1928 in film
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.
January 6 – The long-awaited comedy The Circus premieres at the Strand Theatre in New York City.[4]
Charlie Chaplin
April 21 – is released.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
July 6 – (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.[5]
Lights of New York
September 19 – , 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[6][7] and also remains the highest-grossing sound film until the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
The Singing Fool
October 23 – created
RKO Productions Inc.
November 10 – At the beginning of , 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.[8][9][10]
White Shadows in the South Seas
November 18 – '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.
Disney
December 25 – , 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.
In Old Arizona
Note: Prior to 1933, awards were not based on calendar years, which is why there is no 'Best Picture' for a 1928 film.
, directed by William Nigh, starring Ramón Novarro, Joan Crawford and Ernest Torrence
Across to Singapore
, written and directed by Henrik Galeen, starring Brigitte Helm and Paul Wegener – (Germany)
Alraune
Ang Lumang Simbahan (The Old Church), directed by , starring Mary Walter – (Philippines)
José Nepomuceno
(Money), directed by Marcel L'Herbier, starring Pierre Alcover and Brigitte Helm – (France)
L'Argent
(1917–1941)
Buster Keaton
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Newslaffs (–1928)
1927
Mickey Mouse
January 2 – , Estonian actress (died 1973)
Ellen Kaarma
January 5 – , British actress (died 2021)
Denise Bryer
January 7 – , American screenwriter (died 2017)
William Peter Blatty
January 15 – , American actress (died 2021)
Joanne Linville
January 20 – , Canadian-American actor (died 2018)
Peter Donat
January 23 – , French actress, singer, screenwriter and director (died 2017)
Jeanne Moreau
January 26 – , French director, screenwriter and actor (died 2000)
Roger Vadim
February 1 – , American film and television actor (died 2020)
Stuart Whitman
February 4 – , Jamaican-born British-Chinese actor (died 2015)
Vincent Wong
February 7 - , American actor (died 2013)
Leonard Jackson
February 8 – , American actor (died 2015)
Jack Larson
February 11 – , American actor (died 2022)
Conrad Janis
February 16 – , German actress (died 2022)
Eva Ingeborg Scholz
February 18 – , American singer and actor (died 1994)
Little Caesar
February 22 – , American actor, writer and comedian
Paul Dooley
February 24 – , American actor (died 1975)
Al Lettieri
Joss Ackland
March 1 – , French director (died 2016)
Jacques Rivette
March 3 – , American actor (died 2013)
Joe Conley
March 11 – , American actor (died 1990)
Albert Salmi
March 13 – , Canadian actor (died 2018)
Douglas Rain
March 16 – , English actor (died 1993)
Victor Maddern
March 17 – , English actress (died 2018)
Eunice Gayson
Marceline Loridan-Ivens
March 24 – American actress (died 1999)
Vanessa Brown
March 27 – , British actor (died 2009)
Reg Evans
March 29 – , English actor (died 2004)
Philip Locke
March 30 – , Mexican actress, dancer (died 2006)
Lilia Prado
March 31 – , Australian actress (died 2010)
June Jago
April 1 – , American actor (died 2007)
George Grizzard
April 2 – , Dutch actor (died 2012)
Piet Römer
April 3 – , American actor (died 2005)
Kevin Hagen
Estelle Harris
James Garner
April 11 – , Belgian actor (died 2022)
Henri Garcin
April 12 – , German actor (died 2022)
Hardy Krüger
May 1 – , Russian director and screenwriter (died 2022)
Vitaly Melnikov
May 3 – , American actress died (1996)
Jeanne Bal
May 7 – , Bulgarian actor (died 2011)
Georgi Rusev
May 12 – , American composer and songwriter (died 2023)
Burt Bacharach
John Abineri
May 21 – , American actress (died 2016)
Alice Drummond
May 23 – , English actor (died 2013)
Nigel Davenport
May 28 – , Cuban actress (died 2022)
Gina Cabrera
May 30 – , Belgian-born French director, producer and screenwriter (died 2019)
Agnès Varda
June 2 – , American actor (died 1957)
Bob Amsberry
June 4 – , German-American sex therapist, talk show host and actress
Ruth Westheimer
June 5 – , American actor (died 1994)
Robert Lansing
June 7 – , American director, producer and screenwriter
James Ivory
June 8 – , Indonesian actress, model, and singer (died 1971)
Mimi Mariani
June 9 – , American stand-up comedian and actor (died 2021)
Jackie Mason
Vic Damone
June 13 – , Bulgarian actor (died 1991)
Nikola Todev
June 16 – , Austrian actor (died 2022)
Ernst Stankovski
June 19 – , American actress (died 2000)
Nancy Marchand
June 20 – , American actor (died 2017)
Martin Landau
June 21 – , Hungarian actress (died 2016)
Margit Bara
June 22 – , American actor (died 2014)
Ralph Waite
June 29 – , Scottish actor (died 1999)
Ian Bannen
June 30 – , American actor and singer (died 2017)
Clifford David
July 6 – , Filipino actor (died 2004)
Nestor de Villa
July 7 – , English actress and producer (died 2021)
Pat Hitchcock
July 12 – , English actor
Peter Cellier
Bob Crane
July 14 – , American actress
Nancy Olson
July 15 – , American actor and writer
Tom Troupe
July 21 – , American actor (died 2017)
Chuck Low
July 22 – , American actor (died 2020)
Orson Bean
July 24 – , American actor (died 2009)
Michael Currie
July 26 – , American talent manager (died 2018)
Joe Jackson
July 26 - , American director (died 1999)
Stanley Kubrick
August 1 – , American actor (died 2011)
Nick LaTour
August 6 – , American artist and director (died 1987)
Andy Warhol
August 10 – , American-born Australian character actor (died 2010)
Gus Mercurio
Joëlle Bernard
Nosher Powell
August 16 – , American actress
Ann Blyth
August 18 – , American actress and singer (died 1994)
Norma Donaldson
August 20 - , American stunt coordinator and director (died 2021)
Buddy Van Horn
August 27 – , English actor (died 2022)
Bernard Atha
August 28 – , English actor (died 2000)
Charles Gray
August 31 – , American actor (died 2002)
James Coburn
George Maharis
September 3 – , Peruvian actress
Pilar Pallete
September 4 – , American actor (died 1992)
Dick York
September 9 – , American character actor (died 2014)
Darrell Zwerling
September 11 – , American actor
Earl Holliman
September 17 – , British actor (died 1998)
Roddy McDowall
September 19 – , American actor (died 2017)
Adam West
September 22 – , American actor (died 2004)
Eugene Roche
Laurence Harvey
October 2 – , American actor (died 1993)
George McFarland
October 6 – , American actress (died 2013)
Barbara Werle
October 17 – , American actor (died 2021)
Don Collier
Jeanne Cooper
Wanda Hendrix
Ennio Morricone
Helena Carroll
November 14 – , American actress
Kathleen Hughes
November 20 – , American actor (died 2006)
Franklin Cover
November 23 – , American actress singer (died 2018)
Elmarie Wendel
November 25 – , American actor (died 2017)
Rance Howard
December 1 – , American actor (died 2013)
Malachi Throne
December 3 – , Italian actor (died 2018)
Carlo Giuffrè
December 5 – , Polish actress (died 2022)
Barbara Krafftówna
December 9 – , American actor (died 2015)
Dick Van Patten
December 13 – , Spanish actress (died 2017)
Nati Mistral
December 16 – , American actor and filmmaker (died 2024)
Terry Carter
December 17 – , Russian actor (died 2017)
Leonid Bronevoy
December 21 – , American actor (died 2014)
Ed Nelson
December 25 – , American actor (died 2019)
Dick Miller
Bernard Cribbins
January 2 – , American stage & film actress (born 1882)
Emily Stevens
January 3 – , German film actress (born 1893)
Claude France
January 11 - , Canadian stage and screen actor (born 1868)
Rapley Holmes
January 25 – , American stage and screen actor (born 1865)
Charles Gorman
January 26 - , American actor, (born 1889)
Earl Metcalfe
February 22 – Rudolph J. Bergquist American cinematographer
March 5 – , Italian actress (born 1891)
Lidia Quaranta
March 13 – , British actress and heiress; lost at sea (born 1893)
Elsie Mackay
April 22 – , American director, stage & silent film actor (born 1857)
Frank Currier
June 22 – , American silent film actor (born 1882)
George Siegmann
June 24 – , American stage & silent film actor (born 1872)
Holbrook Blinn
July 20 – , American film director (born 1872)
Scott Sidney
Ellen Terry
August 10 – , American actor (born 1896)
Rex Cherryman
August 17 – , American film director (born 1887)
Frank Urson
August 26 – , British-born film director (born 1859)
Colin Campbell
October 8 – , American film comedian (born 1889)
Larry Semon
November 10 – , German film actress (born 1899)
Anita Berber
November 19 – , French stage and film actress (born 1864)
Jeanne Bérangère
December 14 – , American film actor (born 1861)
Theodore Roberts
December 25 – , American film actor (born 1890)