1917 in film was a particularly fruitful year for the art form, and is often cited as one of the years in the decade which contributed to the medium the most, along with 1913. Secondarily the year saw a limited global embrace of narrative film-making and featured innovative techniques such as continuity cutting. Primarily, the year is an American landmark, as 1917 is the first year where the narrative and visual style is typified as "Classical Hollywood".
The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.
Richard Oswald was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald.
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) has inspired many cinematic, literary, and artistic adaptations.
Enoch Arden is a 1915 American short drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It is based on the 1864 poem Enoch Arden by Tennyson. Prints of the film exists at the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
The Gray Ghost is a 1917 American crime-drama film serial directed by Stuart Paton. It is presumed to be lost.
The Flaming Disc is a 1920 American silent adventure film serial directed by Robert F. Hill. The first episode of the series, "Rails of Death", opened on November 21, 1920. A total of 18 film episodes were produced. The Flaming Disc is now presumed to be a lost film.
Dorian Gray is a 2009 British dark fantasy horror film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Oliver Parker, and written by Toby Finlay. The film stars Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox, and Rachel Hurd-Wood. It tells the story of the title character, an attractive Englishman whose loveliness and spirit are captured in an enchanted painting that keeps him from aging. His portrait becomes further tainted with every sin he commits while he remains young and handsome.
Are You a Mason? is a 1915 American silent comedy film produced by Adolph Zukor and Charles Frohman, and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Directed by Thomas N. Heffron, it starred John Barrymore as a young husband who pretends to join the Masons as an excuse to get out of the house. It was based on a 1901 play by Leo Ditrichstein.
Fifty-Fifty is an American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan whose story was adapted for the screen by Robert Shirley. The Fine Arts Film Company production was made under the aegis of Triangle Film Corporation which released it on October 22, 1916. The leading roles are played by Norma Talmadge, J. W. Johnston, and Marie Chambers. A print of the film is in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection.
The Eternal Three is a 1923 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. It was directed by both Marshall Neilan and Frank Urson. Hobart Bosworth, Claire Windsor, and Bessie Love star.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1917 German silent fantasy film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Bernd Aldor, Ernst Pittschau, and Ernst Ludwig. The film is based on the 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1916 British silent fantasy film directed by Fred W. Durrant and starring Henry Victor, Pat O'Malley and Sydney Bland. The film is based on the 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
The Battle Cry of Peace is a 1915 American silent war film directed by Wilfrid North and J. Stuart Blackton, one of the founders of Vitagraph Company of America who also wrote the scenario. The film is based on the book Defenseless America, by Hudson Maxim, and was distributed by V-L-S-E, Incorporated. The film stars Charles Richman, L. Rogers Lytton, and James W. Morrison.
The Deep Purple is a 1920 American silent crime drama film directed by Raoul Walsh from a 1910 play co-written by Wilson Mizner and Paul Armstrong. The picture stars Miriam Cooper and Helen Ware and is a remake of the 1915 lost film The Deep Purple. It is not known whether the 1920 film currently survives.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1910), also known as Dorian Grays Portræt, is a Danish silent film based on the 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913) is an American silent film, directed by Phillips Smalley, starring Wallace Reid, and with a screenplay by Lois Weber based on the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde.
As Men Love is a lost 1917 American drama silent film directed by E. Mason Hopper, and written by Adele Harris and Lois Zellner. The film stars House Peters, Sr., Myrtle Stedman, Jack W. Johnston, and Helen Jerome Eddy. The film was released on March 29, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Son of His Father is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ridgwell Cullum. The film stars Charles Ray, Vola Vale, Robert McKim, George Nichols, Charles K. French, and J. P. Lockney. The film was released on October 22, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Picture of Dorian Grey was a 1915 Russian silent drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel of the same title. Directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold and Mikhail Doronin, with art direction by Vladimir Yegorov, this screen adaptation should not be confused with another film also released in 1915, one produced by the Thanhouser Company in the United States and starring actor Harris Gordon. A print of Thanhouser's version is preserved in the Library of Congress, and digitized portions of that motion picture are available on YouTube and on other streaming services. No footage, however, from this Russian release is listed among the holdings of major film repositories around the world, so it is currently presumed to be lost.
