This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Events The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on. February 1 – The Broadway Melody is released by MGM and becomes the first major musical film of the sound era, sparking a host of imitators as well as a series of Broadway Melody films that will run until 1940. February 18 – The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are announced for the year ended August 1, 1928. March 3 – William Fox announces that he has taken control of Loews Inc., including its subsidiary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, buying shares from Marcus Loew's widow and sons and Nicholas Schenck for $50 million. The acquisition eventually falls through. May 16 – The first Academy Awards are distributed at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. May 26 – Fox Grandeur News is shown in Fox Film's new widescreen 70 mm Grandeur film format July 13 – The first all color talkie (in Technicolor), On with the Show, is released by Warner Bros. who lead the way in a new color revolution just as they had ushered in that of the talkies. July 17 – William Fox is badly injured in a car accident which kills his chauffeur. August 3 – The Cock-Eyed World beats every known gross for any box office attraction throughout the world with a reported first week gross of $173,391 at the Roxy Theatre (New York City). August 20 – Hallelujah! is the first Hollywood film to contain an entire black cast. August 22 – First in the Walt Disney Productions' animated short Silly Symphony series, The Skeleton Dance, is released. September – Paramount Pictures acquires 49% of CBS. October 24 – Jean Harlow signs a five-year, $100 per week contract with Howard Hughes. October 30 – Entertainment newspaper Variety report that Wall Street Lays An Egg leading to many prominent showman and film stars losing money on their investments. November – Warner Bros. gain complete control of First National Pictures buying Fox Film's 36% stake for $10 million November 10 – Première of John Grierson's documentary film Drifters about North Sea herring fishermen, made for the Empire Marketing Board, effectively inaugurating the British Documentary Film Movement. (It debuts at the private Film Society in London on a double-bill with the U.K. première of Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin.) November 15 – U.K. release of Atlantic, a film about the sinking of the RMS Titanic which is one of the first British sound-on-film movies and, in its simultaneously-shot German-language version, the first to be released in Germany; also the first Titanic movie with sound. December – Anti-trust suits are filed against William Fox and Warner Bros. by the US Department of Justice for Fox's acquisition of Loews and Warners' acquisition of the Stanley Corporation of America and First National.
Academy Awards
The 2nd Academy Awards honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. They took place on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
Most nominations: In Old Arizona (Fox Film Corporation) – 5
Best Picture: The Broadway Melody (MGM) Best Director: Frank Lloyd – The Divine Lady Best Actor: Warner Baxter – In Old Arizona Best Actress: Mary Pickford – Coquette
Most awards – no film won more than 1 award
Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years. Best Picture, Actress and Director went to 1930 films.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1929 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1929 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1The Broadway Melody MGM $2,808,000. 2The Cock-Eyed World Fox Film $2,700,000 3Gold Diggers of Broadway Warner Bros. $2,540,000Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 7 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551 4 Sunny Side Up Fox Film $2,190,000 5Rio Rita RKO $1,775,000Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931–1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p55 6On with the Show!Warner Bros. $1,741,000 7Say It with Songs $1,715,000 8Show Boat Universal $1,643,000 9The Desert Song Warner Bros. $1,549,000 10The Hollywood Revue of 1929 MGM $1,527,000
Notable films released in 1929 United States unless stated otherwise.
A After the Verdict, directed by Henrik Galeen, starring Olga Chekhova – (GB) Alibi, directed by Roland West, starring Chester Morris and Mae Busch, based on the 1927 stage play Nightstick by Elaine Sterne Carrington The Alley Cat (Nachtgestalten), directed by Hans Steinhoff, starring Mabel Poulton – (GB/Germany) The American Prisoner, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Carl Brisson and Madeleine Carroll – (GB) Ang Mutya Ng Pamilihan (The Pearl of the Markets), directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines) Applause, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Helen Morgan Arsenal (Арсенал), directed by Alexander Dovzhenko – (U.S.S.R.) Asphalt, directed by Joe May, starring Gustav Fröhlich – (Germany) Atlantic, directed by E. A. Dupont, starring Madeleine Carroll – (GB) The Awful Truth (lost), directed by Marshall Neilan
B Berth Marks, directed by Lewis R. Foster, starring Laurel and Hardy Big Business, directed by James W. Horne and Leo McCarey, starring Laurel and Hardy Big Time, directed by Kenneth Hawks, starring Lee Tracy Black and Tan, directed by Dudley Murphy, starring Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington Blackmail, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the 1928 stage play by Charles Bennett – (GB) Black Waters (lost), directed by Marshall Neilan The Bridge of San Luis Rey, directed by Charles Brabin, starring Lili Damita Broadway, directed by Paul Fejos, starring Evelyn Brent The Broadway Melody, directed by Harry Beaumont, starring Charles King, Anita Page and Bessie Love Bulldog Drummond, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Ronald Colman
C Cagliostro, directed by Richard Oswald, based on the 1929 novel by Johannes von GuentherWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 337. . – (Germany) The Canary Murder Case, directed by Malcolm St. Clair, starring William Powell, Louise Brooks and Jean Arthur Chamber of Horrors, directed by Walter Summers – (GB) The Charlatan, directed by George MelfordWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 338. . Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog), directed by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí – (France) Children of the Ritz (lost), directed by John Francis Dillon The Clue of the New Pin, directed by Arthur Maude – (GB) The Cocoanuts, directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley, starring the Marx Brothers A Cottage on Dartmoor, directed by Anthony Asquith – (GB) Coquette, Directed by Sam Taylor, starring Mary Pickford, Johnny Mack Brown and Matt Moore
D Dangerous Curves, directed by Lothar Mendes, starring Clara Bow and Richard Arlen Darkened Rooms, directed by Louis J. Gasnier, starring Evelyn Brent and Neil Hamilton Desert Nights, directed by William Nigh, starring John Gilbert, Ernest Torrence, and Mary Nolan The Desert Song, directed by Roy Del Ruth Devil-May-Care, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Ramón Novarro Diary of a Lost Girl (Tagebuch einer Verlorenen), directed by G. W. Pabst, starring Louise Brooks – (Germany) Disraeli, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring George Arliss and Joan Bennett Drifters, documentary by John Grierson – (GB) Dynamite, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Conrad Nagel and Kay Johnson
E Eternal Love, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring John Barrymore
F Fancy Baggage (lost), directed by John G. Adolfi, starring Audrey Ferris and Myrna Loy Father Vojtech (Páter Vojtěch), directed by Martin Frič – (Czechoslovakia) Finis Terræ, directed by Jean Epstein – (France) The Flying Fleet, directed by George Hill, starring Ramón Novarro, Ralph Graves and Anita Page The Flying Scotsman, directed by Castleton Knight, starring Ray Milland – (GB) Footlights and Fools (lost), directed by William A. Seiter, starring Colleen Moore and Fredric March The Four Feathers, directed by Merian C. Cooper, starring William Powell, Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, Clive Brook and Noah Beery Sr. Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (lost), directed by David Butler Fräulein Else (Miss Else), directed by Paul Czinner, starring Elisabeth Bergner – (Germany)
G General Crack, directed by Alan Crosland, starring John Barrymore The General Line (Staroye i novoye), directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and Sergei Eisenstein – (U.S.S.R.) Glorifying the American Girl, directed by John W. Harkrider and Millard Webb, starring Mary Eaton Gold Diggers of Broadway (lost), directed by Roy Del Ruth The Great Gabbo, directed by James Cruze, starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson The Greene Murder Case, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring William Powell
H Hallelujah, directed by King Vidor Hardboiled Rose, directed by F. Harmon Weight, starring Myrna Loy Hearts in Dixie, directed by Paul Sloane, starring Stepin Fetchit and Clarence Muse Hell's Heroes, directed by William Wyler, starring Charles Bickford High Treason, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Jameson Thomas and Benita Hume – (GB) His Glorious Night, directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring John Gilbert The Hole in the Wall, directed by Robert Florey, starring Edward G. Robinson and Claudette Colbert The Hollywood Revue of 1929, directed by Charles Reisner, starring Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny Hot for Paris (lost), directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Victor McLaglen The Hound of the Baskervilles (Der Hund von Baskerville), directed by Richard Oswald, based on the 1902 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle – (Germany) House of Horror (lost), directed by Benjamin Christensen, starring Thelma ToddWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 340. . The House of Secrets (lost), directed by Edmund Lawrence, based on the 1926 novel by Sydney HorlerWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 341. .
I The Informer, directed by Arthur Robison, starring Lya De Putti and Lars Hanson – (GB) The Iron Mask, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Douglas Fairbanks
K The Kiss, Jacques Feyder, starring Greta Garbo and Conrad Nagel Kitty, directed by Victor Saville – (GB) A Knight in London (Eine Nacht in London), directed by Lupu Pick, starring Lilian Harvey – (GB/Germany)
L The Lady Fare, directed by William Watson, screenplay by Spencer Williams Jr. The Lady Lies, directed by Hobart Henley, starring Walter Huston and Claudette Colbert Lady of the Pavements, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring William Boyd and Lupe Vélez Laila, directed by George Schnéevoigt, starring Mona Mårtenson Land Without Women, directed by Carmine Gallone, starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany) The Last Performance, directed by Paul Fejos, starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin The Letter, directed by Jean de Limur, starring Jeanne Eagels The Locked Door, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Rod La Rocque and Barbara Stanwyck The Love Parade, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald Lucky Star, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (Ludwig der Zweite, König von Bayern), starring and directed by William Dieterle – (Germany)
M Madame X, directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Ruth Chatterton and Lewis Stone Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom), documentary directed by Dziga Vertov – (Ukrainian SSR) The Manxman, directed by Alfred Hitchcock – (GB) Marianne, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Marion Davies