This is an overview of 1921 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton, with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P. G. Wodehouse. The plot hinges on a mistaken identity: Sally, a waif, is a dishwasher at the Alley Inn in New York City. She poses as a famous foreign ballerina and rises to fame through joining the Ziegfeld Follies. There is a rags to riches story, a ballet as a centrepiece, and a wedding as a finale. "Look for the Silver Lining" continues to be one of Kern's most familiar songs. The song is lampooned by another song, "Look for a Sky of Blue," in Rick Besoyan's satirical 1959 musical Little Mary Sunshine.
Colleen Moore was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable stars of the era and helped popularize the bobbed haircut.
Milton George Gustavus Sills was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.
Walter Leland Catlett was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards.
Frances Charlotte Greenwood was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye."
Grace Darmond was a Canadian-American actress.
Walter Hiers was an American silent film actor.
Her Wild Oat is a 1927 American silent comedy film made by First National Pictures, directed by Marshall Neilan, and starring Colleen Moore. The screenplay was written by Gerald C. Duffy, based on a story by Howard Irving Young.
We Moderns is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore. The film was produced by Moore's husband John McCormick and was released through First National Pictures. It was based on the play and novel by Israel Zangwill. The play ran for 22 performances in 1924 at the Gaiety Theatre in New York, produced and directed by Harrison Grey Fiske and starring Helen Hayes and Isabel Irving.
Slippy McGee is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on the book Slippy McGee: Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man by Marie Conway Oemler that was published in 1917. The film was an Oliver Morosco Production released by Associated First National and featured actress Colleen Moore as Mary Virginia. It is not known whether the film survives.
A Roman Scandal is a 1919 American short silent comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and directed by Al Christie.
Oh, Kay! is a 1928 silent film produced by John McCormick and distributed by First National Pictures. McCormick's wife Colleen Moore starred and Mervyn LeRoy directed the film. It is based on the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!, which had music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse.
The Ninety and Nine was a 1922 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Colleen Moore made shortly before she gained fame as a film flapper. The film was presumed lost, although recently a 10 minute condensed 16 mm home movie version was discovered, and has since been released with a music score by Ben Model, in his latest compilation Accidentally Preserved No.4.
The Man in the Moonlight is a 1919 American silent drama film a set in the great north, starring Colleen Moore and Monroe Salisbury.
So Long Letty is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Charlotte Greenwood, reprising her role from the 1916 Broadway stage play. The story had previously been filmed as a silent under the same title in 1920 with Colleen Moore.
Sally is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Sally written by Guy Bolton and Clifford Grey that was adapted to film by June Mathis. The play was a Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. production written specifically for Marilyn Miller that opened on December 21, 1920, at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway. It ran for 570 performances.
Roi Cooper Megrue was an American playwright, producer, and director active on Broadway from 1914 to 1921.
Where the Worst Begins is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by John McDermott and starring Ruth Roland, Alec B. Francis, and Matt Moore.
See My Lawyer is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Al Christie and starring T. Roy Barnes, Grace Darmond and Lloyd Whitlock. It is based on the 1915 play See My Lawyer by Max Marcin.
