1923 in film

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 – (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 22 - Carmen Filpi, American character actor (died 2003) • 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 22 - Avis Bunnage, English actress (died 1990) • 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 17 – Julius Harris, American actor (died 2004) • 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 30 - William Duell, American actor and singer (died 2011) • August 31 - Ed Grady, American actor (died 2012) • September 1 - Habib Tanvir, Indian actor (died 2009) • 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 20 - Ricardo Montez, Gibraltarian actor (died 2010) • 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 (died 2025) • 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 4 - Vincent Ball, Australian retired actor • 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==