Friedrich Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award for Best Actor.
The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress.
Secret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from the play by Campbell Dixon, which in turn is loosely based on two stories in the 1927 collection Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, and Robert Young. Future star Michael Redgrave made a brief, uncredited appearance; he would play the male lead in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). The work was also Michael Rennie's film debut.
Kelly McGillis is an American actress widely known for her film roles as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985) with Harrison Ford, for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in Top Gun (1986) with Tom Cruise, and Kathryn Murphy in The Accused (1988) with Jodie Foster.
Robert Preston Meservey was an American stage and film actor and singer of Broadway and cinema, best known and remembered for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson and originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation; the film earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations. Preston collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, first in S.O.B. (1981) and again in Victor/Victoria (1982). For portraying Carroll "Toddy" Todd in the latter, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards.
William Brian de Lacy Aherne was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the US.
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".
The Black Dahlia is a 2006 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Josh Friedman, and starring Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, and Mia Kirshner. It is an adaptation of the 1987 novel of the same name by James Ellroy, in turn drawn from the widely sensationalized murder of Elizabeth Short.
Henry George Charles Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood,, styled The Honourable Henry Lascelles before 1892 and Viscount Lascelles between 1892 and 1929, was a British soldier, peer, and a landowner. He was the husband of Mary, Princess Royal, and thus a son-in-law of King George V and Queen Mary and a brother-in-law to Edward VIII and George VI.
Henry Victor was an English-born character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in his native Britain, before emigrating to the US in 1939 where he continued his career.
Mama's Affair is a 1921 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Victor Fleming and based on the play of the same title by Rachel Barton Butler. Cast members Effie Shannon, George Le Guere and Katharine Kaelred reprise their roles from the Broadway play.
The Story of Dr. Wassell is a 1944 American World War II film set in the Dutch East Indies, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso and Dennis O'Keefe. The film was based on a book of the same name by novelist and screenwriter James Hilton.
The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1937 American black-and-white adventure film based on Anthony Hope's 1894 novel of the same name and the 1896 play.
John Ford (1894–1973) was an American film director whose career spanned from 1913 to 1971. During this time he directed more than 140 films. Born in Maine, Ford entered the filmmaking industry shortly after graduating from high school with the help of his older brother, Francis Ford, who had established himself as a leading man and director for Universal Studios. After working as an actor, assistant director, stuntman, and prop man – often for his brother – Universal gave Ford the opportunity to direct in 1917. Initially working in short films, he quickly moved into features, largely with Harry Carey as his star. In 1920 Ford left Universal and began working for the Fox Film Corporation. During the next ten years he directed more than 30 films, including the westerns The Iron Horse (1924) and 3 Bad Men (1926), both starring George O'Brien, the war drama Four Sons and the Irish romantic drama Hangman's House. In the same year of these last two films, Ford directed his first all-talking film, the short Napoleon's Barber. The following year he directed his first all-talking feature, The Black Watch.
My Son, My Son! is a 1940 American drama film based on a novel by the same name written by Howard Spring and directed by Charles Vidor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by John DuCasse Schulze.
I Was a Spy is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and starring Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall, and Conrad Veidt. Based on the 1932 memoir I Was a Spy by Marthe Cnockaert, the film is about her experiences as a Belgian woman who nursed German soldiers during World War I while passing intelligence to the British.
Safari is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Edward H. Griffith and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Madeleine Carroll and Tullio Carminati.
Smilin' Guns is a 1929 American silent Western film, directed by Henry MacRae and starring Hoot Gibson.
The Whip is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur that is based on the play of the same name by Henry Hamilton and Cecil Raleigh. The film stars Alma Hanlon, June Elvidge, and Irving Cummings. It also features Bobby Vernon, Wallace Beery, as well as Gloria Swanson in one of her early film roles. The film survives and has been released on DVD.
