This is an overview of 1924 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police is a 1939 English Castle murder mystery film directed by James P. Hogan, based on the H. C. McNeile novel Temple Tower. It is one of many films featuring the British sleuth and adventurer Bulldog Drummond. In 1930, Fox produced Temple Tower, directed by Donald Gallaher and starring Kenneth MacKenna and Marceline Day, which was also based on the McNeile book.
Reginald Leigh Dugmore, known professionally as Reginald Denny, was an English actor, aviator, and UAV pioneer.
Show Boat is a 1929 American pre-Code sound part-talkie romantic drama film based on the 1926 novel Show Boat by Edna Ferber. The film initially did not use the 1927 stage musical of the same name as a source, but scenes were later added into the film incorporating two of the songs from the musical as well as other songs. Many of these songs from the stage show were featured in a special prologue that was added to the picture before it was released. This film was produced and released by Universal. Like the majority of films during the early sound era, a silent version was made for movie theatres that had not yet converted to sound.
You Got My Mind Messed Up is a 1967 album by James Carr. Although Carr is not as well-known as his contemporaries such as Otis Redding or Aretha Franklin, "You Got My Mind Messed Up" has been cited as one of the top soul music albums of all time. Allmusic gave it 5 stars from two different reviewers. On the 2002 re-release Mojo magazine stated "This is undoubtedly one of the greatest soul albums of all time." (10/02, p.118).
Henry Stephenson was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Mr. Brownlow in Oliver Twist (1948).
Otis Harlan was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This made him the earliest born actor to feature in a Disney film and one of the earliest known American voice actors.
Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies (1949) is a 15-episode Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance of a flying saucer, as the secret weapon of the villainous Recorder.
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.
The Dixie Handicap is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Claire Windsor, Lloyd Hughes, and Otis Harlan. It is written by Waldemar Young.
Cissy Fitzgerald was an English-American vaudeville actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in numerous silent and sound films. Fitzgerald acted in a popular Gaiety Girl show beginning in 1894 and was filmed in the role in 1896 in a self-titled short film shot by Thomas Edison's film company. She did not appear in films again until 1914 where she signed with the Vitagraph company and was quite popular in feature films and her own series of Cissy short films. Very little of Fitzgerald's silent material survives except her comic backup role in the 1928 Lon Chaney vehicle Laugh, Clown, Laugh.
The Preview Murder Mystery is a 1936 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Florey and starring Reginald Denny, Frances Drake and Gail Patrick. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The plot follows a studio public relations man who attempts to trap a killer using television technology, allowing on-screen glimpses of technicians like Florey's cinematographer Karl Struss.
The Big Shot is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Ralph Murphy and Edward Sedgwick and written by Earl Baldwin, Hal Conklin, George Dromgold and Joseph Fields. The film stars Eddie Quillan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mary Nolan, Roscoe Ates and Belle Bennett. It was released on December 18, 1931 by RKO Pictures.
What Happened to Jones is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Reginald Denny. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the 1897 Broadway play What Happened to Jones by George Broadhurst.
Red Hot Speed is a 1929 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Reginald Denny, Alice Day and Charles Byer. 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 sound was recorded using the Western Electric Sound System.
Clear the Decks is a 1929 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and written by Earle Snell, Gladys Lehman, Albert DeMond and Charles Henry Smith. 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 Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film is based on the 1926 novel When the Devil Was Sick by E.J. Rath. The film stars Reginald Denny, Olive Hasbrouck, Otis Harlan, Lucien Littlefield, Collette Merton and Robert Anderson. The film was released on March 3, 1929, by Universal Pictures.
I'll Show You the Town is a 1925 American comedy film directed by Harry A. Pollard and written by Raymond L. Schrock and Harvey F. Thew. It is based on the 1924 novel I'll Show You the Town by Elmer Davis. The film stars Reginald Denny, Marian Nixon, Edward Kimball, Lilyan Tashman, Hayden Stevenson, and Cissy Fitzgerald. The film was released on June 7, 1925, by Universal Pictures.
Silks and Saddles is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert F. Hill and written by Edward Clark, James Gruen, Paul Gangelin, Faith Thomas, J.G. Hawks and Albert DeMond. The film stars Richard Walling, Marian Nixon, Sam De Grasse, Montagu Love, Mary Nolan and Otis Harlan. The film was released on January 20, 1929, by Universal Pictures.
Take the Heir is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Edward Everett Horton, Dorothy Devore and Edythe Chapman. It was produced during the transition to sound film and a separate silent version was also released. Location shooting took place around Broadway. A review in the Motion Picture News considered the film "very, very weak" and a waste of Everett Horton's talents.
