The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1927 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Events
January 10 – Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany. The film receives its American premiere in New York City on March 6. March 11 – World's largest movie theatre, the Roxy Theatre, opens in New York City. April 7 – Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premieres (in a shortened version) at the Paris Opéra and demonstrates techniques and equipment that will not be revived for years to come, such as hand-held cameras, and what is often considered the first widescreen projection format Polyvision. May 11 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded in Los Angeles by Douglas Fairbanks. The 1st Academy Awards (Oscars) will be awarded to films which are released in 1927 or 1928. August 12 – Paramount's dramatic film Wings, which will go on to win the first Academy Award for Best Picture, opens at the Criterion Theater in New York City, with an unheard-of roadshow admission price of $2.00 per ticket. September 5 – Nicholas Schenck becomes president of Loews Inc. following the death of Marcus Loew. September 7 – Oswald the Lucky Rabbit debuts in Trolley Troubles. September 23 – Fox Films acquires the rights to the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film technology, which had been developed in 1919 by three German inventors, Josef Engl, Hans Vogt, and Joseph Massole. October 6 – The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, premieres at the Warner Theater in New York City. Although not the first 'talkie', The Jazz Singer becomes the first box-office hit and popularizes sound motion pictures. It is the highest-grossing movie up to this time. December 3 – The silent short Putting Pants on Philip, the first official billing of comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, is released in the United States. Ang Manananggal, the first Filipino horror film, is released in the Philippines. Cinematograph Films Act sets a minimum quota for British films to be shown in British cinemas. Italian Alberto Rabagliati wins a Rudolph Valentino look-alike contest and moves to Hollywood to start his acting career. The Three Tramps, the first Filipino comedy film featuring the Silos brothers, is released in the Philippines.
Academy Awards
Best Production: Wings
Best Artistic Quality: Sunrise
Best Actor: Emil Jannings for The Way of All Flesh and the 1928 movie The Last Command Best Actress: Janet Gaynor for Seventh Heaven and Sunrise, as well as the 1928 movie Street Angel Best Director: Frank Borzage for Seventh Heaven
Notable films released in 1927
For the complete list of US film releases for the year, see United States films of 1927
#
7th Heaven, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell
A
Ang Manananggal, directed by José Nepomuceno, starring Mary Walter – (Philippines) Annie Laurie, directed by John S. Robertson, starring Lillian Gish and Norman Kerry
B
Bed and Sofa (Tretya meshchanskaya), directed by Abram Room – (U.S.S.R.) The Beloved Rogue, directed by Alan Crosland, starring John Barrymore, Conrad Veidt and Marceline Day Belphégor, directed by Henri Desfontaines – (France) Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt), directed by Walter Ruttmann – (Germany) Bigamy (Bigamie), directed by Jaap Speyer, starring Heinrich George – (Germany) Blighty, directed by Adrian Brunel, starring Ellaline Terriss and Lillian Hall-Davis – (GB) The Bugle Call (lost), directed by Edward Sedgwick, starring Jackie Coogan
C
The Cat and the Canary, directed by Paul Leni, starring Laura La Plante and Creighton Hale, based on the 1922 stage play by John Willard Chicago, directed by Frank Urson, starring Phyllis Haver Children of Divorce, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Clara Bow, Esther Ralston and Gary Cooper The Chinese Parrot (lost), directed by Paul Leni The Club of the Big Deed (Soyuz velikogo dela), directed by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg – (U.S.S.R.) College, directed by James W. Horne and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton Confetti, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Jack Buchanan and Annette Benson – (GB)
D
The Dove, directed by Roland West, starring Norma Talmadge, Noah Beery Sr. and Gilbert Roland Downhill, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ivor Novello and Isabel Jeans – (GB) The Drop Kick, directed by Millard Webb, starring Richard Barthelmess