The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some films released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent. This year is notable for the introduction of the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, in the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production.
Events January 6 – The long-awaited Charlie Chaplin comedy The Circus premieres at the Strand Theatre in New York City. April 21 – The Passion of Joan of Arc is released. July 6 – Lights of New York (starring Helene Costello) is released by Warner Bros. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film. Previous releases Don Juan and The Jazz Singer had used a synchronized soundtrack with sound effects and music, with The Jazz Singer having a few incidental lines spoken by Al Jolson. September 19 – The Singing Fool, Warner Bros' follow-up to The Jazz Singer, is released. While still only a partial-talkie (sequences still feature intertitles), 66 minutes of the film's 105 minute running time feature dialogue or songs, making it the longest talking motion picture yet. (Lights of New York runs a total of 57 minutes.) It is the highest-grossing film of the year, becomes Warner Bros' highest-grossing film for the next 13 years, is the most financially successful film of Al Jolson's career and also remains the highest-grossing sound film until the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. October 23 – RKO Productions Inc. created November 10 – At the beginning of White Shadows in the South Seas, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot Leo the Lion roars for the very first time, giving voice to one of the most popular American film logos. November 18 – Disney's Steamboat Willie premieres, marking the official introduction of Mickey Mouse. This animated short is the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production, including sound effects, music and dialogue. December 25 – In Old Arizona, released by Fox Films, is the first sound-on-film feature-length talkie, utilizing the Movietone process. Previously, feature-length talkies used the less-reliable Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. It is also the first Western talkie, and the first sound film primarily shot outdoors.
Academy Awards
Best Picture: Wings – Paramount Pictures Best Unique and Artistic Picture: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans – Fox Film Corporation Best Director, Dramatic Picture: Frank Borzage – 7th Heaven Best Director, Comedy Picture: Lewis Milestone – Two Arabian Knights Best Actor: Emil Jannings – The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh Best Actress: Janet Gaynor – 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years, which is why there is no 'Best Picture' for a 1928 film.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1928 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: + Highest-grossing films of 1928 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1The Singing FoolWarner Bros. $3,821,000 2The CircusUnited Artists $1,820,000 3Street AngelFox Film $1,700,000 4Lilac TimeWarner Bros. $1,675,000 5Four SonsRamona Fox FilmUnited Artists $1,500,000 6Noah's Ark Warner Bros. $1,367,000 7The Red DanceIn Old Arizona Fox Film $1,300,000 8The TerrorWarner Bros. $1,221,000 9Lights of New York $1,160,000 10My Man $1,099,000
Notable films released in 1928 United States unless stated
A Accident (Polizeibericht Überfall), directed by Ernő Metzner – (Germany) Across to Singapore, directed by William Nigh, starring Ramón Novarro, Joan Crawford and Ernest Torrence The Actress (lost), directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Norma Shearer Adam's Apple, directed by Tim Whelan, starring Monty Banks – (GB) Alraune, written and directed by Henrik Galeen, starring Brigitte Helm and Paul Wegener – (Germany) Ang Lumang Simbahan (The Old Church), directed by José Nepomuceno, starring Mary Walter – (Philippines) The Ape (lost), directed by Beverly C. Rule, starring Gladys WaltonWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 322. . L'Argent (Money), directed by Marcel L'Herbier, starring Pierre Alcover and Brigitte Helm – (France) The Awakening (lost), directed by Victor Fleming, starring Vilma Bánky and Louis Wolheim
B Balaclava, directed by Maurice Elvey and Milton Rosmer, starring Cyril McLaglen and Benita Hume – (GB) Beau Sabreur (lost), directed by John Waters, starring Gary Cooper, Evelyn Brent, Noah Beery Sr. and William Powell Beggars of Life, directed by William A. Wellman, starring Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen and Louise Brooks The Big City (lost), directed by Tod Browning, starring Lon Chaney, Betty Compson and Marceline Day The Black Pearl (lost), directed by Scott Pembroke, starring Lila Lee, based on the novel by Mrs. Wilson Woodrow The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (Huo shao hong lian si) (lost), 16-part serial directed by Zhang Shichuan – (China)
C The Cameraman, directed by Edward Sedgwick and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton and Marceline Day The Cardboard Lover, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Marion Davies, Jetta Goudal and Nils Asther Champagne, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Betty Balfour – (GB) The Circus, starring, a Charles Chaplin film The Constant Nymph, directed by Adrian Brunel, starring Ivor Novello – (GB) The Cossacks, directed by George Hill and Clarence Brown, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée and Ernest Torrence The Crowd, directed by King Vidor, starring Eleanor Boardman
D Dawn, directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Sybil Thorndike – (GB) The Devious Path (Abwege), directed by G.W. Pabst – (Germany) The Divine Woman (lost), directed by Victor Sjöström, starring Greta Garbo and Lars Hanson The Docks of New York, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson and Olga Baclanova
E Easy Virtue, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Isabel Jeans – (GB)
F The Fall of the House of Usher, directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber, based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House of Usher (La Chute de la maison Usher), directed by Jean Epstein, based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe – (France) The Farmer's Wife, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jameson Thomas and Lillian Hall-Davis – (GB) Feel My Pulse, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Bebe Daniels, Richard Arlen and William Powell The First Born, directed by Miles Mander, starring Miles Mander and Madeleine Carroll – (GB) Four Sons, directed by John Ford
G The Gallant Hussar (lost), directed by Géza von Bolváry, starring Ivor Novello and Evelyn Holt – (GB/Germany) Gang War, directed by Bert Glennon, starring Jack Pickford and Olive Borden Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (lost), directed by Mal St. Clair, starring Ruth Taylor and Alice White A Girl in Every Port, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Victor McLaglen, Louise Brooks and Robert Armstrong The Godless Girl, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost and Noah Beery Sr. The Guns of Loos, directed by Sinclair Hill, starring Madeleine Carroll (GB)
H Habeas Corpus, directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott, starring Laurel and Hardy Hangman's House, directed by John Ford, starring Victor McLaglen The Haunted House, directed by Benjamin Christensen, starring Thelma Todd, based on a 1926 stage play by Owen DavisWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 324. . His House in Order (lost), directed by Randle Ayrton, starring Tallulah Bankhead – (GB) Homecoming (Heimkehr), directed by Joe May, starring Lars Hanson – (Germany) Honor Bound, directed by Alfred E. Green, starring George O'Brien, Estelle Taylor and Leila Hyams The House of Terror (lost), a 10-chapter serial directed by Roland D. Reed The House on Trubnaya (Dom na Trubnoy), directed by Boris Barnet – (U.S.S.R.) Hungarian Rhapsody, directed by Hanns Schwarz, starring Lil Dagover, Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo – (Germany) Huntingtower, directed by George Pearson, starring Harry Lauder – (GB)
I In Old Arizona, directed by Raoul Walsh and Irving Cummings, starring Edmund Lowe, Warner Baxter and Dorothy Burgess, based on a 1907 short story The Caballero's Way by O. Henry Interference, directed by Lothar Mendes, starring Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook and William Powell The Italian Straw Hat (Un chapeau de paille d'Italie), directed by René Clair – (France)
J Jujiro (Crossroads), directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa – (Japan)
L Ladies of the Mob (lost), directed by William A. Wellman, starring Clara Bow and Richard Arlen The Last Command, directed by Joseph von Sternberg, starring Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent and William Powell The Last Warning, directed by Paul Leni, starring Laura La Plante, based on the 1916 novel The House of Fear by Charles Wadsworth CampWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 342. . Laugh, Clown, Laugh, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young The Leopard Lady (lost), directed by Rupert Julian, starring Jacqueline Logan, Alan Hale and Robert Armstrong, based on the play by Edward Childs Carpenter Lights of New York, directed by Bryan Foy Lilac Time, directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper A Little Bit of Fluff, directed by Wheeler Dryden and Jess Robbins, starring Sydney Chaplin and Betty Balfour – (GB) Lonesome, directed by Paul Fejos, starring Glenn Tryon and Barbara Kent
M The Man Who Laughs, directed by Paul Leni, starring Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt and Olga Baclanova, based on the 1869 novel L'Homme qui rit by Victor HugoWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 327. . Maria Marten, directed by Walter West, starring Trilby Clark and Warwick WardWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 328. . – (GB) The Matinee Idol, directed by Frank Capra, starring Bessie Love and Johnnie Walker The Midnight Taxi, directed by John G. Adolfi, Starring Antonio Moreno, Helene Costello and Myrna Loy Mother Machree (lost), directed by John Ford, starring Victor McLaglen, Belle Bennett and Neil Hamilton Moulin Rouge, directed by Ewald André Dupont – (GB) My Man (lost), directed by Archie Mayo, starring Fanny Brice Man's Heart — (Malaysia) The Mysterious Lady, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Greta Garbo and Conrad Nagel The Mysterious Mirror (Der Geheimnisvolle Spiegel), directed by Carl Hoffmann and Richard Teschner – (Germany)
N The New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya (Shinpan Ōoka seidan), directed by Daisuke Itō, based on the 1825 play Yotsuya Kaidan by Tsuruya Nanboku IV – (Japan) Noah's Ark, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Dolores Costello, George O'Brien and Noah Beery Sr. The Noose, directed by John Francis Dillon, starring Richard Barthelmess and Thelma Todd Number 17 (Haus Nummer 17), directed by Géza von Bolváry, starring Guy Newall and Lien Deyers – (GB/Germany)
O October: Ten Days That Shook the World (Oktyabr': Desyat' dney kotorye potryasli mir), directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov – (U.S.S.R.) On Trial (lost), directed by Archie Mayo, starring Pauline Frederick, Bert Lytell and Lois Wilson Our Dancing Daughters, directed by Harry Beaumont, starring Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown
P The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, starring Renée Jeanne Falconetti – (France) The Patsy, directed by King Vidor, starring Marion Davies and Marie Dressler The Phantom City, directed by Albert S. Rogell, starring Ken Maynard