This is an overview of 1922 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten films released in 1922 by U.S. gross are as follows: +Highest-grossing films of 1922 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1Robin HoodUnited Artists $2,101,044 2Blood and SandParamount $1,250,000Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937–38 (1938) p 942 accessed January 28, 2017 3Manslaughter $1,206,014 4Grandma's Boy Pathé Exchange $1,100,000 5Smilin' Through First National $1,000,000 6Saturday Night Paramount $753,807 7Rags to RichesWarner Bros. $418,000Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 1 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551 8Heroes of the Street $366,000 9 $327,000 10Your Best Friend $132,000
Events June 11 – United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film. November 26 – The Toll of the Sea, starring Anna May Wong and Kenneth Harlan, debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so but it was not widely distributed).
Notable films released in 1922 United States unless stated
A At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern (lost), directed by Lloyd Ingraham, based on the 1905 novel by Myrtle ReedWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
B The Bachelor Daddy (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Thomas Meighan The Beautiful and Damned (lost), directed by William A. Seiter, starring Marie Prevost Beauty's Worth, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies Beyond the Rocks, directed by Sam Wood, starring Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino A Bill of Divorcement, directed by Denison Clift, starring Constance Binney and Fay Compton – (GB) The Blacksmith, directed by Mal St. Clair and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton A Blind Bargain (lost), directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney, based on the 1897 novel The Octive of Claudius by Barry Pain Blood and Sand, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee and Nita Naldi The Bohemian Girl, directed by Harley Knoles, Starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper – (GB) The Bride's Play, directed by George Terwilliger, starring Marion Davies The Burning Soil (Der brennende Acker), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)
C The Card, directed by A. V. Bramble – (GB) Clarence (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Wallace Reid, Agnes Ayres and May McAvoy Cocaine, directed by Graham Cutts – (GB) Cops, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton Crainquebille (Coster Bill of Paris), directed by Jacques Feyder – (France)
D A Dangerous Adventure, 15-part serial directed by Sam Warner and Jack L. Warner, starring Grace Darmond Danse Macabre, directed by Dudley MurphyWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Day Dreams, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, Starring Buster Keaton and Renée Adorée A Debt of Honour, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Isobel Elsom and Clive Brook – (GB) The Dictator (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse the Gambler), directed by Fritz Lang, starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, based on the 1921 novel by Norbert JacquesWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. – (Germany) Dr. Jack, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd Don Juan et Faust, directed by Marcel L'Herbier, based on an 1828 play by Christian Dietrich Grabbe – (France) The Dungeon (lost), written and directed by Oscar MicheauxWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
E Estrellita del Cine, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines) The Electric House, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton Esmeralda (lost), directed by Edwin J. Collins, starring Sybil Thorndike, based on the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo – (GB)
F Fair Lady, directed by Kenneth Webb Faust, directed by Challis Sanderson, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. – (GB) Faust, directed by Gérard Bourgeois, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – (France) La Femme de nulle part (The Woman from Nowhere), directed by Louis Delluc – (France) Flames of Passion, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith – (GB) Flesh and Blood, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Lon Chaney and Noah Beery Sr. Foolish Wives, starring and directed by Erich von Stroheim The Frozen North, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
G The Ghost Breaker (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee, based on the 1909 play by Paul Dickey and Charles W. GoddardWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. A Gipsy Cavalier, directed by J. Stuart Blackton, starring Georges Carpentier and Flora le Breton – (GB) Grandma's Boy, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd The Grass Orphan, directed by Frank Hall Crane – (GB)
H The Haunted House, directed by Erle C. Kenton Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, starring and directed by Benjamin Christensen – (Sweden/Denmark) The Headless Horseman, directed by Edward D. Venturini, starring Will Rogers, based on the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving Heroes of the Street, directed by William Beaudine, starring Wesley Barry and Marie Prevost
I In the Name of the Law (lost), directed by Emory Johnson, starring Ralph Lewis and Claire McDowell
L Laborer's Love (láogōng zhī àiqíng), directed by Zhang Shichuan – (China) Lorna Doone, directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Madge Bellamy The Loves of Pharaoh (Das Weib des Pharao), directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany) Lucrezia Borgia, directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt and Liane HaidWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. – (Germany)
M The Man from Beyond, directed by Burton L. King, starring Harry Houdini Manslaughter, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Thomas Meighan and Lois Wilson Marizza (lost), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany) The Marriage Chance, written and directed by Hampton Del Ruth Money To Burn (lost), directed by Rowland V. LeeWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2. Moran of the Lady Letty, directed by George Melford, starring Dorothy Dalton and Rudolph Valentino More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (lost), directed by Edward LeSaint Mud and Sand, directed by Gilbert Pratt, starring Stan Laurel My Boy, directed by Victor Heerman and Albert Austin, starring Jackie Coogan My Wife's Relations, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
N Nanook of the North, a documentary directed by Robert J. Flaherty Nathan the Wise (Nathan der Weise), directed by Manfred Noa – (Germany) Nice People (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Wallace Reid, Bebe Daniels and Conrad Nagel Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker without authorization – (Germany) Number 13 (lost), directed by Alfred Hitchcock – (GB)
O Oliver Twist, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney One Exciting Night, written and directed by D. W. Griffith One Glorious Day (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Will Rogers and Lila Lee
P The Paleface, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton Pay Day, a Charles Chaplin short Peg o' My Heart, directed by King Vidor, starring Laurette Taylor Phantom, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Alfred Abel, Lil Dagover and Lya De Putti – (Germany) Polikushka (Поликушка), directed by Alexander Sanin – (U.S.S.R.) The Primitive Lover, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Constance Talmadge and Harrison Ford The Prisoner of Zenda, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Lewis Stone and Alice Terry
R Rags to Riches, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Wesley Barry Rent Free (lost), directed by Howard Higgin, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee Robin Hood, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery Rob Roy, directed by W. P. Kellino – (GB)
S Saturday Night, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Leatrice Joy and Conrad Nagel The Scarlet Letter, directed by Challis Sanderson, starring Sybil Thorndike – (GB) Shadows, directed by Tom Forman, starring Lon Chaney, Marguerite De La Motte and Harrison Ford Sherlock Holmes, directed by Albert Parker, starring John Barrymore, based on the 1899 stage play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle – (GB) Smilin' Through, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Norma Talmadge Sodom and Gomorrah, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Lucy Doraine – (Austria) La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet), directed by Germaine Dulac – (France) Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep, directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB) The Suram Fortress (Suramis tsikhe), directed by Ivan Perestiani – (U.S.S.R.)
T Tess of the Storm Country, directed by John S. Robertson, starring Mary Pickford The Three Must-Get-Theres, a Max Linder film The Toll of the Sea, directed by Chester M. Franklin, starring Anna May Wong
W What's Wrong with the Women? (lost), directed by Roy William Neill, starring Constance Bennett When Knighthood Was in Flower, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies Wildness of Youth, directed by Ivan Abramson
Y The Young Diana (lost), directed by Albert Capellani and Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies The Young Rajah. directed by Phil Rosen, starring Rudolph Valentino Your Best Friend, written and directed by William Nigh, starring Vera Gordon
Short film series Charlie Chaplin (1914–1923) Buster Keaton (1917–1941) Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943) Our Gang (1922–1944)
Animated short film series
Felix the Cat (1919–1936) Koko the Clown (1919–1963) Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1934)
Births January 2 – Jason Evers, American actor (died 2005) January 3 – Bill Travers, British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist (died 1994) January 10 – Hannelore Schroth, German actress (died 1987) January 13 – Albert Lamorisse, French filmmaker, film producer and writer (died 1970) January 16 – Irene Vernon, American actress (died 1998) January 17 – Betty White, American actress and comedian (died 2021) January 19 – Guy Madison, American actor (died 1996) January 20 – Ray Anthony, American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor January 21 Telly Savalas, Greek-American actor (died 1994) Paul Scofield, English actor (died 2008) January 31 Joanne Dru, American actress (died 1996) William Sylvester, American actor (died 1995) February 3 – Ulf Johanson, Swedish actor (died 1990) February 4 William Edward Phipps, American actor and producer (died 2018) Qin Yi, Chinese actress (died 2022) February 6 – Patrick Macnee, British-American actor (died 2015)