1921 in film

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:

Events

 * January 21 – The silent comedy drama The Kid, written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin (in his 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 war 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.
 * August 29 – Broadway's first $1 million theatre, 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, which enhances leading actor Rudolph Valentino's international reputation as a 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 grand movie palace, opens.
 * The experimental short documentary film Manhatta is shot by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand in New York City.

Notable films released in 1921
United States unless stated.

A

 * The Ace of Hearts, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney and Leatrice Joy
 * Action (lost), directed by John Ford, starring Hoot Gibson
 * The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick (lost), directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Frederick Volpe – (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, directed by Ralph Ince
 * After Your Own Heart, directed by George Marshall, starring Tom Mix
 * All Soul's Eve (lost), directed by Chester M. Franklin, starring Mary Miles Minter and Jack Holt, based on the 1920 stage play by Anne Crawford Flexner
 * Among Those Present, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
 * L'Atlantide, directed by Jacques Feyder, based on the 1919 novel by Pierre Benoit – (France)

B

 * Die Bergkatze (The Wild Cat), directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Pola Negri and Paul Heidemann – (Germany)
 * The Bigamist, starring and directed by Guy Newall with Ivy Duke – (GB)
 * The Blot, directed by Lois Weber
 * The Boat, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * The Bonnie Brier Bush (lost), starring and directed by Donald Crisp – (GB)
 * Brewster's Millions (lost), directed by Joseph Henabery, starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
 * Brownie's Little Venus, directed by Fred Fishback, starring Baby Peggy
 * Buried Treasure, directed by George D. Baker, starring Marion Davies and Norman Kerry

C

 * The Call of Youth (lost), directed by Hugh Ford
 * 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
 * A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (lost), directed by Emmett J. Flynn
 * The Conquering Power, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry

D

 * Desire (Sehnsucht) (lost), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Conrad Veidt – (Germany)
 * Destiny (Der müde Tod), directed by Fritz Lang, starring Lil Dagover and Rudolf Klein-Rogge – (Germany)
 * The Devil, directed by James Young, starring George Arliss, based on the 1908 stage play by Ferenc Molnár
 * Disraeli (lost), directed by Henry Kolker, starring George Arliss
 * The Dollar-a-Year Man (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

E

 * El Capullo Marchito, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)
 * El Dorado, directed by Marcel L'Herbier – (France)
 * Enchantment, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies
 * Experience (lost), directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Richard Barthelmess

F

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

G

 * The Goat, directed by 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 – (Austria)
 * The Grinning Face (Das grinsende Gesicht), directed by Julius Herska, based on the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo – (Austria/Germany)
 * 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 (Schloß Vogelöd), directed by F. W. Murnau, based on the novel by Rudolf Stratz – (Germany)
 * 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 (lost), directed by Wilfrid North
 * L'Homme qui vendit son âme au diable (The Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil), directed by Pierre Caron – (France)
 * The Hound of the Baskervilles, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Eille Norwood – (GB)
 * Humor Risk (unreleased), directed by Dick Smith, starring the Marx Brothers

I

 * The Idle Class, a Charles Chaplin short
 * The Indian Tomb (Das Indische Grabmal), directed by Joe May, starring Conrad Veidt – (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 – (Germany)

J

 * Jane Eyre, directed by Hugo Ballin, starring Norman Trevor and Mabel Ballin, based on the 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë
 * Jánošík, directed by Jaroslav Jerry Siakeľ – (Czechoslovakia)
 * Jim the Penman, directed by Kenneth Webb, starring Lionel Barrymore
 * Journey into the Night (Der Gang in die Nacht), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)

K

 * The Kid, a Charlie Chaplin film, with Jackie Coogan
 * Kipps, directed by Harold M. Shaw, starring George K. Arthur, based on the 1905 novel by H. G. Wells

L

 * Land of My Fathers directed by Fred Rains, starring John Stuart – (GB)
 * Leaves from Satan's Book (Blade af Satans Bog), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer – (Denmark)
 * 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 – (Germany)
 * 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, directed by Henri Fescourt, starring Romuald Joubé – (France)
 * The Mechanical Man (L'uomo meccanico) (lost), starring and directed by André Deed – (Italy)
 * A Message From Mars, directed by Maxwell Karger, starring Bert Lytell
 * A Midnight Bell (lost), starring and directed by Charles Ray, based on the 1889 stage play by Charles H. Hoyt
 * Miss Lulu Bett, directed by William C. deMille, starring Lois Wilson and Milton Sills
 * Il mostro di Frankenstein (The Monster of Frankenstein) (lost), directed by Eugenio Testa – (Italy)

N

 * Never Weaken, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
 * The Nut, directed by Theodore Reed, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Marguerite De La Motte

O

 * 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 – (Netherlands/GB)

P

 * The Painting of Osvaldo Mars (Il quadro di Osvaldo Mars), directed by Guido Brignone, starring Mercedes Brignone – (Italy)
 * Pan Twardowski, directed by Wiktor Biegański – (Poland)
 * The Passion Flower, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Norma Talmadge
 * 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 – (Sweden)
 * The Playhouse, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton

Q

 * The Queen of Sheba (lost), directed by J. Gordon Edwards, starring Betty Blythe

S

 * A Sailor-Made Man, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
 * School Days, directed by William Nigh, starring Wesley Barry
 * Sentimental Tommy (lost), directed by John S. Robertson, starring Gareth Hughes
 * Seven Years Bad Luck, a Max Linder film
 * The Sheik, directed by George Melford, starring Agnes Ayres and Rudolph Valentino
 * 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
 * Squibs, directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB)
 * Sybil (lost), directed by Jack Denton, starring Evelyn Brent – (GB)

T

 * 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, starring Richard Barthelmess
 * Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers), directed by Henri Diamant-Berger – (France)

W

 * Whispering Shadows, directed by Émile Chautard
 * White and Unmarried (lost), directed by Tom Forman, starring Thomas Meighan
 * Why Girls Leave Home (lost), directed by William Nigh, starring Anna Q. Nilsson
 * The Witching Hour, directed by William Desmond Taylor, starring Elliott Dexter, adapted from the 1907 stage play by Augustus Thomas
 * Woman's Place, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Constance Talmadge
 * The Wonderful Thing, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Norma Talmadge and 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 (died 1991)
 * January 10 - George Robotham, American stuntman and actor (died 2007)
 * January 11 - Kathleen Byron, English actress (died 2009)
 * January 17 - 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)
 * 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 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)
 * March 10 – Charlotte Zucker, actress, mother of Jerry Zucker and 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, 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 7 – 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)
 * 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
 * May 30 - Jamie Uys, South African film director (died 1996)
 * May 31 – Alida Valli, actress (died 2006)
 * June 8
 * Sheila Ryan, actress (died 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, 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)
 * July 17 – František Zvarík, Slovakian actor (died 2008)
 * July 21 - Al Checco, American actor (died 2015)
 * July 23 – 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 – 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)
 * 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, English character actress (died 2016)
 * December 15 - 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)

Deaths

 * February 8 – George Formby Sr, 45, British music hall entertainer who appeared in one film (pulmonary tuberculosis)
 * 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)
 * 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, American actress
 * September 17 – Van Dyke Brooke, 62, American actor, screenwriter and film director

Film debuts

 * Richard Arlen – Ladies Must Live
 * George Arliss – The Devil
 * Mary Astor – Bullets or Ballots
 * George Bancroft – The Journey's End
 * Leslie Banks – 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
 * Billie Dove – Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford
 * Camilla Horn – Kean
 * Selmer Jackson – The Supreme Passion
 * Roger Livesey – The Four Feathers
 * Carole Lombard – A Perfect Crime
 * Fredric March – The Great Adventure
 * Patsy Ruth Miller – One a Minute
 * Mary Philbin – The Blazing Trail
 * Basil Rathbone – Innocent
 * Dorothy Revier – Life's Greatest Question
 * 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