1922 in film

This is an overview of 1922 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten films released in 1922 by U.S. gross are as follows:

Events

 * June 11 – United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film.
 * November 26 – The Toll of the Sea, starring Anna May Wong and Kenneth Harlan, debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so but it was not widely distributed).

Notable films released in 1922
United States unless stated

A

 * At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern (lost), directed by Lloyd Ingraham, based on the 1905 novel by Myrtle Reed

B

 * The Bachelor Daddy (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Thomas Meighan
 * The Beautiful and Damned (lost), directed by William A. Seiter, starring Marie Prevost
 * Beauty's Worth, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies
 * Beyond the Rocks, directed by Sam Wood, starring Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino
 * A Bill of Divorcement, directed by Denison Clift, starring Constance Binney and Fay Compton – (GB)
 * The Blacksmith, directed by Mal St. Clair and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * A Blind Bargain (lost), directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney, based on the 1897 novel The Octive of Claudius by Barry Pain
 * Blood and Sand, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee and Nita Naldi
 * The Bohemian Girl, directed by Harley Knoles, Starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper – (GB)
 * The Bride's Play, directed by George Terwilliger, starring Marion Davies
 * The Burning Soil (Der brennende Acker), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)

C

 * The Card, directed by A. V. Bramble – (GB)
 * Clarence (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Wallace Reid, Agnes Ayres and May McAvoy
 * Cocaine, directed by Graham Cutts – (GB)
 * Cops, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * Crainquebille (Coster Bill of Paris), directed by Jacques Feyder – (France)

D

 * A Dangerous Adventure, 15-part serial directed by Sam Warner and Jack L. Warner, starring Grace Darmond
 * Danse Macabre, directed by Dudley Murphy
 * Day Dreams, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, Starring Buster Keaton and Renée Adorée
 * A Debt of Honour, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Isobel Elsom and Clive Brook – (GB)
 * The Dictator (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee
 * Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse the Gambler), directed by Fritz Lang, starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, based on the 1921 novel by Norbert Jacques – (Germany)
 * Dr. Jack, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
 * Don Juan et Faust, directed by Marcel L'Herbier, based on an 1828 play by Christian Dietrich Grabbe – (France)
 * The Dungeon (lost), written and directed by Oscar Micheaux

E

 * Estrellita del Cine, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)
 * The Electric House, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * Esmeralda (lost), directed by Edwin J. Collins, starring Sybil Thorndike, based on the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo – (GB)

F

 * Fair Lady, directed by Kenneth Webb
 * Faust, directed by Challis Sanderson, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – (GB)
 * Faust, directed by Gérard Bourgeois, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – (France)
 * La Femme de nulle part (The Woman from Nowhere), directed by Louis Delluc – (France)
 * Flames of Passion, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith – (GB)
 * Flesh and Blood, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Lon Chaney and Noah Beery Sr.
 * Foolish Wives, starring and directed by Erich von Stroheim
 * The Frozen North, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton

G

 * The Ghost Breaker (lost), directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee, based on the 1909 play by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard
 * A Gipsy Cavalier, directed by J. Stuart Blackton, starring Georges Carpentier and Flora le Breton – (GB)
 * Grandma's Boy, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Harold Lloyd
 * The Grass Orphan, directed by Frank Hall Crane – (GB)

H

 * The Haunted House, directed by Erle C. Kenton
 * Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, starring and directed by Benjamin Christensen – (Sweden/Denmark)
 * The Headless Horseman, directed by Edward D. Venturini, starring Will Rogers, based of the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
 * Heroes of the Street, directed by William Beaudine, starring Wesley Barry and Marie Prevost

I

 * In the Name of the Law (lost), directed by Emory Johnson, starring Ralph Lewis and Claire McDowell

L

 * Laborer's Love (láogōng zhī àiqíng), directed by Zhang Shichuan – (China)
 * Lorna Doone, directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Madge Bellamy
 * The Loves of Pharaoh (Das Weib des Pharao), directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany)
 * Lucrezia Borgia, directed by Richard Oswald, starring Conrad Veidt and Liane Haid – (Germany)

M

 * The Man from Beyond, directed by Burton L. King, starring Harry Houdini
 * Manslaughter, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Thomas Meighan and Lois Wilson
 * Marizza (lost), directed by F. W. Murnau – (Germany)
 * The Marriage Chance, written and directed by Hampton Del Ruth
 * Money To Burn (lost), directed by Rowland V. Lee
 * Moran of the Lady Letty, directed by George Melford, starring Dorothy Dalton and Rudolph Valentino
 * More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (lost), directed by Edward LeSaint
 * Mud and Sand, directed by Gilbert Pratt, starring Stan Laurel
 * My Boy, directed by Victor Heerman and Albert Austin, starring Jackie Coogan
 * My Wife's Relations, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton

N

 * Nanook of the North, a documentary directed by Robert J. Flaherty
 * Nathan the Wise (Nathan der Weise), directed by Manfred Noa – (Germany)
 * Nice People (lost), directed by William C. deMille, starring Wallace Reid, Bebe Daniels and Conrad Nagel
 * Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker without authorization – (Germany)
 * Number 13 (lost), directed by Alfred Hitchcock – (GB)

O

 * Oliver Twist, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney
 * One Exciting Night, written and directed by D. W. Griffith
 * One Glorious Day (lost), directed by James Cruze, starring Will Rogers and Lila Lee

P

 * The Paleface, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * Pay Day, a Charles Chaplin short
 * Peg o' My Heart, directed by King Vidor, starring Laurette Taylor
 * Phantom, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Alfred Abel, Lil Dagover and Lya De Putti – (Germany)
 * Polikushka (Поликушка), directed by Alexander Sanin – (U.S.S.R.)
 * The Primitive Lover, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Constance Talmadge and Harrison Ford
 * The Prisoner of Zenda, directed by Rex Ingram, starring Lewis Stone and Alice Terry

R

 * Rags to Riches, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Wesley Barry
 * Rent Free (lost), directed by Howard Higgin, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee
 * Robin Hood, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery
 * Rob Roy, directed by W. P. Kellino – (GB)

S

 * Saturday Night, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Leatrice Joy and Conrad Nagel
 * The Scarlet Letter, directed by Challis Sanderson, starring Sybil Thorndike – (GB)
 * Shadows, directed by Tom Forman, starring Lon Chaney, Marguerite De La Motte and Harrison Ford
 * Sherlock Holmes, directed by Albert Parker, starring John Barrymore, based on the 1899 stage play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle – (GB)
 * Smilin' Through, directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Norma Talmadge
 * Sodom and Gomorrah, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Lucy Doraine – (Austria)
 * La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet), directed by Germaine Dulac – (France)
 * Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep, directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB)
 * The Suram Fortress (Suramis tsikhe), directed by Ivan Perestiani – (U.S.S.R.)

T

 * Tess of the Storm Country, directed by John S. Robertson, starring Mary Pickford
 * The Three Must-Get-Theres, a Max Linder film
 * The Toll of the Sea, directed by Chester M. Franklin, starring Anna May Wong

W

 * What's Wrong with the Women? (lost), directed by Roy William Neill, starring Constance Bennett
 * When Knighthood Was in Flower, directed by Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies
 * Wildness of Youth, directed by Ivan Abramson

Y

 * The Young Diana (lost), directed by Albert Capellani and Robert G. Vignola, starring Marion Davies
 * The Young Rajah. directed by Phil Rosen, starring Rudolph Valentino
 * Your Best Friend, written and directed by William Nigh, starring Vera Gordon

Short film series

 * Charlie Chaplin (1914–1923)
 * Buster Keaton (1917–1941)
 * Laurel and Hardy (1921–1943)
 * Our Gang (1922–1944)

Animated short film series

 * Felix the Cat (1919–1936)
 * Koko the Clown (1919–1963)
 * Aesop's Film Fables (1921–1934)

Births

 * January 2 – Jason Evers, actor (died 2005)
 * January 3 – Bill Travers, British actor, screenwriter and director (died 1994)
 * January 10 – Hannelore Schroth, actress (died 1987)
 * January 13 – Albert Lamorisse, director (died 1970)
 * January 16 – Irene Vernon, actress (died 1998)
 * January 17 – Betty White, American actress (died 2021)
 * January 19 – Guy Madison, actor (died 1996)
 * January 20 – Ray Anthony, bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor
 * January 21
 * Telly Savalas, actor (died 1994)
 * Paul Scofield, actor (died 2008)
 * January 31 – Joanne Dru, actress (died 1996)
 * February 4 –
 * William Edward Phipps, American actor and producer (died 2018)
 * Qin Yi, Chinese actress (died 2022)
 * February 6 – Patrick Macnee, actor (died 2015)
 * February 7 – Hattie Jacques, actress (died 1980)
 * February 8 – Audrey Meadows, actress (died 1996)
 * February 9 – Kathryn Grayson, singer, actress (died 2010)
 * February 24 – Steven Hill, actor (died 2016)
 * February 26 – Margaret Leighton, actress (died 1976)
 * March 5 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian film director (died 1975)
 * March 8 – Cyd Charisse, actress, dancer (died 2008)
 * March 20 – Carl Reiner, comic actor, director and screenwriter (died 2020)
 * March 21 – Russ Meyer, director, producer (died 2004)
 * March 31
 * Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (died 1999)
 * Patrick Magee, Northern Irish actor (died 1982)
 * April 3 – Doris Day, actress, singer (died 2019)
 * April 4 - Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (died 2004)
 * April 5 – Gale Storm, singer, actress (died 2009)
 * April 7 – Margia Dean, American beauty queen and actress (died 2023)
 * April 15 – Michael Ansara, American stage, screen, and voice actor (died 2013)
 * April 18 – Barbara Hale, American actress (died 2017)
 * April 24 – J. D. Cannon, American actor (died 2005)
 * April 26 – Mike Kellin, American actor (died 1983)
 * April 27 – Jack Klugman, American actor (died 2012)
 * May 2 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (died 2007)
 * May 7
 * Rolands Kalniņš, Latvian director, screenwriter and producer (died 2022)
 * Darren McGavin, American actor (died 2006)
 * May 10 – Nancy Walker, American actress (died 1992)
 * May 13 - Truus Dekker, Dutch actress (died 2022)
 * May 17 - Wei Wei, Chinese actress (died 2023)
 * May 18 - Bill Macy, American actor (died 2019)
 * May 25 - Syd Heylen, Australian character actor and comedian (died 2007)
 * May 27 – Christopher Lee, English actor (died 2015)
 * May 31 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (died 1992)
 * June 1
 * Joan Caulfield, American actress (died 1991)
 * Joan Copeland, American actress (died 2022)
 * June 9 – George Axelrod, American scriptwriter and director (died 2003)
 * June 10
 * Judy Garland, American singer, actress (died 1969)
 * Bill Kerr, British-Australian actor and comedian (died 2014)
 * June 16 – Frances Rafferty, American actress (died 2004)
 * June 22 – Mona Lisa, Filipina actress (died 2019)
 * June 26 – Eleanor Parker, American actress (died 2013)
 * June 28 - Erik Bauersfeld, American voice actor (died 2016)
 * July 6 – William Schallert, American actor (died 2016)
 * July 19 - Bess Meisler, American actress
 * July 21 – Demeter Bitenc, Slovenian actor (died 2018)
 * July 26
 * Blake Edwards, American director (died 2010)
 * Jason Robards, American actor (died 2000)
 * July 27
 * Adolfo Celi, Italian film actor and director (died 1986)
 * Norman Lear, American writer and producer (died 2023)
 * August 1
 * Arthur Hill, Canadian actor (died 2006)
 * Paul Lambert, American actor (died 1997)
 * August 8 – Rory Calhoun, American actor (died 1999)
 * August 22 – Micheline Presle, French actress (died 2024)
 * August 25 - Gloria Dea, American actress and musician (died 2023)
 * September 1
 * Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor, director (died 2000)
 * Yvonne De Carlo, American actress (died 2007)
 * September 6 – Elizabeth Lawrence, American actress (died 2000)
 * September 8
 * Sid Caesar, American comedian, actor (died 2014)
 * Annabel Maule, British actress
 * September 10 – Barbara Chilcott, Canadian actress (died 2022)
 * September 14 – Michel Auclair, European actor (died 1988)
 * September 15 – Jackie Cooper, American actor, director (died 2011)
 * September 16
 * Guy Hamilton, English director (died 2016)
 * Janis Paige, American actress (died 2024)
 * September 23 – Louise Latham, American actress (died 2018)
 * September 24 – Bert I. Gordon, American filmmaker and visual effects artist (died 2023)
 * September 29 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (died 2015)
 * October 5 – Woodrow Parfrey, American actor (died 1984)
 * October 7 – Martha Stewart, American actress (died 2021)
 * October 8 – Eileen Essell, English actress (died 2015)
 * October 20 – John Anderson, American actor (died 1992)
 * October 23 – Coleen Gray, American actress (died 2015)
 * October 27 – Ruby Dee, American actress (died 2014)
 * October 28 - Jack Murdock, American actor (died 2001)
 * October 31 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (died 2005)
 * November 9 – Dorothy Dandridge, American actress, singer (died 1965)
 * November 12 – Kim Hunter, actress (died 2002)
 * November 13
 * Madeleine Sherwood, actress (died 2016)
 * Oskar Werner, actor (died 1984)
 * November 14 – Veronica Lake, American actress (died 1973)
 * November 15 – Francesco Rosi, film director (died 2015)
 * November 16 – Royal Dano, American actor (died 1994)
 * November 22 – Lynne Roberts, American actress (died 1978)
 * November 26 – Adam Williams, American actor (died 2005)
 * November 27 - Jacqueline White, American former actress
 * November 29 – Laurie Main, Australian actor (died 2012)
 * December 2
 * Don Fellows, American actor (died 2007)
 * Leo Gordon, American actor and screenplay writer (died 2000)
 * December 3 - Len Lesser, American character actor (died 2011)
 * December 4 – Gérard Philipe, French actor (died 1959)
 * December 9 – Redd Foxx, American comedian and actor (died 1991)
 * December 11 – Dilip Kumar, Indian actor (died 2021)
 * December 21 – Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, voice artist, humanitarian and inventor (died 2005)
 * December 22 – Ruth Roman, actress (died 1999)
 * December 24 – Ava Gardner, American actress (died 1990)
 * December 26 – Alfred Dennis, American actor (died 2016)
 * December 28
 * Ivan Desny, Swiss actor (died 2002)
 * Stan Lee, American comic-book writer, producer and actor (died 2018)

Deaths

 * February 1 – William Desmond Taylor, film director, victim of an unsolved and widely publicised murder which provoked a great scandal. (born 1872)
 * February 4 – Florence Deshon, American actress (born 1893)
 * March 4 – Bert Williams, American actor and singer (born 1874)
 * May 21 – Sidney Ainsworth, actor (born 1872)
 * May 26 – Walter Jones, American actor (b.1874)
 * June 6 – Lillian Russell, stage and screen actress (born 1860/61)
 * June 15 – Howard Crampton, actor (born 1865)
 * July 5 – Bobby Connelly, child star (born 1909)
 * September 23 – W. Chrystie Miller, veteran stage & screen actor (born 1843)
 * November 30 – René Cresté, actor and director (born 1881)

Film debuts

 * Clara Bow – Beyond the Rainbow
 * Betty Bronson – Anna Ascends
 * Lon Chaney Jr. – The Trap
 * Ann Doran – Robin Hood
 * Louise Dresser – The Glory of Clementina
 * James Gleason – Polly of the Follies
 * William Haines – Brothers Under the Skin
 * Edward Everett Horton – Too Much Business
 * Hazel Keener – Penrod
 * Walter Kingsford – Sherlock Holmes
 * Gene Lockhart – Smilin' Through
 * Anita Louise – Down to the Sea in Ships
 * Jeanne Loury – Triplepatte
 * Garry Marsh – Long Odds
 * George O'Brien – White Hands
 * William Powell – Sherlock Holmes
 * David Sharpe – Sherlock Holmes
 * Anne Shirley – The Hidden Woman
 * Warren William – The Town That Forgot God
 * Roland Young – Sherlock Holmes