The following is an overview of 1926 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death.
Dorothy Elizabeth Gish was an American actress of the screen and stage, as well as a director and writer. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great success on the stage, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Dorothy Gish was noted as a fine comedian, and many of her films were comedies.
Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox, known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer and dancer.
The Musketeers of Pig Alley is a 1912 American short drama and a gangster film. It is directed by D. W. Griffith and written by Griffith and Anita Loos. It is also credited for its early use of follow focus, a fundamental tool in cinematography.
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.
Madame Pompadour is an operetta in three acts, composed by Leo Fall with a libretto by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch. Conducted by the composer, it opened at the Berliner Theater in Berlin on 9 September 1922 and then at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 2 March 1923.
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE, was a British film producer and director who was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife Anna Neagle.
Dawn is a 1928 British silent war film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Sybil Thorndike, Gordon Craig and Marie Ault. It was produced by Wilcox for his British & Dominions Film Corporation. The film was made at Cricklewood Studios with sets designed by Clifford Pember.
Nell Gwynn is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne de Casalis, Miles Malleson and Moore Marriott. The film portrays the historical romance between Charles II of England and the actress Nell Gwynn. In the opening credits, the screenplay is attributed to Miles Malleson, "in collaboration with King Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Nell Gwyn." It was also released as Mistress Nell Gwyn.
Limelight is a 1936 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Arthur Tracy, Anna Neagle and Jane Winton. It was released in the U.S. as Backstage.
Bitter Sweet is a British musical romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and released by United Artists in 1933. It was the first film adaptation of Noël Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet. It starred Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, with Ivy St. Helier reviving her stage role as Manon. It was made at Elstree Studios and was part of a boom in operetta films during the 1930s.
London (1926) is a British silent film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish. The film was adapted by Wilcox from a short story by popular author Thomas Burke. The British Film Institute considers this to be a lost film.
Wolves is a 1930 British crime film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Charles Laughton, Dorothy Gish and Malcolm Keen. The screenplay concerns a woman who is captured by a gang of criminals operating in the Arctic, only for the leader to later help her escape. It was based on a play by Georges Toudouze. It was produced by Herbert Wilcox's British and Dominions Film Corporation, but filmed at the Blattner Studios whilst sound equipment was being installed at Wilcox's nearby Imperial Studios, and the sound was added after filming was completed. It was Gish's first sound film, and was Laughton's second talkie, having completed a film of a musical variety performance earlier the same year. Of 57 minutes original duration, it was released in 1936 in a 37-minute version retitled "Wanted Men".
Flames of Passion (1922) was a British silent film drama directed by Graham Cutts, starred Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith.
Tip Toes is a 1927 British silent film comedy-drama, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish and Will Rogers. The film is a loose adaptation of the stage musical Tip-Toes, with the action transferred from Florida to London.
Nell Gwyn is a 1926 British romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish, Randle Ayrton and Juliette Compton. It was based on the 1926 novel Mistress Nell Gwyn by Marjorie Bowen and follows the life of Nell Gwynne, the mistress of Charles II. Wilcox later made a second version of the film in 1934, Nell Gwynn which starred Anna Neagle.
Mistress Nell Gwyn is the title of the New York edition of an historical novel by the British writer Marjorie Bowen. The book was also published in London with the title Nell Gwyn: A Decoration. The book was first published in 1926.
Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764) was a member of the French court and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV.
Fame is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Sydney Howard, Muriel Aked and Miki Hood. It was made at Elstree Studios.
