1914 in film

The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.[1]

List of years in film
In music
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
+...

Events

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top eight 1914 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1914
RankTitleStudioGross
1The SpoilersGeneral$1,000,000[13]
2Dough and DynamiteParamount$130,000[14]
3The Virginian$111,518[14]
4Rose of the Rancho$87,028[14]
5The Man from Home$62,091[14]
6What's His Name$61,560[14]
7The Call of the North$52,284[14]
8The Ghost Breaker$50,136[14]

Selected films with 1914 release dates

Other films released in 1914

  • Absinthe (Imp/ Universal) written and directed by Herbert Brenon, starring King Baggot and Leah Baird; filmed in Paris, France; re-released in 1916.[28]
  • Across the Pacific, written and directed by Edwin Carewe (based on the play by Charles E. Blaney), starring Dorothy Dalton and Sam Hines.[29]
  • Alice in Wonderland (Maienthau Prods.) based on the novel by Lewis Carroll. A 16mm. reduction positive print still exists.[30]
  • Alone With the Devil aka Ekspressens Mysterium (Denmark/ Nordisk) directed by Hjalmar Davidsen, starring Cristel Holch, Carl Lauritzen and Valdemar Psilander [31]
  • Bancho Sarayashika (Japanese/ Nikkatsu) ghost story directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe, based on a 19th-century Kabuki play by Segawa Joko III.[32]
  • The Basilisk (British/ Hepworth) written and directed by Cecil B. Hepworth, starring William Felton and Alma Taylor; yet another adaptation of George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby; prints were tinted green for theatrical release.[33]
  • Batty Bill and the Suicide Club (French/ Gaston Melies) one of ten "Batty Bill" short comedies released in 1914.[32]
  • The Bells (British/ Gaumont) starring H. B. Irving, Frank Keenan and Joseph Dowling, based on the Erckmann-Chatrian novel Le Juif Polonaise; some sources claim this film was announced but never actually made.[33][34]
  • The Bells (U.S./ Sawyer's Features) yet another (lost) adaptation of the Erckmann-Chatrian novel Le Juif Polonaise [33]
  • Botan Doro/ translation: The Peony Lantern (Japanese/ Nikkatsu Kyoto) one of the earliest Japanese horror films, directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe; based on a 1892 Kabuki play called Kaidan Botan Doro.[34]
  • By the Sun's Rays (Universal) starring Lon Chaney, Agnes Vernon and Murdock MacQuarrie; Chaney's earliest existing film.[35]
  • A Christmas Carol (British) written and directed by Harold Shaw, starring Charles Rock and George Bellamy; based on the Charles Dickens novel.[36]
  • The Chimes (British/ Hepworth) written and directed by Thomas Bentley, produced by Cecil Hepworth, starring Warwick Buckland and Stewart Rome, based on the story by Charles Dickens.[34]
  • The Chimes (U.S. Amusement Corp.) another adaptation of the Charles Dickens story; written and directed by Herbert Blache, starring Tom Terriss and Faye Cusick.[34]
  • The Crimson Moth (Biograph) directed by Travis Vale, starring Jack Drumier and Louise Vale (who died of the Spanish Flu in 1918).[36][34]
  • The Crown of Richard III (French/Pathe) remade in U.S. in 1939 as Tower of London[37]
  • Curse of the Scarabee Ruby (Gaumont/Eclipse/Urban) a French-British co-production inspired by both of the novels The Moonstone and Trilby, produced by Charles Urban.[37]
  • A Deal with the Devil aka Den Mystiske Fremmede (Denmark/ Nordisk) directed by Holger-Madsen, starring Olaf Fonss, Ebba Thomsen and Alf Blutecher; storyline was based on Faust.[37]
  • The Diamond of Disaster (Thanhouser Films) directed by Carroll Fleming, written by Fleming's brother Phil Lonergan, starring J. S. Murray and Ernest Warde[36][38]
  • Discord and Harmony (Gold Seal/ Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie[39]
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Done to a Frazzle (Crystal-Superba/ Warners) satire of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella, starring Charles De Forrest[36][38]
  • Doctor Polly (Vitagraph) A haunted house comedy directed by Wilfred North and Wally Van, starring Lillian Walker, Josie Sadler and Wally Van.[38]
  • The Dream Woman (Blache Prods.) written and directed by Alice Guy-Blache, starring Fraunie Fraunholz and Claire Whitney; based on the 1859 Wilkie Collins novel, The Woman in White[38]
  • The Embezzler (Gold Seal/ Universal) directed by Allan Dawan, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie[40]
  • The End of the Feud (Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie.[41]
  • The Fakir's Spell (British/ Dreadnought Films) directed by Frank Newman, starring Idleton Newman; features a killer ape; some plot elements from this film turned up later in The Reptile (1965) and The Oblong Box (1969).[25][38]
  • The Forbidden Room, aka The Web of Circumstance (Bison/ Universal Pictures) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush and Lon Chaney; a lost film.[25][42]
  • The Forces of Evil, aka The Dominant Will (Eclair/ Leading Players) based on the George du Maurier novel Trilby.[43]
  • Fune Yurei, translation Ghost Ship (Japanese/ Nikkatsu) directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe [43]
  • The Ghost of the Mine (Eclair American) starring Robert Frazer and Edna Payne; filmed in Tucson, Arizona; an early horror-western hybrid.[43]
  • Ghosts (British/ Close Prods.) produced by Elwin Neame and (his wife) Ivy Close (who starred in the film).[44]
  • Guarding Britain's Secrets, aka The Fiends of Hell (British/ Walturdaw) directed by Charles Calvert, starring Douglas Payne and Dr. Nikola Hamilton (who also wrote the screenplay).[25][38]
  • Hands Invisible (Powers Films) written and directed by Edwin August, who also starred in it; similar in plot to the later Hands of Orlac (1920).[44]
  • Her Bounty (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush[45]
  • Her Escape (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush; Chaney plays a blind man in this film.[46]
  • Her Grave Mistake (Universal) starring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Agnes Vernon [47]
  • Her Life's Story (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush; based on a poem "The Cross" by Miriam Bade Rasmus.[48]
  • Hidden Death, aka La Mort qui Frole (French/ Gaumont Films) directed by Jean Durand [25]
  • The Higher Law (Universal) directed by Charles Giblyn, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush, a sequel to The Oubliette (1914).[49]
  • The Honor of the Mounted (Gold Seal/ Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush[50]
  • The Hopes of Blind Alley (Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush[47]
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles aka La Chien des Baskerville (French/ Pathe) another adaptation of the famous novel by Arthur Conan Doyle[20]
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles Parts 1 and 2 (German film); Part One was called "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and Part Two was called "The Solitary House"; directed by Rudolf Meinert for Vitascope, written by Richard Oswald, starring Alwin Neuss as Sherlock Holmes; later edited down into a single feature version; two concluding parts came out in 1915 (see 1915 for Parts 3 and 4)
  • The House of Fear (U.S./ Lubin) directed by Siegmund Lubin, starring Rosetta Brice; based on a story by Emmett C. Hall.[51]
  • The Hypnotic Violinist (Denmark/ Filmfabrikken) starring Emilie Sannom, Rasmus Ottesen and Soren Fjelstrup[51]
  • The Imp Abroad (Victor Films) produced and directed by Harry Rivier, starring Rupert Julian and Elsie Jane Wilson.[51]
  • The Invisible Power (Kalem) directed by George Melford, starring Paul Hurst and William H. West, yet another film adaptation of the George du Maurier novel Trilby.[51]
  • Jane Eyre (Imp/ Universal Pictures) directed by Frank Hall Crane, starring Ethel Grandin and Irving Cummings, based on the 1847 Charlotte Bronte novel.[26]
  • Jane Eyre (Whitman) directed by Martin Faust, starring Lisbeth Blackstone, John Charles and Mary Fry Clements[26]
  • Kaidan Asamagatake, aka The Ghost Story of Mount Asamagatake (Japanese/ Nikkatsu) directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe.[26]
  • The Lamb, the Woman, the Wolf (Bison/ Universal) written and directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush[52]
  • The Lie (Gold Seal/ Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney and Murdock MacQuarrie[53]
  • Lights and Shadows (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush.[54]
  • The Lion, the Lamb, the Man (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Millard K. Wilson[54]
  • The Menace to Carlotta (Rex/ Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, written by Lon Chaney, starring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush.[39]
  • A Miner's Romance (Universal) starring Lon Chaney and Murdock MacQuarrie[45]
  • The Miser's Conversion (Thanhouser) starring Sydney Bracy; features man-into-ape transformation.[55]
  • Murders in the Rue Morgue (Rosenberg Films) based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe[56]
  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood, co-directed by Herbert Blache and Tom Terriss, starring Tom Terriss and Rodney Hickok; based on the 1870 Charles Dickens novel; film was remade again in 1935 by Universal Pictures.[57]
  • The Mystery of Grayson Hall (Eclair Films) starring Lindsay J. Hall and Fred Hearn[56]
  • Naidra, the Dream Worker (Edison Prods.) features a cursed mummy's necklace.[56]
  • The Necklace of Rameses (Thomas Edison Prods.) directed by Charles Brabin, starring William Bechtel and Gertrude Braun.[57]
  • A Night of Thrills (Universal/ Rex) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush; a haunted house comedy.[56][58]
  • Okazaki no neko, translation: The Ghost-Cat of Okazaki (Nikkatsu) directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe; based on an 1827 kabuki play which in turn was based on an 1820s Japanese novel called Shank's Mare.[59]
  • The Old Cobbler (Universal) directed by Murdock MacQuarrie (who also starred in the film), also starring Lon Chaney and Agnes Vernon[60]
  • The Oubliette (Universal) medieval adventure film directed by Charles Giblyn, starring Lon Chaney and Murdock MacQuarrie; film still exists.[61]
  • Out of the Far East (Imp/ Universal Pictures) directed by Frank H. Crane, starring Stuart Paton and Leah Baird; re-released in 1917 as Eyes in the Dark.[59]
  • The Phantom Light (Bison Films) directed by Henry McRae, starring William Clifford and Marie Walcamp[62]
  • The Phantom Violin (Universal Pictures) directed by Francis Ford (who also starred in the film), starring Grace Cunard (who also wrote the screenplay) and Harry Schumm.[62]
  • The Quest for the Sacred Jewel (U.S.-French co-production/ Pathe) directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Charles Arling and Edna Mayo; another adaptation of the 1868 Wilkie Collins novel, The Moonstone.[62]
  • A Ranch Romance (Nestor/ Universal) starring Murdock MacQuarrie, Lon Chaney and Agnes Vernon
  • Remember Mary Magdalen (Victor/ Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush[50]
  • Richelieu (Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush.[49]
  • Ruslan i Ljudmila (Russian) directed by Ladislav Starevich, starring Ivan Mosjoukine as Satan; based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin.[63]
  • Ein Seltsamer Fall (translation: A Strange Case) (Germany/ Vitascope) directed by Max Mack, written by Richard Oswald, starring Alwin Neuss and Hanni Weiss; an unofficial film adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; existing prints run about 30 minutes instead of the original's 50-minute length.[25]
  • A Small Town Girl (Universal) directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Rupert Julian; film was released in November, 1914, although some sources say 1915.[48]
  • The Spiritist, aka The Spiritualist (Denmark/ Nordisk) directed by Holger Madsen, starring Marie Dinesen and Vibeke Kroyer[64]
  • The Strange Case of Princess Khan, produced by William G. Selig, directed by Edward J. LeSaint, starring Stella Razeto[64]
  • A Study in Scarlet (British) directed by George Pearson, based on the famous Arthur Conan Doyle novel, starring James Bragington as Sherlock Holmes
  • A Study in Scarlet (U.S.) directed by Francis Ford for Universal Pictures, based on the famous Arthur Conan Doyle novel, starring Francis Ford as Sherlock Holmes and Jack Francis as Watson
  • The Suicide Club (British/ Apex Films) produced by Maurice Elvey, starring Elizabeth Risdon and Montagu Love; based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, which was remade in 1936 as Trouble for Two.[63]
  • Svengali (Austrian/ Wiener Kunstfilm) directed by Luise Kolm and Jakob Fleck, starring Ferdinand Bonn; based on the novel Trilby by George du Maurier.[63]
  • The Temptations of Satan (U.S. Amusement) directed by Herbert Blache, starring Vinnie Burns, Fraunie Fraunholz and James O'Neill as Satan.[63]
  • The Tragedy of Whispering Creek (Bison/ Universal) written and directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaneyand Pauline Bush [41]
  • Trilby (British) produced by Harold Shaw, starring Herbert Tree and Viva Birkett; based on George du Maurier's novel of the same name.[63]
  • The Unlawful Trade (Rex/Universal) written and directed by Allan Dwan, starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie [65]
  • The Vampire (Eclair Films) plot features a large vampire bat.[66]
  • Vendetta (French/ Eclipse) directed by Louis Mereanton, starring Regina Badet; based on the novel of the same name by Marie Corelli.[66]
  • The Vij (Russian) written and directed by Ladislas Starevitch, starring Ivan Mosjoukine and Olga Obolenskaya; based on the story by Gogol; remade later as Black Sunday (1960).[66]
  • Virtue Is Its Own Reward, aka Virtue Its Own Reward (Universal) directed by Joseph De Grasse, starring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush[67]
  • The White Spectre (General Films)[66]
  • The White Wolf (Nestor Films/ Universal) plot involves a werewolf transformation.[66]
  • Woman of Mystery (Blache Prods.) written and directed by Alice Guy-Blache; starring Vinnie Burns, Claire Whitney and Fraunie Fraunholz; plot involves split personalities and spirit control.[66]
  • Yoshiwara kaidan: Teburi bozu (Japanese/ Nikkatsu) directed by Shozo Makino, starring Matsunosuke Onoe; another adaptation of the 1825 Japanese kabuki play, Yotsuya kaidan.[68]

Short film series

Births

Deaths

Film debuts

References