1920 in film

The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

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

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Way Down East	United Artists	$2,000,000
2	Why Change Your Wife?	Paramount	$1,046,286
3	Passion (Madame Dubarry)	UFA/First National	$1,000,000
4	Something to Think About	Paramount	$915,848
5	The Mark of Zorro	United Artists	$500,000

Events

March 28 – "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford and "Everybody's Hero" Douglas Fairbanks marry, becoming the first supercouple of Hollywood.
August – Jack Cohn, Joe Brandt and Harry Cohn form C. B. C. Film Sales Corporation which would later become Columbia Pictures.
August 2 – Filming a nighttime spin before a large crowd at DeMille Field in Los Angeles for the movie The Skywayman, stunt pilot and film actor Ormer Locklear and his flying partner Milton "Skeets" Elliot are killed when their Curtiss JN-4 fails to come out of the spin and crashes into the sludge pool of an oil well, igniting a massive explosion and fire.
August 15 – Robert J. Flaherty arrives in northern Canada to begin filming Nanook of the North.
November 27 – The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks, opens.

Notable films released in 1920

Austria

Anita, directed by Luise Kolm and Jakob Fleck; an obscure adaptation of George Du Maurier's novel Trilby

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

Barrabas, a 12-chapter serial/ crime drama directed by Louis Feuillade
The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil, directed by Pierre Caron
Les Morts qui parlent/ The Dead Who Speak, directed by Pierre Marodon
Narayana, directed by Leon Poirier, starring Laurence Myrga and Edmon Van Daele; based on the 1831 novel "Le Peau de Chagrin" by Honore de Balzac, with some story elements lifted from Wilkie Collins' novel The Moonstone
The Silence, ghost film directed by Louis Delluc, starring Gabriel Signoret and Eve Francis

Germany

Algol: Tragedy of Power, science fiction film directed by Hans Werckmeister, 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 DagoverCagliostro, directed by Reinhold Schuenzel, starred Schuenzel and Conrad Veidt
The Devil Worshippers/ Die Teufelsanbeter, A 6-part serial directed by Marie Louise Droop, starring Carl de Vogt and Bela Lugosi, based on the novel by Carl May
Evening – Night – Morning directed by F. W. Murnau
Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire, directed by Robert Wiene, starring Fern Andra; only a 43-minute condensation of the much longer original film exists
The Golem: How He Came into the World, directed by and starring Paul Wegener based on the old Jewish folktale, photographed by Karl Freund
The Head of Janus, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Conrad Veidt and Bela Lugosi, photographed by Karl Freund; based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeHound of the Baskervilles, directed by Willy Zehn, released in two parts ; Willy Keyser-Heyl played Sherlock Holmes
The House Without Windows, directed by Friedrich Feher, not to be confused with the above Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hunchback and the Dancer, directed by F. W. Murnau, photographed by Karl Freund
Kohlhiesels Töchter directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Kurfurstendamm, a horror-comedy written and directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt as The Devil, photographed by Carl Hoffmann
The Last of the Mohicans, starring Bela Lugosi Nachtgestalten, directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt and Paul Wegener, photographed by Carl Hoffmann, based on the Karl Hans Strobl short story Eleagable Kuperus
Satan directed by F. W. Murnau, starred Conrad Veidt, filmed in 1919
Sumurun directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Paul Wegener and Pola Negri
Die Todeskarawane, starring Dora Gerson and Bela LugosiTorgus, the Coffin Maker, directed by Hans Kobe

Hungary

Lord Arthur Saville's Crime, written and directed by Paul Fejos, starring Margit Lux, based on the 1891 story by Oscar Wilde

Ireland

Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn, directed by John MacDonagh, featuring Brian Magowan and Frances Alexander, based on the 1855 novel Willy Reilly and his dear Colleen Bawn by William Carleton

Italy

The Last of the Borgias, directed by Armando Carbone
Monella Street, directed by Umberto Fracchia and starring Carmen Boni
The Power of the Borgias, directed by Luigi Caramba for Medusa Film, starring Irene Saffo-Nomo and Enrico PiacentiniSpiritism, starring Francesca Bettina

Japan

Akakabe Myojin/ The Red Wall God, a ghost-cat film directed by Jiro Yoshino for Kokkatsu Films, starring Shirogoro Sawamura
Arima no neko/ The Cat in Arima, a ghost-cat film directed by Shozo Makino for Nikkatsu Films, starring Matsumosuke Onoe and Sentaro Nakamura

Philippines

La Mariposa Negra directed by Jose Nepomuceno

Sweden

Erotikon directed by Mauritz Stiller
Herr och fru Stockholm, starring Greta Garbo
Karin Daughter of Ingmar directed by & starring Victor Sjöström
The Monastery of Sendomir directed by Victor Sjöström
The Parson's Widow directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

United Kingdom

At the Villa Rose, directed by Maurice Elvey, based on the 1910 novel by A.E.W. MasonThe Barton Mystery, directed by Harry Roberts, starred Lyn Harding; based on the 1917 stage play by Walter Hackett
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
Desire directed by George Edwardes-Hall, starring Dennis Neilson-Terry, based on the 1831 novel Le Peau de Chagrin by Honore de Balzac
Ernest Maltravers directed by Jack Denton; starring Lillian Hall-Davis
The Ever Open Door directed by Fred Goodwins; starring Hayford Hobbs
The Face at the Window, directed by Wilfred Noy, starring C. Aubrey Smith and Gladys Jennings, based on the stage play by F. Brooke WarrenThe Fordington Twins directed by W.P. Kellino
General Post directed by Thomas Bentley; starring Douglas Munro, Lilian Braithwaite
The Great London Mystery, a 12-chapter serial directed by Charles Raymond for T&P Films, starring David Devant and Lady Doris Stapleton; features a Yellow Peril menace called Ching Ling Fu.
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
The Price of Silence, directed by Fred Leroy Granville, starring Peggy Hyland and Campbell Gullan
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
The Yellow Claw, directed by Rene Plaisetty, starring Arthur Cullin and Cyril Percival; based on the 1915 novel by Sax Rohmer featuring a criminal Asian menace named Mr. King.

United States

A

Along the Moonbeam Trail, contained animated dinosaur sequences by Willis O'Brien
April Folly, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Marion Davies and Conway Tearle

B

Black Shadows, directed by Howard M. Mitchell

C

The Copperhead, directed by Charles Maigne, starring Lionel Barrymore

D

The Dark Mirror, directed by Charles Giblyn, starring Dorothy Dalton, based on the story by Louis Joseph Vance

The Devil's Pass Key, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Mae Busch
The Devil to Pay, directed by Ernest C. Warde, based on a 1917 novel by Frances Nimmo Greene
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by John S. Robertson, starring John Barrymore
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by J. Charles Haydon, starring Sheldon Lewis
The Dream Cheater, directed by Ernest C. Warde, starring J. Warren Kerrigan, based on the 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac

F

The Flapper, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Olive Thomas

G

The Girl in Number 29, directed by John Ford, starring Frank Mayo
Go and Get It, directed by Marshall Neilan and Henry Roberts Symonds

Film serials

The Son of Tarzan, a 15-chapter film series

Short film series

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
*A Frolic with Felix
*Felix the Big Game Hunter
*Wrecking a Romeo
*Felix the Food Controller
*Felix the Pinch Hitter
*Foxy Felix
*A Hungry Hoodoo
*The Great Cheese Robbery
*Felix and the Feed Bag
*Nifty Nurse
*The Circus
*My Hero
*Felix the Landlord
*Felix's Fish Story
Out of the Inkwell

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 4 - Rosalie Crutchley, British actress
January 6 - Henry Corden, Canadian-American actor
January 7
*Vincent Gardenia, Italian actor
*Witold Sadowy, Polish actor
January 9 - Clive Dunn, English actor
January 16 - Elliott Reid, American actor
January 19 - Johnny Haymer, American actor
January 20
*DeForest Kelley, actor
*Federico Fellini, film director
January 24 - Jerry Maren, American actor
January 27 – John Box, production designer, four-time Oscar winner
January 30
*Michael Anderson, director
*Delbert Mann, director
February 3 - Bibi Osterwald, American actress
February 8 – Bengt Ekerot, Swedish actor and director
February 11 – Billy Halop, actor
February 26 – Tony Randall, actor
February 29 – Michèle Morgan, actress
March 3 – James Doohan, actor
March 6 – Lewis Gilbert, director
March 16 – Leo McKern, actor
March 19 – Paul Hagen, Danish actor
March 22
*Werner Klemperer, German actor
*Ross Martin, Polish-American actor
*Francis Rigaud, French director, writer and producer
April 1
* Toshiro Mifune, actor
* Susanna Ramel, Swedish actress
April 2 – Jack Webb, actor
April 17 - Arnold Yarrow, British actor and screenwriter
April 20 – Gianrico Tedeschi, actor
April 28 - John Strauss, American composer
May 2
*John Boswall, British actor
*Preben Neergaard, Danish actor
May 7 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor
May 11 – Denver Pyle, actor
May 16 – Martine Carol, actress
May 20 – Virginia Vale, actress
May 26
* John Dall, American actor
* Peggy Lee, singer, songwriter, actress
May 29 – Clifton James, actor
June 1 - Alethea McGrath, Australian actress and comedian
June 12 – Jim Siedow, American actor
June 13 – Rex Everhart, American actor
June 15 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor
June 17 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese film actress
June 18 – Ian Carmichael, English stage, film and television actor
June 25 - Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress
June 29 – Ray Harryhausen, producer, visual effects artist
July 1 – Harold Sakata, American film actor
July 5 - Viola Harris, American actress
July 11 – Yul Brynner, actor
July 12 – Keith Andes, American actor
July 16 – Phillip Pine, American actor
July 28 – Andrew V. McLaglen, film & TV director, son of Victor McLaglen
July 29 – Rodolfo Acosta, actor
July 31 – Franca Valeri, actress
August 1 - Victor Millan, American actor
August 6 – Ella Raines, actress
August 8 - Dominique Marcas, French actress
August 11 - Mike Douglas, American singer, television host and actor
August 13 – Neville Brand, actor
August 17 – Maureen O'Hara, actress
August 18 – Shelley Winters, actress
August 19 - Hugh Manning, English actor
August 22 – Ray Bradbury, writer
August 30 - Leonid Shvartsman, Russian animator
August 31
*James Lanphier, American actor
*G. D. Spradlin, American actor
September 1 - Richard Farnsworth, American actor and stuntman
September 13 - John Crawford, American actor
September 18 – Jack Warden, actor
September 23 – Mickey Rooney, actor
September 26 – Barbara Britton, actress
September 27 – William Conrad, actor
October 1 – Walter Matthau, actor
October 9 - Jason Wingreen, American actor
October 10 - Noah Keen, actor
October 13 – Laraine Day, actress
October 15 - Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter
October 17 – Montgomery Clift, actor
October 18 – Melina Mercouri, actress
October 19 - LaWanda Page, American actress and comedian
October 21
*Hy Averback, actor
*Ruth Terry, actress, singer
October 22 – Mitzi Green, actress
October 27 – Nanette Fabray, actress
October 29 - Hilda Bernard, Argentine actress
November 10 – Jennifer Holt, actress
November 13 – Jack Elam, actor
November 19 – Gene Tierney, actress
November 21 – Ralph Meeker, actor
November 25
*Shelagh Fraser, English actress
*Ricardo Montalbán, actor
*Noel Neill, actress
November 26 - Daniel Petrie, Canadian director
November 27 - Buster Merryfield, British actor
November 30 – Virginia Mayo, actress
December 7 – Frances Gifford, actress
December 29 – Viveca Lindfors, actress
December 30 – Jack Lord, actor
December 31 – Rex Allen, American cowboy actor, singer

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
June 14 – Gabrielle Réjane, 64, stage and film actress
August 1 – Eugene Gaudio, 33, Italian born cinematographer
August 2 – Ormer Locklear, 29, American stunt flier
August 13 – Gladys Field, 31, actress
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

Madge Bellamy – The Riddle: Woman
Noah Beery Jr. – The Mark of Zorro
Charles Boyer – L'homme du large
Edward Brophy – Yes or No?
Charles Byer – Headin' Home
Mary Clare – The Black Spider
Philippe De Lacy – The Riddle: Woman
Jay Eaton – Her First Elopement
Bud Geary – What Would You Do?
Vera Gordon – Humoresque
Ralf Harolde – Headin' Home
David Hawthorne – Testimony
Philippe Hériat – Le Carnaval des vérités
Martita Hunt – A Rank Outsider
Roger Karl – L'homme du large
Barbara La Marr – Harriet and the Piper
Ernst Legal – The Mayor of Zalamea
Miles Mander – Testimony
Cyril McLaglen – The Call of the Road
Victor McLaglen – The Call of the Road
Charles Middleton – Wits vs. Wits
Eva Moore – The Law Divine
Margaret Morris – Her First Elopement
Nita Naldi – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Claude Rains – Build Thy House
Max Schreck – The Mayor of Zalamea
Bob Steele – The Adventures of Bill and Bob
Ruth Weyher – Der Hirt von Maria Schnee
Clarence Wilson – ''Duds''

Films set in 1920

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

Manhattan Melodrama
Winterset
The Road Back
Clash of Loyalties
Three Comrades
Hostile Whirlwinds : Film portrays the first years of Soviet government, biography of Felix Dzerzhinsky in 1918–1921.
Kappalottiya Thamizhan
The Ball of Count Orgel : Set in 1920, the Comte hosts a soirée and dance for the upper echelons of Parisian society.
Vengeance : The film is set in 1920 Peking, and centers on a revenge plight of Chiang.
Reds
Once Upon a Time in America : David "Noodles" Aaronson struggles as a street kid in Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1920.
The Man Who Planted Trees
A Month in the Country : 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 : 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 : The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921.
Michael Collins
The Image Makers : 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
1920 film series
Battle of Warsaw 1920
''Sunstroke''