The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Henry Byron Warner was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in The King of Kings. In later years, he successfully moved into supporting roles and appeared in numerous films directed by Frank Capra. Warner's most recognizable role to modern audiences is Mr. Gower in It's a Wonderful Life, directed by Capra. He appeared in the original 1937 version of Lost Horizon as Chang, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his Growth trilogy after The Turmoil (1915) and before The Midlander. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Myrtle Stedman was an American leading lady and later character actress in motion pictures who began in silent films in 1910.
Showgirl in Hollywood is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking musical film with Technicolor sequences, produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Alice White, Jack Mulhall and Blanche Sweet. It was adapted from the 1929 novel Hollywood Girl by J.P. McEvoy.
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.
Shell 43 is a 1916 American war film written by C. Gardner Sullivan, from a story by Edward Sloman, and starring H.B. Warner, Enid Markey, and John Gilbert.
(For the 1929 talkie see The Isle of Lost Ships )
The Terror is a 1928 American pre-Code horror film written by Harvey Gates and directed by Roy Del Ruth, based on the 1927 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. It was the second "all-talking" motion picture released by Warner Bros., following Lights of New York. It was also the first all-talking horror film, made using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
Cabaret is a 1927 American silent crime drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Robert G. Vignola, and starring Gilda Gray.
Weary River is a 1929 American romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden. Produced and distributed by First National Pictures, the film, like many made during the changeover from silent to sound movies, is mostly silent with a few sequences featuring synchronized dialogue and singing. Based on a story by Courtney Riley Cooper, the film is about a gangster who goes to prison and finds salvation through music while serving his time. After he is released and falls back into a life of temptation, he is saved by the love of a woman and the warden who befriended him. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Director in 1930.
Those Who Dance is a 1924 American silent drama film produced by Thomas H. Ince and directed by Lambert Hillyer. Released by Associated First National, the film stars Blanche Sweet, Bessie Love, and Warner Baxter. It is based on a story by George Kibbe Turner.
The Three of Us is a lost 1914 silent film drama directed by John W. Noble, produced by B. A. Rolfe, and starring Mabel Taliaferro and Creighton Hale. It was based on a 1906 play The Three of Us by Rachel Crothers.
Simple Sis is a 1927 American silent comedy-melodrama directed by Herman C. Raymaker and starring Louise Fazenda as a poor, plain laundress hoping for romance, supported by Clyde Cook as a shy suitor and Myrna Loy as a cruel beauty.
Bitter Apples is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Harry O. Hoyt and starring Monte Blue, Myrna Loy, and Paul Ellis.
Finger Prints is a 1927 American silent comedy crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Louise Fazenda, John T. Murray, and Helene Costello.
Five and Ten Cent Annie is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook and William Demarest.
The Love Toy is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Lowell Sherman, Jane Winton, and Willard Louis. The film was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers.
Closed Gates is a 1927 American silent melodrama film based on a story by Manfred Lee and directed by Phil Rosen. It stars John Harron, Jane Novak, and Lucy Beaumont, and was released on June 1, 1927.
Alimony is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by James W. Horne and starring Grace Darmond, Warner Baxter, and Ruby Miller. In the United Kingdom it was released under the title When the Crash Came.
