1899 in film
Encyclopedia
The year 1899 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- T.C. Hepworth invents Biokam, a 17.5 mm format which also is the first format to have a center perforation.
- John Alfred PrestwichJohn Alfred PrestwichJohn Alfred Prestwich was an English engineer and inventor. He founded the company JA Prestwich Industries Ltd in 1895 and was a pioneer in the early development of cinematography projectors and cameras. The company also manufactured its famous JAP engines.He worked with S.Z...
invents a 13 mm amateur format. - Jeanne d'ArcJeanne d'Arc (1899 film)Jeanne d'Arc is a short silent film about Joan of Arc. The medieval film, released in 1900, was written and directed by Georges Méliès....
becomes the first film of considerabe length (10 mins) to be shown entirely in colour. - King John (a very short silent) becomes the first known film based on a ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
play.
Films released in 1899
- CléopâtreCléopâtre (1899 film)Cléopâtre is a short silent film about resurrecting the mummy of Cleopatra.Released in 1899, Cléopâtre was one of the earliest horror films ever made. It was written and directed by Georges Méliès....
- How Would You Like to Be the Ice Man?How Would You Like to Be the Ice Man?How Would You Like to Be the Ice Man? is an 1899 American comedy film....
- Jeanne d'ArcJeanne d'Arc (1899 film)Jeanne d'Arc is a short silent film about Joan of Arc. The medieval film, released in 1900, was written and directed by Georges Méliès....
- The Kiss in the TunnelThe Kiss in the TunnelThe Kiss in the Tunnel is a 1899 film British short silent comedy film, produced and directed by George Albert Smith, showing a couple sharing a brief kiss as their train passes through a tunnel, which is said to mark the beginnings of narrative editing...
Births
- January 6 – Phyllis HaverPhyllis HaverPhyllis Haver was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High...
, American actress (d. 19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - January 10 - Lya De PuttiLya De PuttiLya De Putti was a Hungarian film actress of the silent era, noted for her portrayal of vamp characters.-Early life and career:...
, Hungarian actress (d. 19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - February 15 - Gale SondergaardGale SondergaardGale Sondergaard was an American actress.Sondergaard began her acting career in theatre, and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Anthony Adverse...
, American actress (d. 19851985 in film-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
) - February 22 - George O'HaraGeorge O'Hara (actor)George O'Hara was an American motion picture actor and screenwriter of the silent film era.- Biography :...
, American actor, screenwriter (d. 19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - March 14 - Ada KrammAda KrammAda Kramm was a Norwegian stage and film actress whose career spanned more than six decades.-Early life and career:...
, Norwegian actress (d. 19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
) - March 23 - Dora GersonDora GersonDora Gerson was a Jewish German cabaret singer and motion picture actress of the silent film era who was murdered with her family at Auschwitz concentration camp.- Life and work :...
, German actress (d. 19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - May 10 - Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, American actor/dancer (d. 19871987 in film-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
) - June 15 - Einar HansonEinar HansonEinar Hanson , also known as Einar Hansen, was a Swedish silent film motion-picture actor.-Career:...
, Swedish actor (d. 19271927 in film-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
) - June 30 - Madge BellamyMadge BellamyMadge Bellamy was an American film actress who was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Her career declined in the sound era, and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.-Early life:...
, American actress (d. 19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
) - July 7 - George CukorGeorge CukorGeorge Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
, American director (d. 19831983 in film-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
) - July 10 – John GilbertJohn Gilbert (actor)John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
, American actor (d. 19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - July 14 - Martha MansfieldMartha MansfieldMartha Mansfield was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays.-Early life and career:Born Martha Ehrlich in New York City to Maurice and Harriett Gibson Ehrlich...
, American actress (d. 19231923 in film-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...
) - July 17 - James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
, American Actor (d. 19861986 in film-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
) - August 13 - Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, British director (d. 19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
) - October 20 – Evelyn BrentEvelyn BrentEvelyn Brent was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Born Mary Elizabeth Riggs in Tampa, Florida and known as Betty, she was a child of 10 when her mother Eleanor died, leaving her father Arthur to raise her alone...
, American actress (d. 19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) - October 23 - Lilyan TashmanLilyan TashmanLilyan Tashman was a Brooklyn-born Jewish American vaudeville, Broadway, and film actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses and the bitchy 'other woman'...
, American actress (d. 19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - November 11 - Pat O'BrienPat O'Brien (actor)Pat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
, American actor (d. 19831983 in film-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
) - November 17 - Douglas ShearerDouglas ShearerDouglas G. Shearer was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.-Early life and career:...
, Canadian-born American pioneer motion-picture sound engineer (d. 19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - December 16 - Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music (d. 19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) - December 25 - Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, American Actor, (d. 1957)