This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
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.
Margaret Livingston, sometimes credited as Marguerite Livingstone or Margaret Livingstone, was an American film actress and businesswoman during the silent film era. She is remembered today as "the Woman from the City" in F. W. Murnau's 1927 film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
The Lady of the Camellias, sometimes called Camille in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, France, on February 2, 1852. It was an instant success. Shortly thereafter, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi set about putting the story to music in the 1853 opera La traviata, with female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Valéry.
John Conrad Nagel was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1940, and three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Monsieur Beaucaire is a 1924 American silent romantic historical drama film starring Rudolph Valentino in the title role, Bebe Daniels, and Lois Wilson. Produced and directed by Sidney Olcott, the film is based on Booth Tarkington's 1900 novel of the same name and the 1904 play of the same name by Tarkington and Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland.
Paulette Duval was a French dancer and actress of the silent film era and early sound motion pictures. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1889 and raised in France. She was considered one of the most beautiful women in Paris in the early 20th century. Paulette was recruited by Florenz Ziegfeld for the Ziegfeld Follies, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City on October 15, 1923. Before joining the Follies, the French beauty was engaged with the Scandals dance productions of George White.
The Only Thing is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film starring Eleanor Boardman. The film's scenario was written by author Elinor Glyn, and was based on a story adapted from Glyn's novel of the same name.
Daughters Who Pay is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by George Terwilliger, starring Marguerite De La Motte and John Bowers, and featuring Béla Lugosi as Serge Romonsky.
Two in a Crowd is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Joan Bennett, Joel McCrea and Reginald Denny. It was produced and released by Universal Pictures. The screenplay was written by Lewis R. Foster, Doris Malloy, and Earle Snell.
Excuse Me is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding, and based on the 1911 play of the same name written by best-selling novelist Rupert Hughes. The comedy concerns naval officer Harry Mallory and his would-be bride Marjorie Newton who spend most of their time running up and down a train looking for a clergyman to marry them.
Tenderloin is a 1928 American sound part-talkie crime film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Dolores Costello. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. It was produced and released by Warner Bros. Tenderloin is considered a lost film, with no prints currently known to exist.
Sun-Up is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Edmund Goulding based upon a successful 1924 play of the same name by Lula Vollmer. The film stars Lucille La Verne, replaying her successful New York stage role, Pauline Starke, and Conrad Nagel.
The Exquisite Sinner is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and adapted by Alice Duer Miller from the novel Escape by Alden Brooks. Starring Conrad Nagel and Renée Adorée, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) never given a general release. No known print of the film has been recovered to date. Later that same year a second feature film Heaven on Earth, directed by Phil Rosen was released with the same cast and same sets, but a different screenplay. Rosen's version performed poorly at the box office. Sternberg reported, "the result was two ineffective films instead of one.” The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute.
The Lady is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Norma Talmadge and directed by Frank Borzage. Talmadge's own production company produced the film with distribution by First National Pictures.
James Knight was a British actor. Born in Canterbury, Kent and starting as a wrestler, he became a leading man in British silent films, and later a character actor in smaller film roles.
Sporting Life is a 1925 American silent comedy drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and a remake of Tourneur's 1918 film of the same title based on Seymour Hicks's popular play. Universal Pictures produced and released the film.
Wide Open is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Archie Mayo, starring Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller, and featuring Louise Fazenda, T. Roy Barnes and Edna Murphy. Released by Warner Bros., it is based on the 1924 novel The Narrow Street by Edward Bateman Morris.
Meet the Prince is a lost 1926 American comedy-drama silent film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Joseph Schildkraut and Marguerite De La Motte. It was produced by Metropolitan Pictures Corporation and distributed by Producers Distributing Corporation.
When a Man's a Man is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring John Bowers, Marguerite De La Motte, and Robert Frazer.
