This is an overview of 1925 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1925 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1925 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 MGM $4,990,000. 2Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ MGM $4,359,000 3 Pathé Exchange $2,600,000 4United Artists $2,150,000 5 Universal $1,550,000 6Don Q, Son of Zorro United Artists $1,500,000Stella Dallas United Artists $1,500,000 8 First National $1,300,000 9Little Annie Rooney United Artists $1,100,000East Lynne Fox Film $1,100,000The Merry Widow MGM $1,100,000
Events June 26: Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush premieres. It is voted the best film of the year by critics in The Film Daily annual poll September 25: Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin rebuilt as Germany's largest cinema reopens. November 5: MGM's war drama film The Big Parade is released. The film was a massive commercial success, surpassing The Birth of a Nation to become the highest-grossing film of all time, up until it was surpassed by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938. December 30: MGM's biblical epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ premieres in New York City. It is the most expensive silent film ever made, costing $4 million (around $ million when adjusted for inflation) Hong Shen publishes the film script Mrs. Shentu in the Shanghai magazine Eastern Miscellany. It is never filmed, but is considered a milestone in film history for being the first published film script in China. Hong also directs his first film, Young Master Feng, at Mingxing (Star) Film Company in this year.
Notable films released in 1925 For the complete list of US film releases for the year, see United States films of 1925 A Ang Pagtitipid, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines) Are Parents People?, directed by Malcolm St. Clair, starring Adolphe Menjou
B The Battleship Potemkin (Bronyenosyets Potyomkin), directed by Sergei Eisenstein – (U.S.S.R.) The Bells (Le Juif Polonais), directed by and starring Harry SouthwellWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 283. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Ramón Novarro, May McAvoy and Francis X. Bushman The Big Parade, directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert and Renée Adorée The Blackguard (Die Prinzessin und der Geiger), directed by Graham Cutts – (GB/Germany) Braveheart, directed by Alan Hale Sr., starring Rod La Rocque
C Chess Fever (Shakhmatnaya goryachka), directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin – (U.S.S.R.) Chronicles of the Gray House, directed by Arthur von Gerlach, starring Lil Dagover (Germany) The Circle, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Eleanor Boardman Classified, directed by Alfred Santell, starring Corinne Griffith Cobra, directed by Joseph Henabery, starring Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi Corazón Aymara (Aymara Heart) (lost), directed by Pedro Sambarino – (Bolivia) Curses!, directed by William Goodrich (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle) and Grover Jones
D The Dark Angel, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky Déclassé, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Corinne Griffith and Lloyd Hughes Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde, directed by Scott Pembroke and Joe Rock, starring Stan LaurelWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 284. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Don Q, Son of Zorro, directed by Donald Crisp, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Astor
E The Eagle, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky
F The Farmer from Texas (Der Farmer aus Texas), directed by Joe May, starring Lillian Hall-Davis and Willy Fritsch – (Germany) Feu Mathias Pascal (The Late Mathias Pascal), directed by Marcel L'Herbier, starring Ivan Mosjoukine – (France) Fifty-Fifty (lost), directed by Henri Diamant-Berger, starring Hope Hampton, Lionel Barrymore and Louise Glaum The Freshman, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
G Go West, starring and directed by Buster Keaton The Gold Rush, a Charlie Chaplin film The Goose Woman, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Louise Dresser, Jack Pickford and Constance Bennett Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack The Green Archer, a 10-chapter (three chapters exist) serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, starring Allene Ray and Walter Miller, based on the 1923 novel by Edgar Wallace
H The Haunted Honeymoon, directed by Fred Guiol and Ted Wilde, starring Glenn Tryon The Heart Breaker, directed by Benjamin Stoloff His People, directed by Edward Sloman, starring Rudolph Schildkraut His Supreme Moment (lost), directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Blanche Sweet and Ronald Colman El Húsar de la Muerte (The Hussar of Death), starring and directed by Pedro Sienna – (Chile)
I Isn't Life Terrible?, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Charley Chase and Oliver Hardy
J Joyless Street (Die freudlose Gasse), directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Greta Garbo, Werner Krauss and Asta Nielsen – (Germany)
K The King on Main Street, directed by Monta Bell, starring Adolphe Menjou and Bessie Love A Kiss For Cinderella, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Esther Ralston
L The Lady, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Norma Talmadge Lady of the Night, directed by Monta Bell, starring Norma Shearer Lazybones, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Madge Bellamy, Buck Jones and ZaSu Pitts Lady Windermere's Fan, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Ronald Colman and May McAvoy Lights of Old Broadway, directed by Monta Bell, starring Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel Little Annie Rooney, directed by William Beaudine, starring Mary Pickford and William Haines Living Buddhas (Lebende Buddhas) (lost), directed by Paul Wegener, starring Paul Wegener and Asta Nielsen The Lost World, directed by Harry O. Hoyt, starring Bessie Love, Lewis Stone and Wallace Beery, based on the 1912 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle Lovers in Quarantine, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Bebe Daniels and Harrison Ford The Lucky Horseshoe, directed by John G. Blystone, starring Tom Mix
M Maciste in Hell (Maciste all'inferno), directed by Guido BrignoneWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 288. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. – (Italy) Madame Behave (lost), directed by Scott Sidney, starring Julian Eltinge and Ann Pennington Madame Sans-Gêne (lost), directed by Léonce Perret, starring Gloria Swanson The Marriage of the Bear (Medvezhya Svadba), directed by Vladimir Gardin and Konstantin Eggert, based on the 1869 novella Lokis by Prosper Mérimée – (U.S.S.R.) Master of the House (Du skal ære din hustru), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark) Men and Women (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Richard Dix The Merry Widow, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Mae Murray and John Gilbert Miracles of Love, directed by Vicente Salumbides, starring Dimples Cooper – (Philippines) Les Misérables, directed by Henri Fescourt – (France) The Monster, directed by Roland West, starring Lon Chaney and Johnny Arthur, based on the 1924 play by Crane Wilbur The Mystic, directed by Tod Browning, starring Aileen Pringle and Conway TearleWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 289. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
O Old Clothes, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan and Joan Crawford Orochi, directed by Buntarō Futagawa, starring Tsumasaburō Bandō – (Japan)
P Pampered Youth (lost), directed by David Smith The Phantom of the Moulin-Rouge (Le fantôme du Moulin-Rouge), written and directed by René ClairWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 279. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. – (France) The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Rupert Julian, starring Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin, based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux The Plastic Age – directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Clara Bow and Gilbert Roland The Pleasure Garden, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Virginia Valli and Carmelita Geraghty – (GB) Prem Sanyas (Die Leuchte Asiens | The Light of Asia), directed by Franz Osten and Himanshu Rai – (Germany/India) Pretty Ladies, directed by Monta Bell, starring ZaSu Pitts Proud Flesh, directed by King Vidor, starring Eleanor Boardman and Harrison Ford
R The Rag Man, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan The Rat, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Ivor Novello, Mae Marsh and Isabel Jeans – (GB) The Red Head (Poil de Carotte), directed by Julien Duvivier – (France) Red Heels (Das Spielzeug von Paris), directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Lili Damita – (Austria) Red Hot Tires, directed by Erle C. Kenton, starring Monte Blue and Patsy Ruth Miller The Road to Yesterday, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Joseph Schildkraut and William Boyd
S Sally, Irene and Mary directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Constance Bennett, Joan Crawford, Sally O'Neil and William Haines Sally of the Sawdust, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Carol Dempster and W. C. Fields Seven Chances, a Buster Keaton film Seven Keys to Baldpate (lost), directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Douglas MacLean, based on the 1913 novel by Earl Derr BiggersWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 292. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. She, directed by Leander de Cordova and G. B. Samuelson, starring Betty Blythe – (GB/Germany) Smouldering Fires, directed by Clarence Brown, starring Pauline Frederick and Laura La Plante Spook Ranch, directed by Edward Laemmle, starring Hoot GibsonWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 293. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Stella Dallas, directed by Henry King, starring Ronald Colman, Belle Bennett and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The Street of Forgotten Men (lost), directed by Herbert Brenon Strike (Stachka), directed by Sergei Eisenstein – (U.S.S.R.) The Swan, directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, starring Frances Howard, Adolphe Menjou and Ricardo Cortez
T The Tailor from Torzhok (Zakroyshchik iz Torzhka), directed by Yakov Protazanov – (U.S.S.R.) The Third Round, directed by Sidney Morgan, starring Jack Buchanan – (GB) Three Weeks in Paris (lost), directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Matt Moore Too Many Kisses, directed by Paul Sloane, starring Richard Dix and William Powell Tumbleweeds, directed by King Baggot, starring William S. Hart
U The Unholy Three, directed by Tod Browning, starring Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore and Victor McLaglen, based on the 1917 novel by Tod RobbinsWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 294. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
V Vampires of Warsaw (Wampiry Warszawy) (lost), written and directed by Wiktor Biegański – (Poland) Variety (Varieté), directed by Ewald André Dupont, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany) Visages d'enfants (Faces of Children), directed by Jacques Feyder – (France)
W The Whirlpool of Fate (La Fille de l'eau), directed by Jean Renoir – (France) The White Lily Laments (Shirayuri wa nageku), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan) The Wizard of Oz, directed by Larry Semon Wolf Blood: A Tale of the Forest, directed by George Chesebro and Bruce M. MitchellWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. Pg. 295. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Womanhandled, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Richard Dix and Esther Ralston A Woman of the World, directed by Mal St. Clair, starring Pola Negri
Z