1923 in film
This is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top eight films released in 1923 by U.S. gross are as follows:| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
| 1 | ' | Paramount | $4,169,798 |
| 2 | ' | Paramount | $3,500,000 |
| 3/4 | Safety Last! The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Pathé Exchange Universal | $1,500,000 |
| 5 | Scaramouche | Metro | $1,000,000 |
| 6 | Adam's Rib | Paramount | $881,206 |
| 7 | Main Street | Warner Bros. | $510,000 |
| 8 | Warner Bros. | $470,000 | |
| 9 | Tiger Rose | Warner Bros. | $466,000 |
Events
- April 4 – Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. incorporated in the United States.
- April 15 – Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.
- Henry Roussel's Les Opprimés is released, introducing mattes to French cinema.
- October 16 – Brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney establish Disney Brothers Studio.
Notable films released in 1923
American films unless stated otherwiseA
- Adam's Rib, directed by Cecil B. DeMille
- The Ancient Law , directed by E. A. Dupont, starring Henny Porten –
- Ashes of Vengeance, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery
- The Audacious Mr. Squire, directed by Edwin Greenwood, starring Jack Buchanan –
B
- The Balloonatic, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
- Barsoum Looking for a Job, directed by Mohammed Bayoumi, starring Bishara Wakim –
- The Bells, directed by Edwin Greenwood, based on the 1867 play The Polish Jew by Erckmann-Chatrian –
- The Bishop of the Ozarks, directed by Finis Fox
- Black Oxen, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Corinne Griffith
- The Blizzard, directed by Mauritz Stiller –
- Blood and Soul , directed by Kenji Mizoguchi –
- The Blue Lagoon, directed by William Bowden and Dick Cruikshanks, starring Molly Adair and Arthur Pusey -
- Bonnie Prince Charlie, directed by Charles Calvert, starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper –
- The Brass Bottle, directed by Maurice Tourneur
C
- Cameo Kirby, directed by John Ford, starring John Gilbert
- Circus Days, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan
- Cœur fidèle , directed by Jean Epstein –
- The Courtship of Miles Standish, directed by Frederic Sullivan
- The Covered Wagon, directed by James Cruze, starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson
D
- The Daring Years, directed by Kenneth Webb, starring Mildred Harris and Clara BowThe Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning , directed by Robert Wiene, starring Werner Krauss –
- Drakula halála , directed by Károly Lajthay –
- The Drums of Jeopardy, directed by Edward Dillon, starring Elaine Hammerstein and Wallace Beery, based on the 1920 novel by Harold MacGrath
E
- The Extra Girl, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand
F
- Faust, directed by Bertram Phillips, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe –
- Frozen Hearts, directed by J. A. Howe, starring Stan Laurel
G
- The Gold Diggers, directed by Harry Beaumont
- The Grub-Stake, directed by Bert Van Tuyle, starring Nell Shipman
H
- The Harbour Lights, directed by Tom Terriss, starring Tom Moore and Isobel Elsom –
- Hoy o Nuca, Bésame, directed by José Nepomuceno –
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman Kerry, based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo
I
- I Will Repay, directed by Henry Kolker, starring Holmes Herbert and Flora Le Breton –
- I.N.R.I., directed by Robert Wiene –
- The Isle of Lost Ships, directed by Maurice Tourneur
- Itching Palms, directed by James W. Horne, based on the play When Jerry Comes Home by Roy Briant
L
- The Lady Owner, directed by Walter West –
- The Last Moment, directed by J. Parker Read Jr., starring Henry Hull, Doris Kenyon and Louis Wolheim
- Little Old New York, directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Marion Davies
- The Lost Soul, directed by Hugo Werner-Kahle –
- The Love Nest, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster KeatonThe Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton –
M
- Main Street, directed by Harry Beaumont
- The Man in the Iron Mask , directed by Max Glass –
- The Merchant of Venice , directed by Peter Paul Felner, starring Werner Krauss and Henny Porten –
- Merry-Go-Round, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry
- Miss Suwanna of Siam , directed by Henry MacRae
- The Monkey's Paw, directed by Manning Haynes, based on the 1902 short story by W. W. Jacobs –
- Mysteries of a Barbershop , directed by Erich Engel –
- The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, 15-part serial directed by A. E. Coleby –
O
- On the Banks of the Wabash, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
- Our Hospitality, directed by John G. Blystone and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
- Out to Win, directed by Denison Clift, starring Catherine Calvert and Clive Brook –
P
- Paddy the Next Best Thing, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Mae Marsh –
- The Pilgrim, a Charlie Chaplin film
- Puritan Passions, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Glenn Hunter and Mary Astor, based on the 1908 play The Scarecrow by Percy MacKaye
- The Purple Highway, directed by Henry Kolker, starring Madge Kennedy
R
- Raskolnikow, directed by Robert Wiene –
- The Red Inn , directed by Jean Epstein, based on the 1831 short story by Honoré de Balzac –
- Red Lights, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Marie Prevost, based on the play The Rear Car by Edward Everett Rose
- Le Retour à la Raison , directed by Man Ray –
- Rosita, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Mary Pickford
- La Roue , directed by Abel Gance –
- Rupert of Hentzau, directed by Victor Heerman
S
- Safety Last!, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
- Salomé, directed by Charles Bryant, starring Alla Nazimova
- Scaramouche, directed by Rex Ingram, Starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry and Lewis Stone
- Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination , directed by Arthur Robison –
- The Shock, directed by Lambert Hillyer, starring Lon Chaney
- The Shriek of Araby, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Ben Turpin
- The Sign of Four, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Eille Norwood, based on the 1890 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle –
- Slave of Desire, directed by George D. Baker, starring Bessie Love, based on the 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac
- Souls for Sale, directed by Rupert Hughes, starring Eleanor Boardman, Mae Busch and Richard Dix
- A Spectre Haunts Europe, directed by Vladimir Gardin, based on the 1842 short story The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe –
- Squibs M.P., directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – The Street , directed by Karl Grune –
- Suzanna, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand
T
- The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Theodore Roberts
- This Freedom, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton and Clive Brook –
- Three Ages, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery
- Three Wise Fools, directed by King Vidor
- Through Fire and Water, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Clive Brook and Flora Le Breton –
- Tiger Rose, directed by Sidney Franklin (director), starring Lenore Ulric
- The Treasure , directed by G. W. Pabst –
- Trilby, directed by James Young, based on the 1894 novel by George du Maurier
- Tut-Tut and his Terrible Tomb, directed by Bertram Phillips –
U
- Under the Red Robe, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Robert B. Mantell
- The Unknown Tomorrow , directed by Alexander Korda, starring Werner Krauss –
W
- While Paris Sleeps, directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Lon Chaney and John Gilbert, based on a novelThe Glory of Love by Leslie Beresford
- The White Shadow, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook –
- The White Sister, directed by Henry King, starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman
- Why Worry?, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
- Wild Bill Hickok, directed by Clifford Smith, starring William S. Hart
- Within the Law, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge
- A Woman of Paris, written and directed by Charles Chaplin, starring Edna Purviance
- Woman to Woman, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook –
Short film series
Animated short film series
- Felix the Cat
- Koko the Clown
- Aesop's Film Fables
- Alice Comedies
- * Alice's Wonderland
- The Red Head Comedies.
Births
- January 1 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress
- January 3 - Bud Tingwell, Australian actor
- January 5 - Boris Leskin, Soviet-American actor
- January 7 – Pinkas Braun, Swiss actor, director
- January 8 – Larry Storch, American actor
- January 17 - Carol Raye, British-born Australian actress, comedian and singer
- January 19 – Jean Stapleton, American actress
- January 22 - Diana Douglas, American actress
- January 23 – Silvano Campeggi, Italian poster designer
- January 26 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress
- January 29 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter
- February 2 – Bonita Granville, American actress
- February 12 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director
- February 18 - Allan Melvin, American actor and impressionist
- February 21 – Lola Flores, Spanish actress
- February 28 – Charles Durning, American actor
- March 10 – Dolores Fuller, American actress
- March 12 - Vladek Sheybal, Polish character actor, singer and director
- March 19 – Pamela Britton, American actress
- March 22 - Carmen Filpi, American character actor
- March 24 - Murray Hamilton, American actor
- April 2 – Gloria Henry, American actress
- April 4
- *Gene Reynolds, American actor, producer
- *Peter Vaughan, English character actor
- April 5 - Michael V. Gazzo, American actor
- April 6 - Chang Feng, Chinese actor
- April 12 – Ann Miller, American dancer, singer, actress
- April 13 - Don Adams, American actor, comedian and director
- April 17
- *Lindsay Anderson, British director and actor
- *Lon McCallister, American actor
- April 22 - Avis Bunnage, English actress
- April 28 – Adele Mara, American actress
- April 29 - Irvin Kershner, American director, actor and producer
- May 4 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
- May 7 – Anne Baxter, actress
- May 14 – Mrinal Sen, Bengali director
- May 20 – Edith Fellows, American actress
- May 26
- *James Arness, American actor
- *Roy Dotrice, British actor
- May 30 - Jimmy Lydon, American actor and producer
- June 5 - Peggy Stewart, American actress
- June 8 – Peggy Maley, American actress
- June 12 – Herta Elviste, Estonian actress
- June 18 - Robert Ellenstein, American actor
- June 20 - Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor
- June 28 - Ray Boyle, American actor
- July 6 – Cathy O'Donnell, American actress
- July 8 - Val Bettin, American actor
- July 14 – Dale Robertson, American actor
- July 18 – Michael Medwin, English actor and producer
- July 22 – Mukesh, Indian singer
- July 25
- *Estelle Getty, American actress and comedian
- *Allan Lurie, American voice actor
- August 3 – Jean Hagen, American actress
- August 9 - John Stephenson, American actor
- August 10
- *Rhonda Fleming, American actress
- *Vernon Washington, American character actor
- August 14 – Alice Ghostley, American actress
- August 15 – Rose Marie, American actress, singer
- August 17 – Julius Harris, American actor
- August 24 - June Dayton, American actress
- August 28 - Alexander Doré, British actor, director and screenwriter
- August 29 – Richard Attenborough, English actor and director
- August 30 - William Duell, American actor and singer
- August 31 - Ed Grady, American actor
- September 1 - Habib Tanvir, Indian actor
- September 7 – Peter Lawford, British-American actor
- September 9 - Cliff Robertson, American actor
- September 11 - Betsy Drake, American actress, writer
- September 20 - Ricardo Montez, Gibraltarian actor
- September 23
- *Margaret Pellegrini, American actress
- *Jimmy Weldon, American actor, ventriloquist and television host
- September 27
- *Tony Giorgio, American actor
- *Mary McCarty, American actress
- September 28 - William Windom, American actor
- October 1 – Kim Yaroshevskaya, Russian-born Canadian actress
- October 4 – Charlton Heston, American actor
- October 5 – Glynis Johns, British actress
- October 10 - Patrick Jordan, British actor
- October 16 – Linda Darnell, American actress
- October 23 - Frank Sutton, American actor
- November 12 - Richard Venture, American actor
- November 13 – Linda Christian, Mexican-American actress
- November 21 - Helen Horton, American actress
- November 28
- *Gloria Grahame, American actress
- *James Karen, American actor
- December 4 - Vincent Ball, Australian retired actor
- December 10 – Harold Gould, American actor
- December 11 – Betsy Blair, American actress
- December 12 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
- December 29
- *Dina Merrill, American actress
- *Mike Nussbaum, American actor and director
Deaths
- January 18 – Wallace Reid, American actor
- March 3 – Dante Testa, Italian actor and director
- March 26 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
- May 21 – Charles Kent, veteran actor and director
- June 11 – Porter Strong, American silent film actor
- June 17 – Macey Harlam, screen actor
- July 12 – Harry Lonsdale, stage and screen actor
- July 30 – Charles Hawtrey, veteran British actor
- August 29 – Bernard Durning, American actor and director,
- September 11 – Siegmund Lubin, American motion picture pioneer
- September 26 – Jerome Patrick, Broadway stage and silent film leading man
- October 28 – Joe Roberts, American actor
- November 20 – Allen Holubar, American actor and director
- November 30 – Martha Mansfield, American actress
- December 28 – Frank Hayes, American actor and comedian