Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his titular role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
Gloria May Josephine Swanson was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 return in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.
The following is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection or public archive.
Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 per week.
Pretty Ladies is a 1925 American silent comedy drama film starring ZaSu Pitts and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is a fictional recreation of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Directed by Monta Bell, the film was written by Alice D. G. Miller and featured intertitles by Joseph Farnham. Pretty Ladies originally featured musical color sequences, some in two-color Technicolor. However, the color sequences are now considered lost.
Madame Sans-Gêne is a 1925 American silent romantic costume comedy-drama film directed by Léonce Perret and starring Gloria Swanson. Based on the play of the same name by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau, the film was released by Paramount Pictures.
Stage Struck is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor, and Ford Sterling. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and released by Paramount Pictures with the opening and ending sequences filmed in the early two-color Technicolor.
Fine Manners is a 1926 American black-and-white silent comedy film directed initially by Lewis Milestone and completed by Richard Rosson for Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, director Milestone walked off the project, causing the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an assistant director to Allan Dwan. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed Her Father's Keeper in 1917 with his brother Arthur Rosson, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.
Manhandled is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky at their East Coast Astoria Studios facility and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The supporting cast includes Frank Morgan. A young woman goes out partying when her hard-working boyfriend neglects her.
Bluebeard's 8th Wife is a 1923 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Sam Wood and stars Gloria Swanson. The film is based on the French play La huitième femme de Barbe-Bleue by Alfred Savoir which is based on the Bluebeard tales of the 15th century. The play ran on Broadway in 1921 starring Ina Claire in the Swanson role.
Zaza is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson. This film is based on the 1899 French play of the same name produced on Broadway by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter. The film was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York City.
A Society Scandal is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson and Rod La Rocque. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is based on a 1922 play The Laughing Lady, by Alfred Sutro which starred Ethel Barrymore in 1923 on Broadway and originally in 1922 with Edith Evans in UK.
Zaza was a 1915 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company in association with the Charles Frohman Company, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford and stars Pauline Frederick in the title role. The film is based on the 1899 French stage play of the same name that starred Mrs. Leslie Carter, and the American adaptation by David Belasco.
What a Widow! was a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and produced by and starring Gloria Swanson. It was distributed through United Artists.
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.
Her Love Story is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and based on the short story "Her Majesty, the Queen" by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
Wages of Virtue is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Forrest Halsey and Percival Christopher Wren. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Norman Trevor, Ivan Linow, Armand Cortes, Adrienne D'Ambricourt, and Paul Panzer. The film was released on November 10, 1924, by Paramount Pictures. It was shot at the Astoria Studios in New York.
