Wings is a 1927 American silent and synchronized sound film known for winning the first Academy Award for Best Picture. Due to the general public's apathy towards silent films, the film was quickly re-released in 1928 with synchronized sound. While the sound version of the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects.
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
Min and Bill is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film, directed by George W. Hill and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson from Lorna Moon's 1929 novel Dark Star, the film tells the story of dockside innkeeper Min's tribulations as she tries to protect the innocence of her adopted daughter, Nancy, while loving and fighting with boozy fisherman Bill, who resides at the inn. The picture was a runaway hit. In 1931, the studio released a Spanish-language version of Min and Bill, La fruta amarga, directed by Arthur Gregor and starring Virginia Fábregas and Juan de Landa.
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Florence Vidor was an American silent film actress.
Beggars of Life is an American part-talkie sound film that was directed by William Wellman. Although the film featured sequences with audible dialogue, the majority of the film had a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The film was released on both sound-on-disc and sound-on-film formats. Currently circulating are mute prints from the sound-on-disc version. The majority of the sound discs are believed to be lost.
The Canary Murder Case is a 1929 American Pre-Code crime-mystery film based on the 1927 novel of the same name by S.S. Van Dine. The film was directed by Malcolm St. Clair, with a screenplay by Wright, Albert Shelby LeVino, and Florence Ryerson. William Powell starred in the role of detective Philo Vance, with Louise Brooks co-starred as "The Canary"; Jean Arthur, James Hall, and Charles Lane also co-starred in other principal roles.
Paramount on Parade is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H. Knopf, Frank Tuttle, and Victor Schertzinger—all supervised by the production supervisor, singer, actress, and songwriter Elsie Janis.
Let's Go Native is a 1930 American pre-Code black-and-white musical comedy film, directed by Leo McCarey and released by Paramount Pictures.
Innocents of Paris is a 1929 black and white American musical film. Directed by Richard Wallace and based on the play Flea Market, the film was the first musical production by Paramount Pictures. Although the screenplay was regarded as mediocre, the critics were impressed with the newly-arrived Chevalier, for whom they predicted much success. At the preview in Los Angeles, established film-actor Adolphe Menjou, son of French immigrant parents, congratulated Chevalier in person.
The Wild Party is a 1929 American pre-Code film directed by Dorothy Arzner and starring Clara Bow and Fredric March. Released by Paramount Pictures, it is known as Bow's first talkie. It is the fifth film directed by Arzner and the earliest surviving film in her work as a director.
Interference is a 1928 American pre-Code drama film directed by Lothar Mendes, as Paramount Pictures' first feature-length all-talking motion picture. It stars Clive Brook, William Powell, Evelyn Brent, and Doris Kenyon, all making their sound film debuts. In England, when a first husband turns out not to be dead, blackmail leads to murder.
You Never Know Women is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film from director William A. Wellman that was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The stars of the picture are Florence Vidor, Lowell Sherman, and Clive Brook.
Dangerous Paradise is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen and Warner Oland.
His Children's Children is a lost 1923 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring the winsome Bebe Daniels. It is based on a novel, His Children's Children by Arthur Train. Famous Players–Lasky produced and Paramount Pictures distributed the film.
Sin Town is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by J. Gordon Cooper and William K. Howard and starring Elinor Fair, Ivan Lebedeff and Hugh Allan. It is a contemporary-set Western, in which two World War I veterans are wrongly accused of killing a rancher and arrested for murder. With the help of the rancher's daughter they escape and capture the real culprit.
The Enchanted Hill is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Irvin Willat and written by James Shelley Hamilton and Peter B. Kyne. The film stars Jack Holt, Florence Vidor, Noah Beery, Sr., Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, George Bancroft, and Ray Thompson. The film was released on January 18, 1926, by Paramount Pictures.
Sweetie is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film directed by Frank Tuttle, written by George Marion Jr. and Lloyd Corrigan, and starring Nancy Carroll, Helen Kane, Jack Oakie, William Austin, Stuart Erwin, and Wallace MacDonald. It was released on November 2, 1929, by Paramount Pictures.
Love in the Desert is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by George Melford and starring Olive Borden, Hugh Trevor, and Noah Beery. 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.
The Hidden Pearls is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and starring Sessue Hayakawa. It was produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky and distributed by Famous Players–Lasky and Paramount Pictures. The production was shot in Hawaii.
