The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some films released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent. This year is notable for the introduction of the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, in the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production.
The following is an overview of 1926 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen" by her first husband, the actor John Barrymore. She was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and grandmother of actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore.
Sydney John Chaplin was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager.
Glorious Betsy is a 1928 sound part-talkie drama film. 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 film is based on the 1908 play of the same name by Rida Johnson Young, and it stars Dolores Costello. It was produced by Warner Bros. and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Adaptation in 1929. The film was directed by Alan Crosland with cinematography by Hal Mohr.
They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American biographical western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Arthur Kennedy. It was made and distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows,
Lost in a Harem is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Marilyn Maxwell.
Charles Francis Reisner was an American film director and actor of the 1920s and 1930s.
Theodore Lorch was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1908 and 1947.
When a Man Loves is a 1927 American synchronized sound historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The picture stars John Barrymore and features Dolores Costello in the frequently filmed story of Abbe Prevost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut. The lovers suffer, but the film has an optimistic ending, as they head to America. Manon dies at the end of the novel. The UK release title was His Lady.
Shine On, Harvest Moon is a 1944 musical–biographical film about the vaudeville team of Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth, who wrote the popular song "Shine On, Harvest Moon." The film was directed by David Butler and stars Ann Sheridan and Dennis Morgan Sheridan's singing voice was dubbed by Lynn Martin.
Across the Pacific is a 1926 American silent romantic adventure film produced by Warner Bros., directed by Roy del Ruth and starring Monte Blue. It was based on a 1900 play by Charles Blaney and J. J. McCloskey. The play had been filmed before in 1914 with Dorothy Dalton. It is unknown, but the film might have been released with a Vitaphone soundtrack.
Bobbed Hair is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Marie Prevost, Kenneth Harlan, and Louise Fazenda, and. It was based on a 1925 novel of the same name written by twenty different authors. The film was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
Finger Prints is a 1927 American silent comedy crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Louise Fazenda, John T. Murray, and Helene Costello.
The Better 'Ole is a 1926 American synchronized sound World War I comedy drama film. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., this film is the second full-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process, two months after the first Vitaphone feature Don Juan; with no audible dialogue, the film does have a synchronized musical score and sound effects. This film was also the second onscreen adaptation of the 1917 musical The Better 'Ole by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot. Charlie Chaplin's eldest brother Sydney Chaplin played the main lead as Old Bill in perhaps his best-known film today. This film is also believed by many to have the first spoken word of dialog, "coffee", although there are those who disagree. At one point during the film, Harold Goodwin's character whispers a word to Sydney Chaplin which is also faintly heard. This was discovered by the UCLA's Robert Gitt, during the restoration of the sound discs for the film. The line was recorded in perfect sync, apparently during the orchestra recording sessions rather than live on set, therefore making it the earliest known use of dubbing in a motion picture.
The Fortune Hunter is a lost 1927 synchronized sound film comedy directed by Charles Reisner and starring Syd Chaplin. It is based on the 1909 Broadway play The Fortune Hunter by Winchell Smith. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film was produced by Warner Brothers.
On Thin Ice is a 1925 American silent crime drama film directed by Mal St. Clair and starring Tom Moore, Edith Roberts, and William Russell. It was produced and distributed by the Warner Bros. and based upon a 1924 novel by Alice Ross Colver.
What Happened to Father? is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Adolfi and written by Charles R. Condon. It is based on the 1909 short story of the same name by Mary Roberts Rinehart that was originally serialized in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. The film stars Warner Oland, Flobelle Fairbanks, and William Demarest. A previous version of the story was filmed in 1915.
Oh! What a Nurse! is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and written by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film stars Sydney Chaplin, Patsy Ruth Miller, Gayne Whitman, Matthew Betz, Edith Yorke, and David Torrence. The film was released by Warner Bros. on March 7, 1926.
The Missing Link is a 1927 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and starring Syd Chaplin, Ruth Hiatt and Tom McGuire. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The title of the film is a reference to the so-called "missing link" that connects man and the ape.
