1917 in film
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1917 in filmwas 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 with1913. 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".
Events[edit]
- January –Pantheais released, the first film from the company thatJoseph Schenckformed with his wife,Norma Talmadge,after leavingLoew's Consolidated Enterprises.
- February –Buster Keatonfirst meetsRoscoe "Fatty" Arbucklein New York and is hired as a co-star and gag man.
- April 9 –Supreme Court of the United Statesrule inMotion Picture Patents Co. v. Universal Film Manufacturing Co.which ends theMotion Picture Patents Companyappeal and results in the end of the company.
- April 23 – Release in the United States of the shortThe Butcher Boy,the first ofRoscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's series of films with the Comique Film Corporation, andBuster Keaton's film debut.
- April 25 –Thomas Lincoln Tally,in a meeting in New York, co-founds theFirst NationalExhibitors Circuit.[1][2]
- June –Thomas H. InceandMack SennettleaveTriangle Film CorporationfollowingStephen Andrew Lynchtaking control.
- September 13 – Release in the United States ofThe Gulf Between,the first film made inTechnicolorSystem 1, a two-color process.
- November 9 – World's firstfeature-lengthanimated film is made inArgentinabyQuirino Cristiani(El Apóstol)
- December 18 – Foundation ofUniversum Film AG(UƒA), as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.
- Movette, another revision of the 17.5 mm film format, is made available.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)[edit]
The top five 1917 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Rank | Title | Studio | Domestic rentals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cleopatra | Fox Film | $1,000,000[3] |
2 | The Little American | Paramount | $446,236[4] |
3 | A Romance of the Redwoods | $424,718[4] | |
4 | The Woman God Forgot | $340,504[4] | |
5 | The Devil Stone | $296,031[4] |
Notable films released in 1917[edit]
United Statesunless stated
- January 8 –Great Expectations,starringJack Pickford
- January 22 –Easy Street,starringCharlie Chaplin,Edna Purviance
- January 22 –Her Right to Live,directed byPaul Scardon,starringPeggy Hyland,Antonio Moreno,Mae Costello,John S. Robertson
- January 29 –A Man There Was(Terje Vigen), directed byVictor Sjöström– (Sweden)
- February 2 –The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach,directed byRudolf Biebrach,starringHenny Porten,Emil Jannings– (Germany)
- February 18 –The Bad Boy,starringRobert Harron,Mildred Harris,Colleen Moore
- March 3 –The Tornado,directed byJohn Ford(his debut)
- March 5 –The Poor Little Rich Girl,starringMary Pickford
- March 7 –The Torture of Silence(Mater Dolorosa), directed byAbel Gance– (France)
- April 15 –Teddy at the Throttle,a Keystone comedy starringGloria Swanson
- April 16 –The Cure,aCharlie Chaplinshort.
- April 23 –The Butcher Boy,starring"Fatty" ArbucklewithBuster Keaton
- May 7 –Kidnapped,directed byAlan Crosland,starringRaymond McKee,Joseph Burke, and Ray Hallor
- May 14 –A Romance of the Redwoods,directed byCecil B. DeMille,starringMary Pickford
- May 19 –One Law for Bothdirected byIvan Abramson
- May 20 –Souls Triumphant,starringLillian Gish
- May 21 –A Reckless Romeo,a'Fatty' Arbuckleshort.
- May –Frank Hansen's Fortunedirected byViggo Larsen– (Germany)
- June 17 –The Immigrant,starringCharlie ChaplinandEdna Purviance
- June 24 –Wild and Woolly,starringDouglas Fairbanks
- June 25 –A Kentucky Cinderella,starringRuth Clifford
- June 25 –The Rough House,a'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keatonshort.
- June –The Labour Leader,directed byThomas Bentley,starringOwen Nares,Fay Compton– (GB)
- July 5 –Big Timber
- July –The Picture of Dorian Gray(Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray) – (Germany)
- August 12 –Golden Rule Kate,a drama western starringLouise Glaum
- August 20 –His Wedding Night,a'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keatonshort.
- August 27 –The Little American,starringMary Pickford;directed byCecil B. DeMille.
- August 27 –Straight Shooting,directed byJohn Ford
- August 28 –Brcko in Zagreb– (Croatia)
- August –The Gay Lord Quexdirected byMaurice Elveyand starringBen WebsterandIrene Vanbrugh– (GB)
- September 13 –The Gulf Between,Allcolormovie.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Rebecca_of_Sunnybrook_Farm.jpg/220px-Rebecca_of_Sunnybrook_Farm.jpg)
- September 22 –Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,starringMary Pickford
- September 30 –Camille,starringTheda Bara
- September 30 –Oh Doctor!,a'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keatonshort.
- September 30 –The Sultan's Wife,starringGloria Swanson
- September –Feardirected byRobert Wieneand starringConrad Veidt– (Germany)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/ThedaBara-Cleopatra.jpg/220px-ThedaBara-Cleopatra.jpg)
- October 14 –Cleopatra,starringTheda Bara
- October 21 –Satan Triumphant(Satana likuyushchiy) – (U.S.S.R.)
- October 22 –The Adventurer,aCharlie Chaplinshort.
- October 29 –Coney Island,a'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keatonshort.
- November 9 –El Apóstol(The Apostle), animated byQuirino Cristiani– (Argentina)
- November 11 –A Little Princess,directed byMarshall Neilan,starringMary Pickford,Norman Kerry,ZaSu Pitts
- November 12 –Harrison and Barrison,directed byAlexander Korda,starringMárton Rátkai– (Hungary)
- November 25 –All Aboard,aHarold Lloydshort
- November 26 –The Silent Man,starringWilliam S. Hart
- December 10 –Tom Sawyer,starringJack Pickford
- December 24 –Bucking Broadway,directed byJohn Ford,starringHarry Carey
- December –Raffles the Amateur Cracksman,starringJohn Barrymore
Other 1917 Releases[edit]
- Bestia(aka The Polish Dancer), starringPola Negri– (Poland)
- Black Orchids(akaThe Fatal Orchid), directed by Rex Ingram for Universal Pictures, starring Cleo Madison and Jean Hersholt[5]
- The Bottle Imp(akaThe Mountain Devil) directed by Marshall Neilan, produced by Jesse Lasky, starring Sessue Hayakawa and Lehua Waipahu; this was the 2nd ever film adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel[5]
- Brand of Satan,directed by George Archianbaud, starring Montagu Love and Gerda Holmes
- The Colonel(aka Az Ezredes), directed byMichael Curtiz,starringBela Lugosi– (Hungary)
- The Darling of Paris,directed by J. Gordon Edwards for Fox Films, starring Theda Bara and Walter Law; an early film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novelThe Hunchback of Notre Dame[6]
- The Devil Stone,directed byCecil B. DeMille,produced byJesse L. Lasky,starring Geraldine Farrar,Tully MarshallandGustav von Seyffertitz
- The Devil's Assistant,directed by Harry A. Pollard, starring Monroe Salisbury and Margarita Fischer
- Dombey and Son,directed byMaurice Elveyand starringHayford Hobbs– (GB)
- Le Cygne (film)( "Umirayushchii Lebed" ) – (U.S.S.R.)
- The Enchanted Kiss,directed by David Smith for Vitagraph, starring Chet Ryan and a young Jack Pierce; based on a short story by O. Henry
- The Eternal Sin(akaLucretia Borgia), directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Florence Reed and Richard Barthelmess, based on the 1833 Victor Hugo novelLucretia Borgia[7]
- Even As You and I,directed by Lois Webber for Universal Pictures, starring Harry Carter (as Satan), Ben F. Wilson and Priscilla Dean[7]
- The Fall of the Romanoffs,directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Edward Connelly as Rasputin, based on a book written by a monk named Iliodor (who also played himself in the film)
- The Fatal Ring,a 20-chapter serial directed by George B. Seitz for Pathe/Aster, starring Warner Oland, Earl Foxe and Pearl White
- Fear/Furcht(German) directed by Robert Wiene, starring Conrad Veidt and Bruno Decarli; this was the first time Wiene and Veidt worked together on a film[8]
- Flames(British) directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Owen Nates, Clifford Cobb and Douglas Munro; based on the novel by Richard Hichens
- Ghost Hounds,comedy short starring Lloyd Hamilton and Bud Duncan
- The Ghost House,directed by William C. DeMille (Cecil's brother) for producer Jesse L. Lasky, starring Jack Pickford (Mary's brother), Eugene Pallette and Louise Huff
- The Ghost of Old Morrodirected by Richard Ridgely for producer Thomas Edison, starring Mabel Trunnelle and Helen Strickland
- The Golem and the Dancing Girl/Der Golem und die Tanzerin(German), a lost 1917 parody of the 1915 filmThe Golem,written and directed by Paul Wegener, starring Wagner as the Golem and Lydia Salmonova as the dancer[9]
- The Haunted House,directed by Albert Parker, starring Winifred Allen, Richard Rosson and Albert Parker
- Hilde Warren and Death(German) directed by Joe May, written by Fritz Lang, starring Mila May, Bruno Kastner and Georg John as "Death"[10]
- The Image Maker,directed by Eugene Moore for Thanhouser Films, starring Valda Valkyrien and Harris Gordon, deals with reincarnation
- The Inspirations of Harry Larrabee,directed by Bertram Bracken, starring Clifford Grey and Margaret Landis, based on the short story by Howard Fielding[10]
- It's Never Too Late to Mend(British) directed by Dave Aylott, starring George Leyton and Margaret Hope, based on the political novel by Charles Reade[11]
- Kaidan Chibusa Enoki/Ghost Story of the Breast-Nettle Tree(Japanese) produced by Nikkatsu Films, starring Matsunosuke Onoe and Kakumatsuro Arashi
- Magia(Hungarian) directed by Alexander Korda, starring Mihaly Varkony and Lucie Labass; plot involves Baron Munchausen as a vampire[11]
- The Magic Girdle( "Der Magische Gürtel" ) (Germany)
- The Man Without a Country,starringFlorence La Badie
- The Memoirs of Satan(German) directed byRobert Heymann,starring Kurt Brenkendorf and Friedrich Kuhne; a 3-chapter serial that relates the misadventures of Satan[11]
- Midnight,11-minute short starring and directed by Allen Holubar for Universal Pictures, scripted by E.J. Clawson
- Mothers of Men,starringDorothy Davenport
- Nabeshima Kaibyo(Japanese) a Ghost-cat horror film produced by Nikkatsu, starring Matsunosuke Onoe and Suminojo Ichikawa
- The Picture of Dorian Gray/Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray(Germany) written and directed by Richard Oswald, starring Bernd Aldor and Lupu Pick, based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel[12]
- Rasputin(German) directed by Herr Arno, starring Max Hiller and Fritz Holbauer
- Rasputin, the Black Monk,directed by Arthur Ashley, starring Montagu Love and Henry Hull
- Runaway Romany,directed byGeorge Lederer,starringMarion DaviesandMatt Moore
- Saga no yozakura(Japanese) ghost-cat film directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe
- Satan Triumphant(Russian) directed by Yakov Protazanov, starring Pavel Pavlov and Ivan Mozhukhin
- Seven Keys to Baldpate,directed by Hugh Ford, starring Geoge M. Cohan and Hedda Hopper; first American film to be based on the 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers[13]
- She,directed by Kenean Buel for Fox Films, starring Valeska Suratt (as "She" ) and Ben Taggart as Leo Vincey; based on the eponymous novel by H. Rider Haggard (a lost film today)[13]
- A Sleeping Memory,directed by George D. Baker for Metro Films, starring Emily Stevens and Frank Mills, based on the 1902 novel by Edward Phillips Oppenheim[14]
- The Sorrows of Satan(British) directed by Alexander Butler, starring Ceceil Humphreys and Gladys Cooper, based on the 1895 novel by Marie Corelli
- Tangled Lives,directed by J. Gordon Edwards for Fox Films, starring Genevieve Hamper and Stuart Holmes, based on the Wilkie Collins novelThe Woman in White
- Thaïs– (Italy)
- U-Boote Heraus!( "U-Boat Release" ) (Germany)
- Unconquered,directed by Frank Reicher for Paramount, written by Beatrice DeMille, starring Mabel Van Buren, Tully Marshall (wearing blackface) and Hobart Bosworth[15]
- The Voice on the Wire,a 15-chapter Universal serial directed by Stuart Paton, starring Ben Wilson, Neva Gerber, Hoot Gibson and Nigel De Brulier, based on the 1915 novel by Eustace Hale Ball
- The Woman in White,directed by Ernest C. Warde for Thanhouser Films, starring Florence La Badie, Richard Neill and Gertrude Dallas, this was Thanhouser's second film adaptation of the eponymous Wilkie Collins novel (he also produced a 1912 version); the film was re-released in the early 1920s asThe Unfortunate Marriage.[16]
Comedy film series[edit]
- Harold Lloyd(1913–1938)
- Charlie Chaplin(1914–1940)
- Lupino Lane(1915–1939)
- Buster Keaton(1917–1944)
Births[edit]
- January 2 –Vera Zorina,dancer, actress (died2003)
- January 3 –Jesse White,actor (died1997)
- January 5 –Jane Wyman,actress (died2007)
- January 10 –Hilde Krahl,actress (died1999)
- January 21 –Lally Bowers,English actress and singer (died1984)
- January 24 –Ernest Borgnine,actor (died2012)
- February 6 –Zsa Zsa Gabor,actress (died2016)
- February 21 –Lucille Bremer,actress (died1996)
- February 25 –Brenda Joyce,American actress (died2009)
- March 2 –Desi Arnaz,actor (died1986)
- March 12 –Googie Withers,actress (died2011)
- March 22 –Virginia Grey,actress (died2004)
- April 2 -Dabbs Greer,actor (died2007)
- April 14 –Valerie Hobson,actress (died1998)
- April 17 –R. G. Armstrong,actor, playwright (died2012)
- April 29
- Celeste Holm,actress (died 2012)
- Maya Deren,experimental filmmaker (died1961)
- May 1 –Danielle Darrieux,actress (died2017)
- May 5 -June Lang,American actress (died2005)
- May 7 -David Tomlinson,English actor and comedian (died2000)
- May 10 –Margo,actress (died1985)
- May 16 –George Gaynes,actor (died2016)
- May 18 –James Donald,actor (died1993)
- May 21 –Raymond Burr,actor (died1993)
- May 22 -Nathan Davis (actor),American actor (died2008)
- May 25 –Steve Cochran,actor (died1965)
- June 2 -Max Showalter,American actor and musician (died2000)
- June 3 –Leo Gorcey,actor, comedian (died1969)
- June 7 –Dean Martin,singer, actor (died1995)
- June 30
- Lena Horne,singer, actress (died2010)
- Susan Hayward,actress (died1975)
- July 1 –Virginia Dale,American actress (died1994)
- July 8 –Faye Emerson,actress (died1983)
- July 17 –Phyllis Diller,comedian, actress (died 2012)
- July 26 –Lorna Gray,actress (died 2017)
- August 6 –Robert Mitchum,actor (died1997)
- August 8 –Earl Cameron,actor (died2020)
- August 12 –Marjorie Reynolds,actress, dancer (died1997)
- August 13 –Gloria Dickson,actress (died1945)
- August 25 –Mel Ferrer,actor (died2008)
- September 9 –Rolf Wenkhaus,actor (died1942)
- September 11 –Herbert Lom,actor (died 2012)
- September 18 -June Foray,American voice actress (died 2017)
- October 7
- Helmut Dantine,actor (died1982)
- June Allyson,actress (died2006)
- October 11 -J. Edward McKinley,American character actor (died2004)
- October 16 –Alice Pearce,actress (died1966)
- October 17 –Marsha Hunt,American actress (died2022)
- October 22 –Joan Fontaine,actress (died2013)
- November 2 –Ann Rutherford,actress (died 2012)
- November 4 –Virginia Field,actress (died1992)
- November 30 -Ilse Steppat,German actress (died 1969)
- December 7 –Hurd Hatfield,actor (died 1998)
- December 12 –Margaret Marquis,actress (died 1993)
- December 13 -John Hart,American actor (died2009)
- December 18 -Ossie Davis,American film, television and Broadway actor, director, poet, playwright, author and civil rights activist (died2005)
- December 22 –Frankie Darro,actor (died1976)
- December 28 -Kim Chan,Chinese-American actor and producer (died2008)
Deaths[edit]
- February 21 –Fred Mace,38, American actor & comedian,What Happened to Jones,His Last Scent,A Lover's Might,The Love Comet
- March 6 –Valdemar Psilander,32, Danish actor,Rytterstatuen,Lykken,Lydia,Klovnen,Favoriten,In Defense of a Nation,John Redmond, the Evangelist
- July 2 –Herbert Beerbohm Tree,64, English stage & screen actor,Beerbohm Tree, The Great English Actor;Henry VIII;Macbeth;Trilby;The Old Folks at Home
- October 13 –Florence La Badie,29, American actress,The Man Without a Country,War and the Woman,The Woman in White,When Love Was Blind
- October 25 –Jack Standing,31, English actor,With Hoops of Steel,The Curse of Eve,The Innocent Sinner,The Price of Her Soul,One Touch of Sin
- November 5 –Howell Hansel,46, American actor and director
- November 18 –Nino Oxilia,28, Italian director,Rapsodia satanica,Blue Blood
- December 20 –Eric Campbell,38, Scottish actor,The Immigrant,Behind the Screen,The Count,Easy Street,The Adventurer(short),The Cure(short)
Film debuts[edit]
- Maude Allen–The Moth
- Eduardo Ciannelli–The Food Gamblers
- Jackie Coogan–Skinner's Baby
- Marion Davies–Runaway Romany
- Vittorio De Sica–The Clemenceau Affair
- Richard Dix–One of Many
- Fritz Feld–The Golem and the Dancing Girl
- John Ford(director) –Straight Shooting
- Ferdinand Gottschalk–Please Help Emily
- Taylor Holmes–Fools for Luck
- Leslie Howard–The Happy Warrior
- Isabel Jeans–The Profligate
- Buck Jones–A Rough Shod Fighter
- Madge Kennedy–Baby Mine
- Bela Lugosi–Leoni Leo
- Bert Lytell–The Lone Wolf
- May McAvoy–Hate
- Chester Morris–An Amateur Orphan
- ZaSu Pitts–Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
- Marjorie Rambeau–The Greater Woman
- Gustav von Seyffertitz–Down to Earth
- Amy Veness–Please Help Emily
- Clifton Webb–National Red Cross Pageant
- Marjorie Wood–National Red Cross Pageant
- Loretta Young–The Primrose Ring
References[edit]
- ^Films of the Golden Age.Archived2004-12-16 at theWayback Machine
- ^First National filmography.
- ^Daugherty, Gregory N. (2022).The Reception of Cleopatra in the Age of Mass Media.ISBN978-1-3503-4073-2.
No data survives, but Bara herself claimed that the epic grossed a million dollars, quite an achievement since it reportedly cost $500,000 to make.
- ^abcdBirchard, Robert S. (2004).Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood.University Press of Kentucky.ISBN9780813123240.
- ^abWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^abWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^abWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^abcWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^abWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.