A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound. Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of inter-title cards.
The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some films released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent. This year is notable for the introduction of the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, in the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production.
This is an overview of 1922 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Lillian Diana Gish was an American actress. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", and is credited with pioneering fundamental film performance techniques. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gish as the 17th-greatest female movie star of Classic Hollywood cinema.
Claire Catherine Danes is an American actress. Prolific in film and television since her teens, she is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Hugh Michael Horace Dancy is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the title character in the television film adaptation of David Copperfield (2000) as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid in Black Hawk Down (2001) and Prince Charmont in Ella Enchanted (2004). Other film roles include Joe Conner in Shooting Dogs (2005), Grigg Harris in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), Luke Brandon in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), Adam Raki in Adam (2009) and Ted in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011). On television, he portrayed criminal profiler Will Graham in the NBC television series Hannibal (2013–2015), Cal Roberts in the Hulu original series The Path (2016–2018) and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in the Channel 4 miniseries Elizabeth I (2005); the latter role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Dancy currently portrays Senior Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price on NBC's revival of the original Law & Order (2022–present).
Karl Dane was a Danish-American comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He became a star after portraying “Slim”, a supporting role in one of the most successful silent films of all time, The Big Parade (1925), directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert.
Lois Wilson was an American actress who worked during the silent film era. She also directed two short films and was a scenario writer.
Arthur George Brest, known professionally as George K. Arthur, was an English actor and producer, born in Aberdeen, Scotland,. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1919 and 1935, and is best known as the diminutive half of the comedy team of Dane & Arthur.
The Artist is a 2011 French comedy-drama film in the style of a black-and-white silent film or part-talkie. It was written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, produced by Thomas Langmann and stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship between a rising young actress and an older silent film star as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the "talkies".
The Iron Claw is a 1916 American silent adventure 20 episode film serial starring Pearl White, directed by George B. Seitz and Edward José, and released by Pathé Exchange. A print of the seventh episode exists in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Rogues and Romance is a surviving 1920 American silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz. The film was a feature-length version of the serial Pirate Gold, also directed by Seitz, and was shot in Europe. The film survives incomplete in the Library of Congress collection and George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection.
The Tigress is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz.
Ransom is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz and is considered to be lost. This is one of the many films of this period that sought to cash in on the fame of the then-popular Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels. Surprisingly, Columbia resorted to aping the character instead of attempting to secure the rights legally from the author. The following year, Paramount released the first of a Fu Manchu trilogy of films that were very successful.
The Circus Kid is a 1928 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by George B. Seitz. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound-on-film system. A print of the film exists.
Loving Lies is a 1924 silent American silent drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Evelyn Brent and Monte Blue.
Baby Mine is a 1928 silent film comedy produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This film is a remake of the 1917 film Baby Mine both being based on Margaret Mayo's 1910 Broadway comedy Baby Mine. This film stars Karl Dane, George K. Arthur and Charlotte Greenwood and is her third feature film, she having made two previous films in 1916 and 1918.
Wilfrid North, also spelled Wilfred North, was an Anglo-American film director, actor, and writer of the silent film era. He directed 102 films, including short films; acted in 43 films; and wrote the story for three films.
