1910 in film
| List of years in film |
|---|
| Years in film |
|---|
| 19th century |
| 1870s |
The year 1910 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- March 10 – Release of In Old California, the first film made in Hollywood, California, directed by D. W. Griffith.[1]
- March 12 – American actress Florence Lawrence becomes "the first true movie star" after movie mogul Carl Laemmle of Independent Moving Pictures (I.M.P.) names her in advertisements announcing that he has signed the leading lady who has hitherto only been billed as "The Biograph Girl" by Biograph Studios. Until now, studios had a policy of not releasing the names of their players, and prohibiting distributors from revealing the information. Lawrence's first I.M.P. release is The Broken Oath.[2]
- March 18 – The first cinematic version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is released in the United States by Edison Studios. One of the first horror films, it features (unbilled) actor Charles Ogle as the monster.
- May 6 – Newsreel footage of the funeral of Edward VII in London is shot in Kinemacolor, making it the first color newsreel.
- July – The Johnson-Jeffries Fight footage causes race riots and is banned in the South of the US.
- August 2 – A Danish melodrama, The White Slave Trade (Den Hvide Slavehandel), marks the first time film is used to study prostitution.
- August – Kalem Studios director Sidney Olcott becomes the first American to make a motion picture outside of the United States, The Lad from Old Ireland (released November 23).
- Pathé News is formed in London, producing newsreels and documentaries in the UK until 1970.
- Marcus Loew partners with Adolph Zukor, Joseph Schenck and Nicholas Schenck renaming his theatre chain Loew's Consolidated Enterprises.
Films by country
Notable films
Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise
A
- The Abyss (Afgrunden), drama directed by Urban Gad, starring Asta Nielsen[3] – (Denmark)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, fantasy directed by Edwin S. Porter for the Edison Manufacturing Company; based on the 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll
- An Arcadian Maid, drama directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company, starring Mary Pickford
- As It Is in Life, drama directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company, starring Mary Pickford
C
- A Christmas Carol, drama directed by J. Searle Dawley for the Edison Manufacturing Company; based on the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens
F
- Frankenstein, horror directed by J. Searle Dawley for the Edison Manufacturing Company, starring Charles Stanton Ogle; based on the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley[4]
- The Fugitive, drama directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company
H
- The House with Closed Shutters, drama directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company, starring Henry B. Walthall
I
- In Old California, western directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company, starring Frank Powell
J
L
- A Lad from Old Ireland, drama directed by Sidney Olcott for the Kalem Company
M
- Marvellous Melbourne, documentary directed by Cosens Spencer for West's Pictures – (Australia)
R
- Ramona, drama directed by D. W. Griffith for the Biograph Company, starring Mary Pickford and Henry B. Walthall; based on the 1884 novel by Helen Hunt Jackson
T
- Thunderbolt (incomplete), drama directed by John Gavin for West's Pictures – (Australia)
- Twelfth Night, romantic comedy directed by Eugene Mullin and Charles Kent for the Vitagraph Company, starring Florence Turner; based on the 17th-century play by William Shakespeare
W
- White Fawn's Devotion, drama directed by James Young Deer for Pathé-Frères
- The White Slave Trade (Den hvide slavehandel), drama directed by August Blom for Nordisk Film – (Denmark)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, fantasy directed by Otis Turner for the Selig Polyscope Company; based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum
Births
Deaths
| Day | Name | Profession | Year of birth |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 21 | Mark Twain | Humourist, writer, born Samuel L. Clemons. | 1835 |
| November 20 | Leo Tolstoy | Russian novelist | 1828 |
Debuts
- Leah Baird – Jean and the Waif
- Carlyle Blackwell – Uncle Tom's Cabin (short)
- Eleanor Caines – The New Boss of Bar X Ranch (short)
- Grace Cunard – The Duke's Plan (short)
- Margarita Fischer – There, Little Girl, Don't Cry (short)
- Helen Gardner – How She Won Him (short)
- Hoot Gibson – Pride of the Range
- Alice Joyce – The Deacon's Daughter (short)
- J. Warren Kerrigan – A Voice from the Fireplace (short)
- Mae Marsh – Ramona (short)
- Asta Nielsen – The Woman Always Pays (short)
- Mabel Normand – Indiscretions of Betty
- Wallace Reid – The Phoenix (short)
- Marin Sais – Twelfth Night (short)
- Norma Talmadge – The Household Pest
- Pearl White – The Missing Bridegroom (short)
References
- ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: In Old California". Silent Era. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
- ^ Robinson, David (1996). From Peep Show to Palace: The Birth of American Film. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 159–161.
- ^ Scott Lord :The Abyss (Urban Gad, Afgrunden, Denmark 1910) on YouTube
- ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
External links
Media related to 1910 in film at Wikimedia Commons