1918 in film

The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.

Events

 * January 27 – Tarzan makes his film debut in Tarzan of the Apes.
 * March 10 – Warner Bros. release their first produced picture, My Four Years in Germany.
 * July – The animated The Sinking of the Lusitania is one of the first examples of animation being used for something other than comedy.
 * Following litigation for anti-trust activities, the Motion Picture Patents Company disbands.
 * Louis B. Mayer arrives in Los Angeles and forms Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation.
 * 28 mm safety standard film, designed by Alexander Victor, becomes one of the earliest film formats to use "safety film" bases in order to safeguard the amateur market against nitrate fires.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top six 1918 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Argentina

 * Buenos Aires tenebroso, directed by Juan Glize
 * En un día de gloria, directed by Mario Gallo and Alberto Traversa
 * La garra porteña, directed by Juan Glize
 * Sin dejar rastros, directed by Quirino Cristiani
 * Violeta o La reina del tango, directed by Juan Glize

Egypt

 * Bedouin's honor (Sharaf El Badawi), starring and directing by Mohammed Karim
 * The Deadly Flowers (Al Azhar Al Momita), starring and directing by Mohammed Karim

France

 * The Ghost of the Rancho (aka Range Busters), directed by William Worthington, starring Bryant Washburn and Rhea Mitchell, a hybrid Horror/Western/Comedy
 * The Tenth Symphony (La Dixième Symphonie), directed by Abel Gance, starring Séverin-Mars and Jean Toulout
 * Tih Minh, directed by Louis Feuillade, starring René Cresté
 * Vendemiaire, directed by Louis Feuillade

Germany

 * Alraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote Hanne, directed by Eugen Illes and Joseph Klein, starring Max Auzinger and Hilde Wotner; released in the U.S. as Sacrifice; this was the 2nd film adaptation based on the 1911 novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers
 * Carmen, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri
 * Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart (Dr. Hart's Diary), directed by Paul Leni
 * Eyes of the Mummy, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri and Emil Jannings
 * I Don't Want to Be a Man (Ich möchte kein Mann sein), directed by Ernst Lubitsch
 * The Other Self, aka Das Andere Ich (Austrian) directed by Fritz Freisler, starring Fritz Kortner
 * The Pied Piper of Hamelin (aka Der Rettenfanger von Hameln), written and directed by Paul Wegener, starring Wegener and Lyda Salmonova

Great Britain

 * The Haunted Hotel, an 11-minute comedy short directed by Fred Rains (Claude's father), starring Will Asher and Marion Peake
 * Victory and Peace, directed by Herbert Brenon

Hungary

 * A 99-es számú bérkocsi, directed by Mihály Kertész, starring: |Cläre Lotto and Béla Lugosi
 * Alraune, directed by Mihály Kertész and Edmund Fritz, starring: Géza Erdélyi and Gyula Gál (Lost film); first film adaptation based on the 1911 novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers
 * Casanova, directed by Alfréd Deésy, starring Alfréd Deésy
 * Faun, directed by Alexander Korda, starring: Gábor Rajnay and Artúr Somlay
 * Mary Ann, directed by Alexander Korda, starring: Ica von Lenkeffy and Tivadar Uray
 * Álarcosbál ||Alfréd Deésy, starring: Béla Lugosi
 * A víg Özvegy, directed by Mihály Kertész
 * Az ördög, directed by Mihály Kertész
 * Karoly bakak, directed by Zoltan Korda
 * Az Élet királya, directed by Alfréd Deésy, starring Béla Lugosi and Norbert Dán; based on the 1890 Oscar Wilde novel
 * Küzdelem a létért, directed by Alfréd Deésy, starring: Béla Lugosi
 * Lili, directed by Cornelius Hintner
 * Lulu, directed by Mihály Kertész
 * A Napraforgós hölgy, directed by Mihály Kertész, starring: Lucy Doraine, Cläre Lotto and Iván Petrovich
 * A Víg özvegy, directed by Mihály Kertész, starring: Mihály Várkonyi, Berta Valero, Endre Boross Árpád id. Latabár, Miklós Szomory and József Bánhidy

Italy

 * Fabiola directed by Enrico Guazzoni

Japan

 * Akakabe Myojin (aka Kaibyo Kaidan) a Ghost-Cat film starring Matsunosuke Onoe, produced by Nikkatsu Films
 * Izumo Kaidan (Japanese) aka Ghost Story of Izumo, starring Matsunosuke Onoe and Kitsuraku Arashi, produced by Nikkatsu Films
 * Yotsuya Kaidan Jitsuhi Kanetani Goro/ The Ghost of Yotsuya (Japanese) the 2nd ever film adaptation of the 1825 stage play Yotsuya Kaidan by Tsuruya Nanboku IV; starring Matsunosuke Onoe and Sentaro Nakamura

Sweden

 * The Outlaw and His Wife (Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru), directed by & starring Victor Sjöström (aka Victor Seastrom)

Denmark

 * A trip to Mars, directed by Holger-Madsen.

United States

 * Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, directed by Marshall Neilan, starring Mary Pickford
 * Among the Cannibal Isles of the South Pacific
 * Are Crooks Dishonest?, a Harold Lloyd short
 * Arizona, starring Douglas Fairbanks
 * The Bell Boy, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short
 * The Bells, directed by Ernest C. Warde, starring Frank Keenan and Lois Wilson; this was the 4th film adaptation of Erckmann-Chatrian's 1867 stage play Le Juif Polonaise (The Polish Jew)
 * Black Sherlock Holmes, produced by Ebony Pictures, starring Sam Robinson as a black version of Sherlock Holmes
 * 'Blue Blazes' Rawden, starring William S. Hart
 * The Blue Bird, directed by Maurice Tourneur
 * Bound in Morocco, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Douglas Fairbanks
 * The Burden of Proof, directed by Julius Steger; starring Marion Davies
 * Cecilia of the Pink Roses, directed by Julius Steger; starring Marion Davies
 * The Cook, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keaton short
 * The Craving (aka Delirium) directed by Francis Ford for Universal Pictures, starring Francis Ford and Peter Gerald
 * Cupid Angling, starring Ruth Roland
 * The Eyes of Julia Deep, starring Mary Miles Minter
 * The Ghost of Slumber Mountain, written and directed by Willis O'Brien (who also starred in it and handled the special animation effects); existing print runs only 12 minutes
 * The Goddess of Lost Lake, starring Louise Glaum
 * The Haunted House, produced and written by Edward Frazee, a very obscure lost film (cast unknown)
 * Headin' South, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Douglas Fairbanks
 * The Heart of Humanity, starring Erich von Stroheim
 * Hearts of the World, directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish
 * The House of Mirth, directed by Albert Capellani, starring Katherine Corri Harris
 * Huck and Tom
 * The Lamb, a Harold Lloyd short.
 * Men Who Have Made Love to Me, starring Mary MacLane
 * Mickey, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand
 * M'Liss, directed by Marshall Neilan, starring Mary Pickford and Thomas Meighan
 * Moonshine, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keaton short
 * My Four Years in Germany, the first film produced by the four Warner Brothers
 * On the Quiet, directed by Chester Withey, starring Jack Barrymore
 * Out of the Inkwell, an animated film directed by Max Fleischer
 * Out West, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle/Buster Keaton short
 * The Romance of Tarzan, starring Elmo Lincoln
 * Salomé, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, starring Theda Bara
 * The Silent Mystery, a 15-chapter serial directed by Francis Ford, starring Ford and Rosemary Theby; a five-reel condensed version was also released at some point
 * The Sinking of the Lusitania, a short animated propaganda film by Winsor McCay; likely the longest animated film of its time.
 * Stella Maris, directed by Marshall Neilan, starring Mary Pickford
 * Tarzan of the Apes, directed by Scott Sidney, starring Elmo Lincoln and Enid Markey
 * The Two-Soul Woman, directed by Elmer Clifton for Universal Pictures, starring Priscilla Dean and Ashton Dearholt, based on the novel by Gelett Burgess
 * Uncle Tom's Cabin
 * Under the Yoke, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, starring Theda Bara
 * Under the Greenwood Tree directed by Emile Chautard starring Elsie Ferguson
 * The Whispering Chorus, starring Raymond Hatton and Kathlyn Williams
 * Why Pick on Me?, starring Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels

U.S.S.R.

 * Cagliostro, historical melodrama directed by Wladyslaw Starevitch, starring M. Yarosh and Arseniy Bibikov, based on the novel Count Cagliostro by E. Salias
 * Father Sergius, directed by Yakov Protazanov, starring Ivan Mozzukhin

Comedy film series
Only the films of the series released in 1918 are collected

Buster Keaton (1917–1944)


Films starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton released in 1918:
 * January 20: Out West as Sheriff / Saloon owner.
 * March 18: The Bell Boy as Bellboy.

Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)



 * 11 August: Triple Trouble; compilation assembled by Leo White with scenes from Police and an unfinished short, Life, along with new material shot by White. Chaplin includes this production in the filmography of his autobiography.
 * May 1918: Chase Me Charlie; a seven-reel montage of Essanay films, edited by Langford Reed. Released in England.

Charlie Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 9 films for his own production company between 1918 and 1923. These films were distributed by First National. Below the movies released in 1918:


 * 14 April: A Dog's Life
 * 29 September: The Bond
 * 20 October: Shoulder Arms


 * Uncompleted and unreleased films

Reconstructed in 1981 by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill
 * How to Make Movies: Never assembled, although parts were used in The Chaplin Revue (see below)
 * Untitled film: A charity film co-starring Harry Lauder.

Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)


Glasses character ("The Boy"):
 * The Tip
 * The Lamb
 * Hit Him Again
 * Beat It
 * A Gasoline Wedding
 * Look Pleasant, Please
 * Here Come the Girls
 * Let's Go
 * On the Jump
 * Follow the Crowd
 * Pipe the Whiskers as Janitor
 * It's a Wild Life
 * Hey There!
 * Kicked Out
 * The Non-Stop Kid
 * Two-Gun Gussie
 * Fireman Save My Child
 * The City Slicker
 * Sic 'Em, Towser
 * Somewhere in Turkey
 * Are Crooks Dishonest? – sometimes wrongly titled as Doing, Doing, Done
 * An Ozark Romance
 * Kicking the Germ Out of Germany
 * That's Him
 * Bride and Gloom
 * Two Scrambled
 * Bees in His Bonnet
 * Swing Your Partners
 * Why Pick on Me?
 * Nothing but Trouble
 * Back to the Woods
 * Hear 'Em Rave
 * Take a Chance
 * She Loves Me Not

Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
Short films acting as his character Mr. Butterbun released in 1918:


 * His Busy Day
 * His Salad Days
 * Love and Lobster
 * The Blunders of Mr. Butterbun: Trips and Tribunals
 * The Blunders of Mr. Butterbun: Unexpected Treasure
 * The Haunted Hotel

Births

 * January 29 – John Forsythe, actor (died 2010)
 * February 4 – Ida Lupino, actress, director (died 1995)
 * February 15 - Allan Arbus, actor (died 2013)
 * February 16 – Patty Andrews, singer, actress, member of The Andrews Sisters (died 2013)
 * February 19 - Fay McKenzie, American actress and singer (died 2019)
 * March 1 – Roger Delgado, actor (died 1973)
 * March 9
 * Marguerite Chapman, actress (died 1999)
 * Mickey Spillane, writer, actor (died 2006)
 * March 14 –Dennis Patrick, actor (died 2002)
 * April 14 – Mary Healy, actress, singer (died 2015)
 * April 17
 * William Holden, actor (died 1981)
 * Anne Shirley, actress (died 1993)
 * April 18 – Shinobu Hashimoto, screenwriter (died 2018)
 * May 14 – June Duprez, actress (died 1984)
 * May 15 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (died 2009)
 * May 20 - Patricia Ellis, American actress (died 1970)
 * May 21 - Jeanne Bates, American actress (died 2008)
 * May 26 – John Dall, actor (died 1971)
 * June 8 – Robert Preston, actor, singer (died 1987)
 * June 10 - Barry Morse, actor (died 2008)
 * June 11 – Jane Bryan, actress (died 2009)
 * June 13 - Ben Johnson, actor (died 1996)
 * June 15 - Elisabeth Waldo, American former musician and actress
 * June 21 - Adriana Sivieri, Italian actress
 * June 26 – Ellen Liiger, actress (died 1987)
 * July 6 – Sebastian Cabot, actor (died 1977)
 * July 8 – Craig Stevens, American actor (died 2000)
 * July 14 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish actor, writer, director (died 2007)
 * July 16 – William Bishop, actor (died 1959)
 * July 18 – Jane Frazee, singer, actress (died 1985)
 * July 25 - Nan Grey, actress (died 1993)
 * July 26 – Marjorie Lord, actress (died 2015)
 * August 1 – Cheryl Walker, model, actress (died 1971)
 * August 9 – Robert Aldrich, director (died 1983)
 * August 17 – Evelyn Ankers, actress (died 1985)
 * August 25 – Richard Greene, actor (died 1985)
 * September – Rin Tin Tin, canine actor (died 1932)
 * September 13 – Dick Haymes, Argentine actor, singer (died 1980)
 * September 16 - Branka Veselinović, Serbian actress (died 2023)
 * September 21 – Rand Brooks, American actor (died 2003)
 * September 24 - Audra Lindley, American actress (died 1997)
 * September 28 – Arnold Stang, American actor and comedian (died 2009)
 * October 9 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (died 2000)
 * October 13
 * Yvette Thuot, Canadian actress (died 2021)
 * Robert Walker, actor (died 1951)
 * October 17 – Rita Hayworth, actress (died 1987)
 * October 23 - Peggy Moran, actress (died 2002)
 * October 25 - Milton Selzer, actor (died 2005)
 * October 27 – Teresa Wright, actress (died 2005)
 * October 29 – Diana Serra Cary, born Peggy-Jean Montgomery ("Baby Peggy"), child silent film actress (died 2020)
 * November 4
 * Art Carney, actor (died 2003)
 * Cameron Mitchell, actor (died 1994)
 * November 27 - Stephen Elliott, actor (died 2005)
 * November 30 – Efrem Zimbalist Jr., actor (died 2014)
 * December 10 – Anne Gwynne, actress, model (died 2003)
 * December 15 – Jeff Chandler, actor (died 1961)
 * December 23 - Kumar Pallana, Indian-American character actress (died 2013)

Deaths

 * January 8 – Johannes Pääsuke, 25, Estonian photographer and director (train crash)
 * January 12 – Simeon Wiltsie, American actor
 * February 1 – Joseph Kaufman, 36, American silent film actor & director, married to film star Ethel Clayton
 * February 15 – Vernon Castle, 30, American dancer & writer
 * March 13 – William Courtleigh, Jr., 26, American actor
 * April 30 – "Mother" Mary Maurice, 73, American veteran stage & film actress
 * May 19 – Sidney Rankin Drew, 26, American actor and director.
 * June 29 – John van den Broek, 23, Dutch cinematographer
 * July 4 – Walter Stradling, 43, British cinematographer
 * August 12 – Anna Held, 46, Polish actress & singer
 * September 21 – Hal August, 28, American actor;
 * October 2 - Edwin Arden, American stage & film actor
 * October 19 – Harold Lockwood, 31, American actor
 * October 22 – Myrtle Gonzalez, 27, American actress
 * October 22 – Julian L'Estrange, 38, English actor
 * October 28 – Louise Vale, American actress
 * November 6 – William Shea, 67, Scottish veteran film actor & director
 * November 18 – Wayland Trask Jr., 31, American comedian
 * December 6 – Charles Gunn, 35, American actor
 * December 29 – Jode Mullally, 32, American actor

Debuts

 * Walter Abel – Out of a Clear Sky
 * Renée Adorée – £500 Reward
 * Erville Alderson – Her Man
 * Lionel Atwill – Eve's Daughter
 * Warner Baxter – All Woman
 * Karl Dane – My Four Years in Germany
 * Lya De Putti – The Emperor's Soldiers
 * Maude Eburne – A Pair of Sixes
 * Neil Hamilton – The Beloved Impostor
 * Phillips Holmes – Uneasy Money
 * Allan Jeayes – Nelson
 * Buck Jones – Western Blood
 * Cecil Kellaway – Bond and Word
 * Lila Lee – The Cruise of the Make-Believes
 * Ben Lyon – The Transgressor
 * Fay McKenzie – Station Content
 * Irene Rich – A Desert Wooing
 * Will Rogers – Laughing Bill Hyde
 * Elena Sangro – Fabiola