1921 in film

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:

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.
• July 1 – The silent crime docudrama Yan Ruisheng is the first full-length feature film made in China to be released; although commercially successful it is banned within 2 years and believed lost.
• 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.

A

• The Ace of Hearts, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney and Leatrice Joy
• Action (lost), directed by John Ford, starring Hoot Gibson
• The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick (lost), directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Frederick Volpe – (GB)
• The Adventures of Tarzan, 15-part serial directed by Robert F. Hill and Scott Sidney, starring Elmo Lincoln
• The Affairs of Anatol, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson
• After Midnight, directed by Ralph Ince
• After Your Own Heart, directed by George Marshall, starring Tom Mix
• All Soul's Eve (lost), directed by Chester M. Franklin, starring Mary Miles Minter and Jack Holt, based on the 1920 stage play by Anne Crawford Flexner
• Among Those Present, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
• L'Atlantide, directed by Jacques Feyder, based on the 1919 novel by Pierre Benoit – (France)

B

• Die Bergkatze (The Wild Cat), directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri and Paul Heidemann – (Germany)
• The Bigamist, starring and directed by Guy Newall with Ivy Duke – (GB)
• The Blot, directed by Lois Weber
• The Boat, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
• The Bonnie Brier Bush (lost), starring and directed by Donald Crisp – (GB)
• Brewster's Millions (lost), directed by Joseph Henabery, starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
• Brownie's Little Venus, directed by Fred Fishback, starring Baby Peggy
• Buried Treasure, directed by George D. Baker, starring Marion Davies and Norman Kerry

C

• The Call of Youth (lost), directed by Hugh Ford
• Camille, directed by Ray C. Smallwood, starring Alla Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino
• The Case of Becky, directed by Chester M. Franklin, starring Constance Binney, based on the 1912 stage play by David Belasco and Edward Locke
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (lost), directed by Emmett J. Flynn
• The Conquering Power, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry

D

• Desire (Sehnsucht) (lost), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany)
• Destiny (Der müde Tod), directed by Fritz Lang, starring Lil Dagover and Rudolf Klein-Rogge – (Germany)
• The Devil, directed by James Young, starring George Arliss, based on the 1908 stage play by Ferenc Molnár
• Disraeli (lost), directed by Henry Kolker, starring George Arliss
• The Dollar-a-Year Man (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

E

• El Capullo Marchito, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)
• El Dorado, directed by Marcel L'Herbier – (France)
• Enchantment, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies
• Experience (lost), directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Richard Barthelmess

F

• The Fire Eater, directed by B. Reeves Eason, starring Hoot Gibson
• Fool's Paradise, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Conrad Nagel and Mildred Harris
• Forever (lost), directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Elsie Ferguson and Wallace Reid
• The Four Feathers, directed by René Plaissetty – (GB)
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino

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 – (Austria)
• Das grinsende Gesicht (), directed by Julius Herska, based on the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo – (Austria)
• 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
• 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 – (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 – (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 – (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
• 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 – (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 – (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 – (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 – (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
• 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
• 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 1 - Jack Clayton, British director and producer (died 1995)
• 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
• Josip Elic, American actor (died 2019)
• Charlotte Zucker, actress, mother of Jerry Zucker and David Zucker (died 2007)
• March 12 – Gordon MacRae, actor, singer (died 1986)
• March 21 - Logan Ramsey, American character actor (died 2000)
• 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 4 - Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (died 2015)
• 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 (died 2024)
• May 29 - Elizabeth Kelly, British actress (died 2025)
• 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 actress
• July 6
• Nancy Reagan, born Anne Robbins, actress and First Lady of the United States (died 2016)
• Bill Shirley, American actor and singer (died 1989)
• July 10 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (died 1988)
• July 17 – FrantiÅ¡ek 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 15 - James Jeter, American actor (died 2007)
• 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 12 - Kenneth Griffith, Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker (died 2006)
• 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 12 - Paul Maxwell, Canadian actor (died 1991)
• 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 1 - Sylvia Kauders, American actress (died 2016)
• 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)
• Sean Sullivan, Canadian actor (died 1985)

Deaths

• February 8 – George Formby Sr, 45, British music hall entertainer who appeared in one film (pulmonary tuberculosis)
• 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)
• 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, American actress
• September 17 – Van Dyke Brooke, 62, American actor, screenwriter and film director

Film debuts

See also

• List of American films of 1921

References

External links

• List of 1921 films at IMDb
• List of 1921 deaths at IMDb
• List of 1921 births at IMDb