|
Search By:
|
The History of American Cinema: 1927 |
|
||
|
July - December |
||||
|
|
||||
| 12/8 - |
Former flyer William Wellman’s Wings, the first Hollywood film to deal with military aviation, goes on general release. [ADD] |
|||
| 20/8 - |
Josef von Sternberg’s Underworld, starring George Bancroft and Evelyn Brent in a story by Ben Hecht, is released to favourable reviews. [ADD] |
|||
| 22/8 - |
Charlie Chaplin obtains a divorce from Lita Grey at a settlement cost of $600,000 plus the establishment of $100,000 for both his sons from the marriage. [ADD] |
|||
| 28/8 - |
Three’s a Crowd, comedian Harry Langdon’s directorial debut, premieres in Hollywood. [ADD] |
|||
| 5/9 - |
Producer Marcus Loew dies from heart failure at the age of 57. [ADD] |
|||
| 9/9 - |
After a six-year enquiry, the Federal Trade Commission order the Famous Players-Lasky production company to cease their practice of block-booking, declaring it restrictive and monopolistic. [ADD] |
|||
 |
||||
| 23/9 - |
The Howard Hughes’ produced Two Arabian Knights premieres. Directed by Lewis Milestone, the film will win a First Award (Oscar) for direction (comedy picture) at the award’s inaugural ceremony. [ADD] |
|||
| 23/9 - |
Sunrise, German director F. W. Murnau’s first American film, is released. [ADD] |
|||
| 6/10 - |
Sound comes to the cinema when Alan Crosland’s The Jazz Singer, the first film with spoken dialogue, premieres at the Tower Theatre in Los Angeles. Sadly, Sam Warner, who insisted star Al Jolson’s ‘You ain’t heard nuthin’ yet’ ad-lib stay in the finished film, died the day before it was released. [ADD] |
|||
| 27/10 - |
Fox Movietone News is shown with sound at the Roxy Theater in New York. From December 31st these screenings will take place weekly. [ADD] |
|||
| 31/12 - |
Following the success of its first talking picture, the Warner Brothers studios make a profit for the first time in two years. [ADD] |
|||
|
– Western Electric set the following charges for installing sound systems in cinemas: $11,300 for cinemas with fewer than 1,000 seats, $15,300 for cinemas with between 1,0001-1,750 seats, and $19,800 for larger establishments. Charges for RCA’s competing system range from $8,000 to $17,000. [ADD] |
||||
|
– The MPPDA issue a list of ‘Don’ts and Be Carefuls’ – 11 subjects banned from the screen and 26 that must be handled with discretion. The list has no mandatory force. [ADD] |
||||
| – Following a ‘Trade follows the film’ campaign by Will Hays, head of the MPPDA, the Department of Commerce establishes a Motion Pictures Department. [ADD] | ||||
| – US import revenue for 1927 breaks down as follows: UK - 30%, Australia – 15%, France – 8.5%, Argentina & Uruguay – 7.5%, Brazil – 7%, Germany – 5%. [ADD] | ||||
| – Eastman Kodak begin promoting their panchromatic negative film stock to film-making professionals. Unlike the orthochromatic stock currently favoured panchromatic film reproduces proper tonal values across the entire colour spectrum. [ADD] | ||||
| – Eastman Kodak acquire Pathe Studios, although the French company’s cinema and distribution sections remain independent. [ADD] | ||||
 |
||||
| – The release of Poor Papa, Walt Disney’s first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit film, is delayed until 1928 following poor reviews. Critics complain that the rabbit is old, sloppy and fat. [ADD] | ||||
Other Key Films of 1927 |
||||
 |
||||
|
The Beloved Rogue (Alan Crosland) [ADD] |
||||
|
Chang (Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack) [ADD] |
||||
|
Fashions for Women (Dorothy Arzner) [ADD] |
||||
 |
||||
|
Old San Francisco (Alan Crosland) [ADD] |
||||
|
The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda) [ADD] |
||||
|
Seventh Heaven (Frank Borzage) [ADD] |
||||
|
The Wedding March (Erich von Stroheim) [ADD] |
||||
| The History of Cinema: 1927 | ||||
| Australia - Indonesia | ||||
| France | ||||
| Gt. Britain | ||||
| Israel - Vietnam | ||||
| USA: January - June | ||||
