Category Archives: 1920s

Joseph Kennedy purchases Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) 90 years ago today (Feb 7 1926)


Video: 'PBS American Experience & The Kennedys 1 of 2' (Feb. 7, 1926, at 13:17)

(Sunday, February 7, 1926) — Boston banker Joseph P. Kennedy entered the motion picture production business today by buying, with some associates, control of the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) film studio from Lloyds Bank and other British financial interests.

‘Battleship Potemkin’ opens in the Soviet Union 90 years ago today (Dec 24 1925)


Video: 'Battleship Potemkin (1925) - Full Movie; English'

(Thursday, December 24, 1925, Christmas Eve)Battleship Potemkin, a Soviet silent film about the 1905 mutiny by the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin against their officers of the Tsarist regime, opened today in the Soviet Union.

Directed by S.M. Eisenstein, the film starred Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barksy and Grigori Aleksandrov.

Pittsburgh Pirates win World Series in seven games 90 years ago this afternoon (Oct 15 1925)


Video: '1925 World Series Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins)'

(Thursday, October 15, 1925, afternoon EST) — The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 1925 World Series today, beating the Washington Senators 9-7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the seventh and deciding game.

It was the second of five World Series titles for the Pirates (1909-1979).

‘The Freshman’ opens in the U.S. 90 years ago today (Sep 20 1925)


Video: 'Harold Lloyd The Freshman 1925'

(Sunday, September 20, 1925)The Freshman, a silent comedy film about a naive college boy who tries to join the football team after making a fool out of himself, opened today in the United States including Colony Theatre in New York City.

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, the film starred Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston.

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ premieres in New York City 90 years ago tonight (Sep 6 1925)


Video: 'The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [HD] - Lon Chaney'

(Sunday, September 6, 1925, evening EDT)The Phantom of the Opera, a silent horror film about a hideously deformed man who haunts the sewers beneath the Paris Opera, premiered tonight at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

Directed by Rupert Julian, the film starred Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe and Gibson Gowland.

William Jennings Bryan, 65, dies in this sleep 90 years ago this hour (July 26 1925)


Video: 'Scopes Monkey Trial FULL' (July 26, 1925, 1:07:58)

(Sunday, July 26, 1925, 4:45 p.m. EDT) — Just five days after winning a conviction in the Scopes Trial against John T. Scopes for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in Dayton, Tennessee (the verdict was later overturned), prosecutor William Jennings Bryan died today of a heart attack at age 65.

Bryan was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1896, 1900 and 1908 (losing all three times; to Republicans William McKinley in 1896 and 1900 and William Taft in 1908) and served as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1915).