Editing 1921 in film

{{Short description|List of events of 1921 in cinema}}
{{About|films in the year 1921|the Indian film about the Mappila Uprising|1921 (1988 film){{!}}''1921'' (1988 film)|the Indian horror film|1921 (2018 film){{!}}''1921'' (2018 film)|the Chinese film about the Chinese Communist Party|1921 (2021 film){{!}}''1921'' (2021 film)}}
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{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Year topic navigation|1921|film|music|radio}}
{{Yearsinfilm}}
This is an overview of '''1921 in film''', including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

==Top-grossing films (U.S.)==
The top nine films released in 1921 by U.S. gross are as follows:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; margin:auto;"
|+Highest-grossing films of 1921
|-
! Rank!! Title !! Distributor !! Domestic rentals
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1
|''{{sort|four|[[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921 film)|The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]}}''
|[[Metro Pictures|Metro]]
| $4,500,000<ref name="quig">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/international193738quig#page/942/mode/2up|publisher=[[Quigley Publishing Company]]|title=The All Time Best Sellers|work=[[International Motion Picture Almanac]] 1937–38 |page=942|access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 2
| ''{{sort|kid|[[The Kid (1921 film)|The Kid]]}}''
|[[First National Pictures|First National]]
| $2,500,000<ref name="quig"/>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 3/4
(tie)
| ''{{sort|three|[[The Three Musketeers (1921 film)|The Three Musketeers]]}}''<br>''{{sort|sheik|[[The Sheik (film)|The Sheik]]}}''
| [[United Artists]]<br>[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]
| $1,500,000<ref name="quig"/>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 5
|''[[The Affairs of Anatol]]''
|rowspan="3"|Paramount
| $1,191,789<ref name=birchard>{{cite book|last=Birchard|first=Robert S. |title=Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood|year=2004|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-813-12324-0|page=120}}</ref>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 6
|''[[Fool's Paradise (1921 film)|Fool's Paradise]]''
| $906,937<ref name=birchard/>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 7
|''[[Forbidden Fruit (1921 film)|Forbidden Fruit]]''
| $848,121<ref name=birchard/>
|-
! style="text-align:center;" | 8
| ''[[School Days (1921 film)|School Days]]''
|rowspan="2"|[[Warner Bros.]]
| $546,000<ref name="warners">Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p. 1 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551</ref>
|-
! style="text-align:center;" | 9
| ''[[Why Girls Leave Home (1921 film)|Why Girls Leave Home]]''
| $410,000<ref name="warners" />
|}

==Events==
*January 21 – The [[Silent film|silent]] [[comedy drama]] ''[[The Kid (1921 film)|The Kid]]'', written by, produced by, directed by and starring [[Charlie Chaplin]] (in his [[The Tramp|Tramp]] character) – his first full-length film as a director – and featuring [[Jackie Coogan]], is released in the United States. It is the year's second-highest-grossing film.
*March 6 – The silent [[Epic film|epic]] [[war film]] ''[[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'', adapted for the screen by [[June Mathis]], is released in the United States. It is the year's highest-grossing film (and the sixth-best-grossing silent film of all time), propels [[Rudolph Valentino]] to stardom and inspires a [[tango]] craze and a fashion for [[gaucho]] pants.
*July 1 – The silent crime [[docudrama]] ''[[Yan Ruisheng]]'' is the first full-length feature film made in China to be released; although commercially successful it is banned within 2 years and believed lost.<ref>{{cite book|jstor=j.ctt22727c7.11|chapter=Toward the Opposite Side of 'Vulgarity'|last=Sugawara|first=Yoshino|title=Early Film Culture in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Republican China|year=2018|publisher=University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor|doi=10.2307/j.ctt22727c7.11|isbn=978-0-472-07372-6|page=180}}</ref>
*August 29 – Broadway's first $1 million theatre, [[Loew's State Theatre (New York City)|Loew's State]] opens.
*September 5 – Popular comedian [[Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]] attends a party at the [[St. Francis Hotel]], San Francisco, during which actress [[Virginia Rappe]] is fatally injured; although he is eventually acquitted of rape and manslaughter, the scandal derails his career.
*October 21 – [[George Melford]]'s silent film ''[[The Sheik (film)|The Sheik]]'', which enhances leading actor [[Rudolph Valentino]]'s international reputation as a [[Latin lover (stereotype)|Latin lover]], is premiered in Los Angeles. Within the first year of its release, it exceeds $1 million in ticket sales.
*October 26 – The [[Chicago Theatre]], which will be the oldest surviving French-style [[Baroque Revival architecture|Baroque Revival]] grand movie palace, opens.
*The [[Experimental film|experimental]] short [[documentary film]] ''[[Manhatta]]'' is shot by painter [[Charles Sheeler]] and photographer [[Paul Strand]] in New York City.

==Notable films released in 1921==
[[List of American films of 1921|United States]] unless stated.

===A===
*''[[The Ace of Hearts (1921 film)|The Ace of Hearts]]'', directed by [[Wallace Worsley]], starring [[Lon Chaney, Sr.|Lon Chaney]] and [[Leatrice Joy]]
*''[[Action (1921 film)|Action]]'' (lost), directed by [[John Ford]], starring [[Hoot Gibson]]
*''[[The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick]]'' (lost), directed by [[Thomas Bentley (director)|Thomas Bentley]], starring [[Frederick Volpe]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[The Adventures of Tarzan]]'', 15-part serial directed by [[Robert F. Hill]] and [[Scott Sidney]], starring [[Elmo Lincoln]]
*''[[The Affairs of Anatol]]'', directed by [[Cecil B. DeMille]], starring [[Wallace Reid]] and [[Gloria Swanson]]
*''[[After Midnight (1921 film)|After Midnight]]'', directed by [[Ralph Ince]]
*''[[After Your Own Heart]]'', directed by [[George Marshall (filmmaker)|George Marshall]], starring [[Tom Mix]]
*''[[All Soul's Eve]]'' (lost), directed by [[Chester M. Franklin]], starring [[Mary Miles Minter]] and [[Jack Holt (actor)|Jack Holt]], based on the 1920 stage play by [[Anne Crawford Flexner]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 232">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref>
*''[[Among Those Present]]'', directed by [[Fred C. Newmeyer]], starring [[Harold Lloyd]]
*''[[L'Atlantide (1921 film)|L'Atlantide]]'', directed by [[Jacques Feyder]], based on the 1919 [[Atlantida (novel)|novel]] by [[Pierre Benoit (novelist)|Pierre Benoit]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 241">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref> – ([[List of French films of 1921|France]])

===B===
*''[[Die Bergkatze]] (The Wild Cat)'', directed by [[Ernst Lubitsch]], starring [[Pola Negri]] and [[Paul Heidemann]] – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
*''[[The Bigamist (1921 film)|The Bigamist]]'', starring and directed by [[Guy Newall]] with [[Ivy Duke]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[The Blot]]'', directed by [[Lois Weber]]
*''[[The Boat (1921 film)|The Boat]]'', directed by [[Edward F. Cline]] and Buster Keaton, starring [[Buster Keaton]]
*''[[The Bonnie Brier Bush]]'' (lost), starring and directed by [[Donald Crisp]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[Brewster's Millions (1921 film)|Brewster's Millions]]'' (lost), directed by [[Joseph Henabery]], starring [[Roscoe Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]]
*''[[Brownie's Little Venus]]'', directed by [[Fred Fishback]], starring [[Diana Serra Cary|Baby Peggy]]
*''[[Buried Treasure (1921 film)|Buried Treasure]]'', directed by [[George D. Baker]], starring [[Marion Davies]] and [[Norman Kerry]]

===C===
*''[[The Call of Youth]]'' (lost), directed by [[Hugh Ford (director)|Hugh Ford]]
*''[[Camille (1921 film)|Camille]]'', directed by Ray C. Smallwood, starring [[Alla Nazimova]] and [[Rudolph Valentino]]
*''[[The Case of Becky]]'', directed by [[Chester M. Franklin]], starring [[Constance Binney]], based on the 1912 stage play by [[David Belasco]] and [[Edward Locke]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 232"/>
*''[[A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921 film)|A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'' (lost), directed by [[Emmett J. Flynn]]
*''[[The Conquering Power]]'', directed by [[Rex Ingram (director)|Rex Ingram]], starring [[Rudolph Valentino]] and [[Alice Terry]]

===D===
*''[[Desire (1921 film)|Desire]] (Sehnsucht)'' (lost), directed by [[F. W. Murnau]], starring [[Conrad Veidt]] – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
*''[[Destiny (1921 film)|Destiny]] (Der müde Tod)'', directed by [[Fritz Lang]], starring [[Lil Dagover]] and [[Rudolf Klein-Rogge]] – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
* ''[[The Devil (1921 film)|The Devil]]'', directed by [[James Young (director)|James Young]], starring [[George Arliss]], based on the 1908 [[The Devil (Molnár play)|stage play]] by [[Ferenc Molnár]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 233">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref>
*''[[Disraeli (1921 film)|Disraeli]]'' (lost), directed by [[Henry Kolker]], starring [[George Arliss]]
*''[[The Dollar-a-Year Man]]'' (lost), directed by [[James Cruze]], starring [[Roscoe Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]]<ref name="Kinnard124">Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-7864-0036-6}}. Page 124.</ref>

===E===
*''El Capullo Marchito'', directed by [[José Nepomuceno]] – ([[List of Philippine films before 1940|Philippines]])
*''[[El Dorado (1921 film)|El Dorado]]'', directed by [[Marcel L'Herbier]] – ([[French films of 1921|France]])
*''[[Enchantment (1921 film)|Enchantment]]'', directed by [[Robert G. Vignola]], starring [[Marion Davies]]
*''[[Experience (1921 film)|Experience]]'' (lost), directed by [[George Fitzmaurice]], starring [[Richard Barthelmess]]

===F===
*''[[The Fire Eater]]'', directed by [[B. Reeves Eason]], starring [[Hoot Gibson]]
*''[[Fool's Paradise (1921 film)|Fool's Paradise]]'', directed by [[Cecil B. DeMille]], starring [[Conrad Nagel]] and [[Mildred Harris]]
*''[[Forever (1921 film)|Forever]]'' (lost), directed by [[George Fitzmaurice]], starring [[Elsie Ferguson]] and [[Wallace Reid]]
*''[[The Four Feathers (1921 film)|The Four Feathers]]'', directed by [[René Plaissetty]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'', directed by [[Rex Ingram (director)|Rex Ingram]], starring [[Rudolph Valentino]]

===G===
*''[[The Goat (1921 film)|The Goat]]'', directed by [[Malcolm St. Clair (filmmaker)|Mal St. Clair]] and Buster Keaton, starring [[Buster Keaton]]
*''[[The Ghost in the Garret]]'' (lost), directed by [[F. Richard Jones]], starring [[Dorothy Gish]]
*''Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod)'', directed by [[Heinz Hanus]], based on the 1884 short story ''Der Pate des Todes'' by [[Rudolf Baumbach]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 233"/> – ([[List of Austrian films of the 1920s|Austria]])
* ''[[Das grinsende Gesicht]]'' ({{Translation|The Grinning Face}}), directed by [[Julius Herska]], based on the 1869 novel ''[[The Man Who Laughs]]'' by [[Victor Hugo]] – ([[List of Austrian films of the 1920s|Austria]])
*''[[The Gunsaulus Mystery]]'' (lost), written and directed by [[Oscar Micheaux]]

===H===
*''[[Hail the Woman]]'', directed by [[John Griffith Wray]], starring [[Florence Vidor]]
*''[[The Haunted Castle (1921 film)|The Haunted Castle]] (Schloß Vogelöd)'', directed by [[F. W. Murnau]], based on the novel by Rudolf Stratz – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
*''[[The Haunted House (1921 film)|The Haunted House]]'', directed by [[Edward F. Cline]] and Buster Keaton, starring [[Buster Keaton]]
*''[[The High Sign]]'', directed by [[Edward F. Cline]] and Buster Keaton, starring [[Buster Keaton]]
*''[[His Brother's Keeper (1921 film)|His Brother's Keeper]]'' (lost), directed by [[Wilfrid North]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 237">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref>
*''[[L'Homme qui vendit son âme au diable]] (The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil)'', directed by [[Pierre Caron (director)|Pierre Caron]] – ([[List of French films of 1921|France]])
*''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1921 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'', directed by [[Maurice Elvey]], starring [[Eille Norwood]]<ref>Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-7864-0036-6}}. Page 125.</ref><ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 237"/> – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[Humor Risk]]'' (unreleased), directed by [[Richard Smith (silent film director)|Dick Smith]], starring the [[Marx Brothers]]

===I===
*''[[The Idle Class]]'', a [[Charles Chaplin]] short
*''[[The Indian Tomb (1921 film)|The Indian Tomb]] (Das Indische Grabmal)'', directed by [[Joe May]], starring [[Conrad Veidt]] – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
*''[[The Island of the Lost]] (Die Insel der Verschollenen)'', directed by [[Urban Gad]], based on the 1896 novel ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]] without authorization<ref>Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref> – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])

===J===
*''[[Jane Eyre (1921 film)|Jane Eyre]]'', directed by [[Hugo Ballin]], starring [[Norman Trevor]] and [[Mabel Ballin]], based on the 1847 [[Jane Eyre|novel]] by [[Charlotte Brontë]]
*''[[Jánošík (1921 film)|Jánošík]]'', directed by Jaroslav Jerry Siakeľ – ([[List of Slovak films|Czechoslovakia]])
*''[[Jim the Penman (1921 film)|Jim the Penman]]'', directed by [[Kenneth Webb (director)|Kenneth Webb]], starring [[Lionel Barrymore]]
*''[[Journey into the Night]] (Der Gang in die Nacht)'', directed by [[F. W. Murnau]] – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])

===K===
*''[[The Kid (1921 film)|The Kid]]'', a [[Charlie Chaplin]] film, with [[Jackie Coogan]]
*''[[Kipps (1921 film)|Kipps]]'', directed by [[Harold M. Shaw]], starring [[George K. Arthur]], based on the 1905 [[Kipps|novel]] by [[H. G. Wells]]

===L===
*''[[Land of My Fathers (film)|Land of My Fathers]]'' directed by [[Fred Rains]], starring [[John Stuart (actor)|John Stuart]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[Leaves from Satan's Book]] (Blade af Satans Bog)'', directed by [[Carl Theodor Dreyer]] – ([[List of Danish films of the 1920s|Denmark]])
*''[[Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921 film)|Little Lord Fauntleroy]]'', directed by [[Alfred E. Green]] and [[Jack Pickford]], starring [[Mary Pickford]]
*''[[The Lost Shadow]] (Der Verlorene Schatten)'' (lost), directed by [[Rochus Gliese]], starring [[Paul Wegener]]<ref name="Kinnard126">Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-7864-0036-6}}. Page 126.</ref> – ([[List of German films 1919-1933|Germany]])
*''[[The Lotus Eater (1921 film)|The Lotus Eater]]'' (lost), directed by [[Marshall Neilan]], starring [[John Barrymore]] and [[Colleen Moore]]
*''[[The Love Light]]'', directed by [[Frances Marion]], starring [[Mary Pickford]]
* ''[[Lucky Carson]]'' (lost), directed by [[Wilfrid North]], starring [[Earle Williams]]
*''[[The Lucky Dog]]'', directed by [[Jess Robbins]], starring [[Stan Laurel]] and [[Oliver Hardy]]

===M===
*''[[Mathias Sandorf (1921 film)|Mathias Sandorf]]'', directed by [[Henri Fescourt]], starring [[Romuald Joubé]] – ([[French films of 1921|France]])
*''[[The Mechanical Man (film)|The Mechanical Man]] (L'uomo meccanico)'' (lost), starring and directed by [[André Deed]] – ([[Italian films of 1921|Italy]])
*''[[A Message from Mars (1921 film)|A Message From Mars]]'', directed by [[Maxwell Karger]], starring [[Bert Lytell]]
*''[[A Midnight Bell]]'' (lost), starring and directed by [[Charles Ray (actor)|Charles Ray]], based on the 1889 [[A Midnight Bell (play)|stage play]] by [[Charles H. Hoyt]]<ref name="Kinnard126" /><ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 241"/>
*''[[Miss Lulu Bett (film)|Miss Lulu Bett]]'', directed by [[William C. deMille]], starring [[Lois Wilson (actress)|Lois Wilson]] and [[Milton Sills]]
*''[[Il mostro di Frankenstein]] (The Monster of Frankenstein)'' (lost), directed by [[Eugenio Testa]]<ref>Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 118.</ref> – ([[Italian films of 1921|Italy]])

===N===
*''[[Never Weaken]]'', directed by [[Fred C. Newmeyer]] and [[Sam Taylor (director)|Sam Taylor]], starring [[Harold Lloyd]]
*''[[The Nut (1921 film)|The Nut]]'', directed by [[Theodore Reed]], starring [[Douglas Fairbanks]] and [[Marguerite De La Motte]]

===O===
*''[[The Offenders (1921 film)|The Offenders]]'' (lost), directed by [[Fenwicke Holmes]]
*''[[Orphans of the Storm]]'', directed by [[D. W. Griffith]], starring [[Lillian Gish]] and [[Dorothy Gish]]
*''[[The Other Person]] (Onder spiritistischen dwang)'', directed by [[Maurits Binger]] and [[B. E. Doxat-Pratt]], based on the 1920 novel by [[Fergus Hume]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 242">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref> – ([[List of Dutch films of the 1920s|Netherlands]]/[[British films of 1921|GB]])

===P===
*''[[The Painting of Osvaldo Mars]] (Il quadro di Osvaldo Mars)'', directed by [[Guido Brignone]], starring [[Mercedes Brignone]] – ([[Italian films of 1921|Italy]])
*''[[Pan Twardowski (1921 film)|Pan Twardowski]]'', directed by [[Wiktor Biegański]]<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 242"/> – ([[List of Polish films before 1930|Poland]])
*''[[The Passion Flower]]'', directed by [[Herbert Brenon]], starring [[Norma Talmadge]]
*''[[Peck's Bad Boy (1921 film)|Peck's Bad Boy]]'', directed by [[Sam Wood]], starring [[Jackie Coogan]]
*''[[The Phantom Carriage]]'' (aka ''Korkarlen''/ ''The Wagoner''), directed by Victor Sjostrom, starring Sjostrom, Hilda Borgstrom and Tore Svennberg, based on the 1912 novel ''[[Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!]]'' by Selma Lagerlof; this film influenced the later works of Ingmar Bergman<ref name="Workman, Christopher 2016 p. 229">Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref> – ([[Swedish films before 1930|Sweden]])
*''[[The Playhouse (film)|The Playhouse]]'', directed by [[Edward F. Cline]] and Buster Keaton, starring [[Buster Keaton]]

===Q===
*''[[The Queen of Sheba (1921 film)|The Queen of Sheba]]'' (lost), directed by [[J. Gordon Edwards (director)|J. Gordon Edwards]], starring [[Betty Blythe]]

===S===
*''[[A Sailor-Made Man]]'', directed by [[Fred C. Newmeyer]], starring [[Harold Lloyd]]
*''[[School Days (1921 film)|School Days]]'', directed by [[William Nigh]], starring [[Wesley Barry]]
*''[[Sentimental Tommy (1921 film)|Sentimental Tommy]]'' (lost), directed by [[John S. Robertson]], starring [[Gareth Hughes]]
*''[[Seven Years Bad Luck]]'', a [[Max Linder]] film
*''[[The Sheik (film)|The Sheik]]'', directed by [[George Melford]], starring [[Agnes Ayres]] and [[Rudolph Valentino]]
*''[[The Silver Lining (1921 film)|The Silver Lining]]'', directed by [[Roland West]], starring [[Jewel Carmen]]
*''[[The Sky Pilot]]'', directed by [[King Vidor]], starring [[Colleen Moore]]
*''Soul of the Cypress'', directed by [[Dudley Murphy]]<ref>Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref>
*''[[Squibs (1921 film)|Squibs]]'', directed by [[George Pearson (filmmaker)|George Pearson]], starring [[Betty Balfour]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])
*''[[Sybil (1921 film)|Sybil]]'' (lost), directed by [[Jack Denton]], starring [[Evelyn Brent]] – ([[British films of 1921|GB]])

===T===
*''[[The Three Musketeers (1921 film)|The Three Musketeers]]'', directed by [[Fred Niblo]], starring [[Douglas Fairbanks]]
*''[[Through the Back Door]]'', directed by [[Alfred E. Green]] and [[Jack Pickford]], starring [[Mary Pickford]]
*''[[Tol'able David]]'', directed by [[Henry King (director)|Henry King]], starring [[Richard Barthelmess]]
*''[[Les Trois Mousquetaires]] (The Three Musketeers)'', directed by [[Henri Diamant-Berger]] – ([[List of French films of 1921|France]])

===W===
*''[[Whispering Shadows]]'', directed by [[Émile Chautard]]
*''[[White and Unmarried]]'' (lost), directed by [[Tom Forman (actor)|Tom Forman]], starring [[Thomas Meighan]]
*''[[Why Girls Leave Home (1921 film)|Why Girls Leave Home]]'' (lost), directed by [[William Nigh]], starring [[Anna Q. Nilsson]]
*''[[The Witching Hour (1921 film)|The Witching Hour]]'', directed by [[William Desmond Taylor]], starring [[Elliott Dexter]], adapted from the 1907 stage play by [[Augustus Thomas]]<ref name="Kinnard128">Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-7864-0036-6}}. Page 128.</ref><ref>Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.</ref>
*''[[Woman's Place]]'', directed by [[Victor Fleming]], starring [[Constance Talmadge]]
*''[[The Wonderful Thing]]'', directed by [[Herbert Brenon]], starring [[Norma Talmadge]] and [[Harrison Ford (silent film actor)|Harrison Ford]]

==Comedy film series==
*''[[Harold Lloyd]]'' (1913–1938)
*''[[Charlie Chaplin]]'' (1914–1940)
*''[[Lupino Lane]]'' (1915–1939)
*''[[Buster Keaton]]'' (1917–1944)
*''[[Laurel and Hardy]]'' ('''1921'''–1945)

==Animated short film series==
*''[[Aesop's Film Fables]]'' ('''1921'''–1934)
*''[[Felix the Cat]]'' (1919–1936)
*''[[Koko the Clown]]'' (1919–1963)

==Births==
*January 3 – [[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]], actor (died 1991)
*January 10 - [[George Robotham]], American stuntman and actor (died 2007)
*January 11 - [[Kathleen Byron]], English actress (died 2009)
*January 17 - [[Herb Ellis (actor)|Herb Ellis]], American character actor (died 2018)
*January 26 – [[Elisabeth Kirkby]], British-born Australian actress, producer and director
*January 27 – [[Donna Reed]], actress (died 1986)
*January 31 
**[[Carol Channing]], musical actress (died 2019)
**[[Mario Lanza]], singer and actor (died 1959)
*February 1 – [[Peter Sallis]], actor (died 2017)
*February 8 – [[Lana Turner]], actress (died 1995)
*February 16 – [[Vera-Ellen]], actress, dancer (died 1981)
*February 19 – [[Ann Savage]], actress (died [[2008 in film|2008]])
*February 22 – [[Giulietta Masina]], actress (died 1994)
*February 23 - Jack Rader, American actor
*February 24 – [[Abe Vigoda]], actor (died 2016)
*February 26 – [[Betty Hutton]], actress (died 2007)
*March 1 - [[Jack Clayton]], British director and producer (died 1995)
*March 3 – [[Diana Barrymore]], actress (died 1960)
*March 4 – [[Joan Greenwood]], actress (died 1987)
*March 5 - [[Jo de Winter]], American actress (died 2016)
*March 8 – [[Alan Hale Jr.]], actor, restaurateur (died [[1990 in film|1990]])
*March 10 – [[Charlotte Zucker]], actress, mother of [[Jerry Zucker]] and [[David Zucker (director)|David Zucker]] (died 2007)
*March 12 – [[Gordon MacRae]], actor, singer (died 1986)
*March 21 - [[Logan Ramsey]], American character actor (died 2000)
*March 23 – [[Geoffrey Chater]], English actor (died 2021)
*March 25 
**[[Nancy Kelly]], American actress (died 1995)
**[[Simone Signoret]], French actress (died 1985)
*March 26 – [[Julie Harris (costume designer)|Julie Harris]], English costume designer (died 2015)
*March 28 – [[Dirk Bogarde]], English actor (died 1999)
*April 1 – [[Arieh Elias]], Israeli actor (died 2015)
*April 3 – [[Jan Sterling]], American actress (died 2004)
*April 4 - [[Elizabeth Wilson]], American actress (died 2015)
*April 7 – [[Bill Butler (cinematographer)|Bill Butler]], American cinematographer (died 2023)
*April 10 – [[Chuck Connors]], American actor (died 1992)
*April 16 – [[Peter Ustinov]], British actor (died 2004)
*April 23
**[[Janet Blair]], American actress (died 2007)
**[[Gerald Campion]], English actor (died 2002)
*April 29 – [[Tommy Noonan]], American actor, screenwriter, producer (died [[1968 in film|1968]])
*May 2 – [[Satyajit Ray]], Indian filmmaker (died 1992)
*May 16 - [[Harry Carey Jr.]], American actor (died 2012)
*May 23
**[[Grigori Chukhrai]], Ukrainian film director (died 2001)
**[[Ray Lawler]], Australian actor (died 2024)
*May 29 - [[Elizabeth Kelly]], British retired actress
*May 30 - [[Jamie Uys]], South African film director (died 1996)
*May 31 – [[Alida Valli]], actress (died 2006)
*June 8
**[[Sheila Ryan]], actress (died [[1975 in film|1975]])
**[[Alexis Smith]], actress (died 1993)
*June 18 – [[Wesley Lau]], actor (died 1984)
*June 19 – [[Louis Jourdan]], actor (died 2015)
*June 21 
**[[Judy Holliday]], born Judith Tuvim, actress (died 1965)
**[[Jane Russell]], actress (died 2011)
*July 2 - [[Maria Britneva]], Russian-British actress (died 1994)
*July 3 – [[Susan Peters]], actress (died 1952)
*July 5 – [[Patricia Wright (actress)|Patricia Wright]], American former actress
*July 6
**[[Nancy Reagan]], born Anne Robbins, actress and [[First Lady of the United States]] (died 2016)
**[[Bill Shirley]], American actor and singer (died 1989)
*July 10 – [[Jeff Donnell]], American actress (died [[1988 in film|1988]])
*July 17 – [[František Zvarík]], Slovakian actor (died 2008)
*July 21 - [[Al Checco]], American actor (died 2015)
*July 23 – [[Robert Brown (British actor)|Robert Brown]], actor (died 2003)
*August 3 – [[Marilyn Maxwell]], actress (died 1972)
*August 8 – [[Esther Williams]], actress, swimmer (died 2013)
*August 11 - [[Tad Horino]], American actor (died 2002)
*August 19
**Pasquale Cajano, Italian-American actor (died 2000)
**[[Gene Roddenberry]], screenwriter and producer (died 1991)
*August 28 – [[Nancy Kulp]], actress, comedienne (died 1991)
*September 8 – [[Harry Secombe]], actor, singer (died 2001)
*September 27 – [[Miklós Jancsó]], Hungarian director (died 2014)
*September 30 – [[Deborah Kerr]], actress (died 2007)
*October 1 - [[James Whitmore]], American actor (died 2009)
*October 5 - [[Nikolay Dupak]], Soviet-Russian actor (died 2023)
*October 12 - [[Kenneth Griffith]], Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker (died 2006)
*October 13 – [[Yves Montand]], singer, actor (died 1991)
*November 3 – [[Charles Bronson]], actor (died 2003)
*November 5 – [[Mormarevi Brothers|Moritz Yomtov]], screenwriter (died 1992)
*November 8 – [[Walter Mirisch]], American film producer (died 2023)
*November 14 - [[Brian Keith]], American actor (died 1997)
*November 21 – [[Vivian Blaine]], actor, singer (died [[1995 in film|1995]])
*November 22 – [[Rodney Dangerfield]], actor, comedian (died 2004)
*November 23 – [[Fred Buscaglione]], Italian actor and singer (died 1960)
*December 1 - [[Sylvia Kauders]], American actress (died 2016)
*December 4 – [[Deanna Durbin]], actress (died 2013)
*December 11 - [[Liz Smith (actress)|Liz Smith]], English character actress (died 2016)
*December 15 - [[Nikolai Lebedev (actor)|Nikolai Lebedev]], Soviet-Russian actor (died 2022)
*December 24 - [[Mickey Knox]], American actor (died 2013)
*December 26
**[[Steve Allen]], actor, composer, comedian, author (died 2000)
**[[Sean Sullivan (actor)|Sean Sullivan]], Canadian actor (died 1985)

==Deaths==
* February 8 – [[George Formby Sr]], 45, British music hall entertainer who appeared in one film (pulmonary tuberculosis)<ref>
{{cite news|title=Mrs George Formby's Own Story|work=[[The Sunday Post]]|date=February 13, 1921|location=Dundee|page=16}}</ref>
* May 17 – [[Karl Mantzius]], 61, Danish actor, theatre director, writer
* June 5 – [[Georges Feydeau]], 58, French playwright, many of whose plays were adapted for the screen (syphilis)<ref>{{cite book|author=Manuel A. Esteban|title=Georges Feydeau|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5AnAAAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Twayne Publishers|isbn=978-0-8057-6551-9|pages=17–18}}</ref>
* June 11 - [[Frank R. Mills]], 50, American stage and screen actor
* June 20 – [[George Loane Tucker]], 49, American actor, screenwriter and director
* July 9 – Robert Broderick, 56, American stage and film actor
* September 9 – [[Virginia Rappe]], 30,<ref>Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915, Mabel Rapp in entry for Rapp, 07 Jul 1891; citing p.254 no.12677, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,287,737.</ref> American actress
* September 17 – [[Van Dyke Brooke]], 62, American actor, screenwriter and film director

==Film debuts==
*[[Richard Arlen]] – ''[[Ladies Must Live (1921 film)|Ladies Must Live]]''
*[[George Arliss]] – ''[[The Devil (1921 film)|The Devil]]''
*[[Mary Astor]] – ''Bullets or Ballots''
*[[George Bancroft (actor)|George Bancroft]] – ''[[The Journey's End (film)|The Journey's End]]''
*[[Leslie Banks]] – ''[[Experience (1921 film)|Experience]]''
*[[Anna-Lisa Baude]] – ''[[The Phantom Carriage]]''
*[[Helga Brofeldt]] – ''The Phantom Carriage''
*[[Julia Cæsar]] – ''The Phantom Carriage''
*[[Louis Calhern]] – ''[[What's Worth While?]]''
*[[Harry Carey Jr.]] – ''[[Desperate Trails (1921 film)|Desperate Trails]]''
*[[Billie Dove]] – ''[[Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1921 film)|Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford]]''
*[[Camilla Horn]] – ''Kean''
*[[Selmer Jackson]] – ''The Supreme Passion''
*[[Roger Livesey]] – ''[[The Four Feathers (1921 film)|The Four Feathers]]''
*[[Carole Lombard]] – ''[[A Perfect Crime (film)|A Perfect Crime]]'' 
*[[Fredric March]] – ''[[The Great Adventure (1921 film)|The Great Adventure]]''
*[[Patsy Ruth Miller]] – ''[[One a Minute]]''
*[[Mary Philbin]] – ''[[The Blazing Trail (1921 film)|The Blazing Trail]]'' 
*[[Basil Rathbone]] – ''[[Innocent (1921 film)|Innocent]]''
*[[Dorothy Revier]] – ''Life's Greatest Question''
*[[Frances Robinson (actress)|Frances Robinson]] – ''[[Orphans of the Storm]]''
*[[Athene Seyler]] – ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick]]''
*[[Lilyan Tashman]] – ''Experience''
*[[Fred Thomson]] – ''[[The Love Light]]''
*[[Coy Watson Jr.]] – ''While the Devil Laughs''

==See also==
*[[List of American films of 1921]]

{{Portal|1920s}}

{{commons category}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature,short&release_date=1921-01-01,1921-12-31&adult=include&sort=num_votes,desc List of 1921 films] at [[IMDb]]
*[https://www.imdb.com/search/name/?death_date=1921-01-01,1921-12-31&adult=include List of 1921 deaths] at [[IMDb]]
* [https://www.imdb.com/search/name/?birth_date=1921-01-01,1921-12-31&adult=include List of 1921 births] at [[IMDb]]

{{1921 films}}

[[Category:1921 in film| ]]
[[Category:Film by year]]