1923 in film

This is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top eight films released in 1923 by U.S. gross are as follows:

Events

 * April 4 – Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. incorporated in the United States.
 * April 15 – Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.
 * Henry Roussel's Les Opprimés is released, introducing mattes (painted by W. Percy Day) to French cinema.
 * October 16 – Brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney establish Disney Brothers Studio (later to be known as Walt Disney Productions).

Notable films released in 1923
American films unless stated otherwise

A

 * Adam's Rib, directed by Cecil B. DeMille
 * The Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz), directed by E. A. Dupont, starring Henny Porten – (Germany)
 * Ashes of Vengeance, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery
 * The Audacious Mr. Squire, directed by Edwin Greenwood, starring Jack Buchanan – (GB)

B

 * The Balloonatic, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * Barsoum Looking for a Job, directed by Mohammed Bayoumi, starring Bishara Wakim – (Egypt)
 * The Bells, directed by Edwin Greenwood, based on the 1867 play The Polish Jew by Erckmann-Chatrian – (GB)
 * The Bishop of the Ozarks (lost), directed by Finis Fox
 * Black Oxen, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Corinne Griffith
 * The Blizzard (lost), directed by Mauritz Stiller – (Sweden)
 * Blood and Soul (Chi to Rei), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
 * The Blue Lagoon (lost), directed by William Bowden and Dick Cruikshanks, starring Molly Adair and Arthur Pusey - (GB / South Africa)
 * Bonnie Prince Charlie (lost), directed by Charles Calvert, starring Ivor Novello and Gladys Cooper – (GB)
 * The Brass Bottle (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur

C

 * Cameo Kirby, directed by John Ford, starring John Gilbert
 * Circus Days, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan
 * Cœur fidèle (Faithful Heart), directed by Jean Epstein – (France)
 * The Courtship of Miles Standish, directed by Frederic Sullivan
 * The Covered Wagon, directed by James Cruze, starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson

D

 * The Daring Years (lost), directed by Kenneth Webb, starring Mildred Harris and Clara Bow
 * The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning (Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning), directed by Robert Wiene, starring Werner Krauss – (Germany)
 * Drakula halála (Dracula's Death) (lost), directed by Károly Lajthay – (Hungary)
 * The Drums of Jeopardy, directed by Edward Dillon, starring Elaine Hammerstein and Wallace Beery, based on the 1920 novel by Harold MacGrath

E

 * The Extra Girl, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand

F

 * Faust, directed by Bertram Phillips, based on the 1808 play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – (GB)
 * Frozen Hearts, directed by J. A. Howe, starring Stan Laurel

G

 * The Gold Diggers (lost), directed by Harry Beaumont
 * The Grub-Stake, directed by Bert Van Tuyle, starring Nell Shipman

H

 * The Harbour Lights, directed by Tom Terriss, starring Tom Moore and Isobel Elsom – (GB)
 * Hoy o Nuca, Bésame, directed by José Nepomuceno – (Philippines)
 * The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman Kerry, based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo

I

 * I Will Repay, directed by Henry Kolker, starring Holmes Herbert and Flora Le Breton – (GB)
 * I.N.R.I., directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany)
 * The Isle of Lost Ships (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur
 * Itching Palms, directed by James W. Horne, based on the play When Jerry Comes Home by Roy Briant

L

 * The Lady Owner, directed by Walter West – (GB)
 * The Last Moment (lost), directed by J. Parker Read Jr., starring Henry Hull, Doris Kenyon and Louis Wolheim
 * Little Old New York, directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Marion Davies
 * The Lost Soul, directed by Hugo Werner-Kahle – (Austria)
 * The Love Nest, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton – (GB)

M

 * Main Street (lost), directed by Harry Beaumont
 * The Man in the Iron Mask (Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske), directed by Max Glass – (Germany)
 * The Merchant of Venice (Der Kaufmann von Venedig), directed by Peter Paul Felner, starring Werner Krauss and Henny Porten – (Germany)
 * Merry-Go-Round, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry
 * Miss Suwanna of Siam (Nang Sao Suwan) (lost), directed by Henry MacRae
 * The Monkey's Paw, directed by Manning Haynes, based on the 1902 short story by W. W. Jacobs – (GB)
 * Mysteries of a Barbershop (Mysterien eines Friseursalons), directed by Erich Engel – (Germany)
 * The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, 15-part serial directed by A. E. Coleby – (GB)

O

 * On the Banks of the Wabash, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
 * Our Hospitality, directed by John G. Blystone and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton
 * Out to Win, directed by Denison Clift, starring Catherine Calvert and Clive Brook – (GB)

P

 * Paddy the Next Best Thing (lost), directed by Graham Cutts, starring Mae Marsh – (GB)
 * The Pilgrim, a Charlie Chaplin film
 * Puritan Passions (lost), directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Glenn Hunter and Mary Astor, based on the 1908 play The Scarecrow by Percy MacKaye
 * The Purple Highway (lost), directed by Henry Kolker, starring Madge Kennedy

R

 * Raskolnikow, directed by Robert Wiene – (Germany)
 * The Red Inn (L'auberge rouge), directed by Jean Epstein, based on the 1831 short story by Honoré de Balzac (remade in 1951) – (France)
 * Red Lights, directed by Clarence G. Badger, starring Marie Prevost, based on the play The Rear Car by Edward Everett Rose
 * Le Retour à la Raison (Return to Reason), directed by Man Ray – (France)
 * Rosita, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Mary Pickford
 * La Roue (The Wheel), directed by Abel Gance – (France)
 * Rupert of Hentzau (lost), directed by Victor Heerman

S

 * Safety Last!, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd
 * Salomé, directed by Charles Bryant, starring Alla Nazimova
 * Scaramouche, directed by Rex Ingram, Starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry and Lewis Stone
 * Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination (Shadows - a Nocturnal Hallucination), directed by Arthur Robison – (Germany)
 * The Shock, directed by Lambert Hillyer, starring Lon Chaney
 * The Shriek of Araby, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Ben Turpin
 * The Sign of Four, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Eille Norwood, based on the 1890 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle – (GB)
 * Slave of Desire, directed by George D. Baker, starring Bessie Love, based on the 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac
 * Souls for Sale, directed by Rupert Hughes, starring Eleanor Boardman, Mae Busch and Richard Dix
 * A Spectre Haunts Europe, directed by Vladimir Gardin, based on the 1842 short story The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe – (U.S.S.R.)
 * Squibs M.P., directed by George Pearson, starring Betty Balfour – (GB)
 * The Street (Die Straße), directed by Karl Grune – (Germany)
 * Suzanna, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand

T

 * The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Theodore Roberts
 * This Freedom, directed by Denison Clift, starring Fay Compton and Clive Brook – (GB)
 * Three Ages, directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, starring Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery
 * Three Wise Fools, directed by King Vidor
 * Through Fire and Water, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Clive Brook and Flora Le Breton – (GB)
 * Tiger Rose, directed by Sidney Franklin (director), starring Lenore Ulric
 * The Treasure (Der Schatz), directed by G. W. Pabst – (Germany)
 * Trilby, directed by James Young, based on the 1894 novel by George du Maurier
 * Tut-Tut and his Terrible Tomb, directed by Bertram Phillips – (GB)

U

 * Under the Red Robe, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Robert B. Mantell
 * The Unknown Tomorrow (Das unbekannte Morgen), directed by Alexander Korda, starring Werner Krauss – (Germany)

W

 * While Paris Sleeps (lost), directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Lon Chaney and John Gilbert, based on a novelThe Glory of Love by Leslie Beresford
 * The White Shadow, directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB)
 * The White Sister, directed by Henry King, starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman
 * Why Worry?, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston
 * Wild Bill Hickok, directed by Clifford Smith, starring William S. Hart
 * Within the Law, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Norma Talmadge
 * A Woman of Paris, written and directed by Charles Chaplin, starring Edna Purviance
 * Woman to Woman (lost), directed by Graham Cutts, starring Betty Compson and Clive Brook – (GB)

Short film series

 * Charlie Chaplin (1914–23)
 * Buster Keaton (1917–41)
 * Laurel and Hardy (1921–43)
 * Our Gang (1922–44)

Animated short film series

 * Felix the Cat (1919–36)
 * Koko the Clown (1919–34)
 * Aesop's Film Fables (1921–34)
 * Alice Comedies
 * Alice's Wonderland
 * The Red Head Comedies (1923).

Births

 * January 1 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (died 2019)
 * January 3 - Bud Tingwell, Australian actor (died 2009)
 * January 5 - Boris Leskin, Soviet-American actor (died 2020)
 * January 7 – Pinkas Braun, Swiss actor, director (died 2008)
 * January 8 – Larry Storch, American actor (died 2022)
 * January 17 - Carol Raye, British-born Australian actress, comedian and singer (died 2022)
 * January 19 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (died 2013)
 * January 22 - Diana Douglas, American actress (died 2015)
 * January 23 – Silvano Campeggi, Italian poster designer (died 2018)
 * January 26 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress (died 2017)
 * January 29 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (died 1981)
 * February 2 – Bonita Granville, American actress (died 1988)
 * February 12 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director (died 2019)
 * February 18 - Allan Melvin, American actor and impressionist (died 2008)
 * February 21 – Lola Flores, Spanish actress (died 1995)
 * February 28 – Charles Durning, American actor (died 2012)
 * March 10 – Dolores Fuller, American actress (died 2011)
 * March 12 - Vladek Sheybal, Polish character actor, singer and director (died 1992)
 * March 19 – Pamela Britton, American actress (died 1974)
 * March 24 - Murray Hamilton, American actor (died 1986)
 * April 2 – Gloria Henry, American actress (died 2021)
 * April 4
 * Gene Reynolds, American actor, producer (died 2020)
 * Peter Vaughan, English character actor (died 2016)
 * April 5 - Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (died 1995)
 * April 6 - Chang Feng, Chinese actor (died 2022)
 * April 12 – Ann Miller, American dancer, singer, actress (died 2004)
 * April 13 - Don Adams, American actor, comedian and director (died 2005)
 * April 17
 * Lindsay Anderson, British director and actor (died 1994)
 * Lon McCallister, American actor (died 2005)
 * April 28 – Adele Mara, American actress (died 2010)
 * April 29 - Irvin Kershner, American director, actor and producer (died 2010)
 * May 4 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (died 2012)
 * May 7 – Anne Baxter, actress (died 1985)
 * May 14 – Mrinal Sen, Bengali director (died 2018)
 * May 20 – Edith Fellows, American actress (died 2011)
 * May 26
 * James Arness, American actor (died 2011)
 * Roy Dotrice, British actor (died 2017)
 * May 30 - Jimmy Lydon, American actor and producer (died 2022)
 * June 5 - Peggy Stewart, American actress (died 2019)
 * June 8 – Peggy Maley, American actress (died 2007)
 * June 12 – Herta Elviste, Estonian actress (died 2015)
 * June 18 - Robert Ellenstein, American actor (died 2010)
 * June 20 - Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor (died 2013)
 * June 28 - Ray Boyle, American actor (died 2022)
 * July 6 – Cathy O'Donnell, American actress (died 1970)
 * July 8 - Val Bettin, American actor (died 2021)
 * July 14 – Dale Robertson, American actor (died 2013)
 * July 18 – Michael Medwin, English actor and producer (died 2020)
 * July 22 – Mukesh, Indian singer (died 1976)
 * July 25
 * Estelle Getty, American actress and comedian (died 2008)
 * Allan Lurie, American voice actor (died 2015)
 * August 3 – Jean Hagen, American actress (died 1977)
 * August 9 - John Stephenson, American actor (died 2015)
 * August 10
 * Rhonda Fleming, American actress (died 2020)
 * Vernon Washington, American character actor (died 1988)
 * August 14 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (died 2007)
 * August 15 – Rose Marie, American actress, singer (died 2017)
 * August 24 - June Dayton, American actress (died 1994)
 * August 28 - Alexander Doré, British actor, director and screenwriter (died 2002)
 * August 29 – Richard Attenborough, English actor and director (died 2014)
 * August 31 - Ed Grady, American actor (died 2012)
 * September 7 – Peter Lawford, British-American actor (died 1984)
 * September 9 - Cliff Robertson, American actor (died 2011)
 * September 11 - Betsy Drake, American actress, writer (died 2015)
 * September 23
 * Margaret Pellegrini, American actress (died 2013)
 * Jimmy Weldon, American actor, ventriloquist and television host (died 2023)
 * September 27
 * Tony Giorgio, American actor (died 2012)
 * Mary McCarty, American actress (died 1980)
 * September 28 - William Windom, American actor (died 2012)
 * October 1 – Kim Yaroshevskaya, Russian-born Canadian actress
 * October 4 – Charlton Heston, American actor (died 2008)
 * October 5 – Glynis Johns, British actress (died 2024)
 * October 10 - Patrick Jordan, British actor (died 2020)
 * October 16 – Linda Darnell, American actress (died 1965)
 * October 23 - Frank Sutton, American actor (died 1974)
 * November 12 - Richard Venture, American actor (died 2017)
 * November 13 – Linda Christian, Mexican-American actress (died 2011)
 * November 21 - Helen Horton, American actress (died 2007)
 * November 28
 * Gloria Grahame, American actress (died 1981)
 * James Karen, American actor (died 2018)
 * December 10 – Harold Gould, American actor (died 2010)
 * December 11 – Betsy Blair, American actress (died 2009)
 * December 12 - Bob Barker, American television game show host (died 2023)
 * December 29
 * Dina Merrill, American actress (died 2017)
 * Mike Nussbaum, American actor and director (died 2023)

Deaths

 * January 18 – Wallace Reid, American actor (born 1892)
 * March 3 – Dante Testa, Italian actor and director (born 1861)
 * March 26 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (born 1844)
 * May 21 – Charles Kent, veteran actor and director (born 1852)
 * June 11 – Porter Strong, American silent film actor
 * June 17 – Macey Harlam, screen actor (born 1873)
 * July 12 – Harry Lonsdale, stage and screen actor (born 1865)
 * July 30 – Charles Hawtrey, veteran British actor (born 1858)
 * August 29 – Bernard Durning, American actor and director, (born 1893)
 * September 11 – Siegmund Lubin, American motion picture pioneer (born 1851)
 * September 26 – Jerome Patrick, Broadway stage and silent film leading man (born 1883)
 * October 28 – Joe Roberts, American actor (born 1871)
 * November 20 – Allen Holubar, American actor and director (born 1888)
 * November 30 – Martha Mansfield, American actress (born 1899)
 * December 28 – Frank Hayes, American actor and comedian (born 1871)

Film debuts

 * Frank Albertson – The Covered Wagon
 * Mariska Aldrich – Souls for Sale
 * Jean Arthur – Cameo Kirby
 * Irving Bacon – Anna Christie
 * Julie Bishop – Children of Jazz
 * Olive Borden – Ponjola
 * Mary Carlisle – Long Live the King
 * Marlene Dietrich – The Little Napoleon
 * Charles Farrell – The Cheat
 * Leslie Fenton – Gentle Julia
 * Bess Flowers – Hollywood
 * Carmelita Geraghty – Jealous Husbands
 * Gloria Grey – Bag and Baggage
 * James Hall – Man Alone
 * Carmencita Johnson – The Courtship of Miles Standish
 * Mary Kid – Avalanche
 * Helen Mack – Success
 * June Marlowe – Fighting Blood
 * Ken Maynard – Brass Commandments
 * Donald Meek – Six Cylinder Love
 * Thomas Mitchell – Six Cylinder Love
 * Jack Oakie – His Children's Children
 * Edna May Oliver – Wife in Name Only
 * Marjorie Reynolds – Trilby
 * Stanley Ridges – Success
 * Gilbert Roland – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
 * Martha Sleeper – The Mailman
 * Suzy Vernon – The Portrait
 * Erika von Thellmann – The Stone Rider
 * Harry Woods – Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande