The year 1911 in film involved some significant events.
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Events February: The Motion Picture Story Magazine, the first American film fan magazine, is published. It is followed later in the year by Photoplay. April 8: Winsor McCay releases his first film Little Nemo, one of the earliest animated films. October 23 (October 10 OS): Svetozar Botorić's The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe (Život i dela besmrtnog vožda Karađorđa, Живот и дела бесмртног вожда Карађорђа) premieres in Belgrade and becomes the first feature film made in Serbia and the Balkans. October 26: Defence of Sevastopol («Оборона Севастополя») premieres at the Crimean palace of Tsar Nicholas II and becomes the first feature-length film made in the Russian Empire and one of the first in the world. It is also the first known film to use a multiple-camera setup (2 cameras) October 27: David Horsley's Nestor Motion Picture Company opens the first motion picture studio in Hollywood. November: The Kalem Company of New York pays the estate of author Lew Wallace $25,000 in legal settlement for having adapted Ben Hur (1907 film) from his novel without securing prior rights.
Notable films Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise
A The Aerial Anarchists, directed by Walter R. Booth – (GB)
B Baron Munchausen's Dream (Les Hallucinations du baron de Münchausen), directed by Georges MélièsKinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. . Page 40-41. – (France)
C The Coffin Ship, produced by the Thanhouser Company
D David Copperfield, directed by George O. Nichols, based on the 1850 novel by Charles DickensPointer, Michael (1996). Charles Dickens On The Screen: The Film, Television, and Video Adaptations. Scarecrow Press. p. 121. . Defence of Sevastopol, directed by Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Vasily GoncharovRollberg, Peter (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 281. . – (Russia) The Diabolical Church Window (Le Vitrail diabolique) (incomplete), directed by Georges Méliès – (France) The Dream, directed by Thomas H. Ince and George Loane Tucker, starring Mary Pickford and Owen Moore
E Enoch Arden, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Wilfred Lucas and Linda Arvidson
F The Fall of Troy (La caduta di Troia), directed by Giovanni Pastrone, based on the Greek epic poem the Iliad by Homer – (Italy)
H The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris), directed by Albert Capellani, based on the 1833 novel by Victor HugoKinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. . Page 44. – (France)
I L'Inferno (Dante's Inferno), directed by Francesco Bertolini and Giuseppe de Liguoro, based on the 14th-century narrative poem by Dante AlighieriWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p.86. . – (Italy) The Italian Barber, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Joseph Graybill and Mary Pickford
L The Last Drop of Water, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Blanche SweetUsai, Paolo Cherchi (2008). "The Griffith Project Vol. 11: Selected Writings by D.W. Griffith; Indexes and Corrections to Volumes 1-10". British Film Institute. The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe (Život i dela besmrtnog vožda Karađorđa), directed by Ilija Stanojević – (Serbia) Little Nemo, animated film directed by Winsor McCay The Lonedale Operator, directed by D. W. Griffith
M The Miser's Heart, directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Lionel Barrymore Der Müller und sein Kind (The Miller and His Child), directed by Walter Friedemann – (Austria) The Mummy (lost), produced by the Thanhouser CompanyKinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. . Page 43.
O The Odyssey (L'Odissea), directed by Francesco Bertolini and Giuseppe de Liguoro, based on the Greek epic poem by Homer – (Italy)
P The Pasha's Daughter, produced by the Thanhouser Company, starring William Garwood
S She, directed by George Nichols, based on the 1887 novel by H. Rider HaggardKinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. . Page 44. Sweet Memories, directed by Thomas H. Ince, starring Mary Pickford and King Baggot Swords and Hearts, directed by D. W. Griffith
T A Tale of Two Cities, directed by Charles Kent, starring Maurice Costello and Florence Turner, based on the 1859 novel by Charles Dickens
Births January 5 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor (died 2001) January 7 – Butterfly McQueen, actress (died 1995) January 22 – Mary Hayley Bell, actress, writer and dramatist, wife of Sir John Mills (d 2005) January 30 – Hugh Marlowe, actor (died 1982) January 31 – Eddie Byrne, actor (died 1981) February 6 – Ronald Reagan, actor, United States President (died 2004) February 9 – Gypsy Rose Lee, actress and burlesque dancer (died 1970) February 14 – Florence Rice, actress (died 1974) February 19 – Merle Oberon, actress (died 1979) February 20 – Margot Grahame, actress (died 1982) March 3 – Jean Harlow, actress (died 1937) March 10 – Edward Norris, actor, (died 2002) March 18 – Smiley Burnette, actor, musician (died 1967) April 23 – Ronald Neame, cinematographer, producer and director (died 2010) May 7 – Ishirō Honda, director (died 1993) May 11 Louise Campbell, actress (died 1997) Phil Silvers, actor (died 1985) May 17 – Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (died 1998) May 18 – Sigrid Gurie, actress (died 1969) May 23 - Bert Morrison, American actor, singer and jazz player (died 1995) May 27 – Vincent Price, actor (died 1993) May 30 – Douglas Fowley, actor (died 1998) June 1 – Gertrude Michael, actress (died 1964) June 3 – Ellen Corby, actress (died 1999) June 20 – Gail Patrick (died 1980) June 29 – Bernard Hermann, composer (died 1975) July 6 – Laverne Andrews, American singer, actress, member of Andrews Sisters (died 1967) July 14 – Terry-Thomas, British actor (died 1990) July 16 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, dancer (died 1995) July 18 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (died 2003) July 19 – Loda Halama, Polish dancer and actress (died 1996) July 28 – Ann Doran, American actress (died 2000) August 2 – Ann Dvorak, American actress (died 1979) August 3 – Alex McCrindle, British actor (died 1990) August 5 – Robert Taylor, actor (died 1969) August 6 – Lucille Ball, actress (died 1989) August 7 – Nicholas Ray, director (died 1979) August 12 – Cantinflas, actor (died 1993) August 19 – Constance Worth, actress (died 1963) September 2 – Erwin Hillier, cinematographer (died 2005) September 10 – Renée Simonot, actress and voice artist (died 2021) October 13 – Ashok Kumar, actor, India (died 2001) October 20 – Will Rogers, Jr., actor (died 1993) October 27 – Leif Erickson, actor (died 1986) October 30 – Ruth Hussey, actress (died 2005) October 31 – Sheila Bromley, actress, (died 2003) November 5 Roy Rogers, singer, actor (died 1998) Baby Marie Osborne, child actress (died 2010) November 10 – Harry Andrews, actor (died 1989) December 8 – Lee J. Cobb, actor (died 1976) December 9 – Broderick Crawford, actor (died 1986) December 23 – James Gregory, actor (died 2002) December 29 – Claire Dodd, actress (died 1973) December 30 – Jeanette Nolan, actress (died 1998)
Deaths
January 18 – Arthur Marvin, cinematographer, (born 1859) May 29 – W. S. Gilbert, producer of musicals, half of the team of Gilbert and Sullivan, (born 1836) July 18 – Genevieve Lantelme, actress, (born 1883) August 11 – Verner Clarges, actor, (born 1846) October 27 – Francis Boggs, director, (born 1870) November 2 – Kyrle Bellew, actor, (born 1855) December 22 – Wright Lorimer, stage actor, screenwriter, (born 1874) Unknown – Woodville Latham, producer and exhibitor whose desire to shoot an entire boxing match on a single reel of film led to the invention of the Latham loop (born 1837)
Debuts Lionel Barrymore – The Battle (*debatable; film debut much earlier) Francis X. Bushman – His Friend's Wife (short) Paul Kelly – Jimmie's Job (short) Edgar Kennedy – Brown of Harvard Ann Little – The Indian Maiden's Lesson (short) Harold Lockwood – The White Red Man (short) Anna Q. Nilsson – Molly Pitcher (short) Anita Stewart – A Tale of Two Cities as Anna Stewart Lenore Ulric – The First Man (1911 short) Lois Weber – director, actress, A Heroine of '76 (short); writer, On the Brink (short)
References
External links List of 1911 films at IMDb List of 1911 deaths at IMDb List of 1911 births at IMDb