List of years in film

This page indexes the individual year in film pages. Each year is annotated with a significant event as a reference point.

19th century in film
20th century in film:
- 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s
21st century in film:
- 2000s

[edit] 19th century in film

1875 - D. W. Griffith is born.
1885
1886
1887
1888 - The first credited film, Roundhay Garden Scene, is recorded.
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894 - Thomas Edison records Fred Ott's sneeze.
1895 - The Lumière brothers gave the first public screening of movies at which admission was charged Dec. 28th, in Paris.
1896
1897
1898
1899 - The first film version of Cinderella.

1900
1901
1902 - A Trip to the Moon by George Méliès.
1903 - The Great Train Robbery by Edwin S. Porter.
1904 - The Great Train Robbery, a remake by Siegmund Lubin.
1905
1906 - The world's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, released in Australia.
1907 - Ben Hur, directed by Sidney Olcott.
1908 - Thomas Edison formed the Motion Picture Patents Company.
1909

1910 - The first film version of Frankenstein.
1911 - Nestor Films opens the first motion picture studio in Hollywood.
1912 - From the Manger to the Cross, directed by Sidney Olcott. First American feature film made, Oliver Twist.
1913 - The first Charlie Chaplin movies are made.
1914 - Tillie's Punctured Romance produced by Mack Sennett, stars Marie Dressler, Charlie Chaplin, and Mabel Normand.
1915 - The Clansman, based on the novel and play by Thomas W. Dixon and directed by D.W. Griffith, premieres in Los Angeles. Later, Dixon suggests that the film be retitled The Birth of a Nation. The Country Girl, starring Florence LaBadie.
1916 - D. W. Griffith's second monumental production, Intolerance is released.
1917 - Technicolor is introduced.
1918 - My Four Years in Germany is the first Warner Brothers production. First National releases the first Tarzan film, starring Elmo Lincoln.
1919 - United Artists is founded by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D. W. Griffith.

1920 - Buster Keaton begins starring in shorts and his first feature, The Saphead at Metro. Erich Von Stroheim's The Devil's Passkey stars Mae Busch at Goldwyn.
1921 - Laurel and Hardy's first film together, A Lucky Dog.
1922 - Nosferatu, first vampire film. Also, Our Gang series begins at Hal Roach studios.
1923 - Harold Lloyd's Safety Last produced by Hal Roach, released by Pathe. Charles Chaplin releases A Woman of Paris.
1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio established. Erich von Stroheim's magnum opus, Greed released.
1925 - Lon Chaney's The Phantom of the Opera is released by Universal with color sequences. Sergei Eisenstein directed The Battleship Potemkin.
1926 - First Vitaphone feature, Don Juan starring John Barrymore, released by Warner Brothers.
1927 - Al Jolson movie The Jazz Singer popularizes sound motion pictures.
1928 - First talkie cartoon, Dinner Time is produced. The second talkie cartoon, Steamboat Willie, by Walt Disney, is released a month later.
1929 - The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are distributed.

1930 - The first Busby Berkely musical film, Whoopee starring Eddie Cantor, is released by Goldwyn in color.
1931 - Laurel & Hardy's first feature, Pardon Us is released by MGM.
1932 - Shirley Temple's film career begins.
1933 - Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees premieres, the first film produced in the three-strip Technicolor process. The film Ecstacy, which shows simulated sex, shocks audiences.
1934 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Frank J. Baum. Shirley Temple becomes a star. The Production Code is amended to require all films to obtain a certificate of approval. The code is effectively enforced for the first time with the removal of nude scenes from the movie Tarzan and his Mate.
1935 - The first feature-length motion picture in three-strip Technicolor, RKO's Becky Sharp.
1936 - Thelma Todd's An All-American Toothache, co-starring Patsy Kelly and Mickey Daniels.
1937 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, first feature-length animated movie.
1938 - Bringing Up Baby released to a cold box-office reception.
1939 - Hollywood is in its Golden Age. Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and The Wizard of Oz premiere.