1923 in film

This is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top eight films released in 1923 by U.S. gross are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1923

Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	The Ten Commandments	Paramount	$4,169,798[1]
2	The Covered Wagon		$3,500,000[2]
3	Safety Last! The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Pathé Exchange Universal	$1,500,000[2]
5	Scaramouche	Metro	$1,000,000[3]
6	Adam's Rib	Paramount	$881,206[1]
7	Main Street	Warner Bros.	$510,000[4]
8	The Gold Diggers		$470,000[4]
9	Tiger Rose		$466,000[4]

Events

• April 4 – Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. incorporated in the United States.
• April 15 – Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.
• Henry Roussel's Les Opprimés is released, introducing mattes (painted by W. Percy Day) to French cinema.
• October 16 – Brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney establish Disney Brothers Studio (later to be known as Walt Disney Productions).

Notable films released in 1923

American films unless stated otherwise

A

• Adam's Rib, directed by Cecil B. DeMille
• The Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz), directed by E. A. Dupont, starring Henny Porten – (Germany)
• Ashes of Vengeance, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery
• The Audacious Mr. Squire, directed by Edwin Greenwood, starring Jack Buchanan – (GB)

B

• The Balloonatic, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
• Barsoum Looking for a Job, directed by Mohammed Bayoumi, starring Bishara Wakim – (Egypt)
• The Bells, directed by Edwin Greenwood, based on the 1867 play The Polish Jew by Erckmann-Chatrian^[5] – (GB)
• The Bishop of the Ozarks (lost), directed by Finis Fox^[5]
• Black Oxen, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Corinne Griffith
• The Blizzard (lost), directed by Mauritz Stiller – (Sweden)
• Blood and Soul (Chi to Rei), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi^[5] – (Japan)
• The Blue Lagoon (lost), directed by William Bowden and Dick Cruikshanks, starring Molly Adair and Arthur Pusey - (GB / South Africa)
• Bonnie Prince Charlie (lost), directed by Charles Calvert, starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper – (GB)
• The Brass Bottle (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur

C

• Cameo Kirby, directed by John Ford, starring John Gilbert
• Circus Days, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan
• Cœur fidèle (Faithful Heart), directed by Jean Epstein – (France)
• The Courtship of Miles Standish, directed by Frederic Sullivan
• The Covered Wagon, directed by James Cruze, starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson

D

• The Daring Years (lost), directed by Kenneth Webb, starring Mildred Harris and Clara Bow
• The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning (Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning), directed by Robert Wiene, starring Werner Krauss – (Germany)
• Drakula halála (Dracula's Death) (lost), directed by Károly Lajthay – (Hungary)
• The Drums of Jeopardy, directed by Edward Dillon, starring Elaine Hammerstein and Wallace Beery, based on the 1920 novel by Harold MacGrath

E

• The Extra Girl, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand

F

• Faust, directed by Bertram Phillips, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe^[6] – (GB)
• Frozen Hearts, directed by J. A. Howe, starring Stan Laurel

G

• The Gold Diggers (lost), directed by Harry Beaumont
• The Grub-Stake, directed by Bert Van Tuyle, starring Nell Shipman

H

• The Harbour Lights, directed by Tom Terriss, starring Tom Moore and Isobel Elsom – (GB)
• Hoy o Nuca, Bésame, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)^[7]
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman Kerry, based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo

I

• I Will Repay, directed by Henry Kolker, starring Holmes Herbert and Flora Le Breton – (GB)
• I.N.R.I., directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany)
• The Isle of Lost Ships (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur
• Itching Palms, directed by James W. Horne, based on the play When Jerry Comes Home by Roy Briant

L

• The Lady Owner, directed by Walter West – (GB)
• The Last Moment (lost), directed by J. Parker Read Jr., starring Henry Hull, Doris Kenyon and Louis Wolheim
• Little Old New York, directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Marion Davies
• The Lost Soul, directed by Hugo Werner-Kahle^[8] – (Austria)
• The Love Nest, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
• The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton – (GB)

M

• Main Street (lost), directed by Harry Beaumont
• The Man in the Iron Mask (Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske), directed by Max Glass – (Germany)
• The Merchant of Venice (Der Kaufmann von Venedig), directed by Peter Paul Felner, starring Werner Krauss and Henny Porten – (Germany)
• Merry-Go-Round, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry
• Miss Suwanna of Siam (Nang Sao Suwan) (lost), directed by Henry MacRae
• The Monkey's Paw, directed by Manning Haynes, based on the 1902 short story by W. W. Jacobs – (GB)
• Mysteries of a Barbershop (Mysterien eines Friseursalons), directed by Erich Engel – (Germany)
• The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, 15-part serial directed by A. E. Coleby^[9] – (GB)

O

• On the Banks of the Wabash, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
• Our Hospitality, directed by John G. Blystone and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
• Out to Win, directed by Denison Clift, starring Catherine Calvert and Clive Brook – (GB)

P

• Paddy the Next Best Thing (lost), directed by Graham Cutts, starring Mae Marsh – (GB)
• The Pilgrim, a Charlie Chaplin film
• Puritan Passions (lost), directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Glenn Hunter and Mary Astor, based on the 1908 play The Scarecrow by Percy MacKaye^[10]
• The Purple Highway (lost), directed by Henry Kolker, starring Madge Kennedy

R

• Raskolnikow, directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany)
• The Red Inn (L'auberge rouge), directed by Jean Epstein, based on the 1831 short story by Honoré de Balzac (remade in 1951)^[11] – (France)
• Red Lights, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Marie Prevost, based on the play The Rear Car by Edward Everett Rose^[12]
• Le Retour à la Raison (Return to Reason), directed by Man Ray – (France)
• Rosita, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Mary Pickford
• La Roue (The Wheel), directed by Abel Gance – (France)
• Rupert of Hentzau (lost), directed by Victor Heerman

S

• Safety Last!, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
• Salomé, directed by Charles Bryant, starring Alla Nazimova
• Scaramouche, directed by Rex Ingram, Starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry and Lewis Stone
• Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination (Shadows - a Nocturnal Hallucination), directed by Arthur Robison – (Germany)
• The Shock, directed by Lambert Hillyer, starring Lon Chaney
• The Shriek of Araby, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Ben Turpin
• The Sign of Four, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Eille Norwood, based on the 1890 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle – (GB)
• Slave of Desire, directed by George D. Baker, starring Bessie Love, based on the 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac
• Souls for Sale, directed by Rupert Hughes, starring Eleanor Boardman, Mae Busch and Richard Dix
• A Spectre Haunts Europe, directed by Vladimir Gardin, based on the 1842 short story The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe^[13] – (U.S.S.R.)
• Squibs M.P., directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB)
• The Street (Die Straße), directed by Karl Grune – (Germany)
• Suzanna, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand

T

• The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Theodore Roberts
• This Freedom, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton and Clive Brook – (GB)
• Three Ages, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery
• Three Wise Fools, directed by King Vidor
• Through Fire and Water, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Clive Brook and Flora Le Breton – (GB)
• Tiger Rose, directed by Sidney Franklin (director), starring Lenore Ulric
• The Treasure (Der Schatz), directed by G. W. Pabst – (Germany)
• Trilby, directed by James Young, based on the 1894 novel by George du Maurier^[14]
• Tut-Tut and his Terrible Tomb, directed by Bertram Phillips – (GB)

U

• Under the Red Robe, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Robert B. Mantell
• The Unknown Tomorrow (Das unbekannte Morgen), directed by Alexander Korda, starring Werner Krauss – (Germany)

W

• While Paris Sleeps (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Lon Chaney and John Gilbert, based on a novelThe Glory of Love by Leslie Beresford^[15]
• The White Shadow, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB)
• The White Sister, directed by Henry King, starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman
• Why Worry?, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
• Wild Bill Hickok, directed by Clifford Smith, starring William S. Hart
• Within the Law, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge
• A Woman of Paris, written and directed by Charles Chaplin, starring Edna Purviance
• Woman to Woman (lost), directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB)

Short film series

• Charlie Chaplin (1914–23)
• Buster Keaton (1917–41)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921–43)
• Our Gang (1922–44)

Animated short film series

• Felix the Cat (1919–36)
• Koko the Clown (1919–34)
• Aesop's Film Fables (1921–34)
• Alice Comedies
  • Alice's Wonderland
• The Red Head Comedies (1923).

Births

• January 1 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (died 2019)
• January 3 - Bud Tingwell, Australian actor (died 2009)
• January 5 - Boris Leskin, Soviet-American actor (died 2020)
• January 7 – Pinkas Braun, Swiss actor, director (died 2008)
• January 8 – Larry Storch, American actor (died 2022)
• January 17 - Carol Raye, British-born Australian actress, comedian and singer (died 2022)
• January 19 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (died 2013)
• January 22 - Diana Douglas, American actress (died 2015)
• January 23 – Silvano Campeggi, Italian poster designer (died 2018)
• January 26 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress (died 2017)
• January 29 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (died 1981)
• February 2 – Bonita Granville, American actress (died 1988)
• February 12 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director (died 2019)
• February 18 - Allan Melvin, American actor and impressionist (died 2008)
• February 21 – Lola Flores, Spanish actress (died 1995)
• February 28 – Charles Durning, American actor (died 2012)
• March 10 – Dolores Fuller, American actress (died 2011)
• March 12 - Vladek Sheybal, Polish character actor, singer and director (died 1992)
• March 19 – Pamela Britton, American actress (died 1974)
• March 22 - Carmen Filpi, American character actor (died 2003)
• March 24 - Murray Hamilton, American actor (died 1986)
• April 2 – Gloria Henry, American actress (died 2021)
• April 4
  • Gene Reynolds, American actor, producer (died 2020)
  • Peter Vaughan, English character actor (died 2016)
• April 5 - Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (died 1995)
• April 6 - Chang Feng, Chinese actor (died 2022)
• April 12 – Ann Miller, American dancer, singer, actress (died 2004)
• April 13 - Don Adams, American actor, comedian and director (died 2005)
• April 17
  • Lindsay Anderson, British director and actor (died 1994)
  • Lon McCallister, American actor (died 2005)
• April 22 - Avis Bunnage, English actress (died 1990)
• April 28 – Adele Mara, American actress (died 2010)
• April 29 - Irvin Kershner, American director, actor and producer (died 2010)
• May 4 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (died 2012)
• May 7 – Anne Baxter, actress (died 1985)
• May 14 – Mrinal Sen, Bengali director (died 2018)
• May 20 – Edith Fellows, American actress (died 2011)
• May 26
  • James Arness, American actor (died 2011)
  • Roy Dotrice, British actor (died 2017)
• May 30 - Jimmy Lydon, American actor and producer (died 2022)
• June 5 - Peggy Stewart, American actress (died 2019)
• June 8 – Peggy Maley, American actress (died 2007)
• June 12 – Herta Elviste, Estonian actress (died 2015)
• June 18 - Robert Ellenstein, American actor (died 2010)
• June 20 - Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor (died 2013)
• June 28 - Ray Boyle, American actor (died 2022)
• July 6 – Cathy O'Donnell, American actress (died 1970)
• July 8 - Val Bettin, American actor (died 2021)
• July 14 – Dale Robertson, American actor (died 2013)
• July 18 – Michael Medwin, English actor and producer (died 2020)
• July 22 – Mukesh, Indian singer (died 1976)
• July 25
  • Estelle Getty, American actress and comedian (died 2008)
  • Allan Lurie, American voice actor (died 2015)
• August 3 – Jean Hagen, American actress (died 1977)
• August 9 - John Stephenson, American actor (died 2015)
• August 10
  • Rhonda Fleming, American actress (died 2020)
  • Vernon Washington, American character actor (died 1988)
• August 14 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (died 2007)
• August 15 – Rose Marie, American actress, singer (died 2017)
• August 17 – Julius Harris, American actor (died 2004)
• August 24 - June Dayton, American actress (died 1994)
• August 28 - Alexander Doré, British actor, director and screenwriter (died 2002)
• August 29 – Richard Attenborough, English actor and director (died 2014)
• August 31 - Ed Grady, American actor (died 2012)
• September 1 - Habib Tanvir, Indian actor (died 2009)
• September 7 – Peter Lawford, British-American actor (died 1984)
• September 9 - Cliff Robertson, American actor (died 2011)
• September 11 - Betsy Drake, American actress, writer (died 2015)
• September 20 - Ricardo Montez, Gibraltarian actor (died 2010)
• September 23
  • Margaret Pellegrini, American actress (died 2013)
  • Jimmy Weldon, American actor, ventriloquist and television host (died 2023)
• September 27
  • Tony Giorgio, American actor (died 2012)
  • Mary McCarty, American actress (died 1980)
• September 28 - William Windom, American actor (died 2012)
• October 1 – Kim Yaroshevskaya, Russian-born Canadian actress (died 2025)
• October 4 – Charlton Heston, American actor (died 2008)
• October 5 – Glynis Johns, British actress (died 2024)
• October 10 - Patrick Jordan, British actor (died 2020)
• October 16 – Linda Darnell, American actress (died 1965)
• October 23 - Frank Sutton, American actor (died 1974)
• November 12 - Richard Venture, American actor (died 2017)
• November 13 – Linda Christian, Mexican-American actress (died 2011)
• November 21 - Helen Horton, American actress (died 2007)
• November 28
  • Gloria Grahame, American actress (died 1981)
  • James Karen, American actor (died 2018)
• December 4 - Vincent Ball, Australian retired actor
• December 10 – Harold Gould, American actor (died 2010)
• December 11 – Betsy Blair, American actress (died 2009)
• December 12 - Bob Barker, American television game show host (died 2023)
• December 29
  • Dina Merrill, American actress (died 2017)
  • Mike Nussbaum, American actor and director (died 2023)

Deaths

• January 18 – Wallace Reid, American actor (born 1892)
• March 3 – Dante Testa, Italian actor and director (born 1861)
• March 26 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (born 1844)
• May 21 – Charles Kent, veteran actor and director (born 1852)
• June 11 – Porter Strong, American silent film actor
• June 17 – Macey Harlam, screen actor (born 1873)
• July 12 – Harry Lonsdale, stage and screen actor (born 1865)
• July 30 – Charles Hawtrey, veteran British actor (born 1858)
• August 29 – Bernard Durning, American actor and director, (born 1893)
• September 11 – Siegmund Lubin, American motion picture pioneer (born 1851)
• September 26 – Jerome Patrick, Broadway stage and silent film leading man (born 1883)
• October 28 – Joe Roberts, American actor (born 1871)
• November 20 – Allen Holubar, American actor and director (born 1888)
• November 30 – Martha Mansfield, American actress (born 1899)
• December 28 – Frank Hayes, American actor and comedian (born 1871)

Film debuts

• Frank Albertson – The Covered Wagon
• Mariska Aldrich – Souls for Sale
• Jean Arthur – Cameo Kirby
• Irving Bacon – Anna Christie
• Julie Bishop – Children of Jazz
• Olive Borden – Ponjola
• Mary Carlisle – Long Live the King
• Marlene Dietrich – The Little Napoleon
• Charles Farrell – The Cheat
• Leslie Fenton – Gentle Julia
• Bess Flowers – Hollywood
• Carmelita Geraghty – Jealous Husbands
• Gloria Grey – Bag and Baggage
• James Hall – Man Alone
• Tim Holt – Hollywood
• Carmencita Johnson – The Courtship of Miles Standish
• Mary Kid – Avalanche
• Helen Mack – Success
• June Marlowe – Fighting Blood
• Ken Maynard – Brass Commandments
• Donald Meek – Six Cylinder Love
• Thomas Mitchell – Six Cylinder Love
• Jack Oakie – His Children's Children
• Edna May Oliver – Wife in Name Only
• Madeleine Renaud – Vent debout
• Marjorie Reynolds – Trilby
• Stanley Ridges – Success
• Gilbert Roland – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• Dolores Rousse – No Mother to Guide Her
• Martha Sleeper – The Mailman
• Suzy Vernon – The Portrait
• Erika von Thellmann – The Stone Rider
• Harry Woods – Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande