7th Heaven is a 1927 American synchronized sound romantic drama directed by Frank Borzage, and starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Movietone sound system. The film is based upon the 1922 play Seventh Heaven, by Austin Strong and was adapted for the screen by Benjamin Glazer. 7th Heaven was initially released as a standard silent film in May 1927. On September 10, 1927, Fox Film Corporation re-released the film with a synchronized Movietone soundtrack with a musical score and sound effects.
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.
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress.
Daniel Logan Laidlaw VC, nicknamed "The Piper of Loos", was a Scottish soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions during the Battle of Loos in the First World War.
Aileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.
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 United States in 1939 where he continued his career, working in Hollywood films
Abie's Irish Rose is a 1928 early sound (part-talkie) film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Jean Hersholt, and J. Farrell MacDonald. 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 Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film based on the 1922 play Abie's Irish Rose by Anne Nichols. The film was later remade in 1946. In the 1930s, author Nichols revealed that her deal with Paramount brought her $300,000 plus half the film's profits.
Mother Machree is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by John Ford that is based on the 1924 work The Story of Mother Machree by Rida Johnson Young about a poor Irish immigrant in America. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Rida Johnson Young had invented Mother Machree in the stage show Barry of Ballymoore in 1910. John Wayne has a minor role in the film.
Noah's Ark is a 1928 American part-talkie epic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. 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 story is by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio. Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue.
Homecoming is a 1928 German silent war drama film directed by Joe May and starring Lars Hanson, Dita Parlo, and Gustav Fröhlich. A sound version was prepared with the help of Paramount Pictures. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The sound version was more widely exhibited then the silent version due to the general public's apathy to silent films.
The Mating Call is a 1928 American silent drama film about a soldier who returns home from World War I to find his marriage has been annulled and his wife has remarried. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film was produced by Howard Hughes for his Caddo Corporation, and was originally released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the novel of the same name by Rex Beach. Renée Adorée has a brief nude scene in the film.
The American Prisoner is an all-talking sound 1929 British drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Carl Brisson, Madeleine Carroll and Cecil Barry. It was adapted from the 1904 novel The American Prisoner by Eden Phillpotts. It was originally conceived as a silent film, but was converted into a All-Talkie in line with widespread practice at British International Pictures during 1928–1929.
The First Born is a 1928 British silent drama film directed by Miles Mander and starring Mander, Madeleine Carroll, John Loder and Ella Atherton. It was made by Gainsborough Pictures at Elstree Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.
The Blue Danube is a 1928 American silent romantic drama film starring Leatrice Joy. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. This picture was produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Paul Sloane with a distribution through Pathé Exchange.
The Shopworn Angel is a 1928 American part-talking sound romantic drama film directed by Richard Wallace starring Nancy Carroll and Gary Cooper. The film was released by Paramount Pictures using the Western Electric sound-on-film system. Like the majority of films in the early sound era, a silent version was made for theatres who hadn't converted to sound yet by trimming down the portions of the film that featured talking or singing.
The Loves of Carmen is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh. The film, based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée, stars Dolores del Río in the title role, and Don Alvarado as Jose. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared in 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
Adoration is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film. 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 was released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and directed by Frank Lloyd. It stars Billie Dove, Antonio Moreno, Emile Chautard and Lucy Doraine. The film was also issued in a shorter silent version for theatres that were not yet wired for sound.
The Masks of the Devil is a lost 1928 American drama synchronized sound film directed by Victor Sjöström and written by Marian Ainslee, Ruth Cummings, Svend Gade and Frances Marion. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film stars John Gilbert, Alma Rubens, Theodore Roberts, Frank Reicher and Eva von Berne. The film was released on November 17, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
A Race for Life is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by D. Ross Lederman. 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. Originally, the film was presumed to be lost. However, according to the Library of Congress Database, the film was found in the Netherlands. The film was released with a Vitaphone soundtrack with a synchronised musical score and sound effects.
Captain Swagger is a 1928 American synchronized sound crime drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith and stars Rod La Rocque. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects utilizing the RCA Photophone sound-on-film sound system. The film was released with both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film formats. The film was produced and distributed by the Pathé Exchange company.
