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

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

1910 - First filmed "Frankenstein" by Edison studios.
1911 - Nestor Films opens the first motion picture studio in Hollywood.
1912 - From the Manger To the Cross, directed by Sidney Olcott
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 Country Girl, starring Florence LaBadie. The first great epic of American film, The Birth of a Nation is produced by D. W. Griffith.
1916 - D. W. Griffith's second monumental production, Intolerence 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 is "A Lucky Dog".
1922 - Nosferatu, first ever vampire film released. Also, "Our Gang" series begins at Hal Roach studios.
1923 - Harold Lloyd's greatest movie "Safety Last" produced by Hal Roach, released by Pathe.
1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio established.
1925 - Lon Chaney's greatest film, "The Phantom Of The Opera" is released by Universal with colour sequences. Eric Von Stroheim's magnum opus, "Greed"
1926 - First Vitaphone feature, "Don Juan" starring John Barrymore, released by Warner Brothers. Posthumously released, "The Son Of the Shiek" is Rudolph Valentino's biggest grossing film.
1927 - Al Jolson movie The Jazz Singer popularizes sound motion pictures. First talkie newsreel,"Fox Movietone News".
1928 - First talkie cartoon,"Dinner Time" is produced by VanBuren Studios, the second talkie cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" by Walt Disney is released a month later.
1929 - The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are distributed. Also, Laurel & Hardy make their talkie debut in "Unaccustomed As we are" co-starring Thelma Todd at Hal Roach Studios. Rko-Radio studio is established.

1930 - The first Busby Berkely musical film, "Whoopee" starring Eddie Cantor, is released by Goldwyn in colour. Also, Max Fleischer's animated star "Betty Boop" debuts.
1931 - Laurel & Hardy's first feature, "Pardon Us" is released by MGM.
1932 - Shirley Temple's film career begins
1933 - The film Ecstacy, which shows simulated sex, shocks audiences. Also, First Popeye cartoon, "Popeye the Sailor" debuts.
1934 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wizard of Oz from Frank J. Baum. The first Columbia Three Stooges short is released. Shirley Temple becomes a star. The so-called 'pre-code' era ends when 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 - Laurel & Hardy's last short subject, "Thicker Than water".
1936 - Thelma Todd's final short subject "An All-American Toothache" co-starring Patsy Kelly and Mickey Daniels.
1937 - Snow White, first feature-length animated movie
1938 - Casting begins on The Wizard of Oz
1939 - Gone With the Wind premiers in Atlanta