1916 in film
Encyclopedia
The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- October 17 - release of A Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the Gods is a silent film that featured Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman.The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the main character, Nydia, played by Kellerman...
, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star. - November 19 - Samuel Goldfish (later renamed Samuel GoldwynSamuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
) and Edgar SelwynEdgar SelwynEdgar Selwyn was a prominent figure in American theater and film in the first half of the 20th Century.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Selwyn flourished in the Broadway theater as an actor, playwright, director, and producer from 1899 to 1942...
establish Goldwyn PicturesGoldwyn PicturesGoldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in 1916 by Samuel Goldfish in partnership with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn using an amalgamation of both last names to create the name...
, later to became one of the most successful independent filmmakers. - 11 mm, an amateur film gauge, appears on the market.
Top grossing films (U.S.)
| Rank | Title | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Intolerance Intolerance (film) Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a... , directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987.... , Constance Talmadge Constance Talmadge Constance Talmadge was a silent movie star born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and was the sister of fellow actresses Norma Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge.-Early life:... |
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| 2. | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916 film) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1916 silent film directed by Stuart Paton. The film's storyline is based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, along with other elements used from Verne's The Mysterious Island.... |
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| 3. | The Innocent Lie | |
| 4. | Hulda From Holland |
Films released in 1916
U.S. unless stated- A Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the Gods is a silent film that featured Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman.The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the main character, Nydia, played by Kellerman...
, starring Annette KellermanAnnette KellermanAnnette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer... - The Adventures of Peg o' the RingThe Adventures of Peg o' the RingThe Adventures of Peg o' the Ring is a 1916 drama film serial directed by Francis Ford and Jacques Jaccard. It is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Grace Cunard - Peg* Francis Ford - Dr. Lund, Junior* Mark Fenton - Dr. Lund, Senior...
, directed by Francis FordFrancis Ford (actor)Francis Ford was a prolific film actor, writer, and director. He was the older brother of film director John Ford. He also appeared in many of John Ford's movies, including Young Mr. Lincoln and The Quiet Man.He starred in the 1912 two-reeler The Deserter by Thomas H. Ince and acted in over 400...
and Jacques JaccardJacques JaccardJacques Jaccard was an American film director, writer and actor whose achievements in cinema were mostly in silent film....
, starring Grace CunardGrace CunardGrace Cunard was an American actress, screenwriter and film director, who was also sister of actress Mina Cunard.-Career:... - Alsace (France)
- The AmericanoThe AmericanoThe Americano is a 1916 film directed by John Emerson and starring Douglas Fairbanks. This was Fairbanks' last film for Triangle Film Corporation.-Cast:*Douglas Fairbanks as Blaze Derringer*Alma Rubens as Juana deCastalar...
- The Battle of the SommeThe Battle of the Somme (film)The Battle of the Somme is a 1916 British documentary and propaganda film. Shot by two official cinematographers, Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell, the film depicts the British Army's preparations for, and the early stages of, the battle of the Somme...
(U.K.) - Behind the ScreenBehind the ScreenBehind the Screen is a 1916 short silent film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, and also starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance. The film takes place in a movie studio; Chaplin plays a stagehand named David while Campbell, a large man, plays Goliath, his supervisor...
, directed by and starring Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... - La Bohème, by Albert CapellaniAlbert CapellaniAlbert Capellani was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed 168 films between 1940 and 1922...
(France) (see disambiguationLa bohème (disambiguation)La bohème is an 1896 opera by Giacomo Puccini.La bohème may also refer to:*Scènes de la vie de bohème, novelization of Henri Murger's stories, and the subsequent play La vie de bohème by Murger and Théodore Barrière on which the opera was basedIn stage works:* La bohème , 1897 opera by Ruggero...
) - CenereCenereCenere is a 1916 silent film directed by and starring Febo Mari. It is adapted from the 1904 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda. It is notable as the only film performance by of the Italian theater star Eleonora Duse...
(ItalyItalian films of 1916A list of films produced in Italy in 1916 :-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
) - CivilizationCivilization (film)Civilization is a 1916 American pacifist allegorical film about a submarine commander who refuses to fire at a civilian ocean liner supposedly carrying ammunition for his country's enemies. The film was a big-budget spectacle that was compared to both Birth of a Nation and the paintings of...
, directed by Reginald Barker and Walter Edwards, starring Howard C. HickmanHoward C. HickmanHoward C. Hickman was an accomplished stage leading man, who entered films through the auspices of producer Thomas H. Ince. He co-starred with his wife, actress Bessie Barriscale, in several productions before returning to the theatre...
and Enid MarkeyEnid MarkeyEnid Markey was an American actress of stage, film and television. She originated the role of Jane in films, playing the character twice - in 1918 .Her first film role was in The Fortunes of War... - The Curse of Quon GwonThe Curse of Quon GwonThe Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West is a 1916-1917 black-and-white silent film. It was apparently never released and long thought lost. It was restored in 2006 by the Academy Film Archive from the two reels helped preserved by filmmaker Arthur Dong. As of 2007, it is the...
- The Count, directed by and starring Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
- Energetic Eva, starring Eva TanguayEva TanguayEva Tanguay was a Canadian-born singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous".-Early life:...
- Hell's HingesHell's HingesHell's Hinges is a 1916 American Western silent film starring William S. Hart and Clara Williams. Directed by Charles Swickard, William S. Hart and Clifford Smith, and produced by Thomas H. Ince, the screenplay was written by C. Gardner Sullivan.-Plot:...
, directed by Charles Swickard and William S. HartWilliam S. HartWilliam Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered for having "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity."-Biography:...
, starring William S. Hart - Hoodoo AnnHoodoo AnnHoodoo Ann is a 1916 Lloyd Ingraham-directed American comedy-drama silent film, written by D.W. Griffith and released by Triangle Film Corporation.-Plot summary:Ann is a young girl who has been living in an orphanage since infancy...
, starring Mae MarshMae MarshMae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:...
and Robert HarronRobert HarronRobert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation... - Hulda From Holland, starring Mary Pickford
- The Innocent Lie, starring Mary Pickford
- IntoleranceIntolerance (film)Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
, directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Lillian GishLillian GishLillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
, Constance TalmadgeConstance TalmadgeConstance Talmadge was a silent movie star born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and was the sister of fellow actresses Norma Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge.-Early life:... - Judex, directed by Louis FeuilladeLouis FeuilladeLouis Feuillade was a prolific and prominent French film director from the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924 he directed over 630 films...
, starring MusidoraMusidoraMusidora was the stage name of Jeanne Roques, a popular French silent film actress. She became famous for her vamp roles in such film serials as Les Vampires and Judex, in which she developed a persona comparable to that of Theda Bara...
, René CrestéRené CrestéRené Cresté was a French stage and film actor and director of the silent film era. Cresté is possibly best recalled as Judex, the title character in the Louis Feuillade-directed crime-adventure serial Judex, which ran in twelve installments in theaters from 1917 until 1918.-Early life and...
(France) - A Life for a Life
- Lights of New YorkLights of New York (1916 film)Lights of New York is a silent drama film directed by Van Dyke Brooke.-Plot:Hoping to improve his financial lot, petty thief Hawk Chovinski hires a dancing instructor to teach him how to bear himself like a gentleman. His lessons completed, Hawk then poses as a European nobleman, intending to trap...
, directed by Van Dyke BrookeVan Dyke BrookeVan Dyke Brooke was an early American film director, whose works include The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln and Lights of New York .-External links:...
, starring Leah BairdLeah BairdLeah Baird was an American actress of the silent screen, and a screenwriter.-Life:She began her film career in 1910 in Jean and the Waif opposite Jean, the Vitagraph Dog. She played several leads in William F. Brady's troupe, opposite Douglas Fairbanks...
and Walter McGrailWalter McGrailWalter McGrail was an American film actor. He appeared in over 150 films between 1916 and 1951.He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in San Francisco, California, at the age of 81.-Selected filmography:... - Oliver Twist, starring Marie DoroMarie DoroMarie Doro was an American stage and film actress of the early silent film era.-Personal life:Marie Doro was born as Marie Katherine Steward in Duncannon, Pennsylvania and began her career as a theater actress under the management of Charles Frohman before progressing to motion pictures in 1915,...
- One A.M.One A.M.One A.M. was a unique Charlie Chaplin silent film created for Mutual Films in 1916. It was the first film he starred in alone, except for a brief scene of Albert Austin playing a cab driver.-Synopsis:...
, directed by and starring Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... - The Phantom of the Opera
- Seventeen
- Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes (1916 film)Sherlock Holmes, was a 1916 silent film made by Essanay Studios and was one of the earliest American film adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It starred William Gillette as Holmes, based on his 1899 stage play, which is based on not one case, but takes inspiration from "A Scandal...
, Starring William GilletteWilliam GilletteWilliam Hooker Gillette was an American actor, playwright and stage-manager in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who is best remembered today for portraying Sherlock Holmes.... - Snow WhiteSnow White (1916 film)Snow White is a 1916 American silent film made by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and produced by Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman. It was directed by J...
, starring Marguerite ClarkMarguerite ClarkMarguerite Clark was an American stage and silent film actress.-Early life and theater:Born to a farming family in Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio, Clark was educated at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cincinnati... - Ultus and the Grey Lady by George Pearson
- Under Two FlagsUnder Two Flags (1916 film)Under Two Flags is a 1916 silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Theda Bara - Cigarette* Herbert Heyes - Bertie Cecil...
- Where Are My Children?Where Are My Children?Where Are My Children? is a 1916 film in which a district attorney, while prosecuting a doctor for illegal abortions, finds out that society people, including his wife, used the doctor's services. It stars Tyrone Power, Sr., Juan de la Cruz, Helen Riaume, William Haben and C...
, directed by Phillips SmalleyPhillips SmalleyWendell Phillips Smalley was a prolific American silent film director and actor.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Smalley began his career in vaudeville and acted in more than 200 films between 1910 until his death in 1939...
and Lois WeberLois WeberLois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director, who is considered "the most important female director the American film industry has known", and "one of the most important and important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian...
, starring Tyrone Power, Sr.Tyrone Power, Sr.Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power was an English-born American stage and screen actor, who acted under the name Tyrone Power.-Early life:Power was born in London in 1869, the son of Harold Littledale Power and Ethel Lavenu...
and Juan de la CruzJuan de la CruzJuan dela Cruz is the national personification used in the Philippines to represent the "Filipino". The name, Spanish for "John of the Cross", is roughly the equivalent of the American Uncle Sam and John Doe. Juan dela Cruz is usually depicted wearing the native Salakot hat, Barong Tagalog, long...
Short film series
- Broncho Billy AndersonBroncho Billy AndersonGilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who is best known as the first star of the Western film genre.-Early life:...
(1910–1916) - Harold LloydHarold LloydHarold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
(1913–1921) - Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
(1914–1923)
Births
- January 3 - Betty FurnessBetty FurnessElizabeth Mary Furness was an American actress, consumer advocate and current affairs commentator.-Early years:...
, actress, consumer activist (d. 1994) - January 3 - Maxene Andrews, singer, actress, member of Andrews Sisters (d. 1995)
- January 4 - Lionel NewmanLionel NewmanLionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
, composer (d. 1989) - February 14 - Masaki Kobayashi, director (d. 1996)
- February 26 - Jackie GleasonJackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, actor (d. 1987) - February 29 - Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, singer, actress, television presenter (d. 1994) - March 17 - Mercedes McCambridgeMercedes McCambridgeCarlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
, actress (d. 2004) - March 26 - Sterling HaydenSterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
, actor (d. 1986) - April 5 - Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, actor (d 2003) - April 26 - Vic PerrinVic PerrinVic Perrin was an American actor and voice artist. He is best remembered as the "Control Voice" in the original version of the TV series The Outer Limits ....
, voice actor (d. 1989) - May 1 -Glenn FordGlenn FordGlenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
, actor (d. 2006) - May 16 - Adriana CaselottiAdriana CaselottiAdriana Mitchell Caselotti was an American actress and singer. She was the voice of the title character in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Caselotti was named as a Disney Legend in 1994.-Early life:...
, singer, voice actress (d. 1997) - June 12 - Irwin AllenIrwin AllenIrwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
, director, producer (d. 1991) - June 14 - Dorothy McGuireDorothy McGuireDorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress.-Career:Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage at the Omaha Community Playhouse...
, actress (d. 2001) - June 23 - Irene WorthIrene WorthIrene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
, actress (d. 2002) - July 27 - Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, actor (d. 1986) - July 1 - Olivia de HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
, actress - August 25 - Van JohnsonVan JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, actor (d. 2008) - August 27 - Martha RayeMartha RayeMartha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
, actress (d. 1994) - September 13 - Dick HaymesDick HaymesRichard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes was an Argentine actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, who was an actor, television host, and songwriter....
, actor (d. 1980) - September 14 - Douglas KennedyDouglas Kennedy (actor)Douglas Richards Kennedy was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 190 films between 1935 and 1973. He was born in New York City.-Career:...
, actor (d. 1973) - September 15 - Margaret Lockwood, actress (d. 1990)
- September 18 - Rossano BrazziRossano Brazzi-Biography:Brazzi was born in Bologna to Adelmo and Maria Brazzi. He attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four...
, actor (d. 1994) - November 20 - Evelyn KeyesEvelyn KeyesEvelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
, actress (d. 2008) - December 9 - Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, actor - December 18 - Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, actress (d. 1973) - December 28 - Peter FinchPeter FinchPeter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
, actor (d. 1977)
Deaths
- January 17 - Arthur V. JohnsonArthur V. JohnsonArthur V. Johnson was a pioneer actor and director of American silent films.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Arthur Vaughen Johnson began as a film actor with the Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1905 in the one-reel drama "The White Caps" directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Sr. and Edwin S. Porter...
, screen actor (b. 1876) - June 22 - Page Peters, screen actor (b. 1889)
- September 9 - Sydney AyresSydney AyresSydney Ayres was an American silent film actor, director and screenwriter.-Biography:Born Daniel Sydney Ayres in New York City, Ayres was known for his handsome, suave looks. He often simultaneously acted and directed films after 1913...
, stage & screen actor (b. 1879) - September 17 - Arthur Hoops, stage & screen actor (b. 1870)
- September 27 - Camille D'Arcy, actress (b. c.1879)
- October 6 - Henry Woodruff, stage & screen actor (b. 1869)
- November 30 - Dorrit WeixlerDorrit WeixlerDorrit Weixler was a German film actress of the early 20th century who is best recalled for her comedic roles in German films from the World War I era.-Career:...
, German actress (b. 1892) - ? ? ? ? ? - Jean the Vitagraph DogVitagraph DogJean, the Vitagraph Dog , a female Border Collie, was a dog actor that performed title roles in early silent films. She was a precursor to other famous dog actors like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.-Biography and career:...
(b. 190?)
Debuts
- Richard BarthelmessRichard BarthelmessRichard Semler "Dick" Barthelmess was an Oscar-nominated silent film star.-Early life:Barthelmess was educated at Hudson River Military Academy at Nyack and Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut...
- Constance BennettConstance Bennett-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
- Billie BurkeBillie BurkeMary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
- Adolphe MenjouAdolphe MenjouAdolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
- Mae MurrayMae MurrayMae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen"....
- Alla NazimovaAlla NazimovaAlla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
- Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
- Conrad VeidtConrad VeidtConrad Veidt was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The Man Who Laughs , The Thief of Bagdad and Casablanca...