In music: 1918; 1919; 1920; 1921; 1922; 1923; 1924

In radio: 1918; 1919; 1920; 1921; 1922; 1923; 1924

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Years in film

19th century
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
v t e

This is an overview of 1921 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top nine films released in 1921 by U.S. gross are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1921
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse	Metro	$4,500,000^[1]
2	The Kid	First National	$2,500,000^[1]
3	The Three Musketeers The Sheik	United Artists Paramount	$1,500,000^[1]
4	The Affairs of Anatol	Paramount	$1,191,789^[2]
5	Fool's Paradise		$906,937^[2]
6	Forbidden Fruit		$848,121^[2]
7	School Days	Warner Bros.	$546,000^[3]
8	Why Girls Leave Home	Warner Bros.	$410,000^[3]

Events

January 21 – The silent comedy drama The Kid, written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin (in his Tramp character) – his first full-length film as a director – and featuring Jackie Coogan, is released in the United States. It is the year's second-highest-grossing film.
March 6 – The silent epic war film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, adapted for the screen by June Mathis, is released in the United States. It is the year's highest-grossing film (and the sixth-best-grossing silent film of all time), propels Rudolph Valentino to stardom and inspires a tango craze and a fashion for gaucho pants.
August 29 – Broadway's first $1 million theatre, Loew's State opens.
September 5 – Popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle attends a party at the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, during which actress Virginia Rappe is fatally injured; although he is eventually acquitted of rape and manslaughter, the scandal derails his career.
October 21 – George Melford's silent film The Sheik, which enhances leading actor Rudolph Valentino's international reputation as a Latin lover, is premiered in Los Angeles. Within the first year of its release, it exceeds $1 million in ticket sales.
October 26 – The Chicago Theatre, which will be the oldest surviving French-style Baroque Revival grand movie palace, opens.
The experimental short documentary film Manhatta is shot by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand in New York City.

Notable films released in 1921

United States unless stated.

G

The Goat, directed by Mal St. Clair and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
The Ghost in the Garret (lost), directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Dorothy Gish
Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod), directed by Heinz Hanus, based on the 1884 short story Der Pate des Todes by Rudolf Baumbach^[9] – (Austria)
The Grinning Face (Das grinsende Gesicht), directed by Julius Herska, based on the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo – (Austria/Germany)
The Gunsaulus Mystery (lost), written and directed by Oscar Micheaux

H

Hail the Woman, directed by John Griffith Wray, starring Florence Vidor
The Haunted Castle (Schloß Vogelöd), directed by F. W. Murnau, based on the novel by Rudolf Stratz – (Germany)
The Haunted House, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
The High Sign, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
His Brother's Keeper (lost), directed by Wilfrid North^[10]
L'Homme qui vendit son âme au diable (The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil), directed by Pierre Caron – (France)
The Hound of the Baskervilles, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Eille Norwood^[11]^[12] – (GB)
Humor Risk (unreleased), directed by Dick Smith, starring the Marx Brothers

I

The Idle Class, a Charles Chaplin short
The Indian Tomb (Das Indische Grabmal), directed by Joe May, starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany)
The Island of the Lost (Die Insel der Verschollenen), directed by Urban Gad, based on the 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells without authorization^[13] – (Germany)

J

Jane Eyre, directed by Hugo Ballin, starring Norman Trevor and Mabel Ballin, based on the 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë
Jánošík, directed by Jaroslav Jerry Siakeľ – (Czechoslovakia)
Jim the Penman, directed by Kenneth Webb, starring Lionel Barrymore
Journey into the Night (Der Gang in die Nacht), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)

K

The Kid, a Charlie Chaplin film, with Jackie Coogan
Kipps, directed by Harold M. Shaw, starring George K. Arthur, based on the 1905 novel by H. G. Wells

L

Land of My Fathers directed by Fred Rains, starring John Stuart – (GB)
Leaves from Satan's Book (Blade af Satans Bog), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark)
Little Lord Fauntleroy, directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford, starring Mary Pickford
The Lost Shadow (Der Verlorene Schatten) (lost), directed by Rochus Gliese, starring Paul Wegener^[14] – (Germany)
The Lotus Eater (lost), directed by Marshall Neilan, starring John Barrymore and Colleen Moore
The Love Light, directed by Frances Marion, starring Mary Pickford
Lucky Carson (lost), directed by Wilfrid North, starring Earle Williams
The Lucky Dog, directed by Jess Robbins, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

M

Mathias Sandorf, directed by Henri Fescourt, starring Romuald Joubé – (France)
The Mechanical Man (L'uomo meccanico) (lost), starring and directed by André Deed – (Italy)
A Message From Mars, directed by Maxwell Karger, starring Bert Lytell
A Midnight Bell (lost), starring and directed by Charles Ray, based on the 1889 stage play by Charles H. Hoyt^[14]^[15]
Miss Lulu Bett, directed by William C. deMille, starring Lois Wilson and Milton Sills
Il mostro di Frankenstein (The Monster of Frankenstein) (lost), directed by Eugenio Testa^[16] – (Italy)

N

Never Weaken, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
The Nut, directed by Theodore Reed, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Marguerite De La Motte

O

The Offenders (lost), directed by Fenwicke Holmes
Orphans of the Storm, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish
The Other Person (Onder spiritistischen dwang), directed by Maurits Binger and B. E. Doxat-Pratt, based on the 1920 novel by Fergus Hume^[17] – (Netherlands/GB)

P

The Painting of Osvaldo Mars (Il quadro di Osvaldo Mars), directed by Guido Brignone, starring Mercedes Brignone – (Italy)
Pan Twardowski, directed by Wiktor Biegański^[18] – (Poland)
The Passion Flower, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Norma Talmadge
Peck's Bad Boy, directed by Sam Wood, starring Jackie Coogan
The Phantom Carriage (aka Korkarlen/ The Wagoner), directed by Victor Sjostrom, starring Sjostrom, Hilda Borgstrom and Tore Svennberg, based on the 1912 novel Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! by Selma Lagerlof; this film influenced the later works of Ingmar Bergman^[19] – (Sweden)
The Playhouse, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton

Q

The Queen of Sheba (lost), directed by J. Gordon Edwards, starring Betty Blythe

S

A Sailor-Made Man, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
School Days, directed by William Nigh, starring Wesley Barry
Sentimental Tommy (lost), directed by John S. Robertson, starring Gareth Hughes
Seven Years Bad Luck, a Max Linder film
The Sheik, directed by George Melford, starring Agnes Ayres and Rudolph Valentino
The Silver Lining, directed by Roland West, starring Jewel Carmen
The Sky Pilot, directed by King Vidor, starring Colleen Moore
Soul of the Cypress, directed by Dudley Murphy^[20]
Squibs, directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB)
Sybil (lost), directed by Jack Denton, starring Evelyn Brent – (GB)

T

The Three Musketeers, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Douglas Fairbanks
Through the Back Door, directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford, starring Mary Pickford
Tol'able David, directed by Henry King, starring Richard Barthelmess
Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers), directed by Henri Diamant-Berger – (France)

W

Whispering Shadows, directed by Émile Chautard
White and Unmarried (lost), directed by Tom Forman, starring Thomas Meighan
Why Girls Leave Home (lost), directed by William Nigh, starring Anna Q. Nilsson
The Witching Hour, directed by William Desmond Taylor, starring Elliott Dexter, adapted from the 1907 stage play by Augustus Thomas^[21]^[22]
Woman's Place, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Constance Talmadge
The Wonderful Thing, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Norma Talmadge and Harrison Ford

Comedy film series

Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)
Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1921–1945)

Animated short film series

Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1934)
Felix the Cat (1919–1936)
Koko the Clown (1919–1963)

Births

January 3 – John Russell, actor (died 1991)
January 10 - George Robotham, American stuntman and actor (died 2007)
January 11 - Kathleen Byron, English actress (died 2009)
January 17 - Herb Ellis, American character actor (died 2018)
January 26 – Elisabeth Kirkby, British-born Australian actress, producer and director
January 27 – Donna Reed, actress (died 1986)
January 31
- Carol Channing, musical actress (died 2019)
- Mario Lanza, singer and actor (died 1959)
February 1 – Peter Sallis, actor (died 2017)
February 8 – Lana Turner, actress (died 1995)
February 16 – Vera-Ellen, actress, dancer (died 1981)
February 19 – Ann Savage, actress (died 2008)
February 22 – Giulietta Masina, actress (died 1994)
February 24 – Abe Vigoda, actor (died 2016)
February 26 – Betty Hutton, actress (died 2007)
March 3 – Diana Barrymore, actress (died 1960)
March 4 – Joan Greenwood, actress (died 1987)
March 5 - Jo de Winter, American actress (died 2016)
March 8 – Alan Hale Jr., actor, restaurateur (died 1990)
March 10 – Charlotte Zucker, actress, mother of Jerry Zucker and David Zucker (died 2007)
March 12 – Gordon MacRae, actor, singer (died 1986)
March 23 – Geoffrey Chater, English actor (died 2021)
March 25
- Nancy Kelly, American actress (died 1995)
- Simone Signoret, French actress (died 1985)
March 26 – Julie Harris, English costume designer (died 2015)
March 28 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor (died 1999)
April 1 – Arieh Elias, Israeli actor (died 2015)
April 3 – Jan Sterling, American actress (died 2004)
April 7 – Bill Butler, American cinematographer (died 2023)
April 10 – Chuck Connors, American actor (died 1992)
April 16 – Peter Ustinov, British actor (died 2004)
April 23
- Janet Blair, American actress (died 2007)
- Gerald Campion, English actor (died 2002)
April 29 – Tommy Noonan, American actor, screenwriter, producer (died 1968)
May 2 – Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (died 1992)
May 16 - Harry Carey Jr., American actor (died 2012)
May 23
- Grigori Chukhrai, Ukrainian film director (died 2001)
- Ray Lawler, Australian actor
May 30 - Jamie Uys, South African film director (died 1996)
May 31 – Alida Valli, actress (died 2006)
June 8
- Sheila Ryan, actress (died 1975)
- Alexis Smith, actress (died 1993)
June 18 – Wesley Lau, actor (died 1984)
June 19 – Louis Jourdan, actor (died 2015)
June 21
- Judy Holliday, born Judith Tuvim, actress (died 1965)
- Jane Russell, actress (died 2011)
July 2 - Maria Britneva, Russian-British actress (died 1994)
July 3 – Susan Peters, actress (died 1952)
July 5 – Patricia Wright, American former actress
July 6 – Nancy Reagan, born Anne Robbins, actress and First Lady of the United States (died 2016)
July 10 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (died 1988)
July 17 – František Zvarík, Slovakian actor (died 2008)
July 21 - Al Checco, American actor (died 2015)
July 23 – Robert Brown, actor (died 2003)
August 3 – Marilyn Maxwell, actress (died 1972)
August 8 – Esther Williams, actress, swimmer (died 2013)
August 11 - Tad Horino, American actor (died 2002)
August 19
- Pasquale Cajano, Italian-American actor (died 2000)
- Gene Roddenberry, screenwriter and producer (died 1991)
August 28 – Nancy Kulp, actress, comedienne (died 1991)
September 8 – Harry Secombe, actor, singer (died 2001)
September 27 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director (died 2014)
September 30 – Deborah Kerr, actress (died 2007)
October 1 - James Whitmore, American actor (died 2009)
October 5 - Nikolay Dupak, Soviet-Russian actor (died 2023)
October 13 – Yves Montand, singer, actor (died 1991)
November 3 – Charles Bronson, actor (died 2003)
November 5 – Moritz Yomtov, screenwriter (died 1992)
November 8 – Walter Mirisch, American film producer (died 2023)
November 14 - Brian Keith, American actor (died 1997)
November 21 – Vivian Blaine, actor, singer (died 1995)
November 22 – Rodney Dangerfield, actor, comedian (died 2004)
November 23 – Fred Buscaglione, Italian actor and singer (died 1960)
December 4 – Deanna Durbin, actress (died 2013)
December 11 - Liz Smith, English character actress (died 2016)
December 15 - Nikolai Lebedev, Soviet-Russian actor (died 2022)
December 24 - Mickey Knox, American actor (died 2013)
December 26 – Steve Allen, actor, composer, comedian, author (died 2000)

Deaths

February 8 – George Formby Sr, 45, British music hall entertainer who appeared in one film (pulmonary tuberculosis)^[23]
May 17 – Karl Mantzius, 61, Danish actor, theatre director, writer
June 5 – Georges Feydeau, 58, French playwright, many of whose plays were adapted for the screen (syphilis)^[24]
June 11 - Frank R. Mills, 50, American stage and screen actor
June 20 – George Loane Tucker, 49, American actor, screenwriter and director
July 9 – Robert Broderick, 56, American stage and film actor
September 9 – Virginia Rappe, 30,^[25] American actress
September 17 – Van Dyke Brooke, 62, American actor, screenwriter and film director

Film debuts

Richard Arlen
George Arliss
Billie Dove
Basil Rathbone
Carole Lombard in A Perfect Crime (1921)
Fredric March

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The All Time Best Sellers". International Motion Picture Almanac 1937–38. Quigley Publishing Company. p. 942. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. p. 120. ISBN 0-813-12324-0.
^ ^a ^b Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p. 1 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 124.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 125.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ ^a ^b Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 126.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 118.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 128.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ "Mrs George Formby's Own Story". The Sunday Post. Dundee. February 13, 1921. p. 16.
^ Manuel A. Esteban (1983). Georges Feydeau. Twayne Publishers. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-8057-6551-9.
^ Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915, Mabel Rapp in entry for Rapp, 07 Jul 1891; citing p.254 no.12677, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,287,737.