This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Madge Bellamy was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Bellamy's career declined in the sound era and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.
Movietone News was a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Spain in the early 1930s as Noticiario Fox Movietone before being replaced by No-Do, in Australia and New Zealand until 1970, and Germany as Fox Tönende Wochenschau from 1930 to 1940 and from 1950 to 1978. An Indian version called Indian Movietone News ran in 1942 and 1943 before getting replaced by Indian News Parade.
The Royal Family is a play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Its premiere on Broadway was at the Selwyn Theatre on 28 December 1927, where it ran for 345 performances to close in October 1928. It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1927–1928.
Dorothy Janis was an American actress.
Mother Machree is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by John Ford that is based on the 1924 work The Story of Mother Machree by Rida Johnson Young about a poor Irish immigrant in America. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Rida Johnson Young had invented Mother Machree in the stage show Barry of Ballymoore in 1910. John Wayne has a minor role in the film.
A part-talkie is a sound film that includes at least some "talking sequences" or sections with audible dialogue. The remainder of the film is provided with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. These films more often than not contain a main theme song that is played during key scenes in the film and is often sung offscreen on the musical soundtrack. During the portion without audible dialogue, speaking parts are presented as intertitles—printed text briefly filling the screen—and the soundtrack is used only to supply musical accompaniment and sound effects.
Lucky Star is a 1929 sound part-talkie American romantic drama film starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, and directed by Frank Borzage. 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 Movietone sound-on-film system. The plot involves the impact of World War I upon a farm girl (Gaynor) and a returning soldier (Farrell).
4 Devils is a lost 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by German director F. W. Murnau and starring Janet Gaynor. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process.
Dorothy Burgess was an American stage and motion-picture actress.
Lightnin' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Ford. It was based on a successful play of the same name. The original run of the play started in 1918 at the Gaiety Theatre and continued for 1,291 performances, breaking the record for longest running play at that time. The film was remade in 1930 by Henry King for Fox as an early talkie starring Will Rogers with support from Louise Dresser and Joel McCrea.
My Man is a 1928 black and white sound part-talkie American comedy-drama musical film directed by Archie Mayo starring Fanny Brice and featuring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
The Air Circus is a 1928 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Arthur Lake, Sue Carol, David Rollins, and Louise Dresser. It is the first of Hawks's aviation films. The film is notable as the first aviation oriented film with dialogue.
Chasing Through Europe is a 1929 sound part-talkie American Pre-Code romance film directed by David Butler and Alfred L. Werker and starring Sue Carol, Nick Stuart and Gustav von Seyffertitz. 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 Movietone sound-on-film system. The film was produced by the Fox Film Corporation. Most of the film was shot on location in Europe.
Gigolo is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Producers Distributing Corporation. William K. Howard directed and Rod La Rocque and Jobyna Ralston star. The film is based on a novel, Gigolo, by Edna Ferber.
Not Quite Decent is a 1929 American sound part-talkie Pre-Code film, produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Irving Cummings, and starring June Collyer and Louise Dresser. 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 Movietone sound-on-film system.
Bad Boy is a 1935 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Allen Rivkin. The film stars James Dunn, Dorothy Wilson, Louise Fazenda, Victor Kilian, John Wray and Luis Alberni. The film was released on October 25, 1935, by 20th Century Fox.
Making the Grade is a 1929 sound part-talkie American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green. 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 Movietone sound-on-film system. The film stars Lois Moran, Edmund Lowe and Lucien Littlefield.
The One Woman Idea is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Berthold Viertel and written by Marion Orth. 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 Movietone sound-on-film system. The film stars Rod La Rocque, Marceline Day, Shirley Dorman, Sharon Lynn, Sally Phipps and Ivan Lebedeff. The film was released on June 2, 1929, by Fox Film Corporation.
