This is an overview of 1925 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress whose career spanned nearly five decades, starring in many silent film dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic Greed, and comedies, before transitioning successfully to mostly comedy roles with the advent of sound films. She also appeared on numerous radio shows and, later, made her mark on television. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 at 6554 Hollywood Blvd.
Dames is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert. Production numbers and songs include "When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips ", "The Girl at the Ironing Board", "I Only Have Eyes for You", "Dames" and "Try to See It My Way".
Merton of the Movies is a 1924 American comedy film directed by James Cruze, written by Walter Woods, and starring Glenn Hunter and Viola Dana. It is based on the George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly 1922 play of the same name, which in turn was based on Harry Leon Wilson's novel, also titled Merton of the Movies.
How Could You, Jean? is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, starring Mary Pickford, directed by William Desmond Taylor, and based on a novel by Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd. Casson Ferguson was the male lead; Spottiswoode Aitken and a young ZaSu Pitts had supporting roles.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a 1924 American silent drama film starring Blanche Sweet and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Sweet's husband, Marshall Neilan. The film is the second motion picture adaptation of the 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy, which had been turned into a very successful 1897 play starring Mrs. Fiske. In 1913, Adolph Zukor enticed Mrs. Fiske to reprise her role in a film version which is now considered lost. The 1924 version is also considered lost.
The Living Ghost is a 1942 American mystery-drama film directed by William Beaudine and produced by Monogram Pictures. Starring James Dunn and Joan Woodbury, the film incorporates elements of the horror genre as it follows an ex-private detective who is called in to investigate why a banker has turned into a zombie. As the detective shares wisecracks with the banker's cheeky secretary, the two fall in love. The film was distributed in the United Kingdom under the title Lend Me Your Ear, and later released on home video as A Walking Nightmare.
Hollywood Cavalcade is a 1939 American film featuring Alice Faye as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound.
Penrod and Sam is a 1923 American silent comedy-drama film directed by William Beaudine and starring Ben Alexander, Joe Butterworth, and Buddy Messinger. Wendy L. Marshall stated that "Beaudine had the Midas touch when it came to directing children" in films like this and Boy of Mine. In 1931, Beaudine directed a sound adaptation of the novel.
Boy of Mine is a 1923 American silent family drama film directed by William Beaudine that was based upon a short story by Booth Tarkington. It stars Ben Alexander, Rockliffe Fellowes, and Henry B. Walthall. Wendy L. Marshall stated that "Beaudine had the Midas touch when it came to directing children" in films like this and Penrod and Sam.
Penrod and Sam is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Leon Janney and Frank Coghlan Jr. It is an adaptation of the novel Penrod and Sam by Booth Tarkington. Beaudine had previously directed a 1923 silent version, and was invited to remake his earlier success.
Merton of the Movies is a 1947 American comedy film, based on the 1922 novel of the same name written by Harry Leon Wilson, and the play of the same name written by George S. Kaufmann and Marc Connelly, which opened on Broadway in 1922. It was previously adapted as a 1924 silent film and as the 1932 film Make Me a Star. The 1947 version stars Red Skelton and is directed by choreographer Robert Alton in his directorial debut.
Crazy Knights is a 1944 American comedy horror film directed by William Beaudine and starring Billy Gilbert, Shemp Howard and Max Rosenbloom.
Jiggs and Maggie in Court is a 1948 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Joe Yule, Renie Riano and George McManus. It was the second of a series of four films featuring Yule and Riano as the title characters, in a spin-off from the 1946 film Bringing Up Father.
Forty Naughty Girls is a 1937 American comedy mystery film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by John Grey. The film stars James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Marjorie Lord, George Shelley and Joan Woodbury. It is the sixth and final entry in RKO Pictures' series of Hildegarde Withers films. This film was the sixth film in the Hildegarde Withers-Oscar Piper series, and the second film in which ZaSu Pitts appeared as Hildegarde. Before Pitts, Edna May Oliver and Helen Broderick had played the role.
Mad Holiday is a 1936 American comedy mystery film directed by George B. Seitz and written by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf. The film stars Edmund Lowe, Elissa Landi, ZaSu Pitts, Ted Healy, Edmund Gwenn and Edgar Kennedy. The film was released on November 13, 1936, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Is Matrimony a Failure? is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze and written by Walter Woods based upon a play of the same name by Leo Ditrichstein, which itself was an adaptation of the German play Die Tür ins Freie by Oscar Blumenthal and Gustav Kadelburg. The film stars T. Roy Barnes, Lila Lee, Lois Wilson, Walter Hiers, ZaSu Pitts, Arthur Hoyt, and Lillian Leighton. The film was released on April 16, 1922, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.
The Vanishing Frontier is a 1932 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Stuart Anthony, and starring Johnny Mack Brown, Evalyn Knapp, ZaSu Pitts, Raymond Hatton, Ben Alexander, J. Farrell MacDonald and Wallace MacDonald. It was released on July 29, 1932, by Paramount Pictures.
The Trial of Vivienne Ware is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by William K. Howard, written by Barry Conners and Philip Klein, and starring Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, ZaSu Pitts, Lilian Bond and Alan Dinehart. It was released on May 1, 1932, by Fox Film Corporation.
The Little Accident is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William James Craft and written by Gladys Lehman and Gene Towne, based on the 1927 novel An Unmarried Father by Floyd Dell and the 1928 play Little Accident by Dell and Thomas Mitchell. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anita Page, Sally Blane, ZaSu Pitts, Joan Marsh, and Roscoe Karns. The film was released on August 3, 1930, by Universal Pictures. It was remade by Universal in 1939 as Little Accident, and by RKO Radio Pictures in 1944 with Gary Cooper as Casanova Brown.
