# 1924 in film

This is an overview of 1924 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

## Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1924 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1924 :
| Rank | Title | Studio | Domestic rentals |
| 1 | The Sea Hawk | First National | $2,000,000 |
| 2 | Girl Shy | Pathé Exchange | $1,550,000 |
| 3 | Secrets | First National | $1,500,000 |
| 4 | The Thief of Bagdad | United Artists | $1,490,419 |
| 5 | Hot Water | Pathé Exchange | $1,350,000 |
| 6 | Feet of Clay | Paramount | $904,383 |
| 7 | Triumph | Paramount | $678,526 |
| 8 | He Who Gets Slapped | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $493,000 |
| 9 | Beau Brummel | Warner Bros. | $453,000 |
| 10 | His Hour | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $418,000 |

## 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 (MGM)
* November 15 – In Los Angeles, director Thomas Ince ("The Father of the Western") 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 (MGM) considers making a film of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. MGM and the estate of L. Frank Baum failed to come to an agreement so the rights were sold to Chadwick Pictures.

## Notable films released in 1924

For the complete list of US film releases for the year, see United States films of 1924

### A

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

### B

* Ballet Mécanique, directed by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy – (France)
* 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 – (Germany)
* Claude Duval, directed by George A. Cooper, starring Fay Compton and Nigel Barrie – (GB)
* The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden), directed by Hans Karl Breslauer – (Austria)

### D

* Dante's Inferno, directed by Henry Otto
* The Dixie Handicap (lost), 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 – (France)
* The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (Neobychainye priklyucheniya mistera Vesta v strane bolshevikov), directed by Lev Kuleshov – (U.S.S.R.)

### 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 – (GB)

### G

* Girl Shy, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
* The Grand Duke's Finances (Die Finanzen des Großherzogs), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)
* The Great Well, directed by Henry Kolker – (GB)
* 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 (Orlacs Hände), directed by Robert Wiene, starring Conrad Veidt, based on the 1920 novel by Maurice Renard – (Austria)
* He Who Gets Slapped, directed by Victor Sjöström starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert
* Helena, directed by Manfred Noa – (Germany)
* 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 (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Lois Wilson and Richard Dix
* L'Inhumaine (The Inhuman Woman), directed by Marcel L'Herbier – (France)
* 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 (Der Letzte Mann), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany)
* 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 – (Germany)
* 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 – (Germany)
* Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache, directed by Fritz Lang – (Germany)

### O

* On Time (lost), directed by Henry Lehrman, starring Richard Talmadge
* Open All Night, directed by Paul Bern, starring Viola Dana

### P

* Paris Qui Dort (Paris Which Sleeps), directed by René Clair – (France)
* The Passionate Adventure, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Alice Joyce, Clive Brook and Victor McLaglen – (GB)
* 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 – (Italy)

### S

* The Saga of Gosta Berling (Gösta Berlings Saga), directed by Mauritz Stiller, starring Greta Garbo and Lars Hanson – (Sweden)
* Sampaguita, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)
* The Sea Hawk, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Milton Sills
* Secrets, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Norma Talmadge
* The Shadow of the Desert (lost), directed by George Archainbaud, starring Mildred Harris and Norman Kerry
* Sherlock Jr., a Buster Keaton film
* A Son of Satan (lost), written and directed by Oscar Micheaux
* Stupid, But Brave, directed by William Goodrich (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle)
* Symphonie diagonale, directed by Viking Eggeling – (Germany)

### T

* The Thief of Bagdad, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Douglas Fairbanks
* Those Who Dare (lost), 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 (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett), directed by Paul Leni, starring Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt and Werner Krauss – (Germany)
* What an Eye, written and directed by Edward Ludwig
* Wild Oranges, directed by King Vidor
* Wine (lost), 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 (1917–1941)
* Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
* Our Gang (1922–1944)

## Animated short film series

* Koko the Clown (1919–1934)
* Felix the Cat (1919–1936)
* Alice Comedies (1923–1927)
** 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 (died 2015)
* January 9 – Anne Vernon, French actress
* January 9 – Sergei Parajanov, Soviet director (died 1990)
* January 14 – Carole Cook, American actress (died 2023)
* January 16 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (died 2002)
* January 21 - Benny Hill, English actor, comedian, singer and writer (died 1992)
* January 26 – Armand Gatti, French filmmaker (died 2017)
* January 29 – Dorothy Malone, American actress (died 2018)
* February 9 - Woody Woodbury, American comedian and actor
* February 12 – Louis Zorich, American actor (died 2018)
* February 19 – Lee Marvin, American actor (died 1987)
* March 3 - John Woodnutt, British actor (died 2006)
* March 5 - Harvey Bernhard, American producer (died 2014)
* March 12 – Helen Parrish, American actress (died 1959)
* March 13 - Norma Michaels, American actress (died 2020)
* March 15 - Walter Gotell, German actor (died 1997)
* March 24 - Norman Fell, American actor (died 1998)
* March 25 – Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress (died 2019)
* April 3 – Marlon Brando, American actor (died 2004)
* April 4 - Noreen Nash, American actress (died 2023)
* April 7
** Astrid Lepa, Estonian actress and director (died 2015)
** Espen Skjønberg, Norwegian actor (died 2022)
* April 13 – Stanley Donen, American director and choreographer (died 2019)
* April 14
** Joseph Ruskin, American actor (died 2013)
** Philip Stone, English actor (died 2003)
* April 18 – Leida Rammo, Estonian actress (died 2020)
* April 19 - Tatiana Farnese, Italian actress (died 2022)
* April 20
** Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (died 2008)
** Leslie Phillips, English comic actor (died 2022)
* April 24
** Ruth Kobart, American performer (died 2002)
** Eric Pleskow, Austrian film producer (died 2019)
* April 29 – Heikki Haravee, Estonian actor (died 2003)
* May 1 – Dodo Abashidze, Soviet Georgian director (died 1990)
* May 2 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American actor (died 2015)
* May 3 - Jane Morgan, American actress and singer
* May 6 - Laurie Webb, Welsh retired actor
* May 18 - Priscilla Pointer, American actress
* May 23 - Bill McCutcheon, American character actor (died 2002)
* June 2 - Al Ruscio, American character actor (died 2013)
* June 4 – Dennis Weaver, American actor, SAG president (died 2006)
* June 16 – Faith Domergue, American actress (died 1999)
* June 21 – Ezzatolah Entezami, Iranian actor (died 2018)
* June 25 – Sidney Lumet, American director (died 2011)
* July 1 - Florence Stanley, American actress (died 2003)
* July 3 - Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-born Mexican actress (died 2021)
* July 4 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
* July 6
** Draga Ahačič, Slovene actress and director (died 2022)
** Donald Pelmear, British actor (died 2025)
* July 14 - Val Avery, American actor (died 2009)
* July 19 - Pat Hingle, American actor (died 2009)
* July 20 – Lola Albright, American actress (died 2017)
* July 21 – Don Knotts, American actor (died 2006)
* July 29 - Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor (died 2005)
* August 1 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress (died 2007)
* August 2 - Carroll O'Connor, American actor (died 2001)
* August 10 – Martha Hyer, American actress (died 2014)
* August 14 – Eduardo Fajardo, Spanish actor (died 2019)
* August 19 - William Marshall, American actor (died 2003)
* August 21 - Jack Weston, American actor (died 1996)
* August 24 – Jimmy Gardner, English actor (died 2010)
* August 28 – Peggy Ryan, American actress and dancer (died 2004)
* August 29 – Tanis Chandler, French-born American actress (died 2006)
* August 31 - Buddy Hackett, American actor, comedian and singer (died 2003)
* September 1 - Hal Douglas, American voice actor (died 2014)
* September 2 – Knud Leif Thomsen, Danish director and screenwriter (died 2003)
* September 6 – Riccardo Cucciolla, Italian actor and voice actor (died 1999)
* September 8 – Denise Darcel, French actress (died 2011)
* September 9
** Jane Greer, American actress (died 2001)
** Sylvia Miles, American actress (died 2019)
* September 11 - David Morris, English actor (died 2007)
* September 13
** Norman Alden, American character actor (died 2012)
** Scott Brady, American actor (died 1985)
* September 16 – Lauren Bacall, American actress (died 2014)
* September 21 – Gail Russell, American actress (died 1961)
* September 23 – Bob Herron, American stuntman and actor (died 2021)
* September 28 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor (died 1996)
* September 29 - Peter Arne, British character actor (died 1983)
* September 30 – Truman Capote, American author (died 1984)
* October 1 – Jose Corazon de Jesus Jr., Filipino actor (died 1970)
* October 12 - Doris Grau, American script supervisor, actress and voice artist (died 1995)
* October 21 - Joyce Randolph, American actress (died 2024)
* October 24 - Mark Lenard, American actor (died 1996)
* October 25 – Billy Barty, American actor (died 2000)
* November 2 - Nadia Cattouse, Belize-British actress (died 2024)
* November 8 - Joe Flynn (American actor), American actor (died 1974)
* November 10
** Russell Johnson, American actor (died 2014)
** Paul Richards, American actor (died 1974)
* November 16 - Remo Remotti, Italian actor (died 2015)
* November 19 - William Russell, English actor (died 2024)
* November 20 - Mark Miller, American actor (died 2022)
* November 21 - Joseph Campanella, American actor (died 2018)
* November 22 – Geraldine Page, American actress (died 1987)
* December 2 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director (died 2006)
* December 5 - George Savalas, American actor (died 1985)
* December 13 - Maria Riva, American actress and writer
* December 14
** John Franklyn-Robbins, English actor (died 2009)
** Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director and producer (died 1988)
* December 19 - Cicely Tyson, American actress, model and author (died 2021)
* December 19 - Edmund Purdom, English actor, voice artist and director (died 2009)
* December 25 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter (died 1975)
* December 31 - Taylor Mead, American actor (died 2013)

## Deaths

* April 16 – Amleto Novelli, Italian stage and screen actor (born in 1885)
* April 21 – Eleonora Duse, Italian veteran stage actress, who made one film in 1916 (born in 1858)
* August 9 – L. Rogers Lytton, American stage and screen actor (born in 1867)
* September 23 – Ben Deeley, film actor married to Barbara La Marr (born in 1878)
* October 12 – Kate Lester, English veteran stage and film actress (born in 1857)
* November 19 – Thomas Ince, American actor and pioneer film producer (born in 1880)

## 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
* 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