1917 in film

List of years in film       (table)
... 1907 .  1908 .  1909 .  1910  . 1911  . 1912  . 1913 ... 1914 1915 1916 -1917- 1918 1919 1920 ... 1921 .  1922 .  1923 .  1924  . 1925  . 1926  . 1927 ...
Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Philosophy . Science +...

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 and beyond

The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• Foundation of Universum Film AG (UƒA), as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.
• Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced. The first film to use it was The Gulf Between.
• World's first feature-length animated film is made in Argentina by Quirino Cristiani (El Apóstol)
• Movette, another revision of the 17.5 mm film format, is made available.
• Buster Keaton makes his film debut.
• April 25 - Thomas Lincoln Tally, in a meeting in New York, co-founds the First National Exhibitors Circuit.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Rank	Title	Gross
1.	Cleopatra
2.	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
3.	The Poor Little Rich Girl

Notable films released in 1917

U.S.A. unless stated

• The Adventurer, a Charlie Chaplin short.
• All Aboard, a Harold Lloyd short
• The Bad Boy, starring Robert Harron, Mildred Harris, Colleen Moore
• Bestia (aka The Polish Dancer), starring Pola Negri - (Poland)
• Big Timber
• Bucking Broadway, directed by John Ford, starring Harry Carey
• The Butcher Boy, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short (Keaton's film debut).
• Camille, starring Theda Bara
• Cleopatra, starring Theda Bara
• The Colonel (Az Ezredes), directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Bela Lugosi - (Hungary)
• Coney Island, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short.
• The Cure, a Charlie Chaplin short.
• Dombey and Son directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Hayford Hobbs - (GB)
• The Dying Swan (Umirayushchii Lebed) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Easy Street, starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance
• El Apóstol (The Apostle), animated by Quirino Cristiani - (Argentina)
• Fear directed by Robert Wiene and starring Conrad Veidt - (Germany)
• Frank Hansen's Fortune directed by Viggo Larsen - (Germany)
• The Gay Lord Quex directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ben Webster and Irene Vanbrugh - (GB)
• Golden Rule Kate, a drama western starring Louise Glaum
• Great Expectations, starring Jack Pickford
• The Gulf Between, All color movie.
• Harrison and Barrison, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Márton Rátkai - (Hungary)
• Her Right to Live, directed by Paul Scardon, starring Peggy Hyland, Antonio Moreno, Mae Costello, John S. Robertson
• His Wedding Night, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short.
• The Immigrant, starring Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance
• A Kentucky Cinderella, starring Ruth Clifford
• The Labour Leader, directed by Thomas Bentley, starring Owen Nares, Fay Compton - (GB)
• The Little American, starring Mary Pickford; directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
• A Little Princess, directed by Marshall Neilan, starring Mary Pickford, Norman Kerry, ZaSu Pitts
• A Man There Was (Terje Vigen), directed by Victor Sjöström - (Sweden)
• The Man Without a Country, starring Florence La Badie
• The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach, directed by Rudolf Biebrach, starring Henny Porten, Emil Jannings - (Germany)
• Oh Doctor!, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short.
• One Law for Both directed by Ivan Abramson
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray) - (Germany)
• The Poor Little Rich Girl, starring Mary Pickford
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, starring Mary Pickford
• A Reckless Romeo, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle short.
• A Romance of the Redwoods, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Mary Pickford
• The Rough House, a 'Fatty' Arbuckle / Buster Keaton short.
• Satan Triumphant (Satana likuyushchiy) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Souls Triumphant, starring Lillian Gish
• Straight Shooting, directed by John Ford
• Teddy at the Throttle, a Keystone comedy starring Gloria Swanson
• Thaïs - (Italy)
• Tom Sawyer, starring Jack Pickford
• The Tornado, directed by John Ford (his debut)
• The Torture of Silence (Mater Dolorosa), directed by Abel Gance - (France)
• Wild and Woolly, starring Douglas Fairbanks

Comedy film series

• Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)
• Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
• Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
• Buster Keaton (1917–1944)

Births

• January 5 - Jane Wyman, actress (died 2007)
• January 2 - Vera Zorina, dancer, actress (died 2003)
• January 10 - Hilde Krahl, actress (died 1999)
• January 24 - Ernest Borgnine, actor (died 2012)
• February 6 - Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress
• February 21 - Lucille Bremer, actress (died 1996)
• March 12 - Googie Withers, actress (died 2011)
• March 22 - Virginia Grey, actress (died 2004)
• April 14 - Valerie Hobson, actress (died 1998)
• April 29 - Maya Deren, experimental filmmaker (died 1961)
• May 1 - Danielle Darrieux, actress
• May 10 - Margo, actress (died 1985)
• May 21 - Raymond Burr, actor (died 1993)
• May 25 - Steve Cochran, actor (died 1965)
• June 7 - Dean Martin, singer, actor (died 1995)
• April 29 - Celeste Holm, actress (died 2012)
• June 30 - Lena Horne, singer, actress (died 2010)
• July 17 - Phyllis Diller, comedian, actress (died 2012)
• August 6 - Robert Mitchum, actor (died 1997)
• August 25 - Mel Ferrer, actor (died 2008)
• September 9 - Rolf Wenkhaus, actor (died 1942)
• September 11 - Herbert Lom, actor (died 2012)
• October 7 - June Allyson, actress (died 2006)
• October 7 - Helmut Dantine, actor (died 1982)
• October 17 - Alice Pearce, actress (died 1966)
• October 17 - Marsha Hunt, U.S. actress
• October 22 - Joan Fontaine, actress
• November 2 - Ann Rutherford, actress (died 2012)
• November 4 - Virginia Field, actress (died 1992)
• December 7 - Hurd Hatfield, actor (died 1998)
• December 22 - Frankie Darro, actor (died 1976)

Deaths

• February 21 - Fred Mace, American actor & comedian
• March 6 - Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor
• July 2 - Herbert Beerbohm Tree, English stage & screen actor
• October 13 - Florence La Badie, American actress
• October 25 - Jack Standing, English actor
• December 20 - Eric Campbell, English actor

Film debuts

• Marion Davies
• Vittorio De Sica
• Richard Dix
• Elsie Ferguson
• John Ford - director
• Mary Garden
• Buster Keaton
• Stan Laurel
• Bela Lugosi
• ZaSu Pitts
• Marjorie Rambeau
• Loretta Young