1929 in film

This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Fandom movies:1929

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1929 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Broadway Melody	MGM	$2,808,000
2	The Cock-Eyed World	Fox Film	$2,700,000
3	Gold Diggers of Broadway	Warner Bros.	$2,540,000
4	Sunny Side Up	Fox Film	$2,190,000
5	Rio Rita	RKO	$1,775,000
6	On with the Show!	Warner Bros.	$1,741,000
7	Say It with Songs	Warner Bros.	$1,715,000
8	Show Boat	Universal	$1,643,000
9	The Desert Song	Warner Bros.	$1,549,000
10	The Hollywood Revue of 1929	MGM	$1,527,000

Events

The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.

February 1 – The Broadway Melody is released by MGM and becomes the first major musical film of the sound era, sparking a host of imitators as well as a series of Broadway Melody films that will run until 1940.
February 18 – The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are announced for the year ended August 1, 1928.
March 3 – William Fox announces that he has taken control of Loews Inc., including its subsidiary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, buying shares from Marcus Loew's widow and sons and Nicholas Schenck for $50 million. The acquisition eventually falls through.
May 16 – The first Academy Awards are distributed at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.
May 26 – Fox Grandeur News is shown in Fox Film's new widescreen 70 mm Grandeur film format
July 13 – The first all color talkie, On with the Show, is released by Warner Bros. who lead the way in a new color revolution just as they had ushered in that of the talkies.
July 17 – William Fox is badly injured in a car accident which kills his chauffeur.
August 3 – The Cock-Eyed World beats every known gross for any box office attraction throughout the world with a reported first week gross of $173,391 at the Roxy Theatre (New York City).
August 20 – Hallelujah! is the first Hollywood film to contain an entire black cast.
August 22 – First in the Walt Disney Productions' animated short Silly Symphony series, The Skeleton Dance, is released.
September – Paramount Pictures acquires 49% of CBS.
October 24 – Jean Harlow signs a five-year, $100 per week contract with Howard Hughes.
October 30 – Entertainment newspaper Variety report that Wall Street Lays An Egg leading to many prominent showman and film stars losing money on their investments.
November – Warner Bros. gain complete control of First National Pictures buying Fox Film's 36% stake for $10 million
November 10 – Première of John Grierson's documentary film Drifters about North Sea herring fishermen, made for the Empire Marketing Board, effectively inaugurating the British Documentary Film Movement.
November 15 – U.K. release of Atlantic, a film about the sinking of the RMS Titanic which is one of the first British sound-on-film movies and, in its simultaneously-shot German-language version, the first to be released in Germany; also the first Titanic movie with sound.
December – Anti-trust suits are filed against William Fox and Warner Bros. by the US Department of Justice for Fox's acquisition of Loews and Warners' acquisition of the Stanley Corporation of America and First National.

Academy Awards

The 2nd Academy Awards honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. They took place on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
Most nominations: In Old Arizona – 5

Best Picture: The Broadway Melody
Best Director: Frank Lloyd – The Divine Lady
Best Actor: Warner Baxter – In Old Arizona
Best Actress: Mary Pickford – Coquette

Most awards – no film won more than 1 award
Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years. Best Picture, Actress and Director went to 1930 films.

Notable films released in 1929

United States unless stated otherwise.

P

Pandora's Box, directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Louise Brooks –
Paris, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Irène Bordoni
Patria Amore, starring Julian Manansala –
Piccadilly, directed by E. A. Dupont, starring Anna May Wong and Gilda Gray –
Pointed Heels, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring William Powell and Fay Wray

Q

Queen Kelly, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Gloria Swanson

R

Rain, documentary directed by Mannus Franken and Joris Ivens –
Rasputin, directed by Max Neufeld –
Redskin, directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring Richard Dix
The Rescue, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Ronald Colman and Lili Damita
Resia Boroboedoer –
The Return of the Rat, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Ivor Novello and Isabel Jeans –
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Basil Dean, starring Clive Brook
Rio Rita, directed by Luther Reed, starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles
The River, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan
The Runaway Princess, directed by Anthony Asquith and Fritz Wendhausen, starring Mady Christians –

S

Sa Landas ng Pag-ibig , directed by José Nepomuceno –
Sally, directed by John Francis Dillon, starring Marilyn Miller, Joe E. Brown and Pert Kelton
Salute, directed by John Ford, and starring George O'Brien, Helen Chandler and Stepin Fetchit
The Saturday Night Kid, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Clara Bow and Jean Arthur
Seven Footprints to Satan, written and directed by Benjamin Christensen, starring Thelma Todd and Creighton Hale
Seven Keys to Baldpate, directed by Reginald Barker, starring Richard Dix, based on the 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers and stage play by George M. Cohan
Show Boat, directed by Harry A. Pollard, starring Laura La Plante and Joseph Schildkraut, based on the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber
The Show of Shows, directed by John G. Adolfi
Side Street, directed by Malcolm St. Clair, starring the Moore Brothers
The Silent House, directed by Walter Forde, based on the 1928 novel by John G. Brandon
The Singing Brakeman, a short featuring Jimmie Rodgers
The Single Standard, directed by John S. Robertson, starring Greta Garbo, Nils Asther and Johnny Mack Brown
The Skeleton Dance, a Walt Disney animated short
Smilin' Guns, directed by Henry MacRae, starring Hoot Gibson
Spite Marriage, directed by Edward Sedgwick and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
St. Louis Blues, directed by Dudley Murphy, starring Bessie Smith
Den starkaste , directed by Axel Lindblom and Alf Sjöberg –
Stark Mad, directed by Lloyd Bacon, starring H. B. Warner and Louise Fazenda
Street Girl, directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Betty Compson
Sunny Side Up, directed by David Butler, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell
Syncopation, directed by Bert Glennon

T

The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Sam Taylor, starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks
The Thirteenth Chair, directed by Tod Browning, starring Conrad Nagel and Leila Hyams, based on the 1916 stage play by Bayard Veiller
This Thing Called Love, directed by Paul L. Stein, starring Edmund Lowe and Constance Bennett
The Three Kings , directed by Hans Steinhoff –
The Three Passions, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Alice Terry –
Thunder, directed by William Nigh, starring Lon Chaney and Phyllis Haver
Thunderbolt, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring George Bancroft, Fay Wray and Richard Arlen
A Throw of Dice, directed by Franz Osten –
The Trespasser, directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Gloria Swanson and Robert Ames
Turksib, documentary directed by Viktor Alexandrovitsh Turin –

U

The Unholy Night, directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Ernest Torrence and Roland Young

V

The Vagabond Lover, directed by Marshall Neilan, starring Rudy Vallée and Marie Dressler
The Virginian, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, Richard Arlen and Mary Brian

W

Wait and See, starring and directed by Walter Forde –
Wall Street, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Ralph Ince and Aileen Pringle
Welcome Danger, directed by Clyde Bruckman, starring Harold Lloyd
Where East Is East, directed by Tod Browning, starring Lon Chaney, Lupe Vélez and Estelle Taylor
The White Hell of Pitz Palu, directed by Arnold Fanck and G. W. Pabst, starring Leni Riefenstahl –
Why Be Good?, directed by William A. Seiter, starring Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton
Wild Orchids, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone and Nils Asther
Wolf Song, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Gary Cooper, Lupe Vélez and Louis Wolheim
Woman in the Moon, directed by Fritz Lang –
The Woman in White, directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Blanche Sweet, based on the 1859 novel by Wilkie Collins –
Wonder of Women, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Lewis Stone and Leila Hyams
The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna , directed by Hanns Schwarz –
Words and Music, directed by James Tinling
The Wrecker , directed by Géza von Bolváry –

Serials

The Ace of Scotland Yard, 10 chapters
The Black Book, 10 chapters
The Diamond Master, 10 chapters
The Fatal Warning, 10 chapters
The Fire Detective, 10 chapters
The King of the Kongo, 10 chapters
The Pirate of Panama, 12 chapters
Queen of the Northwoods, 10 chapters
Tarzan the Tiger, 15 chapters

Short film series

Animated short film series

Felix the Cat
Aesop's Film Fables
Krazy Kat
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Inkwell Imps
Mickey Mouse
* The Barn Dance
* The Opry House
* When The Cat's Away
* The Barnyard Battle
* The Plow Boy
* The Karnival Kid
* Mickey's Follies
* Mickey's Choo-Choo
* The Jazz Fool
* Jungle Rhythm
* The Haunted House
* Wild Waves
Silly Symphonies
* The Skeleton Dance
* El Terrible Toreador
* Springtime
* Hell's Bells
* The Merry Dwarfs
Screen Songs
''Talkartoons''

Births

January 1 – Haruo Nakajima, Japanese actor
January 3 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer and screenwriter
January 7 – Terry Moore, American actress
January 8 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-born actor
January 9 – Ulu Grosbard, Belgian-American theatre and film director and film producer
January 13 - Shigeru Kōyama, Japanese actor
January 20 – Arte Johnson, American actor
January 27 – Michael Craig, British actor and screenwriter
January 31 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress
February 4 – Jerry Adler, American actor
February 8 – Claude Rich, French actor
February 10 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer
February 13 - Lee Fierro, American actress
February 14
*Roman Kłosowski, Polish actor
*Allan Miller, American actor and director
* Vic Morrow, American actor
February 17 - Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
February 22
*James Hong, American actor, voice actor, producer and director of Chinese descent
*Donald May, American actor
*Rebecca Schull, American actress
March 4 - Columba Domínguez, Mexican actress
March 10 - Harry Bugin, American actor and musician
March 11 – Timothy Carey, American actor
March 13 – Peter Breck, American actor
March 16 - Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress
March 23 – Mark Rydell, American actor, director and producer
March 24 – Pat Renella, American actor
March 27
*Anne Ramsey, American actress
*Claire Maurier, French actress
March 30 - Richard Dysart, American actor
March 31 – Lee Patterson, Canadian actor
April 1
*Barbara Bryne, British-American actress
* Jonathan Haze, American actor, producer and screenwriter
*Jane Powell, American actress, singer and dancer
April 5 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor
April 6 - Joi Lansing, American actress
April 10
*Liz Sheridan, American actress
*Max von Sydow, Swedish actor
April 11 - Jack Betts, American actor
April 12 - Elspet Gray, Scottish actress
April 15 – Mariano Laurenti, Italian director and actor
April 17 – Michael Forest, American actor
April 28
*Bhanu Athaiya, Indian costume designer
*Evangelina Elizondo, Mexican actress and singer
May 2 – Eddie Garcia, Filipino actor
May 4 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress
May 5 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer
May 8 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese singer and actress
May 10 - George Coe, American actor
May 11 - Margaret Kerry, American actress and director
May 17 – Miriam Byrd-Nethery, American actress
May 23 – Paul Wexler, American actor
May 24 - Brian Wenzel, Australian actor, comedian, director and singer
May 25 – Ann Robinson, American actress
May 26 – Lloyd Reckord, Jamaican actor and filmmaker
May 28 – Shane Rimmer, Canadian actor
May 31
*Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer
*Fakhri Khorvash, Iranian actress
June 3 – Chuck Barris, American game show host
June 8 – Gastone Moschin, Italian actor
June 16 – Gerson da Cunha, Indian actor
June 17 – James Shigeta, American actor, singer and musician of Japanese descent
June 19 - Thelma Barlow, English actress and writer
June 20 – Bonnie Bartlett, American actress
June 21 - John Brandon, American actor
June 23 – Claude Goretta, Swiss producer and director
July 5 – Katherine Helmond, American actress
July 11 – David Kelly, Irish actor
July 21
*Asta Vihandi, Estonian opera singer, actress and dancer
*John Woodvine, English actor
*Jules Walter, British actor
July 22 - Perry Lopez, American actor
July 23 – Maya Buzinova, Russian animator
July 30 - Sid Krofft, Canadian puppeteer and film producer
July 31
*Pat Cooper, American actor and comedian
*Don Murray, American actor
August 1 – Camillo Milli, Italian actor
August 12 - John Bluthal, Australian actor and comedian
August 15 – George Martin, American actor
August 21
*Vija Artmane, Latvian actress
*John McMartin, American actor
August 28 – Ken Gampu, South African actor
August 29 - Robert W. Castle, American actor
September 1 - Tomisaburo Wakayama, Japanese actor
September 2
*Hal Ashby, American director
*Victor Spinetti, Welsh actor, author, poet and raconteur
September 3 – Irene Papas, Greek actress
September 4 – Nina Urgant, Russian actress
September 5
*Edward S. Feldman, American producer
*Bob Newhart, American actor and comedian
September 11 – Eve Brent, American actress
September 18 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress
September 20
*Kurt Kren, Austrian experimental director
*Hans von Borsody, German actor
*Vittorio Taviani, Italian director
September 21
*Héctor Alterio, Argentine actor
*Elsa Raven, American character actress
September 22 – Maria Charles, English actress, director and comedian
September 25 – Ronnie Barker, English actor and comedian
September 28 - Frances Taylor Davis, American dancer and actress
October 2 – Moses Gunn, American actor
October 4 - Scotty Beckett, American actor
October 6 – Bruno Cremer, French actor
October 14 – Norbert Gastell, German voice actor
October 15 - Witold Sobociński, Polish actor
October 16
*Jane Griffiths, English actress
*Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian actress
October 20
Colin Jeavons, British actor
October 24 – Clifford Rose, English actor
October 28
*Jack Hedley, British actor
*Joan Plowright, English actress
October 31 – Bud Spencer, Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player
November 6 – June Squibb, American actress
November 12
*Etchika Choureau, French actress
*Grace Kelly, American-Monégasque actress
November 15 – Ed Asner, American actor
November 20 – Jerry Hardin, American actor
November 21 – Niall Tóibín, Irish actor and comedian
November 28 – Berry Gordy, American producer
November 30
*Dick Clark, American television and radio personality, television producer and actor
*Joan Ganz Cooney, American television writer and producer
December 1 – David Doyle, American actor
December 6 – Alain Tanner, Swiss film director
December 8 – Paddy O'Byrne, Irish radio broadcaster and actor
December 9 – John Cassavetes, American actor, director
December 13 – Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor
December 20 – Zebedy Colt, American actor, musician, adult film director and star
December 31 - George Schlatter, American director and producer

Deaths

January 5 – Marc McDermott, Australian actor
February 18
*Hardee Kirkland, American stage and screen actor
*William Russell, American actor
February 24 – Frank Keenan, American actor
May 9 – Fred C. Truesdell, stage & film actor
May 12 – Charles Swickard, German-American director and actor
July 2 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress
July 3 – Dustin Farnum, American stage & silent screen star
July 6 – Cliff Bowes, American comedian
August 2 – Mae Costello, American actress
September 2 – Paul Leni, German film and art director
October 3 – Jeanne Eagels, American actress
October 31 – Norman Pritchard, actor, Olympic athlete
November 2 – Leo D. Maloney, actor and director
November 24 – Raymond Hitchcock, American actor