The following is an overview of 1926 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1926 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1926 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1What Price Glory?Fox Film $2,000,000 2The Black Pirate United Artists $1,700,000 3Beau Geste Paramount $1,500,000 4 The Volga BoatmanProducers Distributing Corporation $1,275,375 5Don Juan Warner Bros. $1,258,000 6Tell It to the Marines MGM $1,250,000 7Sparrows United Artists $966,8788The Better 'Ole Warner Bros. $955,000 9The Son of the Sheik United Artists $820,000Movie Box Office Grosses: 1925 through 193110The Sea Beast Warner Bros. $814,000
Events February – The oldest surviving animated feature film is released in Weimar Germany, directed by Lotte Reiniger. It is called The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed). August 5 – Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system uses multiple rpm gramophone records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back music and sound effects synchronized with film. August 23 – Rudolph Valentino, whose film The Son of the Sheik is currently playing, dies at the age of 31 in New York. Riots occur at the funeral parlor as thousands of people try to see his body. September 27 to October 3 – International Film Congress (Congrès International du Cinématographe) held in Paris, where producers, distributors, and critics discuss the post-World War global film market.Seabury, William Marston (1929) Motion Picture Problems: The Cinema and the League of Nations pp147–1611926 The First Initiative International Federation of Film Critics October 7 – Warner Brothers release the second Vitaphone film, The Better 'Ole, starring Sydney Chaplin. December 5 – The 1925 Soviet film Battleship Potemkin premieres in the United States, at the Biltmore Theatre in Manhattan. Theodore W. Case and E. I. Sponable demonstrate their sound-on-film experiments to William Fox of the Fox Film Corporation. The Fox-Case Corp. is formed in an effort to exploit the system, which is given the name Movietone. Fox begin to create Movietone News newsreels at this time. One of the first newsreels is of Charles Lindbergh's takeoff for Paris. Al Jolson films A Plantation Act, one of the first unreleased talkies and a test film for The Jazz Singer Ang Tatlong Hambog (The Three Humbugs), the first Filipino film to feature a kissing (make out) scene, is released in the Philippines.
Notable films released in 1926 For the complete list of US film releases for the year, see United States films of 1926
0-9 3 Bad Men, directed by John Ford, starring George O'Brien
A The Adventures of Prince Achmed, directed by Lotte Reiniger – (Germany) Aloma of the South Seas (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Gilda Gray, Warner Baxter and William Powell Ang Tatlong Hambog (The Three Humbugs), directed by José Nepomuceno, starring Dimples Cooper – (Philippines)
B Bardelys the Magnificent, directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman The Bat, directed by Roland West, based on the 1920 play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery HopwoodWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 296. . Battling Butler, a Buster Keaton film Beau Geste, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Ronald Colman The Bells, directed by James Young, starring Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff The Better 'Ole, directed by Charles Reisner, starring Syd Chaplin Beverly of Graustark, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Marion Davies and Antonio Moreno The Black Pirate, directed by Albert Parker, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Billie Dove La Bohème, directed by King Vidor, starring Lillian Gish, John Gilbert and Renée Adorée Bride of Glomdal (Glomdalsbruden), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark) Brown of Harvard, directed by Jack Conway, starring William Haines, Jack Pickford and Mary Brian Brudeferden i Hardanger (The Bridal Procession in Hardanger), directed by Rasmus Breistein – (Norway)
C Cab No. 13 (Einspanner Nr 13), directed by Michael Curtiz – (Germany) Cruise of the Jasper B, directed by James W. Horne, starring Rod La Rocque and Mildred Harris
D Dangerous Traffic, directed by Bennett Cohen, starring Ralph Bushman and Mildred Harris The Devil's Circus, directed by Benjamin Christensen, starring Norma Shearer The Devil's Wheel (Chyortovo koleso), directed by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg – (U.S.S.R.) Don Juan, directed by Alan Crosland, starring John Barrymore
F Falešná kočička aneb Když si žena umíní (Fake Woman, or When He is a She), directed by Svatopluk Innemann – (Czechoslovakia) Faust, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman and Emil Jannings – (Germany) Fool's Luck, directed by William Goodrich (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbukle), starring Lupino Lane For Heaven's Sake, directed by Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
G The General, directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton The Golden Butterfly (Der goldene Schmetterling), directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Lili Damita – (Germany) The Great Gatsby (lost), directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Warner Baxter, Lois Wilson and William Powell The Great K & A Train Robbery, directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Tom Mix
H Hands Up!, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Raymond Griffith The Holy Mountain (Der heilige Berg), directed by Arnold Fanck, starring Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany)
I Irene, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Colleen Moore It Must Be Love (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Colleen Moore
J The Johnstown Flood, directed by Irving Cummings, starring George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor
K Kid Boots, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Eddie Cantor and Clara Bow
L The Last Days of Pompeii (Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei), directed by Carmine Gallone and Amleto Palermi – (Italy) Loetoeng Kasaroeng (lost), directed by L. Heuveldorp – (Dutch East Indies) Love's Berries (Yagodka lyubvi), directed by Alexander Dovzhenko – (U.S.S.R.)
M Madame Mystery, directed by Richard Wallace and Stan Laurel, starring Theda Bara and Oliver Hardy The Magician, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Alice Terry and Paul Wegener Manon Lescaut, directed by Arthur Robison, starring Lya De Putti – (Germany) Mare Nostrum, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno Ménilmontant, directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff – (France) Michel Strogoff, directed by Viktor Tourjansky, starring Ivan Mozzhukhin - (France) Midnight Faces, directed by Bennett Cohen, starring Francis X. Bushman Jr.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 302. . Miss Mend, directed by Boris Barnet and Fedor Ozep – (U.S.S.R.) Mother (Mat), directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin – (U.S.S.R.) My Stars, directed by William Goodrich (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle)
N Nana, directed by Jean Renoir – (France) Nell Gwyn, directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Dorothy Gish – (GB) Nelson, directed by Walter Summers, starring Cedric Hardwicke – (GB) The Non-Stop Flight, directed by Emory Johnson
O Old Ironsides, directed by James Cruze, starring Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery and George Bancroft Orphan of Lowood (Die Waise von Lowood), directed by Curtis Bernhardt, based on the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – (Germany) The Overcoat (Shinel), directed by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg – (U.S.S.R.)
P A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ichipeiji), directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa – (Japan)
Q The Quarterback, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Richard Dix and Esther Ralston
R Rien que les heures (Nothing but Time), directed by Alberto Cavalcanti – (France)
S Scared Stiff, directed by James W. HorneWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 303. . The Scarlet Letter, directed by Victor Sjöström, starring Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson The Sea Beast, directed by Millard Webb, starring John Barrymore and Dolores Costello Secrets of a Soul (Geheimnisse einer Seele), directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Werner Krauss – (Germany) Shivering Spooks, directed by Robert F. McGowan, an Our Gang shortWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 305. . The Show-Off, directed by Mal St. Clair, starring Lois Wilson, Ford Sterling and Louise Brooks The Son of the Sheik, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky So This is Paris, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Monte Blue So's Your Old Man, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring W. C. Fields The Sorrows of Satan, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Adolphe Menjou and Ricardo Cortez, based on the 1895 novel by Marie Corelli Sparrows, directed by William Beaudine, starring Mary Pickford The Strong Man, directed by Frank Capra, starring Harry Langdon The Student of Prague (Der Student von Prag), directed by Henrik Galeen, starring Conrad Veidt and Werner Krauss – (Germany) Sweeney Todd, directed by George Dewhurst, based on the 1847 stage play The String of Pearls, or The Fiend of Fleet Street by George Dibdin-PittWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 307. . – (GB)
T Tartuffe (Herr Tartüff), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany) Tell It to the Marines, directed by George W. Hill, starring Lon Chaney, Eleanor Boardman and William Haines The Temptress, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Greta Garbo, Antonio Moreno and Lionel Barrymore The Three Million Trial (Процесс о трех миллионах), directed by Yakov Protazanov – (U.S.S.R.) Torrent, directed by Monta Bell, starring Ricardo Cortez and Greta Garbo Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, directed by Harry Edwards, starring Harry Langdon and Joan Crawford A Trip to Chinatown (lost), directed by Robert P. Kerr, starring Margaret Livingston The Triumph of the Rat, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Ivor Novello and Isabel Jeans – (GB)
U Unknown Treasures (lost), directed by Archie Mayo, based on the short story The House Behind the Hedge by Mary Spain Vigus
V The Volga Boatman, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring William Boyd
W What Price Glory?, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen and Dolores del Río While London Sleeps (lost), directed by Howard Bretherton, starring Rin Tin TinWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 308. . Whispering Wires, directed by Albert Ray, based on the novel by Henry LeverageWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 309. . The Winning of Barbara Worth, directed by Henry King, starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky and Gary Cooper A Woman of the Sea (unreleased), directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Edna Purviance
Y Young April, directed by Donald Crisp, starring Joseph Schildkraut and Bessie Love
Comedy film series Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940) Buster Keaton (1917–1944) Our Gang (1922–1944) Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943) Harry Langdon (1924–1936)
Animated short film series Felix the Cat (1919–1936) Koko the Clown (1919–1934) Alice Comedies Alice on the Farm Alice's Balloon Race Alice's Orphan Alice's Little Parade Alice's Mysterious Mystery Alice Charms the Fish Alice's Monkey Business Alice in the Wooly West Alice the Fire Fighter Alice Cuts the Ice Alice Helps the Romance Alice's Spanish Guitar Alice's Brown Derby Alice the Lumber Jack Koko's Song Car Tunes (1924–1927) Krazy Kat (1925–1940) Un-Natural History (1925–1927) Pete the Pup (1926–1927)
Births