Richard Semler Barthelmess was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920) and was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. The following year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two films: The Patent Leather Kid and The Noose.
The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
John Conrad Nagel was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1940, and three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Four Walls is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by William Nigh and starring John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, and Carmel Myers. The film is based on the play of the same name by George Abbott and Dana Burnet. Four Walls is now considered lost. The film was remade in 1934 as Straight Is the Way.
Robert O'Connor, also known professionally as Robert Emmett O'Connor and Robert E. O'Connor was an Irish-American actor. He had a lengthy career as a stage actor on Broadway and in vaudeville from 1905-1931; using the stage name Robert O'Connor in both musicals and plays. After transitioning to film, he also used the names Robert Emmett O'Connor or Robert E. O'Connor for his screen credits. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1919 and 1950; specializing in portraying policemen. He is probably best remembered as the warmhearted bootlegger Paddy Ryan in The Public Enemy (1931) and as police Sergeant Henderson pursuing the Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935). He also appeared as Jonesy in Billy Wilder's 1950 film Sunset Boulevard. He also made an appearance at the very beginning and very end of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short Who Killed Who? (1943).
The Big Timer is a 1932 American Pre-Code sports drama film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Ben Lyon, Constance Cummings and Thelma Todd. Produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, it is about a boxer whose success goes to his head.
Seven Footprints to Satan is a sound part-talkie 1929 American mystery film directed by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen. Based on the 1928 story of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, William V. Mong and Sheldon Lewis. 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 film survives at the Cineteca Italiana in an alternate sound version known as an International Sound Version. The sound disks for this foreign sound version are apparently not extant.
Experience is a 1921 American silent morality drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The allegorical film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and starred Richard Barthelmess. It was based on George V. Hobart's successful 1914 Broadway play of the same name. It was the film debut of Lilyan Tashman.
Soul-Fire is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and Bessie Love. It was directed by John S. Robertson and was based on the Broadway production Great Music (1924) by Martin Brown.
Weary River is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
Her Private Life is a surviving 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Walter Pidgeon and Holmes Herbert. The plot concerns an English aristocrat who causes a scandal when she divorces her husband and runs off with a young American. The film had been considered a lost film. However, in July 2016, according to the Library of Congress, the film was found in an Italian archive.
Scarlet Seas is a surviving 1929 American synchronized sound romantic adventure film produced by Richard A. Rowland and distributed by First National Pictures. Although there is no audible dialogue, the film was released with a musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc recording process. The picture was directed by John Francis Dillon. It starred Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and a teen-aged Loretta Young. Originally, the film was presumed lost.
Jacob Benson Luden was an American film actor.
The Haunted House is a 1928 American mystery film directed by Benjamin Christensen. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. The film stars Larry Kent and Thelma Todd and is based on Owen Davis's 1926 Broadway play of the same name. UCLA Film and Television Archive has copies of the Vitaphone sound discs but not the film, which remains lost.
Out of the Ruins is a lost 1928 silent film drama produced and distributed by First National Pictures. John Francis Dillon directed and Richard Barthelmess stars.
The Harvester is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Homer Croy, Robert Lee Johnson, Elizabeth Meehan and Gertrude Orr. It is based on the 1911 novel The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter, which had previously been turned into a 1927 silent film of the same title. The film stars Alice Brady, Russell Hardie, Ann Rutherford, Frank Craven, Cora Sue Collins and Emma Dunn. The film was released on April 18, 1936, by Republic Pictures.
The Bond Boy is a lost 1922 American silent drama film directed by Henry King and starring Richard Barthelmess. It was produced by Barthelmess and Charles Duell and released through Associated First National Pictures.
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Richard Barthelmess. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. The film is a remake of a 1920 Goldwyn Pictures film with the same title starring Jack Pickford.
Wheel of Chance is a lost 1928 silent film feature directed by Alfred Santell and starring Richard Barthelmess. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures.
New Toys is a 1925 American comedy film directed by John S. Robertson and written by Josephine Lovett and Agnes Smith. It is based on the 1924 play New Toys by Oscar Hammerstein II and Milton Herbert Gropper. The film stars Richard Barthelmess, Mary Hay, Katherine Wilson, Clifton Webb, Francis Conlon, and Bijou Fernandez. The film was released on March 1, 1925, by First National Pictures.
