Cecil B. DeMille , starring
Wallace Reid and
Gloria Swanson
After Midnight , directed by
Ralph Ince
After Your Own Heart , directed by
George Marshall , starring
Tom Mix
All Soul's Eve (lost), directed by
Chester M. Franklin , starring
Mary Miles Minter and
Jack Holt , based on the 1920 stage play by
Anne Crawford Flexner
[4]
Among Those Present , directed by
Fred C. Newmeyer , starring
Harold Lloyd
L'Atlantide , directed by
Jacques Feyder , based on the 1919
novel by
Pierre Benoit
[5] – (
France )
B
Die Bergkatze (The Wild Cat) , directed by
Ernst Lubitsch , starring
Pola Negri and
Paul Heidemann – (
Germany )
The Bigamist , starring and directed by
Guy Newall with
Ivy Duke – (
GB )
The Blot , directed by
Lois Weber
The Boat , directed by
Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring
Buster Keaton
The Bonnie Brier Bush (lost), starring and directed by
Donald Crisp – (
GB )
Brewster's Millions (lost), directed by
Joseph Henabery , starring
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Brownie's Little Venus , directed by
Fred Fishback , starring
Baby Peggy
Buried Treasure , directed by
George D. Baker , starring
Marion Davies and
Norman Kerry
C
D
Desire (Sehnsucht) (lost), directed by
F. W. Murnau , starring
Conrad Veidt – (
Germany )
Destiny (Der müde Tod) , directed by
Fritz Lang , starring
Lil Dagover and
Rudolf Klein-Rogge – (
Germany )
The Devil , directed by
James Young , starring
George Arliss , based on the 1908
stage play by
Ferenc Molnár
[6]
Disraeli (lost), directed by
Henry Kolker , starring
George Arliss
The Dollar-a-Year Man (lost), directed by
James Cruze , starring
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
[7]
E
F
G
H
Hail the Woman , directed by
John Griffith Wray , starring
Florence Vidor
The Haunted Castle (Schloß Vogelöd) , directed by
F. W. Murnau , based on the novel by Rudolf Stratz – (
Germany )
The Haunted House , directed by
Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring
Buster Keaton
The High Sign , directed by
Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring
Buster Keaton
His Brother's Keeper (lost), directed by
Wilfrid North
[8]
L'Homme qui vendit son âme au diable (The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil) , directed by
Pierre Caron – (
France )
The Hound of the Baskervilles , directed by
Maurice Elvey , starring
Eille Norwood
[9]
[8] – (
GB )
Humor Risk (unreleased), directed by
Dick Smith , starring the
Marx Brothers
I
J
K
L
Land of My Fathers directed by
Fred Rains , starring
John Stuart – (
GB )
Leaves from Satan's Book (Blade af Satans Bog) , directed by
Carl Theodor Dreyer – (
Denmark )
Little Lord Fauntleroy , directed by
Alfred E. Green and
Jack Pickford , starring
Mary Pickford
The Lost Shadow (Der Verlorene Schatten) (lost), directed by
Rochus Gliese , starring
Paul Wegener
[11] – (
Germany )
The Lotus Eater (lost), directed by
Marshall Neilan , starring
John Barrymore and
Colleen Moore
The Love Light , directed by
Frances Marion , starring
Mary Pickford
Lucky Carson (lost), directed by
Wilfrid North , starring
Earle Williams
The Lucky Dog , directed by
Jess Robbins , starring
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy
M
Mathias Sandorf , directed by
Henri Fescourt , starring
Romuald Joubé – (
France )
The Mechanical Man (L'uomo meccanico) (lost), starring and directed by
André Deed – (
Italy )
A Message From Mars , directed by
Maxwell Karger , starring
Bert Lytell
A Midnight Bell (lost), starring and directed by
Charles Ray , based on the 1889
stage play by
Charles H. Hoyt
[11]
[5]
Miss Lulu Bett , directed by
William C. deMille , starring
Lois Wilson and
Milton Sills
Il mostro di Frankenstein (The Monster of Frankenstein) (lost), directed by
Eugenio Testa
[12] – (
Italy )
N
O
P
The Painting of Osvaldo Mars (Il quadro di Osvaldo Mars) , directed by
Guido Brignone , starring
Mercedes Brignone – (
Italy )
Pan Twardowski , directed by
Wiktor Biegański
[13] – (
Poland )
The Passion Flower , directed by
Herbert Brenon , starring
Norma Talmadge
Peck's Bad Boy , directed by
Sam Wood , starring
Jackie Coogan
The Phantom Carriage (aka Korkarlen / The Wagoner ), directed by Victor Sjostrom, starring Sjostrom, Hilda Borgstrom and Tore Svennberg, based on the 1912 novel
Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! by Selma Lagerlof; this film influenced the later works of Ingmar Bergman
[14] – (
Sweden )
The Playhouse , directed by
Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring
Buster Keaton
Q
S
A Sailor-Made Man , directed by
Fred C. Newmeyer , starring
Harold Lloyd
School Days , directed by
William Nigh , starring
Wesley Barry
Sentimental Tommy (lost), directed by
John S. Robertson , starring
Gareth Hughes
Seven Years Bad Luck , a
Max Linder film
The Sheik , directed by
George Melford , starring
Agnes Ayres and
Rudolph Valentino
The Silver Lining , directed by
Roland West , starring
Jewel Carmen
The Sky Pilot , directed by
King Vidor , starring
Colleen Moore
Soul of the Cypress , directed by
Dudley Murphy
[15]
Squibs , directed by
George Pearson , starring
Betty Balfour – (
GB )
Sybil (lost), directed by
Jack Denton , starring
Evelyn Brent – (
GB )
T
W
Whispering Shadows , directed by
Émile Chautard
White and Unmarried (lost), directed by
Tom Forman , starring
Thomas Meighan
Why Girls Leave Home (lost), directed by
William Nigh , starring
Anna Q. Nilsson
The Witching Hour , directed by
William Desmond Taylor , starring
Elliott Dexter , adapted from the 1907 stage play by
Augustus Thomas
[16]
[17]
Woman's Place , directed by
Victor Fleming , starring
Constance Talmadge
The Wonderful Thing , directed by
Herbert Brenon , starring
Norma Talmadge and
Harrison Ford
Comedy film series
Animated short film series
Births
January 3 –
John Russell , actor (died 1991)
January 10 -
George Robotham , American stuntman and actor (died 2007)
January 11 -
Kathleen Byron , English actress (died 2009)
January 17 -
Herb Ellis , American character actor (died 2018)
January 26 –
Elisabeth Kirkby , British-born Australian actress, producer and director
January 27 –
Donna Reed , actress (died 1986)
January 31
February 1 –
Peter Sallis , actor (died 2017)
February 8 –
Lana Turner , actress (died 1995)
February 16 –
Vera-Ellen , actress, dancer (died 1981)
February 19 –
Ann Savage , actress (died
2008 )
February 22 –
Giulietta Masina , actress (died 1994)
February 23 - Jack Rader, American actor
February 24 –
Abe Vigoda , actor (died 2016)
February 26 –
Betty Hutton , actress (died 2007)
March 3 –
Diana Barrymore , actress (died 1960)
March 4 –
Joan Greenwood , actress (died 1987)
March 5 -
Jo de Winter , American actress (died 2016)
March 8 –
Alan Hale Jr. , actor, restaurateur (died
1990 )
March 10 –
Charlotte Zucker , actress, mother of
Jerry Zucker and
David Zucker (died 2007)
March 12 –
Gordon MacRae , actor, singer (died 1986)
March 21 -
Logan Ramsey , American character actor (died 2000)
March 23 –
Geoffrey Chater , English actor (died 2021)
March 25
March 26 –
Julie Harris , English costume designer (died 2015)
March 28 –
Dirk Bogarde , English actor (died 1999)
April 1 –
Arieh Elias , Israeli actor (died 2015)
April 3 –
Jan Sterling , American actress (died 2004)
April 7 –
Bill Butler , American cinematographer (died 2023)
April 10 –
Chuck Connors , American actor (died 1992)
April 16 –
Peter Ustinov , British actor (died 2004)
April 23
April 29 –
Tommy Noonan , American actor, screenwriter, producer (died
1968 )
May 2 –
Satyajit Ray , Indian filmmaker (died 1992)
May 16 -
Harry Carey Jr. , American actor (died 2012)
May 23
May 30 -
Jamie Uys , South African film director (died 1996)
May 31 –
Alida Valli , actress (died 2006)
June 8
June 18 –
Wesley Lau , actor (died 1984)
June 19 –
Louis Jourdan , actor (died 2015)
June 21
July 2 -
Maria Britneva , Russian-British actress (died 1994)
July 3 –
Susan Peters , actress (died 1952)
July 5 –
Patricia Wright , American former actress
July 6
July 10 –
Jeff Donnell , American actress (died
1988 )
July 17 –
František Zvarík , Slovakian actor (died 2008)
July 21 -
Al Checco , American actor (died 2015)
July 23 –
Robert Brown , actor (died 2003)
August 3 –
Marilyn Maxwell , actress (died 1972)
August 8 –
Esther Williams , actress, swimmer (died 2013)
August 11 -
Tad Horino , American actor (died 2002)
August 19
Pasquale Cajano, Italian-American actor (died 2000)
Gene Roddenberry , screenwriter and producer (died 1991)
August 28 –
Nancy Kulp , actress, comedienne (died 1991)
September 8 –
Harry Secombe , actor, singer (died 2001)
September 27 –
Miklós Jancsó , Hungarian director (died 2014)
September 30 –
Deborah Kerr , actress (died 2007)
October 1 -
James Whitmore , American actor (died 2009)
October 5 -
Nikolay Dupak , Soviet-Russian actor (died 2023)
October 12 -
Kenneth Griffith , Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker (died 2006)
October 13 –
Yves Montand , singer, actor (died 1991)
November 3 –
Charles Bronson , actor (died 2003)
November 5 –
Moritz Yomtov , screenwriter (died 1992)
November 8 –
Walter Mirisch , American film producer (died 2023)
November 14 -
Brian Keith , American actor (died 1997)
November 21 –
Vivian Blaine , actor, singer (died
1995 )
November 22 –
Rodney Dangerfield , actor, comedian (died 2004)
November 23 –
Fred Buscaglione , Italian actor and singer (died 1960)
December 1 -
Sylvia Kauders , American actress (died 2016)
December 4 –
Deanna Durbin , actress (died 2013)
December 11 -
Liz Smith , English character actress (died 2016)
December 15 -
Nikolai Lebedev , Soviet-Russian actor (died 2022)
December 24 -
Mickey Knox , American actor (died 2013)
December 26 –
Steve Allen , actor, composer, comedian, author (died 2000)
Deaths
February 8 –
George Formby Sr , 45, British music hall entertainer who appeared in one film (pulmonary tuberculosis)
[18]
May 17 –
Karl Mantzius , 61, Danish actor, theatre director, writer
June 5 –
Georges Feydeau , 58, French playwright, many of whose plays were adapted for the screen (syphilis)
[19]
June 11 -
Frank R. Mills , 50, American stage and screen actor
June 20 –
George Loane Tucker , 49, American actor, screenwriter and director
July 9 – Robert Broderick, 56, American stage and film actor
September 9 –
Virginia Rappe , 30,
[20] American actress
September 17 –
Van Dyke Brooke , 62, American actor, screenwriter and film director
Film debuts
See also
References
^
a
b
c
"The All Time Best Sellers" .
International Motion Picture Almanac 1937–38 .
Quigley Publishing Company . p. 942. Retrieved April 8, 2018 .
^
a
b
c Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood . University Press of Kentucky. p. 120.
ISBN
0-813-12324-0 .
^
a
b Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p. 1 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^
a
b Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^
a
b Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^
a
b Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc.
ISBN
0-7864-0036-6 . Page 124.
^
a
b Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc.
ISBN
0-7864-0036-6 . Page 125.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^
a
b Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc.
ISBN
0-7864-0036-6 . Page 126.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 118.
^
a
b Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc.
ISBN
0-7864-0036-6 . Page 128.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^
"Mrs George Formby's Own Story".
The Sunday Post . Dundee. February 13, 1921. p. 16.
^ Manuel A. Esteban (1983).
Georges Feydeau . Twayne Publishers. pp. 17–18.
ISBN
978-0-8057-6551-9 .
^ Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915, Mabel Rapp in entry for Rapp, 07 Jul 1891; citing p.254 no.12677, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,287,737.
External links