1924 in film

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

Events

• January 10 – CBC Distributions corp. is renamed and incorporated as Columbia Pictures. D. W. Griffith, co-founder of United Artists, leaves the company.
• April 17 – Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gains control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• July 1 - A boycott of Hollywood films in Japan, organised by the distributors Nikkatsu, Shochiku, and Teikine, goes into effect in response to the United States' Immigration Act.
• July 12 - Japanese film distributors' boycott of Hollywood films ends with participating cinemas "suffering heavy losses of patronage".
• November 15 – In Los Angeles, director Thomas Ince meets publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst to work out a deal. When Ince dies a few days later, reportedly of a heart attack, rumors soon surface that he was murdered by Hearst.
• Loews Theatres acquires the 4,000 seat Capitol Theatre in New York City becoming the flagship of the theatre chain and site of many future MGM premieres.
• Joseph Schenck becomes president of United Artists.
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer considers making a film of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. MGM and the estate of L. Frank Baum fail to come to an agreement so the rights are sold to Chadwick Pictures.

  Notable films released in 1924

A

• Aelita, directed by Yakov Protazanov –
• The Alaskan, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Thomas Meighan and Estelle Taylor
• Along Came Ruth, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Viola Dana
• America, directed by D. W. Griffith, Neil Hamilton and Lionel Barrymore
• Au Secours! , directed by Abel Gance, starring Max Linder –

  B

• Ballet Mécanique, directed by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy –
• Beau Brummel, directed by Harry Beaumont, starring John Barrymore and Mary Astor
• Behind the Curtain, directed by Chester M. Franklin, based on a story by William J. Flynn

  C

• Captain January directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Baby Peggy and Hobart Bosworth
• Carlos and Elisabeth, directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt –
• Claude Duval, directed by George A. Cooper, starring Fay Compton and Nigel Barrie –
• The City Without Jews , directed by Hans Karl Breslauer –

  D

• Dante's Inferno, directed by Henry Otto
• The Dixie Handicap, directed by Reginald Barker

  E

• The Enchanted Cottage, directed by John S. Robertson, starring Richard Barthelmess and May McAvoy
• Entr'acte, directed by René Clair –
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks , directed by Lev Kuleshov –

  F

• Forbidden Paradise, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri, Rod La Rocque and Adolphe Menjou
• The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu Manchu, eight-part series directed by A. E. Coleby –

  G

• Girl Shy, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
• The Grand Duke's Finances , directed by F. W. Murnau –
• The Great Well, directed by Henry Kolker –
• Greed, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Gibson Gowland and ZaSu Pitts

  H

• Happiness, directed by King Vidor, starring Laurette Taylor
• The Hands of Orlac , directed by Robert Wiene, starring Conrad Veidt, based on the 1920 novel by Maurice Renard –
• He Who Gets Slapped, directed by Victor Sjöström starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert
• Helena, directed by Manfred Noa –
• Helen's Babies, directed by William A. Seiter, starring Edward Everett Horton, Baby Peggy and Clara Bow
• Her Night of Romance, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Constance Talmadge and Ronald Colman
• His Hour, directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert
• Hot Water, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
• The Humming Bird, directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Gloria Swanson

  I

• Icebound, directed by William C. deMille, starring Lois Wilson and Richard Dix
• L'Inhumaine , directed by Marcel L'Herbier –
• The Iron Horse, directed by John Ford, starring George O'Brien and Madge Bellamy
• Isn't Life Wonderful, directed by D. W. Griffith

  J

• Janice Meredith, directed by E. Mason Hopper, starring Marion Davies

  L

• The Last Laugh , directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Emil Jannings –
• Little Robinson Crusoe, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan

  M

• The Marriage Circle, directed by Ernst Lubitsch
• Michael, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer –
• Monsieur Beaucaire, directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Rudolph Valentino, Bebe Daniels and Lois Wilson

  N

• The Navigator, a Buster Keaton film
• Die Nibelungen: Siegfried, directed by Fritz Lang; starring Paul Richter –
• Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache, directed by Fritz Lang –

  O

• On Time, directed by Henry Lehrman, starring Richard Talmadge
• Open All Night, directed by Paul Bern, starring Viola Dana

  P

• Paris Qui Dort , directed by René Clair –
• The Passionate Adventure, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Alice Joyce, Clive Brook and Victor McLaglen –
• Peter Pan, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Betty Bronson and Ernest Torrence

  Q

• Quo Vadis, directed by Gabriellino D'Annunzio and Georg Jacoby, starring Emil Jannings –

  S

• The Saga of Gosta Berling , directed by Mauritz Stiller, starring Greta Garbo and Lars Hanson –
• Sampaguita, directed by José Nepomuceno –
• The [Sea Hawk (1924 film)|The Sea Hawk], directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Milton Sills
• Secrets, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Norma Talmadge
• The Shadow of the Desert, directed by George Archainbaud, starring Mildred Harris and Norman Kerry
• Sherlock Jr., a Buster Keaton film
• A Son of Satan, written and directed by Oscar Micheaux
• Stupid, But Brave, directed by William Goodrich
• Symphonie diagonale, directed by Viking Eggeling –

  T

• The [Thief of Bagdad (1924 film)|The Thief of Bagdad], directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Douglas Fairbanks
• Those Who Dare, directed by John B. O'Brien
• Three Weeks, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Conrad Nagel and Aileen Pringle
• Three Women, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring May McAvoy, Pauline Frederick and Marie Prevost

  U

• Unseen Hands, directed by Jacques Jaccard, starring Wallace Beery

  W

• Waxworks , directed by Paul Leni, starring Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt and Werner Krauss –
• What an Eye, written and directed by Edward Ludwig
• Wild Oranges, directed by King Vidor
• Wine, directed by Louis J. Gasnier, starring Clara Bow
• Wine of Youth, directed by King Vidor, starring Eleanor Boardman and William Haines

  Y

• Yolanda, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies

  Short film series

• Buster Keaton
• Laurel and Hardy
• ''Our Gang''

  Animated short film series

• Koko the Clown
• Felix the Cat
• Alice Comedies
• * Alice's Day at Sea
• * Alice's Spooky Adventure
• * Alice's Wild West Show
• * Alice's Fishy Story
• * Alice and the Dog-Catcher
• * Alice the Peacemaker
• * Alice Gets in Dutch
• * Alice Hunting in Africa
• * Alice and the Three Bears
• * ''Alice the Piper''

  Births

• January 8 – Ron Moody, English actor
• January 9 – Anne Vernon, French actress
• January 9 – Sergei Parajanov, Soviet director
• January 14 – Carole Cook, American actress
• January 16 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress
• January 21 – Benny Hill, English actor, comedian, singer and writer
• January 26 – Armand Gatti, French filmmaker
• January 29 – Dorothy Malone, American actress
• February 9 – Woody Woodbury, American comedian and actor
• February 12 – Louis Zorich, American actor
• February 19 – Lee Marvin, American actor
• March 3 – John Woodnutt, British actor
• March 5 – Harvey Bernhard, American producer
• March 12 – Helen Parrish, American actress
• March 13 – Norma Michaels, American actress
• March 15 – Walter Gotell, German actor
• March 24 – Norman Fell, American actor
• March 25 – Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress
• April 3 – Marlon Brando, American actor
• April 4 – Noreen Nash, American actress
• April 7
• *Astrid Lepa, Estonian actress and director
• *Espen Skjønberg, Norwegian actor
• April 13 – Stanley Donen, American director and choreographer
• April 14
• *Joseph Ruskin, American actor
• *Philip Stone, English actor
• April 18 – Leida Rammo, Estonian actress
• April 19 – Tatiana Farnese, Italian actress
• April 20
• *Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress
• *Leslie Phillips, English comic actor
• April 24
• *Ruth Kobart, American performer
• *Eric Pleskow, Austrian film producer
• April 29 – Heikki Haravee, Estonian actor
• May 1
• *Dodo Abashidze, Soviet Georgian director
• *Art Fleming, American actor and television host
• May 2 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American actor
• May 3 – Jane Morgan, American actress and singer
• May 5 – Shekhar Chatterjee, Indian actor and director
• May 6 – Laurie Webb, Welsh retired actor
• May 18 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
• May 23 – Bill McCutcheon, American character actor
• May 25 – Walter Schultheiß, German actor
• June 2 – Al Ruscio, American character actor
• June 4 – Dennis Weaver, American actor, SAG president
• June 16 – Faith Domergue, American actress
• June 21 – Ezzatolah Entezami, Iranian actor
• June 25 – Sidney Lumet, American director
• July 1 – Florence Stanley, American actress
• July 3 – Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-born Mexican actress
• July 4 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
• July 6
• *Draga Ahačič, Slovene actress and director
• *Donald Pelmear, British actor
• July 10 – Gloria Stroock, American actress
• July 14 – Val Avery, American actor
• July 19 – Pat Hingle, American actor
• July 20 – Lola Albright, American actress
• July 21 – Don Knotts, American actor
• July 25 – Alice Toen, Belgian actress
• July 29 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor
• August 1 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress
• August 2 – Carroll O'Connor, American actor
• August 10 – Martha Hyer, American actress
• August 13 – Meta Velander, Swedish actress
• August 14 – Eduardo Fajardo, Spanish actor
• August 19 – William Marshall, American actor
• August 21 – Jack Weston, American actor
• August 24 – Jimmy Gardner, English actor
• August 28 – Peggy Ryan, American actress and dancer
• August 29 – Tanis Chandler, French-born American actress
• August 31 – Buddy Hackett, American actor, comedian and singer
• September 1 – Hal Douglas, American voice actor
• September 2 – Knud Leif Thomsen, Danish director and screenwriter
• September 6 – Riccardo Cucciolla, Italian actor and voice actor
• September 8 – Denise Darcel, French actress
• September 9
• *Jane Greer, American actress
• *Sylvia Miles, American actress
• September 11 – David Morris, English actor
• September 13
• *Norman Alden, American character actor
• *Scott Brady, American actor
• September 16 – Lauren Bacall, American actress
• September 21 – Gail Russell, American actress
• September 23 – Bob Herron, American stuntman and actor
• September 28 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor
• September 29 – Peter Arne, British character actor
• September 30 – Truman Capote, American author
• October 1 – Jose [Corazon de Jesus Jr.], Filipino actor
• October 12 – Doris Grau, American script supervisor, actress and voice artist
• October 14 – Robert Webber, American actor
• October 21 – Joyce Randolph, American actress
• October 22 – Teresa Cunillé, Spanish actress
• October 24 – Mark Lenard, American actor
• October 25 – Billy Barty, American actor
• November 2 – Nadia Cattouse, Belize-British actress
• November 8 – Joe Flynn (American actor), American actor
• November 10
• *Russell Johnson, American actor
• *Paul Richards, American actor
• November 16 – Remo Remotti, Italian actor
• November 19 – William Russell, English actor
• November 20 – Mark Miller, American actor
• November 21 – Joseph Campanella, American actor
• November 22 – Geraldine Page, American actress
• December 2 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director
• December 5 – George Savalas, American actor
• December 13 – Maria Riva, American actress and writer
• December 14
• *John Franklyn-Robbins, English actor
• *Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director and producer
• December 19 – Cicely Tyson, American actress, model and author
• December 19 – Edmund Purdom, English actor, voice artist and director
• December 25 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter
• December 31 – Taylor Mead, American actor

  Deaths

• April 16 – Amleto Novelli, Italian stage and screen actor
• April 21 – Eleonora Duse, Italian veteran stage actress, who made one film in 1916
• August 9 – L. Rogers Lytton, American stage and screen actor
• September 23 – Ben Deeley, film actor married to Barbara La Marr
• October 12 – Kate Lester, English veteran stage and film actress
• November 19 – Thomas Ince, American actor and pioneer film producer

  Film debuts

• Brian Aherne – The Eleventh Commandment
• Mary Brian – Peter Pan
• Kay Deslys – Tarnish
• Clark Gable – White Man
• Janet Gaynor – Cupid's Rustler
• John Gielgud – Who Is the Man?
• Johannes Heesters – Cirque hollandais
• Olin Howland – The [Great White Way (1924 film)|The Great White Way]
• Ian Hunter – Not for Sale
• Leila Hyams – Sandra
• Ian Keith – Manhandled
• Robert Keith – The Other Kind of Love
• Lois Moran – La Galerie des monstres
• Grete Mosheim – Michael
• Rafaela Ottiano – The Law and the Lady
• Nat Pendleton – The Hoosier Schoolmaster
• Jane Pierson – Mandrin
• Michel Simon – La Galerie des monstres
• Camilla Spira – Mutter und Sohn
• Tom Tyler – Three Weeks
• Ellinor Vanderveer – Married Flirts
• Pierre Watkin – ''He Who Gets Slapped''