The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
John Leslie Coogan was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film The Kid (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the history of Hollywood.
Hollywood is a British television documentary miniseries produced by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV in 1980. Written and directed by film historians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, it explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and their cultural impact during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. At the 1981 BAFTA TV Awards, the series won for Best Original Television Music and was nominated for Best Factual Series, Best Film Editing and Best Graphics.
Max Davidson was a German-American film actor known for his comedic Jewish persona during the silent film era. With a career spanning over thirty years, Davidson appeared in over 180 films.
Flesh and the Devil is an American silent romantic drama film released in 1926 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the novel The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann.
George William Hill was an American film director and cinematographer.
John Hartford Hoxie was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in Westerns and rarely strayed from the genre.
Oliver Twist is a 1922 American silent drama film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, featuring Lon Chaney as Fagin and Jackie Coogan as Oliver Twist. The film was directed by Frank Lloyd. It was selected as one of the best pictures of 1922 by New York Times, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Walter J. Israel handled the costuming. Studio interiors were filmed at the Robert Brunton Studios in Hollywood. The film's tagline was "8 Great Reels that make you ask for more. Will Hays says Jackie Coogan Films are the sort the World needs." A still exists showing Fagin training his wards to be pickpockets.
Gertrude Olmstead was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 56 films between 1920 and 1929. Her last name was sometimes seen as Olmsted.
Cameo Kirby is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Ford which starred John Gilbert and Gertrude Olmstead and featuring Jean Arthur in her onscreen debut. It was Ford's first film credited as John Ford instead of Jack Ford. The film is based on a 1908 play by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. The story had been filmed as a silent before in 1914 with Dustin Farnum, who had originated the role on Broadway in 1909. The film was remade as a talking musical film in 1930.
Tom Sawyer is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Jackie Coogan. The screenplay by Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, and Sam Mintz is based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
Monte Carlo is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Lew Cody. It was produced by and distributed through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Bugle Call is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Jackie Coogan and Claire Windsor, which was released on August 6, 1927.
The Callahans and the Murphys is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by George W. Hill. The film was based on a novel by Kathleen Norris, and was the first of several MGM films to star Marie Dressler and Polly Moran. The film was released on June 18, 1927, but subsequently withdrawn from distribution by MGM after protests were lodged by Irish-American organizations.
Bringing Up Father is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by Jack Conway and starring Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, and J. Farrell MacDonald. The film was based on the newspaper comic strip Bringing Up Father by George McManus. It was remade in 1946 as a sound film, proving popular enough for a spin-off of four Jiggs and Maggie films to be made.
Adam and Evil is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by F. Hugh Herbert, Florence Ryerson and Ralph Spence. The film stars Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, Gwen Lee, Gertrude Short, Hedda Hopper, and Roy D'Arcy. The film was released on August 27, 1927, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Beyond the Sierras is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Robert Lord. The film stars Tim McCoy, Sylvia Beecher, Roy D'Arcy, Polly Moran, Richard Neill and J. Gordon Russell. The film was released on September 15, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Hit of the Show is a 1928 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Joe E. Brown, Gertrude Olmstead and William Bailey. 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.
Ladies to Board is a lost 1924 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Donald W. Lee. The film stars Tom Mix, Gertrude Olmstead, Philo McCullough, Gilbert Holmes, Gertrude Claire, and Dolores Rousse. The film was released on February 3, 1924, by Fox Film Corporation.
Polly Redhead is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Jack Conway and starring Ella Hall, Gertrude Astor and Charles Hill Mailes.
