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Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually had independent continuity and did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck making his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
The following is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. This year saw the release of The Broadway Melody, the first major musical film of the sound era, as well as the hosting of the 1st Academy Awards.
Leon Errol was an Australian comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in films.
Gulliver's Travels is a 1939 American cel-animated Technicolor musical feature film produced by Max Fleischer and directed by Dave Fleischer for Fleischer Studios. Released to cinemas in the United States on December 22, 1939, by Paramount Pictures, the story is a very loose adaptation of Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel of the same name, specifically only the first part of four, which tells the story of Lilliput and Blefuscu, and centers around an explorer who helps a small kingdom who declared war after an argument over a wedding song. The film was Fleischer Studios' first feature-length animated film, as well as the second animated feature film produced by an American studio after Walt Disney Productions' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as Paramount had commissioned the feature in response to the success of that film. The sequences for the film were directed by Seymour Kneitel, Willard Bowsky, Tom Palmer, Grim Natwick, William Henning, Roland Crandall, Thomas Johnson, Robert Leffingwell, Frank Kelling, Winfield Hoskins, and Orestes Calpini.
Wanderer of the Wasteland is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Jack Holt, Noah Beery, and Billie Dove. It was the third feature film to be photographed entirely in Technicolor.
Michael Curtiz (1886–1962) was a Hungarian-born American film director whose career spanned from 1912 to 1961. During this period he directed, wholly or in part, 181 films. He began his cinematic career in Hungary, then moved to Austria and finally the United States. As his biographer Alan K. Rode notes, "A cinematic pioneer, Curtiz made a seamless transition from hand-cranking cameras in silent films to directing the first sound feature where the characters spoke their parts. He led the way in two- and three-color Technicolor, directed the first motion-picture produced in VistaVision, and worked extensively in CinemaScope." Rode also notes that "he helmed rousing adventures, westerns, musicals, war movies, romances, historical dramas, horror films, tearjerkers, melodramas, comedies, spectacles, and film noirs."
Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel, and is an adaptation of the play The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre (USA). The film has color sequences using tinting, Technicolor, and the Handschiegl color process.
Climbing the Golden Stairs is an American 2-reel musical fantasy short released in 1929. It was produced in 2-color Technicolor dye-transfer process.
Buffalo Bill's Last Fight is a 1927 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the second short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series. As with the first film in the series, The Flag: A Story Inspired by the Tradition of Betsy Ross, this film continued the series' original intent to focus on events from American history. Ultimately, only one other short was shot which stuck to this format; the other films in the series featured historical events with a European or Asian focus.
The Lady of Victories is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the third short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
The Czarina's Secret is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the fourth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
The Virgin Queen is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the third short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Cleopatra is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film, shot in two-color Technicolor. It was the sixth short produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
The Heart of General Robert E. Lee is a 1928 MGM short silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the seventh film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Madame du Barry is a 1928 MGM short silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the eighth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series, and the last to be released before the new year.
The Fire Fighters is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on June 20, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the nineteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the fourth of that year.
Manchu Love is a 1929 MGM short silent historical fiction film short in two-color Technicolor. The film features a cast entirely of people of Asian descent and stars Sojinas Su Shun and Etta Lee as Empress Tzu Hsi. It was the ninth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Light of India is a 1929 MGM short silent film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the tenth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Frontier Romance is a 1929 MGM short silent film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the twelfth and final film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series. A romantic historical drama, the film depicts George Rogers Clark and other American colonists as they interact with Native American tribespeople.
