1923 in film
Overview of the events of 1923 in film
This is an overview of 1923 in film , including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top eight films released in 1923 by U.S. gross are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1923
Rank
Title
Distributor
Domestic rentals
1
The Ten Commandments
Paramount
$4,169,798[ 1]
2
The Covered Wagon
$3,500,000[ 2]
3
Safety Last! The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Pathé Exchange Universal
$1,500,000[ 2]
4
Scaramouche
Metro
$1,000,000[ 3]
5
Adam's Rib
Paramount
$881,206[ 1]
6
Main Street
Warner Bros.
$510,000[ 4]
7
The Gold Diggers
$470,000[ 4]
8
Tiger Rose
$466,000[ 4]
Events
Notable films released in 1923
American films unless stated otherwise
A
B
The Balloonatic , directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
Barsoum Looking for a Job , directed by Mohammed Bayoumi, starring Bishara Wakim – (Egypt )
The Bells , directed by Edwin Greenwood , based on the 1867 play The Polish Jew by Erckmann-Chatrian [ 5] – (GB )
The Bishop of the Ozarks (lost), directed by Finis Fox [ 5]
Black Oxen , directed by Frank Lloyd , starring Corinne Griffith
The Blizzard (lost), directed by Mauritz Stiller – (Sweden )
Blood and Soul (Chi to Rei) , directed by Kenji Mizoguchi [ 5] – (Japan )
The Blue Lagoon (lost), directed by William Bowden and Dick Cruikshanks , starring Molly Adair and Arthur Pusey - (GB / South Africa )
Bonnie Prince Charlie (lost), directed by Charles Calvert , starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper – (GB )
The Brass Bottle (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
L
The Lady Owner , directed by Walter West – (GB )
The Last Moment (lost), directed by J. Parker Read Jr., starring Henry Hull , Doris Kenyon and Louis Wolheim
Little Old New York , directed by Sidney Olcott , starring Marion Davies
The Lost Soul , directed by Hugo Werner-Kahle [ 8] – (Austria )
The Love Nest , directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots , directed by Denison Clift , starring Fay Compton – (GB )
M
Main Street (lost), directed by Harry Beaumont
The Man in the Iron Mask (Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske) , directed by Max Glass – (Germany )
The Merchant of Venice (Der Kaufmann von Venedig) , directed by Peter Paul Felner , starring Werner Krauss and Henny Porten – (Germany )
Merry-Go-Round , directed by Erich von Stroheim , starring Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry
Miss Suwanna of Siam (Nang Sao Suwan) (lost), directed by Henry MacRae
The Monkey's Paw , directed by Manning Haynes , based on the 1902 short story by W. W. Jacobs – (GB )
Mysteries of a Barbershop (Mysterien eines Friseursalons) , directed by Erich Engel – (Germany )
The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu , 15-part serial directed by A. E. Coleby [ 9] – (GB )
O
P
R
Raskolnikow , directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany )
The Red Inn (L'auberge rouge) , directed by Jean Epstein , based on the 1831 short story by Honoré de Balzac (remade in 1951)[ 11] – (France )
Red Lights , directed by Clarence G. Badger , starring Marie Prevost , based on the play The Rear Car by Edward Everett Rose [ 12]
Le Retour à la Raison (Return to Reason) , directed by Man Ray – (France )
Rosita , directed by Ernst Lubitsch , starring Mary Pickford
La Roue (The Wheel) , directed by Abel Gance – (France )
Rupert of Hentzau (lost), directed by Victor Heerman
S
Safety Last! , directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor , starring Harold Lloyd
Salomé , directed by Charles Bryant , starring Alla Nazimova
Scaramouche , directed by Rex Ingram , Starring Ramón Novarro , Alice Terry and Lewis Stone
Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination (Shadows - a Nocturnal Hallucination) , directed by Arthur Robison – (Germany )
The Shock , directed by Lambert Hillyer , starring Lon Chaney
The Shriek of Araby , directed by F. Richard Jones , starring Ben Turpin
The Sign of Four , directed by Maurice Elvey , starring Eille Norwood , based on the 1890 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle – (GB )
Slave of Desire , directed by George D. Baker , starring Bessie Love , based on the 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac
Souls for Sale , directed by Rupert Hughes , starring Eleanor Boardman , Mae Busch and Richard Dix
A Spectre Haunts Europe , directed by Vladimir Gardin , based on the 1842 short story The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe [ 13] – (U.S.S.R. )
Squibs M.P. , directed by George Pearson , starring Betty Balfour – (GB )
The Street (Die Straße) , directed by Karl Grune – (Germany )
Suzanna , directed by F. Richard Jones , starring Mabel Normand
T
The Ten Commandments , directed by Cecil B. DeMille , starring Theodore Roberts
This Freedom , directed by Denison Clift , starring Fay Compton and Clive Brook – (GB )
Three Ages , directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery
Three Wise Fools , directed by King Vidor
Through Fire and Water , directed by Thomas Bentley , starring Clive Brook and Flora Le Breton – (GB )
Tiger Rose , directed by Sidney Franklin (director) , starring Lenore Ulric
The Treasure (Der Schatz) , directed by G. W. Pabst – (Germany )
Trilby , directed by James Young , based on the 1894 novel by George du Maurier [ 14]
Tut-Tut and his Terrible Tomb , directed by Bertram Phillips – (GB )
U
W
While Paris Sleeps (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur , starring Lon Chaney and John Gilbert , based on a novelThe Glory of Love by Leslie Beresford[ 15]
The White Shadow , directed by Graham Cutts , starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB )
The White Sister , directed by Henry King , starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman
Why Worry? , directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor , starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
Wild Bill Hickok , directed by Clifford Smith, starring William S. Hart
Within the Law , directed by Frank Lloyd , starring Norma Talmadge
A Woman of Paris , written and directed by Charles Chaplin , starring Edna Purviance
Woman to Woman (lost), directed by Graham Cutts , starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB )
Short film series
Animated short film series
Births
January 1 – Valentina Cortese , Italian actress (died 2019 )
January 3 - Bud Tingwell , Australian actor (died 2009 )
January 5 - Boris Leskin , Soviet-American actor (died 2020 )
January 7 – Pinkas Braun , Swiss actor, director (died 2008 )
January 8 – Larry Storch , American actor (died 2022 )
January 17 - Carol Raye , British-born Australian actress, comedian and singer (died 2022 )
January 19 – Jean Stapleton , American actress (died 2013 )
January 22 - Diana Douglas , American actress (died 2015 )
January 23 – Silvano Campeggi , Italian poster designer (died 2018 )
January 26 – Anne Jeffreys , American actress (died 2017 )
January 29 – Paddy Chayefsky , American screenwriter (died 1981 )
February 2 – Bonita Granville , American actress (died 1988 )
February 12 – Franco Zeffirelli , Italian director (died 2019 )
February 18 - Allan Melvin , American actor and impressionist (died 2008 )
February 21 – Lola Flores , Spanish actress (died 1995 )
February 28 – Charles Durning , American actor (died 2012 )
March 10 – Dolores Fuller , American actress (died 2011 )
March 12 - Vladek Sheybal , Polish character actor, singer and director (died 1992 )
March 19 – Pamela Britton , American actress (died 1974 )
March 24 - Murray Hamilton , American actor (died 1986 )
April 2 – Gloria Henry , American actress (died 2021 )
April 4
April 5 - Michael V. Gazzo , American actor (died 1995 )
April 6 - Chang Feng , Chinese actor (died 2022 )
April 12 – Ann Miller , American dancer, singer, actress (died 2004 )
April 13 - Don Adams , American actor, comedian and director (died 2005 )
April 17
April 28 – Adele Mara , American actress (died 2010 )
April 29 - Irvin Kershner , American director, actor and producer (died 2010 )
May 4 – Eric Sykes , British actor and comedian (died 2012 )
May 7 – Anne Baxter , actress (died 1985 )
May 14 – Mrinal Sen , Bengali director (died 2018 )
May 20 – Edith Fellows , American actress (died 2011 )
May 26
May 30 - Jimmy Lydon , American actor and producer (died 2022 )
June 5 - Peggy Stewart , American actress (died 2019 )
June 8 – Peggy Maley , American actress (died 2007 )
June 12 – Herta Elviste , Estonian actress (died 2015 )
June 18 - Robert Ellenstein , American actor (died 2010 )
June 20 - Jerzy Nowak , Polish actor (died 2013 )
June 28 - Ray Boyle , American actor (died 2022 )
July 6 – Cathy O'Donnell , American actress (died 1970 )
July 8 - Val Bettin , American actor (died 2021 )
July 14 – Dale Robertson , American actor (died 2013 )
July 18 – Michael Medwin , English actor and producer (died 2020 )
July 22 – Mukesh , Indian singer (died 1976 )
July 25
August 3 – Jean Hagen , American actress (died 1977 )
August 9 - John Stephenson , American actor (died 2015)
August 10
August 14 – Alice Ghostley , American actress (died 2007 )
August 15 – Rose Marie , American actress, singer (died 2017 )
August 24 - June Dayton , American actress (died 1994 )
August 28 - Alexander Doré , British actor, director and screenwriter (died 2002 )
August 29 – Richard Attenborough , English actor and director (died 2014 )
August 31 - Ed Grady , American actor (died 2012 )
September 7 – Peter Lawford , British-American actor (died 1984 )
September 9 - Cliff Robertson , American actor (died 2011 )
September 11 - Betsy Drake , American actress, writer (died 2015 )
September 23
September 27
September 28 - William Windom , American actor (died 2012 )
October 1 – Kim Yaroshevskaya , Russian-born Canadian actress
October 4 – Charlton Heston , American actor (died 2008 )
October 5 – Glynis Johns , British actress (died 2024 )
October 10 - Patrick Jordan , British actor (died 2020 )
October 16 – Linda Darnell , American actress (died 1965 )
October 23 - Frank Sutton , American actor (died 1974 )
November 12 - Richard Venture , American actor (died 2017 )
November 13 – Linda Christian , Mexican-American actress (died 2011 )
November 21 - Helen Horton , American actress (died 2007 )
November 28
December 10 – Harold Gould , American actor (died 2010 )
December 11 – Betsy Blair , American actress (died 2009 )
December 12 - Bob Barker , American television game show host (died 2023 )
December 29
Deaths
January 18 – Wallace Reid , American actor (born 1892)
March 3 – Dante Testa , Italian actor and director (born 1861)
March 26 – Sarah Bernhardt , French actress (born 1844)
May 21 – Charles Kent , veteran actor and director (born 1852)
June 11 – Porter Strong , American silent film actor
June 17 – Macey Harlam , screen actor (born 1873)
July 12 – Harry Lonsdale, stage and screen actor (born 1865)
July 30 – Charles Hawtrey , veteran British actor (born 1858)
August 29 – Bernard Durning , American actor and director, (born 1893)
September 11 – Siegmund Lubin , American motion picture pioneer (born 1851)
September 26 – Jerome Patrick , Broadway stage and silent film leading man (born 1883)
October 28 – Joe Roberts , American actor (born 1871)
November 20 – Allen Holubar , American actor and director (born 1888)
November 30 – Martha Mansfield , American actress (born 1899)
December 28 – Frank Hayes , American actor and comedian (born 1871)
Film debuts
References
^ a b Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood . University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813123240 .
^ a b Finler, Joel Waldo (2003). The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press. pp. 356–357 . ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6 .
^ "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety . October 15, 1990. p. M182.
^ a b c Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 2 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^ a b c Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ "Hoy o Nuca, Besame (1923)" . imdb.com .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 270. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2 .
External links