Overview of the events of 1929 in film
Overview of the events of 1929 in film
This is an overview of 1929 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1929 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1929
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
The Broadway Melody MGM
$2,808,000[1]
2
The Cock-Eyed World Fox Film
$2,700,000[2]
3
Gold Diggers of Broadway Warner Bros.
$2,540,000[3]
4
Sunny Side Up Fox Film
$2,190,000[4]
5
Rio Rita RKO
$1,775,000[5]
6
On with the Show! Warner Bros.
$1,741,000[3]
7
Say It with Songs $1,715,000[3]
8
Show Boat Universal
$1,643,000[4]
9
The Desert Song Warner Bros.
$1,549,000[3]
10
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 MGM
$1,527,000[1]
Events
The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.
February 1 – The Broadway Melody MGM and becomes the first major musical film of the sound era, sparking a host of imitators as well as a series of Broadway Melody films that will run until 1940 .
February 18 – The first Academy Awards , or Oscars, are announced for the year ended August 1, 1928.
March 3 – William Fox announces that he has taken control of Loews Inc. , including its subsidiary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , buying shares from Marcus Loew 's widow and sons and Nicholas Schenck for $50 million. The acquisition eventually falls through.
May 16 – The first Academy Awards are distributed at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.
May 26 – Fox Grandeur News is shown in Fox Film 's new widescreen 70 mm Grandeur film format
July 13 – The first all color talkie (in Technicolor ), On with the Show Warner Bros. who lead the way in a new color revolution just as they had ushered in that of the talkies.
July 17 – William Fox is badly injured in a car accident which kills his chauffeur.
August 3 – The Cock-Eyed World Roxy Theatre (New York City) .[6]
August 20 – Hallelujah!
August 22 – First in the Walt Disney Productions ' animated short Silly Symphony series, The Skeleton Dance
September – Paramount Pictures acquires 49% of CBS .
October 24 – Jean Harlow signs a five-year, $100 per week contract with Howard Hughes .
October 30 – Entertainment newspaper Variety Wall Street Lays An Egg leading to many prominent showman and film stars losing money on their investments.
November – Warner Bros. gain complete control of First National Pictures buying Fox Film 's 36% stake for $10 million[7]
November 10 – Première of John Grierson 's documentary film Drifters North Sea herring fishermen , made for the Empire Marketing Board , effectively inaugurating the British Documentary Film Movement . (It debuts at the private Film Society in London on a double-bill with the U.K. première of Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin [8]
November 15 – U.K. release of Atlantic sinking of the RMS Titanic which is one of the first British sound-on-film movies and, in its simultaneously-shot German-language version, the first to be released in Germany; also the first Titanic movie with sound.
December – Anti-trust suits are filed against William Fox and Warner Bros. by the US Department of Justice for Fox's acquisition of Loews and Warners' acquisition of the Stanley Corporation of America and First National.
Academy Awards
The 2nd Academy Awards honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. They took place on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
Most nominations: In Old Arizona Fox Film Corporation ) – 5
Most awards – no film won more than 1 award
Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years. Best Picture, Actress and Director went to 1930 films.
Notable films released in 1929
United States unless stated otherwise.
A
After the Verdict Henrik Galeen , starring Olga Chekhova – (GB )Alibi Roland West , starring Chester Morris and Mae Busch , based on the 1927 stage play Nightstick by Elaine Sterne Carrington The Alley Cat (Nachtgestalten)Hans Steinhoff , starring Mabel Poulton – (GB /Germany )The American Prisoner Thomas Bentley , starring Carl Brisson and Madeleine Carroll – (GB )Ang Mutya Ng Pamilihan (The Pearl of the Markets) , directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines )Applause Rouben Mamoulian , starring Helen Morgan Arsenal (Арсенал)Alexander Dovzhenko – (U.S.S.R. )Asphalt Joe May , starring Gustav Fröhlich – (Germany )Atlantic E. A. Dupont , starring Madeleine Carroll – (GB )The Awful Truth Marshall Neilan
B
Berth Marks Lewis R. Foster , starring Laurel and Hardy Big Business James W. Horne and Leo McCarey , starring Laurel and Hardy Big Time Kenneth Hawks , starring Lee Tracy Black and Tan Dudley Murphy , starring Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington Blackmail Alfred Hitchcock , based on the 1928 stage play by Charles Bennett – (GB )Black Waters Marshall Neilan The Bridge of San Luis Rey Charles Brabin , starring Lili Damita Broadway Paul Fejos , starring Evelyn Brent The Broadway Melody Harry Beaumont , starring Charles King , Anita Page and Bessie Love Bulldog Drummond F. Richard Jones , starring Ronald Colman
C
Cagliostro Richard Oswald , based on the 1929 novel by Johannes von Guenther [9] Germany )The Canary Murder Case Malcolm St. Clair , starring William Powell , Louise Brooks and Jean Arthur Chamber of Horrors Walter Summers [9] GB )The Charlatan George Melford [10] Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog)Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí – (France )Children of the Ritz John Francis Dillon The Clue of the New Pin Arthur Maude – (GB )The Cocoanuts Robert Florey and Joseph Santley , starring the Marx Brothers A Cottage on Dartmoor Anthony Asquith – (GB )Coquette Sam Taylor , starring Mary Pickford , Johnny Mack Brown and Matt Moore
D
Dangerous Curves Lothar Mendes , starring Clara Bow and Richard Arlen Darkened Rooms Louis J. Gasnier , starring Evelyn Brent and Neil Hamilton Desert Nights William Nigh , starring John Gilbert , Ernest Torrence , and Mary Nolan The Desert Song Roy Del Ruth Devil-May-Care Sidney Franklin , starring Ramón Novarro Diary of a Lost Girl Tagebuch einer Verlorenen ), directed by G. W. Pabst , starring Louise Brooks – (Germany )Disraeli Alfred E. Green , starring George Arliss and Joan Bennett Drifters John Grierson – (GB )Dynamite Cecil B. DeMille , starring Conrad Nagel and Kay Johnson
E
F
Fancy Baggage John G. Adolfi , starring Audrey Ferris and Myrna Loy Father Vojtech (Páter Vojtěch)Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia )Finis Terræ Jean Epstein – (France )The Flying Fleet George Hill , starring Ramón Novarro , Ralph Graves and Anita Page The Flying Scotsman Castleton Knight , starring Ray Milland – (GB )Footlights and Fools William A. Seiter , starring Colleen Moore and Fredric March The Four Feathers Merian C. Cooper , starring William Powell , Richard Arlen , Fay Wray , Clive Brook and Noah Beery Sr. Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 David Butler Fräulein Else (Miss Else)Paul Czinner , starring Elisabeth Bergner – (Germany )
G
General Crack Alan Crosland , starring John Barrymore The General Line (Staroye i novoye)Grigori Aleksandrov and Sergei Eisenstein – (U.S.S.R. )Glorifying the American Girl Millard Webb , starring Mary Eaton Gold Diggers of Broadway Roy Del Ruth The Great Gabbo James Cruze , starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson The Greene Murder Case Frank Tuttle , starring William Powell
H
Hallelujah King Vidor Hardboiled Rose F. Harmon Weight , starring Myrna Loy Hearts in Dixie Paul Sloane , starring Stepin Fetchit and Clarence Muse Hell's Heroes William Wyler , starring Charles Bickford High Treason Maurice Elvey , starring Jameson Thomas and Benita Hume – (GB )His Glorious Night Lionel Barrymore , starring John Gilbert The Hole in the Wall Robert Florey , starring Edward G. Robinson and Claudette Colbert The Hollywood Revue of 1929 Charles Reisner , starring Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny Hot for Paris Raoul Walsh , starring Victor McLaglen The Hound of the Baskervilles (Der Hund von Baskerville)Richard Oswald , based on the 1902 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle [10] Germany )House of Horror Benjamin Christensen , starring Thelma Todd [11] The House of Secrets novel by Sydney Horler [12]
I
K
L
The Lady Fare Spencer Williams Jr. The Lady Lies Hobart Henley , starring Walter Huston and Claudette Colbert Lady of the Pavements D. W. Griffith , starring William Boyd and Lupe Vélez Laila , directed by George Schnéevoigt , starring Mona Mårtenson Land Without Women Carmine Gallone , starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany )The Last Performance Paul Fejos , starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin The Letter Jean de Limur , starring Jeanne Eagels The Locked Door George Fitzmaurice , starring Rod La Rocque and Barbara Stanwyck The Love Parade Ernst Lubitsch , starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald Lucky Star Frank Borzage , starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (Ludwig der Zweite, König von Bayern)William Dieterle – (Germany )
M
Marianne Robert Z. Leonard , starring Marion Davies Madame X Lionel Barrymore , starring Ruth Chatterton and Lewis Stone Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom)Dziga Vertov – (USSR )The Manxman Alfred Hitchcock – (GB )Married in Hollywood Melody of the Heart Hanns Schwarz , starring Dita Parlo and Willy Fritsch – (Germany )The Miraculous Life of Thérèse Martin (La Vie miraculeuse de Thérèse Martin)Julien Duvivier – (France )Les Mystères du Château de Dé (The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice)Man Ray – (France )The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu Rowland V. Lee , starring Warner Oland , Neil Hamilton and Jean Arthur , based on the 1913 novel The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu Sax Rohmer [13] The Mysterious Island Lucien Hubbard , starring Lionel Barrymore [14]
N
O
P
Q
R
Rain Mannus Franken and Joris Ivens – (Netherlands )Rasputin , directed by Max Neufeld [15] Germany )Redskin Victor Schertzinger , starring Richard Dix The Rescue Herbert Brenon , starring Ronald Colman and Lili Damita Resia Boroboedoer (Secret of Borobudur)Dutch East Indies )The Return of the Rat Graham Cutts , starring Ivor Novello and Isabel Jeans – (GB )The Return of Sherlock Holmes Basil Dean , starring Clive Brook Rio Rita Luther Reed , starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles The River Frank Borzage , starring Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan The Runaway Princess Anthony Asquith and Fritz Wendhausen , starring Mady Christians – (GB /Germany )
S
Sa Landas ng Pag-ibig (The Path of Love) , directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines )Sally John Francis Dillon , starring Marilyn Miller , Joe E. Brown and Pert Kelton Salute John Ford , and starring George O'Brien , Helen Chandler and Stepin Fetchit The Saturday Night Kid A. Edward Sutherland , starring Clara Bow and Jean Arthur Seven Footprints to Satan Benjamin Christensen , starring Thelma Todd and Creighton Hale Seven Keys to Baldpate Reginald Barker , starring Richard Dix , based on the 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers and stage play by George M. Cohan [16] Show Boat Harry A. Pollard , starring Laura La Plante and Joseph Schildkraut , based on the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber The Show of Shows John G. Adolfi Side Street Malcolm St. Clair , starring the Moore Brothers The Silent House Walter Forde , based on the 1928 novel by John G. Brandon The Singing Brakeman Jimmie Rodgers The Single Standard John S. Robertson , starring Greta Garbo , Nils Asther and Johnny Mack Brown The Skeleton Dance Walt Disney animated shortSmilin' Guns Henry MacRae , starring Hoot Gibson Spite Marriage Edward Sedgwick and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton St. Louis Blues Dudley Murphy , starring Bessie Smith Den starkaste (The Strongest)Alf Sjöberg – (Sweden )Stark Mad Lloyd Bacon , starring H. B. Warner and Louise Fazenda [17] Street Girl Wesley Ruggles , starring Betty Compson Sunny Side Up David Butler , starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell Syncopation Bert Glennon
T
The Taming of the Shrew Sam Taylor , starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks The Thirteenth Chair Tod Browning , starring Conrad Nagel and Leila Hyams , based on the 1916 stage play by Bayard Veiller This Thing Called Love Paul L. Stein , starring Edmund Lowe and Constance Bennett The Three Kings (Ein Mädel und drei Clowns)Hans Steinhoff – (GB /Germany )The Three Passions Rex Ingram , starring Alice Terry – (GB )Thunder William Nigh , starring Lon Chaney and Phyllis Haver Thunderbolt Josef von Sternberg , starring George Bancroft , Fay Wray and Richard Arlen A Throw of Dice Franz Osten – (Germany /GB /India )The Trespasser Edmund Goulding , starring Gloria Swanson and Robert Ames Turksib U.S.S.R. )
U
V
W
Wait and See Walter Forde – (GB )Wall Street Roy William Neill , starring Ralph Ince and Aileen Pringle Welcome Danger Clyde Bruckman , starring Harold Lloyd Where East Is East Tod Browning , starring Lon Chaney , Lupe Vélez and Estelle Taylor [19] The White Hell of Pitz Palu Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü ), directed by Arnold Fanck and G. W. Pabst , starring Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany )Why Be Good? William A. Seiter , starring Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton Wild Orchids Sidney Franklin , starring Greta Garbo , Lewis Stone and Nils Asther Wolf Song Victor Fleming , starring Gary Cooper , Lupe Vélez and Louis Wolheim Woman in the Moon Frau im Mond ), directed by Fritz Lang – (Germany )The Woman in White Herbert Wilcox , starring Blanche Sweet , based on the 1859 novel by Wilkie Collins [19] GB )Wonder of Women Clarence Brown , starring Lewis Stone and Leila Hyams The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna (Die wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna)Hanns Schwarz – (Germany )Words and Music James Tinling The Wrecker (Der Würger)Géza von Bolváry – (GB /Germany )