The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Anne Baxter was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy.
Warner Oland was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in Shanghai Express, and, most notably, Honolulu Police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films.
The Spoilers is a 1914 American silent Western film directed by Colin Campbell. The film is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with William Farnum as Roy Glennister, Kathlyn Williams as Cherry Malotte, and Tom Santschi as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between Glennister and McNamara. In 1916, an expanded version was released, running 110 minutes.
Human Wreckage is a 1923 American independent silent drama propaganda film that starred Dorothy Davenport and featured James Kirkwood, Sr., Bessie Love, and Lucille Ricksen. The film was co-produced by Davenport and Thomas H. Ince and distributed by Film Booking Offices of America, with a premiere on June 17, 1923. No print of this film is known to exist today, and it is considered a lost film.
Patria is a 1917 15-chapter American serial film starring Irene Castle, Milton Sills, and Warner Oland, based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance. Patria was an independent film serial funded by William Randolph Hearst in the lead-up to the United States' entry into World War I. The film in its original form contained anti-Japanese propaganda and was investigated by a Senate committee. The Argentine title for the film was La Heroina de Nueva York.
Shirley Mason was an American actress of the silent era.
The Eternal Sapho is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Bertram Bracken and starring Theda Bara. The film was loosely based on the 1881 French novel Sapho, by Alphonse Daudet. The film is now considered lost.
The Black Camel is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, Bela Lugosi, and Dorothy Revier. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the second film to star Oland as detective Charlie Chan, and the sole surviving title of the first five Chan films starring Oland. The Black Camel marked the film debut of Robert Young.
Charlie Chan's Chance is a 1932 American pre-Code murder mystery film, the third to star Warner Oland as detective Charlie Chan. It is based on the 1928 novel Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers, who also contributed to the film. The film is considered to be lost.
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.
The Drums of Jeopardy is a 1931 American pre-Code horror film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Warner Oland, June Collyer and Lloyd Hughes. It is the second film adaptation of Harold McGrath's novel of the same name, and stars Oland as Dr. Boris Karlov.
Twinkletoes is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Colleen Moore. The film, as with most of Moore's vehicles at this time, was produced by her husband John McCormick with the couple distributing through Moore's resident studio First National. This film is one of Moore's surviving films from the late silent era and is available on DVD.
My Husband's Wives is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey, adapted by Dorothy Yost from a scenario by Barbara La Marr, and starring Shirley Mason, Bryant Washburn, and Evelyn Brent. With no prints of My Husband's Wives located in any no film archives, it is a lost film.
The Big Gamble is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Fred Niblo and written by Walter DeLeon and F. McGrew Willis. The film stars William Boyd, Dorothy Sebastian, Warner Oland and James Gleason. The film was released on September 4, 1931 by RKO Pictures.
Cupid Forecloses is a 1919 American silent comedy film starring Bessie Love and Wallace MacDonald. It was directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Studios. It was based on the popular novel Hurrying Fate and Geraldine by Florence Morse Kingsley. The film has been preserved at the British Film Institute and American Film Institute.
The Little Boss is a 1919 American silent romantic comedy film directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Studios. The story and screenplay were by Rida Johnson Young, and it starred Bessie Love and Wallace MacDonald.
Mother Knows Best is a 1928 American film directed by John G. Blystone, based on a novel by Edna Ferber, fictionalizing the life of vaudevillian Elsie Janis. The film was Fox's first part talkie, using the Movietone sound system which had primarily been used for synchronised music scores and effects tracks in Fox features beforehand, although as early as "Mother Machree" (1928), a single synchronous singing sequence was included in the film. The sound sections in Mother Knows Best were directed by actor Charles Judels, whilst the silent sequences were directed by John G. Blystone. The film starred Madge Bellamy, with Louise Dresser as her domineering mother, Barry Norton, and Albert Gran.
Great Diamond Mystery is a 1924 American silent mystery film directed by Denison Clift and starring Shirley Mason, Jackie Saunders, and Harry von Meter.
The Faker is a 1929 American silent melodrama film, directed by Phil Rosen. It stars Jacqueline Logan, Charles Delaney, and Warner Oland, and was released on January 2, 1929.
