1917 in film
Encyclopedia
The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- Foundation of Universum Film AGUniversum Film AGUniversum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
(UƒA), as a propaganda film company, in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. - TechnicolorTechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
System 1, a two-color process, is introduced. The first film to use it was The Gulf BetweenThe Gulf Between (1917 film)The Gulf Between was the first motion picture made in Technicolor, the fourth feature-length color movie, and the first feature-length color movie produced in the United States. Today, the film is considered a lost film, with only a few frames of film extant. The Gulf Between was directed by Wray...
. - World's first feature-lengthFeature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
animated film is made in ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
by Quirino CristianiQuirino CristianiQuirino Cristiani was an Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though the only copies of these two films were lost in a fire...
(El ApóstolEl ApóstolEl Apóstol was a 1917 Argentine animated film utilizing cutout animation, and the world's first animated feature film...
) - Movette, another revision of the 17.5 mm film format, is made available.
- Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
makes his film debut. - April 25 - Thomas Lincoln TallyThomas Lincoln TallyThomas Lincoln Tally on or near April 16, 1902, opened his Electric Theater in Los Angeles, the first movie theatre in that city and the first movie theater in California known to have been built from the ground up inside a larger building on the ground floor...
, in a meeting in New York, co-founds the First National Exhibitors CircuitFirst NationalFirst National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them, and eventually to producing them as a movie studio, called First National Pictures, Inc. It later merged with Warner Bros.-Early history:The First National...
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Top grossing films (U.S.)
| Rank | Title | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cleopatra Cleopatra (1917 film) Cleopatra was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara in the title role. Fritz Leiber, Sr. played Julius Caesar and Thurston Hall played Mark Antony.... |
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| 2. | Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her two stern aunts in the village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy for life inspires her aunts, but she faces many trials in her young life, gaining... |
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| 3. | The Poor Little Rich Girl The Poor Little Rich Girl The Poor Little Rich Girl is a 1917 American comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. Adapted by Frances Marion from the 1913 play by Eleanor Gates. The Broadway play actually starred future screen actress Viola Dana... |
Films released in 1917
U.S. unless stated- Golden Rule KateGolden Rule KateGolden Rule Kate is a 1917 silent era western drama motion picture starring Louise Glaum, William Conklin, Jack Richardson, Mildred Harris, and John Gilbert.Directed by Reginald Barker from a story written by Monte M...
, a Louise GlaumLouise GlaumLouise Glaum was an American actress. Best known for her role as a femme fatale in silent era motion picture dramas, she was credited with giving one of the best characterizations of a vamp in her early career....
drama western feature - The Man Without a CountryThe Man Without a Country (1917 film)The Man Without a Country is an American silent film adaptation of Edward Everett Hale's The Man Without a Country. It was directed by Ernest C. Warde, and starred Florence La Badie, Holmes Herbert, and J. H. Gilmour, and released by Thanhouser Film Corporation...
, starring Florence La BadieFlorence La BadieFlorence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While... - The AdventurerThe Adventurer (film)The Adventurer is a short comedy film made in 1917 written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. It is the last out of the twelve films made while he was under contract for the Mutual Film Corporation.- Plot and characters :...
, a Charlie Chaplin short. - The Bad BoyThe Bad Boy (1917 film)The Bad Boy is an American crime drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Robert Harron, Richard Cummings, Mildred Harris and actress Colleen Moore, who made her film debut in The Bad Boy.-Plot summary:...
, starring Robert HarronRobert HarronRobert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation...
, Mildred HarrisMildred HarrisMildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...
and Colleen MooreColleen MooreColleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:... - Big Timber
- Bucking BroadwayBucking BroadwayBucking Broadway is a 1917 film by John Ford, probably his sixth feature film. Long thought to be lost, along with about 60 of Ford's 70 silent films, it was found in 2002 in the archives of the CNC . It was subsequently restored and digitized...
, directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. - The Butcher BoyThe Butcher Boy (1917 film)The Butcher Boy is a 1917 short comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. This was the first in Arbuckle's series of films with the Comique Film Corporation, and Keaton's film debut.- Plot :...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
/ Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
short (Keaton's film debut). - CamilleCamille (1917 film)Camille is a silent film based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, adapted by Adrian Johnson, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, and starring Theda Bara as Marguerite Gauthier. The film was made by Fox Film Corporation when it and many other early film studios in...
, starring Theda BaraTheda BaraTheda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman... - The Cinderella Man
- CleopatraCleopatra (1917 film)Cleopatra was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara in the title role. Fritz Leiber, Sr. played Julius Caesar and Thurston Hall played Mark Antony....
, starring Theda BaraTheda BaraTheda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman... - Coney IslandConey Island (1917 film)Coney Island is a 1917 short silent film comedy written and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and starring Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.-Synopsis:...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
/ Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
short. - The Cure, a Charlie Chaplin short.
- The Dying Swan (Umirayushchii Lebed) (U.S.S.R.)
- Easy StreetEasy Street (film)Easy Street is a 1917 short comedy film by Charlie Chaplin.In the film, the police are failing to maintain law and order and so it is Chaplin, as the Little Tramp character, who steps forward to rid the street of bullies, help the poor, save women from madmen and generally keep the peace.-Plot:As...
, starring Charlie Chaplin - El ApóstolEl ApóstolEl Apóstol was a 1917 Argentine animated film utilizing cutout animation, and the world's first animated feature film...
, animated by Quirino CristianiQuirino CristianiQuirino Cristiani was an Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though the only copies of these two films were lost in a fire...
(Argentina) - The Gay Lord QuexThe Gay Lord Quex (film)The Gay Lord Quex is a 1917 British silent comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ben Webster, Irene Vanbrugh and Lilian Braithwaite...
directed by Maurice ElveyMaurice ElveyMaurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year....
and starring Ben WebsterBen Webster (actor)Ben Webster was a British-born actor, and the husband of actress Dame May Whitty, and father of the British-American stage actress, Margaret Webster. His father, W. S. Webster, was the son of the famous actor Benjamin Nottingham Webster.Ben Webster was born on June 2, 1864 in London and married...
and Irene VanbrughIrene VanbrughDame Irene Vanbrugh DBE , née Barnes, was an English actress. The daughter of a clergyman, Vanbrugh followed her elder sister Violet into the theatrical profession, and sustained a career for more than 50 years....
(U.K.) - Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations (1917 film)Great Expectations is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Robert G. Vignola and Paul West, based on the 1861–1862 novel by Charles Dickens. Jack Pickford stars as Pip and Louise Huff as Estella.-Plot:...
, starring Jack PickfordJack PickfordJack Pickford was a Canadian-born American actor. He was best known for his tabloid lifestyle, marriage to the top starlets of his day, and being of the famous Pickford acting family.-Early life:... - The Gulf BetweenThe Gulf Between (1917 film)The Gulf Between was the first motion picture made in Technicolor, the fourth feature-length color movie, and the first feature-length color movie produced in the United States. Today, the film is considered a lost film, with only a few frames of film extant. The Gulf Between was directed by Wray...
, All color movie. - His Wedding NightHis Wedding NightHis Wedding Night is a 1917 short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle, Al St. John, and Buster Keaton, and directed by Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Drugstore soda clerk* Al St...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
/ Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
short. - Her Right to LiveHer Right to LiveHer Right to Live is a 1917 dramatic silent film released by the Vitagraph Studios.-Plot:Polly Biggs is the eldest of a family of orphaned children who are taken in by their uncle, Mayor Hoadley . Hoadley despises the children and has only taken them in as good publicity for the upcoming election....
, starring Peggy HylandPeggy HylandPeggy Hyland was an English silent film actress from Worcestershire, England.-Education:She was educated in England and the convents of Europe. The first convent she attended was Seroule in Verviers, on the frontier of Belgium...
, Antonio MorenoAntonio MorenoAntonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...
, Mae CostelloMae CostelloMae Costello was an American stage and film actress of the early twentieth-century.-Early life:Born Mae Altschuk in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of Lewis Altschuk and Catherine Callender. As a teenager she began performing in stage productions in stock theater companies throughout the...
and John S. RobertsonJohn S. RobertsonJohn Stuart Robertson was a Canadian born actor and later film director perhaps best known for his 1920 screen adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring John Barrymore. He broke into filmmaking in 1915 with Vitagraph, then with Famous Players-Lasky, making 57 features in his career...
, directed by Paul ScardonPaul ScardonPaul Scardon was an actor, a producer, and a director on both Australian and New York stages. He directed Blanche Sweet in Unwilling Husband, Bessie Barriscale in some of her most successful productions, and most of the melodramas which starred his wife, actress Betty Blythe... - The ImmigrantThe ImmigrantThe Immigrant is a 1917 American comedy short film starring the Charlie Chaplin Tramp character as an immigrant coming to the United States who is accused of theft on the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, and befriends a young woman along the way...
, starring Charlie Chaplin - Joan the WomanJoan the WomanJoan the Woman is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc.It was the first film to use the Handschiegl Color Process for certain scenes...
, starring Geraldine FarrarGeraldine FarrarGeraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
; directed by Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMilleCecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies... - The Little AmericanThe Little AmericanThe Little American is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford as an American woman who is in love with both a German and a French soldier during World War I.-Plot:...
, starring Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
; directed by Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMilleCecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
. - A Little Princess, starring Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, Norman KerryNorman KerryNorman Kerry was an American actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I.-Biography:...
and ZaSu PittsZaSu PittsZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
, directed by Marshall NeilanMarshall NeilanMarshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
. - A Man There Was (Terje Vigen) (Sweden)
- Oh Doctor!Oh Doctor!Oh Doctor! is a 1917 short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Dr. Fatty Holepoke* Buster Keaton - Junior Holepoke* Al St. John - Gambler* Alice Mann - Vamp* Alice Lake - Maid...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
/ Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
short. - One Law for BothOne Law for BothOne Law for Both is a 1917 silent film directed by Ivan Abramson.-Plot:Elga Pulsaki and her brother Ossip emigrate to the United States from Russia to escape persecution...
directed by Ivan AbramsonIvan AbramsonIvan Abramson was a director of American silent films active in the 1910s and 1920s.Abramson emigrated to the United States from Russia in the 1880s and soon became involved in Jewish newspaper field. In 1905 he founded an opera company. In 1914, he founded Ivan Film Productions to produce... - The Poor Little Rich GirlThe Poor Little Rich GirlThe Poor Little Rich Girl is a 1917 American comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. Adapted by Frances Marion from the 1913 play by Eleanor Gates. The Broadway play actually starred future screen actress Viola Dana...
, starring Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. - Rebecca of Sunnybrook FarmRebecca of Sunnybrook FarmRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her two stern aunts in the village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy for life inspires her aunts, but she faces many trials in her young life, gaining...
- A Reckless RomeoA Reckless RomeoA Reckless Romeo is a 1917 short silent comedy film directed by and starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.-Production background:The film was produced by the Comique Film Corporation when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
short. - The Rough HouseThe Rough HouseThe Rough House is a short comedy film written and directed by and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. The Rough House was Keaton's first film as a director.-Cast:* Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle - Mr Rough...
, a 'Fatty' ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
/ Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
short. - Souls TriumphantSouls TriumphantSouls Triumphant is a 1917 drama film directed by John B. O'Brien.-Cast:* Lillian Gish - Lillian Vale* Wilfred Lucas - Robert Powers* Spottiswoode Aitken - Josiah Vale* Louise Hamilton - Hattie Lee* Kate Bruce* Jennie Lee...
- Straight ShootingStraight ShootingStraight Shooting is a 1917 Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. Prints of this film survive in the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.-Cast:* Harry Carey - Cheyenne Harry* Duke R...
, directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. - Teddy at the ThrottleTeddy at the ThrottleTeddy at the Throttle is a silent film starring Bobby Vernon and Gloria Swanson.-Cast:* Bobby Vernon as Bobbie Knight* Gloria Swanson as Gloria Dawn* Wallace Beery as Henry Black* May Emory as The Guardian's Sister...
, a Keystone comedy with Gloria SwansonGloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
. - Tom SawyerTom Sawyer (1917 film)Tom Sawyer is a 1917 Paramount Pictures silent film starring Jack Pickford, Robert Gordon, and Clara Horton; it is based on Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer....
, starring Jack PickfordJack PickfordJack Pickford was a Canadian-born American actor. He was best known for his tabloid lifestyle, marriage to the top starlets of his day, and being of the famous Pickford acting family.-Early life:... - The TornadoThe TornadoThe Tornado is a 1917 short Western film directed by John Ford. It was Ford's debut film as a director. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* John Ford - Jack Dayton * Jean Hathaway - Jack's mother...
, directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
(his debut) - Wild and WoollyWild and WoollyWild and Woolly is a 1917 silent film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from sophisticated Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse....
- The Wild Girl, starring Eva TanguayEva TanguayEva Tanguay was a Canadian-born singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous".-Early life:...
and Thomas J. MooreThomas J. MooreThomas J. "Tom" Moore was an Irish-born American actor and director. He appeared in at least 186 motion pictures from 1908 to 1954...
Comedy film series
- Harold LloydHarold LloydHarold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
(1913–1938) - Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
(1914–1940) - Lupino LaneLupino LaneLupino Lane was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family. Lane started out as a child performer, known as 'Little Nipper', and went on to appear in a wide range of theatrical, music hall and film performances...
(1915–1939) - Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
(1917–1944)
Births
- January 5 - Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
, actress (d. 20072007 in filmThis is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
) - January 2 - Vera ZorinaVera ZorinaVera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
, dancer, actress (d. 20032003 in filmThe year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
) - January 10 - Hilde KrahlHilde KrahlHilde Krahl was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 70 films between 1936 and 1994.She was born Hildegard Kolačný in Brod, Austria-Hungary and died in Vienna, Austria...
, actress (d. 19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
) - January 24 - Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, actor - February 6 - Zsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
, actress - February 21 - Lucille BremerLucille BremerLucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer.Bremer was born in Amsterdam, New York and began her career as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, aged 16. Bremer, along with fellow stars Vera-Ellen and June Allyson, appeared as a 'Pony Girl' in the Broadway musical Panama...
, actress (d. 19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
) - March 12 - Googie WithersGoogie WithersGeorgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
, actress - March 22 - Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
, actress (d. 20042004 in filmThe year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
) - April 14 - Valerie HobsonValerie HobsonValerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
, actress (d. 19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
) - April 29 - Maya DerenMaya DerenMaya Deren , born Eleanora Derenkowsky, was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film theorist of the 1940s and 1950s...
, experimental filmmaker (d. 19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - May 1 - Danielle DarrieuxDanielle DarrieuxDanielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
, actress - May 10 - Margo, 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...
) - May 21 - Raymond BurrRaymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
, actor (d. 19931993 in filmThe year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
) - May 25 - Steve CochranSteve CochranSteve Cochran was an American film, television, and stage actor, the son of a California lumberman. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1939...
, actor (d. 19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - June 7 - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, singer, actor (d. 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
) - April 29 - Celeste HolmCeleste HolmCeleste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
, actress - June 30 - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, singer, actress - July 17 - Phyllis DillerPhyllis DillerPhyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
, comedian, actress - August 6 - Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, actor (d. 19971997 in film-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
) - August 25 - Mel FerrerMel FerrerMel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
, actor (d. 20082008 in filmThis is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
) - September 9 - Rolf WenkhausRolf WenkhausRolf Wenkhaus was a German child actor who is most likely recalled for his role of Emil Tischbein in the 1931 film Emil and the Detectives.Born in Berlin, Germany, Rolf Wenkhaus was the son of actor Kurt Wenkhaus...
, actor (d. 19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - September 11 - Herbert LomHerbert LomHerbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
, actor - October 7 - June AllysonJune AllysonJune Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...
, actress (d. 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
) - October 7 - Helmut DantineHelmut DantineHelmut Dantine was a film actor remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. The Vienna-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca early in his career .Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system...
, actor (d. 19821982 in film-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
) - October 17 - Alice PearceAlice PearceAlicia “Alice” Pearce was an American actress. Brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town , Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched in 1964...
, actress (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...
) - October 17 - Marsha Hunt, U.S. actress
- October 22 - Joan FontaineJoan FontaineJoan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
, actress - November 4 - Virginia FieldVirginia FieldVirginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...
, actress (d. 19921992 in filmThe year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
) - December 7 - Hurd HatfieldHurd HatfieldWilliam Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor.-Biography:The son of William Henry Hatfield , an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, the former Adele Steele, Hatfield was born in New York City, and was educated at Columbia University before travelling to...
, actor (d. 19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
) - December 22 - Frankie DarroFrankie DarroFrankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Darro...
, actor (d. 19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
)
Deaths
- January 17 - Matt Snyder, American actor,(*one of the oldest people acting in film at the time of his death)
- February 19 - Marshall Farnum, director, brother of DustinDustin FarnumDustin Lancy Farnum was an American singer, dancer and an actor in silent movies during the early days of motion pictures. After a great success in a number of stage roles, in 1914 he landed his first film role in the movie 'Soldiers of Fortune', and later in Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man...
and William FarnumWilliam FarnumWilliam Farnum was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character... - February 21 - Fred MaceFred MaceFred Mace was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 156 films between 1909 and 1916. Mace worked for Mack Sennett at Keystone Studios...
, actor & comedian - April 26 - Dent Gilbert, cinematographer, 25 years old
- May 20 - Edward Mawson, American actor
- June 23 - Walter Hitchcock, stage & screen actor (born 1871 or 72)
- July 2 - Herbert Beerbohm TreeHerbert Beerbohm TreeSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
, stage & screen star - October 13 - Florence La BadieFlorence La BadieFlorence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While...
, pioneer actress - October 25 - Jack StandingJack StandingJack Standing was an English actor.The brother of Wyndham Standing , who also was a famous actor in the early days of film, Jack Standing had first appeared in Broadway musicals such as The Belle of New York and Floradora before he went to the Biograph company in 1909...
, silent film actor, age 30, son of Herbert Standing and brother of Guy StandingGuy StandingCommander Sir Guy Standing KBE RNVR was an English actor.-Biography:Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World War, reaching the rank of Commander. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States...
& Wyndham StandingWyndham StandingWyndham Standing was an English film actor. He appeared in 131 films between 1915 and 1948. A popular and much beloved leading man in the silent film era, he starred and costarred along many famous names of the day, both men and women. He and Ronald Colman were the stars of the now lost classic...
. - December 20 - Eric CampbellEric Campbell (actor)Alfred Eric Campbell was an English actor who for many years was wrongly believed to be Scottish....
, actor & a main member of Charles Chaplin's stock company.
Film Debuts
- Marion DaviesMarion DaviesMarion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
- Vittorio De SicaVittorio de SicaVittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
- Richard DixRichard DixRichard Dix was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero.-Early life:...
- Elsie FergusonElsie FergusonElsie Louise Ferguson was an American stage and film actress.-Early life:Born in New York City, Elsie Ferguson was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Benson Ferguson, a successful attorney...
- John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
- director - Mary GardenMary GardenMary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
- Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
- Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
- Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
- ZaSu PittsZaSu PittsZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
- Marjorie RambeauMarjorie RambeauMarjorie Rambeau was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Rambeau was born in San Francisco, California to Marcel Rambeau and Lilian Garlinda Kindelberger. Her parents split up when she was a girl. She and her mother went to Nome, Alaska where young Marjorie dressed as a boy, sang and...
- Loretta YoungLoretta YoungLoretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...