1920 in film

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The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films[]

The top four films released in 1920 by U.S. gross are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1920

Rank	Title	Studio	Box office gross rental
1	Way Down East	United Artists	$2,000,000[1]
2	Over the Hill to the Poorhouse	Fox Film Corporation	$1,500,000[2]
3	Passion The Mark of Zorro	UFA/First National Pictures United Artists	$1,000,000[1][2]

Events[]

• August – Jack Cohn, Joe Brandt and Harry Cohn form C. B. C. Film Sales Corporation^[3] which would later become Columbia Pictures.^[4]
• November 27 – The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.

Notable films released in 1920[]

Austria[]

For a complete list see: List of Austrian films of the 1920s

• Anita (aka Trance), directed by Luise Kolm and Jakob Fleck^[5]
• Boccaccio directed by Michael Curtiz.
• The Prince and the Pauper directed by Alexander Korda.
• The Scourge of God directed by Michael Curtiz.
• The Star of Damascus directed by Michael Curtiz.

France[]

For a complete list see: French films of 1920

• Barrabas directed by Louis Feuillade
• The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil, directed by Pierre Caron ^[6]

Germany[]

For a complete list see: List of German films of 1920

• Algol, starring Emil Jannings
• Anna Boleyn directed by Ernst Lubitsch
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari directed by Robert Wiene; starring Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt and Lil Dagover
• Cagliostro, directed by Reinhold Schuenzel, starred Conrad Veidt^[5]
• Evening – Night – Morning (Abend – Nacht – Morgen) directed by F.W. Murnau
• Genuine directed by Robert Wiene, starring Fern Andra
• The Golem: How He Came Into the World (Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) directed by and starring Paul Wegener
• The Head of Janus (Der Januskopf) directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Conrad Veidt and Bela Lugosi
• Hound of the Baskervilles, directed by Willy Zehn, released in two parts^[7]
• The Hunchback and the Dancer (Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin) directed by F.W. Murnau
• Kohlhiesels Töchter (Kohlhiesel's Daughter) directed by Ernst Lubitsch
• The Last of the Mohicans (Der Letzte der Mohikaner), starring Bela Lugosi
• Nachtgestalten, directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt and Paul Wegener, based on the Karl Hans Strobl short story Eleagable Kuperus^[6]
• Satan (Satanas) directed by F. W. Murnau, starred Conrad Veidt, filmed in 1919^[8]
• Sumurun (One Arabian Night) directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Paul Wegener and Pola Negri^[9]
• Die Todeskarawane, starring Dora Gerson and Bela Lugosi
• Torgus, the Coffin Maker, directed by Hans Kobe^[9]

Italy[]

• The Monster of Frankenstein (film) (il Mostro di Frankenstein), directed by Eugenio Testa, starring Umberto Guarracino as the Monster ^[6]
• Spiritism (aka Spiritismo), starring Francesca Bettina ^[10]

Philippines[]

For a complete list see: List of Philippine films before 1940

• La Mariposa Negra directed by Jose Nepomuceno^[11]

Sweden[]

For a complete list see: Swedish films before 1930

• Erotikon directed by Mauritz Stiller
• (How Not to Dress), starring Greta Garbo
• Karin Daughter of Ingmar (Karin Ingmarsdotter) directed by & starring Victor Sjostrom
• The Monastery of Sendomir (Klostret i Sendomir) directed by Victor Sjostrom
• The Parson's Widow (Prästänkan) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

United Kingdom[]

For a complete list see: British films of 1920

• The Barton Mystery, directed by Harry Roberts, starred Lyn Harding^[12]
• Bleak House directed by Maurice Elvey
• Build Thy House directed by Fred Goodwins, starring Henry Ainley
• Colonel Newcome directed by Fred Goodwins' starring Milton Rosmer, Joyce Carey
• Ernest Maltravers directed by Jack Denton; starring Lillian Hall-Davis
• The Ever Open Door directed by Fred Goodwins; starring Hayford Hobbs
• The Fordington Twins directed by W.P. Kellino
• General Post directed by Thomas Bentley; starring Douglas Munro, Lilian Braithwaite
• The Lure of Crooning Water directed by Arthur Rooke; starring Guy Newall and Ivy Duke
• Mr. Gilfil's Love Story directed by A.V. Bramble; starring Mary Odette
• A Son of David directed by Hay Plumb; starring Ronald Colman
• Trent's Last Case directed by Richard Garrick; starring Gregory Scott, Pauline Peters and Clive Brook
• The Twelve Pound Look directed by Jack Denton; starring Milton Rosmer

United States[]

For a complete list see: American films of 1920

A[]

• Along the Moonbeam Trail contained animated dinosaur sequences by Willis O'Brien^[5]
• April Folly directed by Robert Z. Leonard; starring Marion Davies and Conway Tearle

B[]

• Black Shadows, directed by Howard M. Mitchell^[5]

C[]

• The Copperhead, starring Lionel Barrymore and Doris Rankin

D[]

• The Dark Mirror, directed by Charles Giblyn ^[12]
• The Devil's Pass Key directed by Erich von Stroheim; starring Mae Busch and Maude George
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde directed by John S. Robertson; starring John Barrymore

F[]

• The Flapper, starring Olive Thomas
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by Charles J. Hayden, starring Sheldon Lewis^[13]

G[]

• The Girl in Number 29 directed by John Ford
• Go and Get It, starred Pat O'Malley and Wallace Beery^[14]

H[]

• His Brother's Keeper, directed by Wilfred North^[7]
• House of the Tolling Bell directed by J. Stuart Blackton
• The House of Whispers directed by Ernest C. Warde ^[7]
• Huckleberry Finn directed by William Desmond Taylor; starring Lewis Sargent, Edythe Chapman, Martha Mattox

I[]

• If I Were King directed by J. Gordon Edwards; starring William Farnum, Betty Ross Clarke and Fritz Leiber, Sr.

J[]

• The Jack-Knife Man directed by King Vidor
• Judy of Rogue's Harbor directed by William Desmond Taylor; starring Mary Miles Minter, Fritzi Ridgeway and Theodore Roberts

L[]

• Lady Rose's Daughter directed by Hugh Ford; starring Elsie Ferguson
• The Last of the Mohicans directed by Maurice Tourneur and Clarence Brown; starring Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Alan Roscoe
• The Love Flower directed by D. W. Griffith starring Richard Barthelmess and Carol Dempster
• Love Without Question, directed by B. A. Rolfe ^[7]

M[]

• The Mark of Zorro directed by Fred Niblo; starring Douglas Fairbanks
• The Master Mind, starred Lionel Barrymore^[7]
• The Mollycoddle directed by Victor Fleming; starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery

N[]

• Nomads of the North, starring Lon Chaney and Lewis Stone

O[]

• Old Lady 31 directed by John Ince & Sherry Harris; starring Emma Dunn, Carrie Clark Ward, Winifred Westover & Martha Mattox
• One Hour Before Dawn, directed by Henry King for Pathe ^[6]
• Outside the Law directed by Tod Browning
• Over the Hill to the Poorhouse

P[]

• The Penalty directed by Wallace Worsley; starring Lon Chaney
• Phantom Melody, directed by Douglas Gerrard for Universal^[10]
• Pollyanna, starring Mary Pickford

R[]

• The Restless Sex directed by Robert Z. Leonard; starring Marion Davies and Carlyle Blackwell
• Romance, starring Doris Keane and Norman Trevor (refilmed later as a 1930 Greta Garbo talkie)

S[]

• Sex directed by Fred Niblo
• Shipwrecked Among Cannibals documentary film
• Something to Think About directed by Cecil B. DeMille; starring Gloria Swanson and Monte Blue
• The Star Rover, based on the novel by Jack London, directed by Edward Sloman ^[10]
• Stolen Moments, starring Rudolph Valentino
• Suds, starring Mary Pickford

T[]

• Treasure Island directed by Maurice Tourneur; starring Lon Chaney and Shirley Mason (as Jim)

W[]

• Way Down East directed by D. W. Griffith; starring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess
• Within Our Gates directed by Oscar Micheaux, starring Evelyn Preer
• Why Change Your Wife? directed by Cecil B. DeMille; starring Gloria Swanson, Thomas Meighan and Bebe Daniels

Film series[]

• The Son of Tarzan, a 15-chapter film series:

1. The Call of the Jungle
2. Out of the Lion's Jaws
3. Girl of the Jungle
4. The Sheik's Revenge
5. The Pirate's Prey
6. The Killer's Mate
7. The Quest of the Killer
8. The Coming of Tarzan
9. The Kiss of the Beast
10. Tarzan Takes the Trail
11. Ashes of Love
12. Meriem's Ride in the Night
13. Double Crossed
14. Blazing Hearts
15. An Amazing Denouement

Short film series[]

• Harold Lloyd (1913–1951)
  • An Eastern Westerner
  • Get Out and Get Under
  • Haunted Spooks
  • High and Dizzy
  • His Royal Slyness
  • Number, Please?
• Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
  • The Garage
  • One Week
  • The Saphead
  • Convict 13
  • The Scarecrow
  • Neighbors

Animated short film series[]

The following is a list of animated shorts of the year 1920 that belong to series that lasted several years.

• Felix the Cat (1919–1936)
  • A Frolic with Felix (January 25, 1920)
  • Felix the Big Game Hunter (February 22, 1920)
  • Wrecking a Romeo (March 7, 1920)
  • Felix the Food Controller (April 11, 1920)
  • Felix the Pinch Hitter (April 18, 1920)
  • Foxy Felix (May 16, 1920)
  • A Hungry Hoodoo (June 6, 1920)
  • The Great Cheese Robbery (June 13, 1920)
  • Felix and the Feed Bag (July 18, 1920)
  • Nifty Nurse (August 22, 1920)
  • The Circus (September 26, 1920)
  • My Hero (October 24, 1920)
  • Felix the Landlord (November 21, 1920)
  • Felix's Fish Story (December 26, 1920)
• Out of the Inkwell (1918–1929)

A major animated series of the silent era produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929 in which it appeared Koko the Clown:

• The Boxing Kangaroo
• The Chinaman
• The Circus
• The Ouija Board
• The Clown's Little Brother
• Perpetual Motion
• Poker
• The Restaurant

Births[]

• January 7
  • Vincent Gardenia, actor (died 1992)^[15]
  • Witold Sadowy, Polish actor died 2020)^[16]
• January 20
  • DeForest Kelley, actor (died 1999)^[17]
  • Federico Fellini, film director (died 1993)^[18]
• January 27 – John Box, production designer, four-time Oscar winner (died 2005)
• January 30
  • Michael Anderson, director (died 2018)
  • Delbert Mann, director (died 2007)
• February 8 – Bengt Ekerot, Swedish actor and director (died 1971)
• February 11 – Billy Halop, actor (died 1976)
• February 26 – Tony Randall, actor (died 2004)
• February 29 – Michèle Morgan, actress (died 2016)
• March 3 – James Doohan, actor (died 2005)
• March 6 – Lewis Gilbert, director (died 2018)^[19]
• March 16 – Leo McKern, actor (died 2002)^[20]
• March 19 – Paul Hagen, Danish actor (died 2003)
• March 22
  • Werner Klemperer, German actor (died 2000)
  • Ross Martin, Polish-American actor (died 1981)
• April 1
  • Toshiro Mifune, actor (died 1997)^[21]
  • Susanna Ramel, Swedish actress (died 2020)
• April 2 – Jack Webb, actor (died 1982)
• April 17 - Arnold Yarrow, retired English actor and screenwriter
• April 20 – Gianrico Tedeschi, actor (died 2020)
• May 2 – Preben Neergaard, Danish actor (died 1990)
• May 7 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (died 1985)
• May 11 – Denver Pyle, actor (died 1997)
• May 16 – Martine Carol, actress (died 1967)
• May 26
  • John Dall, American actor (died 1971)^[22]
  • Peggy Lee, singer, songwriter, actress (died 2002)^[23]
• May 29 – Clifton James, actor (died 2017)
• June 10 - Diana Maggi, Italian-born Argentine actress
• June 12 – Jim Siedow, American actor (died 2003)
• June 13 – Rex Everhart, American actor (died 2000)
• June 15 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (died 2003)^[24]
• June 17 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese film actress (died 2015)
• June 18 – Ian Carmichael, English stage, film and television actor (died 2010)
• June 29 – Ray Harryhausen, producer, visual effects artist (died 2013)
• July 1 – Harold Sakata, American film actor (died 1982)
• July 11 – Yul Brynner, actor (died 1985)^[25]
• July 12 – Keith Andes, American actor (died 2005)
• July 16 – Phillip Pine, American actor (died 2006)^[26]
• July 28 – Andrew V. McLaglen, film & TV director, son of Victor McLaglen (died 2014)
• July 31 – Franca Valeri, actress (died 2020)
• August 6 – Ella Raines, actress (died 1988)
• August 8 - Dominique Marcas, French actress
• August 17 – Maureen O'Hara, actress (died 2015)
• August 18 – Shelley Winters, actress (died 2006)
• August 22 – Ray Bradbury, writer (died 2012)
• August 30 - Leonid Shvartsman, Russian animator
• September 18 – Jack Warden, actor (died 2006)
• September 23 – Mickey Rooney, actor (died 2014)
• September 27 – William Conrad, actor (died 1994)
• October 1 – Walter Matthau, actor (died 2000)
• October 10 - Noah Keen, actor (died 2019)
• October 13 – Laraine Day, actress (died 2007)
• October 17 – Montgomery Clift, actor (died 1966)
• October 18 – Melina Mercouri, actress (died 1994)
• October 21 – Hy Averback, actor (died 1997)
• October 22 – Mitzi Green, actress (died 1969)
• October 27 – Nanette Fabray, actress (died 2018)
• October 29 - Hilda Bernard, Argentine actress
• November 10 – Jennifer Holt, actress (died 1997)
• November 19 – Gene Tierney, actress (died 1991)
• November 25
  • Shelagh Fraser, English actress (died 2000)
  • Ricardo Montalbán, actor (died 2009)
  • Noel Neill, actress (died 2016)
• November 30 – Virginia Mayo, actress (died 2005)
• December 29 – Viveca Lindfors, actress (died 1995)
• December 7 – Frances Gifford, actress (died 1994)
• December 30 – Jack Lord, actor (died 1998)
• December 31 – Rex Allen, American cowboy actor, singer (died 1999)

Deaths[]

• January 31 – Gilda Langer, 23, German actress
• February 11 – Gaby Deslys, 38, French actress, dancer, singer
• February 17 – Thomas Commerford, 64, American veteran character actor
• March 2 – Harry Solter, 46, American actor
• April 12 – Walter Edwards, 50, American director
• April 25 – Clarine Seymour, 21, American actress
• May 22 – Hal Reid, 59, American actor & director (father of Wallace Reid)
• June 14 – Gabrielle Réjane, 64, stage and film actress
• August 1 – Eugene Gaudio, 33, Italian born cinematographer (brother of Tony Gaudio)
• August 2 – Ormer Locklear, 29, American stunt flier
• August 13 – Gladys Field, 31, actress (died in childbirth)
• August 28 – Suzanne Grandais, 27, French actress
• September 5 – Robert Harron, 27, American actor
• September 10 – Olive Thomas, 25, American actress
• November 19 – Will S. Davis, 38, American film director
• December 9 – Mollie McConnell, 55, American actress

Film debuts[]

• Mary Astor
• Madge Bellamy
• Charles Boyer
• Greta Garbo
• Alfred Hitchcock – director
• Barbara La Marr
• Victor McLaglen
• Nita Naldi
• Claude Rains
• Otis Skinner
• Cornelia Otis Skinner

Films set in 1920[]

There are films released in later years whose plot is developed totally or partially in 1920:

• Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
• Winterset (1936)
• The Road Back (1937)
• Clash of Loyalties (1938)
• Three Comrades (1938)
• Hostile Whirlwinds (1953): Film portrays the first years of Soviet government, biography of Felix Dzerzhinsky in 1918–1921.
• Kappalottiya Thamizhan (1961)
• The Ball of Count Orgel (1970): Set in 1920, the Comte hosts a soirée and dance for the upper echelons of Parisian society.
• Vengeance (1970): The film is set in 1920 Peking, and centers on a revenge plight of Chiang.
• Reds (1981)
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984): David "Noodles" Aaronson struggles as a street kid in Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1920.
• The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
• A Month in the Country (1987): Set in rural Yorkshire during the summer of 1920, the film follows a destitute World War I veteran employed to carry out restoration work on a Medieval mural discovered in a rural church while coming to terms with the after-effects of the war.
• Life and Nothing But (1989): Set in October 1920, it tells the story of Major Delaplane, a man whose job is to find the identities of unknown dead soldiers after World War I.
• The Treaty (1991): The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921.
• Michael Collins (1996)
• The Image Makers (2000): The drama is set in the year 1920 at Filmstaden where the film director Victor Sjöström is shooting the film The Phantom Carriage.
• The Admiral (2008)
• 1920 film series (2008–2016)

1920 (2008)

1920: The Evil Returns (2012)

1920: London (2016)

• Battle of Warsaw 1920 (2011)
• Sunstroke (2014)

See also[]

• List of American films of 1920

References[]