100 Greatest Silent Films of All Time

This is where it all began. Some of these classics are have created tears and laughter for an entire century.

TOP 100

#TitleReleasedDirectorTop Lists
497th Heaven1927Frank BorzageGreatest Silent Films

In Paris, in the early years of the twentieth century, lives Chico, a sewer worker with lofty aspirations. One night, Chico saves a young prostitute named Diane from the murderous rage of her tyrannical sister. Despite her lifestyle, Diane is honest and innocent, and when the police arrive to arrest her, Chico spontaneously claims that she is his wife. Forced to maintain this facade or else both face prison sentences, Chico reluctantly allows Diane to live with him — and in the process, love gradually blossoms between them. However, the dark spectre of World War I has begun to descend upon France, and Chico and Diane cannot help but fall under its shadow.

READ: 7th Heaven at The Metropolis Times

 

 

94A Page of Madness1926Teinosuke KinugasaGreatest Silent Films

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

 

99A Trip to the Moon1902Georges MélièsGreatest Silent Films

A group of men travel to the moon by being shot in a capsule from a giant cannon. They are captured by moon-men, escape, and return to the earth.

 

82A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate1923Charles ChaplinGreatest Silent Films

Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean when he fails to meet her at the railway station. She goes off to Paris alone. A year later, mistress of wealthy Pierre Revel, she meets Jean again. Misinterpreting events she bounces back and forth between apparent security and true love.

 

5Battleship Potemkin1925Sergei M. EisensteinGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100Based on the historical events the movie tells the story of a riot at the battleship Potemkin. What started as a protest strike when the crew was given rotten meat for dinner ended in a riot. The sailors raised the red flag and tried to ignite the revolution in their home port Odessa. Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021  
66Beggars of Life1928William A. WellmanGreatest Silent FilmsAfter killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond. She dresses as a boy, they hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal a car in their attempt to escape the police, and reach Canada.
28Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ1925Charles Brabin, Christy Cabanne, Fred Niblo, J.J. Cohn, Rex IngramBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through HistoryErstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala. Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021  
89Berlin: Symphony of a Great City1928Walter RuttmannGreatest Silent Films

A train speeds through the country on its way to Berlin, then gradually slows down as it pulls into the station. It is very early in the morning, about 5:00 AM, and the great city is mostly quiet. But before long there are some signs of activity, and a few early risers are to be seen on the streets. Soon the new day is well underway – it’s just a typical day in Berlin, but a day full of life and energy.

 

31Broken Blossoms1919D.W. GriffithBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

Cheng Huan is a missionary whose goal is to bring the teachings of peace by Buddha to the civilized Anglo-Saxons. Upon landing in England, he is quickly disillusioned by the intolerance and apathy of the country. He becomes a storekeeper of a small shop. Out his window, he sees the young Lucy Burrows. She is regularly beaten by her prizefighter father, underfed and wears ragged clothes. Even in this deplorable condition, Cheng can see that she is a priceless beauty and he falls in love with her from afar. On the day that she passes out in front of his store, he takes her in and cares for her. With nothing but love in his heart, he dresses her in silks and provides food for her. Still weak, she stays in his shop that night and all that Cheng does is watch over her. The peace and happiness that he sees last only until Battling Burrows finds out that his daughter is with a foreigner.

Broken Blossoms seems to be a genuine attempt on the part of director D.W. Griffith. to show sympathy for Chinese immigrants.  Cheng Haun, played by Richard Barthelmess, is a peaceful man who rescues Lillian Gish from her abusive father.

Unfortunately, Griffith was too blind to his own prejudice to realize that his use of condescending stereotypes and “yellowface” actor might be offensive.

READ: D. W. Griffith and the “Numinous Chinaman”

 

 

77Cabiria1914Giovanni PastroneGreatest Silent Films

Three centuries before Christus. Young Cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the Etna. She is sold as a slave in Carthage, and as she is just going to be sacrificed to god Moloch, Cabiria is rescued by both Fulvio Axilla, a Roman noble, and his giant slave Maciste. Maciste is captured just after having confided Cabiria to Sophinisbe’s safe keeping, while Fulvio Axilla manages to escape from Carthage. Ten years went away with Punic wars before he is able to come back to Carthage…

 

88City Girl1930F.W. MurnauGreatest Silent Films

Lem goes to Chicago to sell the wheat his family has grown on their farm in Minnesota. There he meets the waitress Kate. They fall in love and get married before going back to the farm. Kate is accepted by Lem’s mother and kid sister but is rejected by his father, who believes she married for the money. (And the fact that Lem didn’t get a fair price for the wheat is her fault too). The reapers arrive and quickly they make things even more complicated by making their move on Kate. Lem misunderstands the situation and believes Kate is actually interested. In despair Kate leaves the farm and Lem goes looking for her.

 

3City Lights1931Charles ChaplinGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind girl. Her family is in financial trouble. The tramp’s on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl’s benefactor and suitor.

 

78Cops1922Buster Keaton, Edward F. ClineGreatest Silent Films

Through a series of mistaken identities Buster winds up with a load of furniture in the middle of parade of policemen. An anarchist’s bomb lands in his carriage. After lighting his cigarette with it, he tosses it into the ranks of police. When it explodes the police chase him all over town.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

 

68Destiny1921Fritz LangGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsAs a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers. In each story, a woman, trying to save her lover from his ultimate tragic fate, fails. The young lady realizes the meaning of the tales and takes the only step she can to reunite herself with her lover.  
35Diary of a Lost Girl1929Georg Wilhelm PabstGreatest Silent Films

Thymiane is a beautiful young girl who is not having a storybook life. Her governess, Elizabeth, is thrown out of her home when she is pregnant, only to be later found drowned. That same day, her father already has a new governess named Meta. Meinert, downstairs druggist, takes advance of her and gets Thymiane pregnant. When she refuses to marry, her baby is taken from her and she is put into a strict girls reform school. When Count Osdorff is unable to get the family to take her back, he waits for her to escape. She escapes with a friend and the friend goes with the Count while she goes to see her baby. Thymiane finds that her baby is dead, and the Count has put both girls up at a brothel. When her father dies, Thymiane marries the Count and becomes a Countess, but her past and her hatred of Meta will come back to her.

 

32Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge1924Fritz LangGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsAfter Siegfried’s dead, Kriemhild marries Etzel, the King of the Huns. She gives birth to a child, and invites her brothers for a party. She tries to persuade Etzel and the other Huns, that they kill Hagen, the murderer of Siegfried, but he is protected by her brothers. A fierce battle begins to force her brothers to give Hagen to her.  
26Die Nibelungen: Siegfried1924Fritz LangGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsSiegfried, son of King Sigmund, hears of the beautiful sister of Gunter, King of Worms, Kriemhild. On his way to Worms, he kills a dragon and finds a treasure, the Hort. He helps Gunther to win Krimhild, a mask that makes him invisible proves to be very useful. But because Brunhild is cursing Kriemhild, she tells her what really happened. Now Brunhild wants Siegfried’s head. Is Gunther going to do her that favor?  
44Dr. Mabuse the Gambler1922Fritz LangGreatest Silent Films

Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse’s next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

READ: Dr. Mabuse and the Nazis

 

 

50Earth1930Aleksandr DovzhenkoGreatest Silent FilmsDovzhenko's "film poem" style brings to life the collective experience of life for the Ukranian proles, examining natural cycles through his epic montage. He explores life, death, violence, sex, and other issues as they relate to the collective farms. An idealistic vision of the possibilities of Communism made just before Stalinism set in and the Kulack class was liquidated, "Earth" was viewed negatively by many Soviets because of its exploration of death and other dark issues that come with revolution.
33Faust1926F.W. MurnauGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent FilmsGod and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist. During a plague, Faust despairs and burns his books after failing to stop death; Satan sends Mephisto to tempt Faust, first with insight into treating the plague and then with a day’s return to youth. Mephisto is clever, timing the end of this 24 hours as Faust embraces the beautiful Duchess of Parma. Faust trades his soul for youth. Some time later, he’s bored, and demands on Easter Sunday that Mephisto take him home. Faust promptly sees and falls in love with the beautiful Gretchen, whose liaison with him brings her dishonor. Is there redemption? Who wins the wager? READ: Murnau’s Faust in 5 Frames  
80Finis terrae1929Jean EpsteinGreatest Silent FilmsFinis Terræ is a 1929 French silent drama film written and directed by Jean Epstein. The story centres on a small group of men harvesting seaweed off the coast of Brittany, and the problems which arise when one of them gets an infected thumb. The film's title is the old Latin name of the region Finistère, where the story is set, and means "End of the Earth". The film is shot in a documentary-like style, with local non-actors in all roles, and frequent handheld camerawork. Also, Epstein often inserts slow motion footage.
20Flesh and the Devil1926Clarence BrownGreatest Silent Films

Leo and Ulrich are life long friends. Home, on leave from their military training, Leo sees the beautiful Felicitas at the railroad station. Awed by her beauty, they meet again at the ball and quietly leave together. In her room, her husband, about whom she has neglected to inform Leo, comes in and challenges Leo to a duel. The duel is done, the Count is killed, and Felicitas is a widow. Leo, however, is ‘requested’ to serve 5 years in Africa and he tells Ulrich to watch over Felicitas while he is gone. After 3 years, Ulrich is able to get a pardon for Leo, and all that Leo thinks about on the way home is Felicitas. When he arrives, he learns that Felicitas has married Ulrich. Felicitas likes that Ulrich is rich and she never told Ulrich the truth about Leo and her. Leo is crushed and does not visit them which saddens Ulrich as he does not know the reason why. Leo tries to stay away from her, but Felicitas uses every opportunity to tempt him to return to her as her lover. She creating a deadly triangle with the two life long friends.

 

64Foolish Wives1922Erich von StroheimGreatest Silent Films

“Count” Karanzim, a Don Juan is with his cousins in Monte Carlo, living from faked money and the money he gets from rich ladies, who are attracted by his charmes and his title or his militaristic and aristocratic behaviour. He tries to have success with Mrs Hughes, the wife of the new US ambassador.

 

58Girl Shy1924Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam TaylorGreatest Silent Films

Harold Meadows (Lloyd) is a shy, stuttering bachelor working in a tailor shop, who is writing a guide book for other bashful young men, “The Secret of Making Love,” chapters from which are portrayed as fantasy sequences. Fate has him meet rich girl, Mary (Ralston), and they fall in love. But she is about to wed an already married man, so our hero embarks upon a hair-raising daredevil ride to prevent the wedding.

 

9Greed1925Erich von StroheimGreatest Silent Films

John McTeague was a simple slow man who became a dentist after working at the Big Dipper Gold Mine. He is now being hunted in Death Valley by his ex-best friend Marcus and the law. His lot was cast the day that he meet his future wife Trina in his office. She was with Marcus and she bought a lottery ticket. Well Mac fell for her and Marcus stepped aside. When Mac and Trina married, she won the Lottery for $5000 and became obsessive about the money in gold. Marcus is steamed as he stepped aside and now she is rich so he has the law shut down Mac as he has no official schooling for his dentistry. Trina fearful that they will take her gold away sells everything and takes all Mac earns when he is working. She adds to her stash of gold as they both live as paupers. When Mac has no job and no money, he leaves and Trina moves. Driven to desperation at being poor and hungry he finds Trina and demands the gold.

READ: Greed: Stroheim’s $64,000 Question

 

 

51Häxan1922Benjamin ChristensenGreatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent Films

Part history lesson followed by re-enactments with actors, this film takes depicts the history of witchcraft from its earliest days through to the present day (in this case,1922 or thereabouts). The result is a documentary-like film that must be among the first to use re-enactments as a visual and narrative tool. From pagan worship to satanic rites to hysteria, the film takes you on a journey through the ages with highly effective visual sequences.

 

57He Who Gets Slapped1924Victor SjöströmGreatest Silent Films

Story of an inventor who, suffering betrayal in life, makes a career of it by becoming a clown whose act consists of getting slapped by all the other clowns. He falls in love with another circus performer, and those who betrayed him enter his life yet again.

 

17Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages1916D.W. GriffithBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

Intolerance and its terrible effects are examined in four historical eras. In ancient Babylon, a mountain girl is caught up in the religious rivalry that leads to the city’s downfall. In Judea, the hypocritical Pharisees condemn Jesus Christ. In 1572 Paris, unaware of the impending St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, two young Huguenots prepare for marriage. Finally, in modern America, social reformers destroy the lives of a young woman and her beloved.

 

65It1927Clarence G. Badger, Josef von SternbergGreatest Silent Films

Shopgirl Betty Lou has designs on Cyrus Waltham, the handsome owner of the department store where she works. Waltham, though, doesn’t even know Betty Lou is around. In hopes of attracting Waltham’s attention, she accepts a date with his best friend, Monty, under the condition that they dine at the Ritz, where Waltham also has a dinner date that evening. Her plan works and in no time at all she and Waltham are contemplating marriage. The romance cools when a newspaper reporter mistakenly writes a story depicting Betty Lou as an unwed mother.

 

67Les vampires1916Louis FeuilladeGreatest Silent Films

An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.

 

6Man with a Movie Camera1929Dziga VertovGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100

This playful film is at once a documentary of a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary of the filming of said documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film. Even the editing of the film is documented. We often see the cameraman who is purportedly making the film, but we rarely, if ever, see any of the footage he seems to be in the act of shooting!

READ: The Tyranny of the Camera

 

 

7Metropolis1927Fritz LangGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100

Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he is horrified to find an underground world of workers who apparently run the machinery that keeps the Utopian world above ground functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder’s father, John Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis. Freder learns that the woman is called Maria, who espouses the need to join the “hands” – the workers – to the “head” – those in power above – by a mediator who will act as the “heart”. Freder wants to help the plight of the workers in their struggle for a better life. But when John learns of what Maria is advocating and that Freder has joined their cause, with the assistance of an old colleague. an inventor called Rotwang, who turns out to be But their nemesis goes to works towards quashing a proposed uprising, with Maria at the centre of their plan. John, unaware that Rotwang has his own agenda., makes plans that include shutting down the machines, with the prospect of unleashing total anarchy both above and below ground.

READ: Metropolis: A Proto-Fascist Anti-Utopia

 

 

16Mickey1918F. Richard Jones, James YoungBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through HistoryThis film sold more tickets than any other silent film in history.

The story is a bit complicated — Mickey lives with her step-father a gold mine before she is sent back east to be turned into a proper lady. Some fish-out-of-water comedy ensues, and Mickey soon has two suitors. The movie climaxes in an exciting, hilarious horse race with Mickey as a surprise jockey.

Mickey was not a success initially. Distributors didn’t know what to do with the action/comedy/romance/melodrama. It was essentially shelved for about a year.

Then, a miracle happened.

Mack Sennett was working in his Long Island office when a knock came at the door. The owner of a small movie theater had a problem. A logistical mix-up had left him without a film to show the next night. Unless he found another movie soon, his theater would sit empty.

Sennett suggested Mickey, and the theater owner agreed.

Audiences loved it. Sennett excitedly phoned Normand, informing her she had a hit on her hands.

READ MORE HERE: Mickey: The Forgotten Blockbuster
23Modern Times1936Charles ChaplinGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100

Chaplins last ‘silent’ film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age, (The use of sound in films ?) and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital… When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.

 

96My Best Girl1927Sam TaylorGreatest Silent FilmsJoe Merrill, son of the millionaire owner of a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores, poses as Joe Grant, and takes a job in the stockroom of one of his father's stores, to prove that he can be a success without his father's influence. There he meets stockroom girl Maggie Johnson, and they fall in love. This causes problems, because Mrs. Merrill had planned for her son to marry Millicent Rogers, a high society girl.
30Nanook of the North1922Robert J. FlahertyGreatest Silent Films

Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit), and his family. Describes the trading, hunting, fishing and migrations of a group barely touched by industrial technology. Nanook of the North was widely shown and praised as the first full-length, anthropological documentary in cinematographic history.

READ: Nanook and “The Vanishing Race”

 

 

29Napoleon1927Abel GanceGreatest Silent Films

A massive six-hour biopic of Napoleon, tracing his career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign), his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797 (the film stops there because it was intended to be part one of six, but director Abel Gance never raised the money to make the other five). The film’s legendary reputation is due to the astonishing range of techniques that Gance uses to tell his story, culminating in the final twenty-minute triptych sequence, which alternates widescreen panoramas with complex multiple- image montages projected simultaneously on three screens.

 

11Nosferatu1922F.W. MurnauGreatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent Films

Wisbourg, Germany based estate agent Knock dispatches his associate, Hutter, to Count Orlok’s castle in Transylvania as the Count wants to purchase an isolated house in Wisbourg. They plan on selling him the one across the way from Hutter’s own home. Hutter leaves his innocent wife, Ellen, with some friends while he is away. Hutter’s trek is an unusual one, with many locals not wanting to take him near the castle where strange events have been occurring. Once at the castle, Hutter does manage to sell the Count the house, but he also notices and feels unusual occurrences, primarily feeling like there is a dark shadow hanging over him, even in the daytime when the Count is unusually asleep. Hutter eventually sees the Count’s sleeping chamber in a crypt, and based on a book he has recently read, believes the Count is really a vampire or Nosferatu. While Hutter is trapped in the castle, the Count, hiding in a shipment of coffins, makes his way to Wisbourg, causing death along his way, which most attribute to the plague. Hutter himself tries to rush home to save his town and most importantly save Ellen from Nosferatu’s imminent arrival. In Wisbourg, Ellen can feel the impending darkness as Nosferatu gets closer. But she learns that a sinless woman can sacrifice herself to kill the vampire. Will Hutter be able to save Ellen either from Nosferatu and/or her self-sacrifice?

READ: World War I and the Birth of Horror

 

 

69October (Ten Days that Shook the World)1928Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei M. EisensteinGreatest Silent FilmsIn documentary style, events in Petrograd are re-enacted from the end of the monarchy in February of 1917 to the end of the provisional government and the decrees of peace and of land in November of that year. Lenin returns in April. In July, counter-revolutionaries put down a spontaneous revolt, and Lenin's arrest is ordered. By late October, the Bolsheviks are ready to strike: ten days will shake the world. While the Mensheviks vacillate, an advance guard infiltrates the palace. Anatov-Oveyenko leads the attack and signs the proclamation dissolving the provisional government.
52Orphans of the Storm1921D.W. GriffithGreatest Silent Films

Henriette and Louise, a foundling, are raised together as sisters. When Louise goes blind, Henriette swears to take care of her forever. They go to Paris to see if Louise’s blindness can be cured, but are separated when an aristocrat lusts after Henriette and abducts her. Only Chevalier de Vaudrey is kind to her, and they fall in love. The French Revolution replaces the corrupt Aristocracy with the equally corrupt Robespierre. De Vaudrey, who has always been good to peasants, is condemned to death for being an aristocrat, and Henriette for harboring him. Will revolutionary hero Danton, the only voice for mercy in the new regime, be able to save them from the guillotine?

 

39Our Hospitality1923Buster Keaton, John G. BlystoneGreatest Silent Films

After her husband John McKay is killed in an ongoing feud with the Canfield family, a woman takes her baby boy Willie to her sister’s house in New York hoping he will never know of the feud with the Canfields. Twenty years later Willie is a grown man and he receives a letter saying he has inherited his father’s estate and must travel to his family home to take possession. On the train there he meets a beautiful young woman and falls in love only to learn that she’s a Canfield. He accepts her invitation to dinner and quickly realizes that the Canfield men won’t kill him while he’s in their home. His plan to stay there as a permanent guest is short-lived and the Canfields are soon after him.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

 

12Pandora's Box1930Georg Wilhelm PabstGreatest Silent FilmsLulu is a beautiful young woman who can seemingly work her charms on all of the men around her. She is currently being kept by the rich editor Dr. Ludwig Schön. She is just a plaything however and he is engaged to be married to Charlotte, a woman of his own class. He arranges for Lulu to appear in his son Alwa’s musical revue and he too falls for all of her charms. When Dr. Schön and his fiancée go to the theater, Lulu ensures that he is put in a compromising situation and the elder Schön feels he now must marry her, knowing full well it will ruin his reputation. On his wedding day, Dr. Schön reaches his breaking point. His actions cost him his life however and Lulu is convicted of manslaughter. She escapes with the help of her old cronies but together they begin a downward spiral.  
95People on Sunday1930Curt Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Siodmak, Rochus GlieseGreatest Silent Films

Edwin, a taxi driver, lives with Annie, a neurasthenic model. They plan to spend Sunday at the Nikolassee beach with Wolfgang, an officer, gentleman, antiquarian, gigolo, at the moment a wine salesman. After an argument, Annie stays at home while Edwin joins Wolf. Wolf has brought along a new girlfriend, Christl. Brigitte, Christl’s best friend, joins the group. Brigitte is the manager of a record shop. At the beach Wolf tries to kiss Christl but she rejects him and he turns his attentions toward Brigitte, who is more receptive. Wolf and Brigitte go off together and he seduces her. Back on the beach, Wolf and Erwin, now tired of their dates, flirt with two other women as Brigitte and Christl look on, appalled. They have small satisfaction when the men have to borrow money from them to pay for the paddle-boat they were renting. As they part at the end of the day, Brigitte hopes Wolf will see her next Sunday, but he and Erwin have other plans. The bond between the two men is the one that counts. They have really spent the Sunday with each other. Edwin returns to his flat to find Annie still in bed. The next day he is driving his cab. Wolf is selling wine, and Brigitte is selling records, all waiting for next Sunday.

 

85Queen Kelly1929Erich von Stroheim, Richard BoleslawskiGreatest Silent Films

Prince Wolfram is the betrothed of mad Queen Regina V of Kronberg. Supreme ruler, her word is law and he is a playboy. On maneuvers as punishment for partying with other women, he sees Kelly walking the the other students of a convent. He is intrigued by her beauty and wants her. He kidnaps her that night from the convent and takes her to his room and professes his love for her. When the Queen finds them together the next morning , she whips Kelly and throws her out of the castle. Regina then puts Wolfram into prison for not wanting to marry the Queen. Kelly goes to German East Africa to visit her dying Aunt and is forced to marry the disgusting Jan. The Aunt dies after the wedding and Kelly refuses to live with Jan and becomes the head of Aunties Brothel. Her extravagances and style earn her the name ‘Queen Kelly’ and Prince Wolfram does not marry Queen Regina V.

 

75Robin Hood1922Allan DwanGreatest Silent FilmsAmid big-budget medieval pageantry, King Richard goes on the Crusades leaving his brother Prince John as regent, who promptly emerges as a cruel, grasping, treacherous tyrant. Apprised of England's peril by message from his lady-love Marian, the dashing Earl of Huntingdon endangers his life and honor by returning to oppose John, but finds himself and his friends outlawed, and Marian apparently dead. Enter Robin Hood, acrobatic champion of the oppressed, laboring to set things right through swash buckling feats and cliffhanging perils!
22Safety Last!1923Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam TaylorGreatest Silent Films

In 1922, the country boy Harold says goodbye to his mother and his girlfriend Mildred in the train station and leaves Great Bend expecting to be successful in the big city. Harold promises to Mildred to get married with her as soon as he “make good”. Harold shares a room with his friend “Limpy” Bill and he finally gets a job as salesman in the De Vore Department Store. However, he pawns Bill’s phonograph, buys a lavaliere and writes to Mildred telling that he is a manager of De Vore. One day, Harold sees an old friend from Great Bend that is a policeman and when he meets his friend Bill, he asks Bill to push the policeman over him and make him fall down. However Bill pushes the wrong policeman that chases him, but he escapes climbing up a building. Out of the blue, Mildred is convinced by her mother to visit Harold without previous notice and he pretends to be the manager of De Vore. When Harold overhears the general manager telling that he would give one thousand dollars to to anyone that could promote De Vore attracting people to the department store, he offers five hundred dollars to Bill to climb up the Bolton Building. However things go wrong when the angry policeman decides to check whether the mystery man that will climb up the building is the one who pushed him over on the floor.

 

48Seven Chances1925Buster KeatonGreatest Silent FilmsFinancial broker Jimmie Shannon is nearly bankrupt when an attorney presents grandfather’s will leaving him seven million dollars. In order to inherit the money Jimmie must marry before 7 pm on his 27th birthday – today! READ: The Keaton Decade Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021    
13Sherlock Jr.1924Buster KeatonGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100

A meek and mild projectionist, who also cleans up after screenings, would like nothing better than to be a private detective. He becomes engaged to a pretty girl but a ladies man known as the Sheik vies for her affection. He gets rid of the projectionist by stealing a pocket watch belonging to the girl's father - which he pawns to buy her an expensive box of candy. He then slips the pawn ticket into the projectionist's pocket and subsequently is found by the police. He doesn't have much luck but in his dreams, he the debonair and renowned detective Sherlock Jr. who faces danger and solves the crime. In real life, the girl solves crimes quickly.

READ: The Keaton Decade

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38Show People1928King VidorGreatest Silent Films

Colonel Pepper brings his daughter, Peggy, to Hollywood from Georgia to be an actress. There she meets Billy who gets her work at Comet Studio doing comedies with him. But Peggy is discovered by High Art Studio and she leaves Billy and Comet to work there. For her new image, she is now Patricia Pepoire and ignores Billy when he sees her on location. When she is not longer wanted by the little people who do not understand “ART”, she plans to marry Andre to get a fake title. Billy will not let her go without a fight.

 

87Sparrows1926Tom McNamara, William BeaudineGreatest Silent Films

Evil Mr.Grimes keeps a rag-tag bunch orphans on his farm deep in a swamp in the US South. He forces them to work in his garden and treats them like slaves. They are watched over by the eldest, Molly. A gang in league with Mr. Grimes kidnaps Doris, the beautiful little daughter of a rich man, and hides her out on Grimes’ farm, awaiting ransom. When the police close in, and Mr. Grimes threatens to throw Doris into the bottomless mire, Molly must lead her little flock out through the alligator-infested swamp.

 

98Speedy1928Ted WildeGreatest Silent Films

“Speedy” loses his job as a soda-jerk, then spends the day with his girl at Coney Island. He then becomes a cab driver and delivers Babe Ruth to Yankee Stadium, where he stays to see the game. When the railroad tries to run the last horse-drawn trolley (operated by his girl’s grandfather) out of business, “Speedy” organizes the neighborhood oldtimers to thwart their scheme.

 

91Spies1928Fritz LangGreatest Silent Films

Haghi is a criminal mastermind whose ubiquitous spy operation is always several steps ahead of the police and the government’s secret service. Enter Agent 326, the daring and dashing young man, who thinks his disguise as a dirty, bearded vagrant is fooling the unknown mastermind and his minions. But Haghi is well aware of 326’s existence and what he looks like. Enter Sonya, a Russian lady in Haghi’s employ. Haghi wants Sonya to subvert the efforts of the government agent, but doesn’t count on her falling in love with him. Meanwhile, Haghi is anxious to get his hands on a Japanese peace treaty in the possession of the cunning Doctor Masimoto, whose mistress is also in his employ.

 

40Steamboat Bill, Jr.1928Buster Keaton, Charles ReisnerGreatest Silent Films

Following through on a promise to his mother, William Canning Jr. goes to River Junction to meet his father who has not seen him since he was a child. The younger Canning isn’t quite what the elder was expecting but the old man has bigger problems. He’s being put out of business by J.J. King, who not only owns the local hotel and bank, but has recently introduced a new paddle wheel steamer that puts Cannings older boat, the Stonewall Jackson, to shame. Bill Jr. and Kitty King take a liking to each other much to the dismay of both of their fathers. When a fierce storm hits River Junction, Bill Jr. is forced to save Kitty, her father and his father.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

 

61Strike1925Sergei M. EisensteinGreatest Silent FilmsIn Russia’s factory region during Czarist rule, there’s restlessness and strike planning among workers; management brings in spies and external agents. When a worker hangs himself after being falsely accused of thievery, the workers strike. At first, there’s excitement in workers’ households and in public places as they develop their demands communally. Then, as the strike drags on and management rejects demands, hunger mounts, as does domestic and civic distress. Provocateurs recruited from the lumpen and in league with the police and the fire department bring problems to the workers; the spies do their dirty work; and, the military arrives to liquidate strikers. Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021  
1Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans1927F.W. MurnauBest Picture Winners, Greatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100

In this fable-morality subtitled “A Song of Two Humans”, the “evil” temptress is a city woman who bewitches farmer Anses and tries to convince him to murder his neglected wife, Indre.

It cleaned up at the 1st Academy Awards, winning the Unique and Artistic Picture Award and Best Actress for Janet Gaynor.

 

 

74Tabu: A Story of the South Seas1931F.W. MurnauGreatest Silent Films

In his final film, F.W. Murnau presents the tale of two young lovers on the idyllic island of Bora Bora in the South Pacific. Their life is shattered when the old warrior declares the girl to be the Chosen Maid and it is forbidden for any man to even look upon her. Refusing to accept a life apart, they run off to another island, one that is decadent and westernized. The boy works as a pearl diver but not quite understanding the concept of money, is soon in debt. When the old warrior tracks them down they again plan to run away but in a desperate attempt to pay off his debts, the boy dives for pearls in shark-infested waters. The boy is successful but fate seems determined to keep the two lovers apart.

 

84The Adventures of Prince Achmed1926Carl Koch, Lotte ReinigerGreatest Animated Films, Greatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsBased on stories from “The Arabian Nights.” A wicked sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince is able to subdue the magical horse, which he uses to fly off to many adventures. While travelling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu, and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. The entire film is animated using the silhouette technique, which employs movable cardboard and metal cutouts posed in front of illuminated sheets of glass.  
79The Artist2011Michel HazanaviciusBest Picture Winners, Greatest Silent Films

Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: “Who’s That Girl?” and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin’s world upside-down.

 

14The Big Parade1925George W. Hill, King VidorBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through HistoryThe idle son of a rich businessman joins the army when the U.S.A. enters World War One. He is sent to France, where he becomes friends with two working-class soldiers. He also falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but has to leave her to move to the frontline. READ: King Vidor’s Late Silent Masterpieces Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021    
10The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari1920Robert WieneGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent Films

Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. It is the annual fair in Holstenwall. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep. When Alan asks Cesare about his future, Cesare answers that he will die before dawn. The next morning Alan is found dead. Francis suspects Cesare of being the murderer, and starts spying on him and Dr. Caligari. The following night Cesare is going to stab Jane in her bed, but softens when he sees the beautiful woman, and instead of committing another murder, he abducts her. Jane's father awakens because of the noise, and he and some servants follow the fleeing Cesare. When Cesare cannot outrun his pursuers anymore, he gently places Jane down on the ground, and runs away. Francis and the police investigate the caravan of Dr. Caligari, but the doctor succeeds in slipping away. Francis pursues the fleeing Dr. Caligari, and sees him disappear into a madhouse. Francis enters the madhouse, where he is sure he will find the truth behind all these mysterious events.

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43The Cameraman1928Buster Keaton, Edward SedgwickGreatest Silent Films

After becoming infatuated with a pretty office worker for MGM Newsreels, Buster trades in his tintype operation for a movie camera and sets out to impress the girl (and MGM) with his work.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

 

97The Cheat1915Cecil B. DeMilleGreatest Silent Films

Edith Hardy uses charity funds for Wall Street investments in hopes of buying some new gowns. She loses all the money and borrows from wealthy oriental Tori. When her husband gives her the amount she borrowed, Tori won’t take it back, branding her shoulder with a Japanese sign of his ownership. She shoots him. Her husband takes the blame. In court Edith reveals all to an angry mob.

 

18The Circus1928Charles ChaplinBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

The Tramp finds himself at a circus where he is promptly chased around by the police who think he is a pickpocket. Running into the Bigtop, he is an accidental sensation with his hilarious efforts to elude the police. The circus owner immediately hires him, but discovers that the Tramp cannot be funny on purpose, so he takes advantage of the situation by making the Tramp a janitor who just happens to always be in the Bigtop at showtime. Unaware of this exploitation, the Tramp falls for the owner’s lovely acrobatic stepdaughter, who is abused by her father. His chances seem good, until a dashing rival comes in and Charlie feels he has to compete with him.

 

100The Covered Wagon1924James CruzeGreatest Silent FilmsTwo wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and indian attack. To complicate matters further, a love triangle develops, as pretty Molly must chose between Sam, a brute, and Will, the dashing captain of the other caravan. Can Will overcome the skeleton in his closet and win Molly's heart?
25The Crowd1928King VidorGreatest Silent Films

Born on the fourth of July, 1900, the future holds unlimited potential for newborn John Sims. But dreams soon fade with the death of his father when John is but a lad. Like many before him, John sets out to make his mark in New York City, but ends up a faceless worker (#137) in a large office of a large business. Still he is happy with his fate and soon meets a young woman named Mary on a blind double date. Things take their course and they soon marry and live in a small apartment. Soon John is bickering with Mary and finds that he has no love for the in-laws. When the marriage looks like a bust, he finds that Mary is with child and he stays. After 5 years, he has a son and a daughter and the same dead end job. When tragedy strikes, John must find the conviction to continue or lose what little he has left.

READ: King Vidor’s Late Silent Masterpieces

 

 

63The Fall of the House of Usher1928Jean EpsteinGreatest Silent FilmsAllan has a hard time finding the Usher's house, which is known to be cursed... But he is a personal friend of Roderick Usher, who lives with his sick wife Madeline and a doctor. Roderick is painting a portrait of Madeline, but every pose exhausts her. Allan worries more and more...
34The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse1921Rex IngramBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

Julio Madariaga is the Argentine patriarch of a wealthy family. He has two daughters, the elder wed to a Frenchman and the other to a German. He prefers the Frenchman and his family, especially his grandson Julio, causing jealousy from the German and his three sons. When Madariaga dies, the family splits up, each son-in-law returning to his own country. The Frenchman and his own move to Paris, where Julio becomes an artist and has an affair with an unhappily married woman, the lovely Marguerite Laurier. Her husband finds out, but before he can finalize a divorce, World War One rears its head and both sides of the family will endure great suffering in the conflict, especially since they must fight one another on the battlefield.

 

62The Freshman1925Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam TaylorBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

Harold Lamb’s dream is to go to college and become the most popular student on campus, much like the character Speedy played by actor Lester Laurel in the movie “The College Hero”. Accepted into Tate College, Harold plans on emulating Speedy, including giving himself the nickname Speedy, to gain that popularity, not realizing that if he does so, he will be more the buffoon than the hero. To be the most popular student, he will have to outdo the current most popular student, football captain Chet Trask. Unaware Speedy’s task is made all the more difficult when one of the upperclassmen, seeing how hard Speedy is trying to impress, does whatever he can to make Speedy look all the more ridiculous, all the while Speedy believing he is achieving his dream. The bully’s efforts are made all the more easy as Speedy is able to buy his way to seeming popularity with the small nest egg he was able to accumulate from work. The one thing that Speedy may not be able to buy is his way onto the football team, which he is convinced is the only surefire way to becoming the campus hero, despite not realizing that he truly is not the football type. While Speedy remains unaware how he truly looks to his classmates, Peggy, the daughter of the owner of the rooming house where he is staying, is aware, she who is in love with him, and he with her. The love of a good woman may be able to provide Speedy with a clearer understanding of who he truly should be to impress, and/or get his mind focused on other things other than being everyone’s best friend.

 

4The General1927Buster Keaton, Clyde BruckmanGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100

Johnnie loves his train (“The General”) and Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War begins he is turned down for service because he’s more valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it’s because he’s a coward. Union spies capture The General with Annabelle on board. Johnnie must rescue both his loves.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

8The Gold Rush1925Charles ChaplinGreatest Silent Films, Greatest Westerns, Mega Money Makers Through HistoryA lone prospector ventures into Alaska looking for gold. He gets mixed up with some burly characters and falls in love with the beautiful Georgia. He tries to win her heart with his singular charm. Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021  
60The Golem1921Carl Boese, Paul WegenerGreatest Silent Films

In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem – a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.

 

83The Great Train Robbery1903Edwin S. PorterGreatest Silent Films, Greatest Westerns

Among the earliest existing films in American cinema – notable as the first film that presented a narrative story to tell – it depicts a group of cowboy outlaws who hold up a train and rob the passengers. They are then pursued by a Sheriff’s posse. Several scenes have color included – all hand tinted.

 

46The Hunchback of Notre Dame1923Wallace WorsleyGreatest Silent Films

Clopin bought Esmeralda from the gypsies when she was young. Dancing in the square at the festival, Esmeralda is spotted by Jehan, the evil brother of the good archdeacon Claude Frollo. When he sets Quasimodo out to kidnap Esmeralda, Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, rescues her and captures Quasimodo. The courts sentence Quasimodo to be flogged, and the only one who will give him water while he is tied in the square is Esmeralda. After Clopin forces Esmeralda to leave Phoebus at the ball, she sends a note to Phoebus to meet her at Notre-Dame. In the garden, Phoebus is stabbed in the back by Jehan. Esmeralda is accused of stabbing Phoebus, convicted by the courts and sentenced to hang. When Esmeralda again rejects Jehan, he tells her that Phoebus is dead, even though it is not true. Clopin, Phoebus and Quasimodo all try different ways to save Esmeralda.

 

81The Joyless Street1925Georg Wilhelm PabstGreatest Silent Films

Vienna in the biggest depression, directly after WW1. In a slum, Lila Leid, the wife of lawyer Leid is murdered, Egon, secretary of one of Leid’s clients is arrested. He was with her, and had her necklace, because he needed some money for his own stock exchange deals. The same deal brings poverty to ex-government official Rumfort, his daughter Greta, who also has lost her job, tries to get some money to get food. She rents a room of the flat she, her young sister and her father are living in to an American Red Cross official, who pays $60 rent, but the money is taken by some of her father’s creditors. But their neighbour, shop owner

Mrs Greifer knows how to “help”, she and Mrs. Merkel are running a nightclub with a brothel…

27The Kid1921Charles ChaplinBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

The opening title reads: “A comedy with a smile–and perhaps a tear”. As she leaves the charity hospital and passes a church wedding, Edna deposits her new baby with a pleading note in a limousine and goes off to commit suicide. The limo is stolen by thieves who dump the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp finds the baby and makes a home for him. Five years later Edna has become an opera star but does charity work for slum youngsters in hope of finding her boy. A doctor called by Edna discovers the note with the truth about the Kid and reports it to the authorities who come to take him away from Charlie. Before he arrives at the Orphan Asylum Charlie steals him back and takes him to a flophouse. The proprietor reads of a reward for the Kid and takes him to Edna. Charlie is later awakened by a kind policeman who reunites him with the Kid at Edna’s mansion.

 

86The Kid Brother1927Harold Lloyd, J.A. Howe(co-director), Lewis Milestone, Ted WildeGreatest Silent Films

The most important family in Hickoryville is (naturally enough) the Hickorys, with sheriff Jim and his tough manly sons Leo and Olin. The timid youngest son, Harold, doesn’t have the muscles to match up to them, so he has to use his wits to win the respect of his strong father and also the love of beautiful Mary.

 

59The Last Command1928Josef von SternbergGreatest Silent Films

A decorated, aristocratic Czarist General is reduced to penury after the collapse of Imperial Russia. An old adversary, now a successful director hires the general to re-enact the revolution which deposed him.

 

21The Last Laugh1925F.W. MurnauGreatest Silent Films

The experienced doorman at the Atlantic Hotel is quite proud of his position, his responsibilities, and his uniform. One busy, rainy night, he has to take a short rest after lugging a heavy suitcase in from the rain. Unfortunately, his manager comes by during the short time when he is not performing his duties. The next day, when the doorman arrives for work, he learns that he has been replaced as doorman, and has been re-assigned to the less strenuous but purely menial position of washroom attendant. Stunned and humiliated, the old man struggles to carry on with his life.

READ: The Last Laugh – A True Silent Film

 

 

47The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog1927Alfred HitchcockGreatest Silent Films

A serial killer known as “The Avenger” is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting’s daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger.

 

54The Man Who Laughs1928Paul LeniGreatest Silent Films

Gwynplaine, son of Lord Clancharlie, has a permanent smile carved on his face by the King, in revenge for Gwynplaine’s father’s treachery. Gwynplaine is adopted by a travelling showman and becomes a popular idol. He falls in love with the blind Dea. The king dies, and his evil jester tries to destroy or corrupt Gwynplaine.

 

71The Mark of Zorro1920Fred NibloGreatest Silent Films

In old Spanish California, the oppressive colonial government is opposed by Zorro, masked champion of the people, who appears out of nowhere with flashing sword and an athletic sense of humor, scarring the faces of evildoers with his Mark. Meanwhile, beautiful Lolita is courted by villainous Captain Ramon, rich but effete Don Diego… and dashing Zorro, who is never seen at the same time as Don Diego. As Zorro continues to evade pursuit, Ramon puts the damsel in distress…

 

56The Navigator1924Buster Keaton, Donald CrispGreatest Silent Films

Rollo decides to marry his sweetheart Betsy and sail to Honolulu. When she rejects him he decides to go alone but boards the wrong ship, the “Navigator” owned by Betsy’s father. Unaware of this, Betsy boards the ship to look for her father. whom spies capture before cutting the ship loose. It drifts out to sea with the two socialites each unaware of there being anyone else on board.

READ: The Keaton Decade

 

 

2The Passion of Joan of Arc1928Carl Theodor DreyerGreatest Silent Films, Sight & Sound 2022 Critics' Top 100, Sight & Sound 2022 Directors' Top 100

The sufferings of a martyr, Jeanne D’Arc (1412-1431). Jeanne appears in court where Cauchon questions her and d’Estivet spits on her. She predicts her rescue, is taken to her cell, and judges forge evidence against her. In her cell, priests interrogate her and judges deny her the Mass. Threatened first in a torture chamber and then offered communion if she will recant, she refuses. At a cemetery, in front of a crowd, a priest and supporters urge her to recant; she does, and Cauchon announces her sentence. In her cell, she explains her change of mind and receives communion. In the courtyard at Rouen castle, she burns at the stake; the soldiers turn on the protesting crowd.

 

55The Phantom Carriage1921Victor SjöströmGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent FilmsIt’s New Year’s Eve. Three drunkards evoke a legend. The legend tells that the last person to die in a year, if he is a great sinner, will have to drive during the whole year the Phantom Chariot, the one that picks up the souls of the dead… David Holm, one of the three drunkards, dies at the last stroke of midnight…  
37The Phantom of the Opera1925Edward Sedgwick, Ernst Laemmle, Lon Chaney, Rupert JulianGreatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent FilmsAt the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives. What’s his goal ? What’s his secret ? Also read: Movies entering the Public Domain in 2021  
90The Saga of Gösta Berling1924Mauritz StillerGreatest Silent Films

Gösta Berling is a young and attractive minister. Because he is an alcoholic and his preaches are far too daring, he is finally defrocked. He leaves the town in disgrace and arrives at countess Marta’s manor. His new job there is to be a tutor to countess’ beautiful stepdaughter. They eventually fall in love with each other. But they don’t know that countess hired him only because she has some secret plans of her own…

 

92The Scarecrow1920Buster Keaton, Edward F. ClineGreatest Silent Films

Farmhands Keaton and Roberts share a cottage full of mechanical devices for making life easy. They are rivals for the farmer’s daughter. Keaton , disguised as a scarecrow, causes troubles for his rival and the farmer. When Keaton stoops to tie his shoe, the girl accepts what she thinks is his kneeling proposal.

 

70The Sheik1921George MelfordGreatest Silent Films

Sheik Ahmed (Valentino) desperately desires fiesty British socialite Diana (Ayres), so he abducts her and carries her off to his luxurious desert tent-palace. The free-spirited Diana recoils from his passionate embraces and yearns to be released. Only after being kidnapped by desert bandits does Diana realize how much she has grown to love Ahmed, who comes to her rescue in the nick of time.

 

72The Son of the Sheik1926George FitzmauriceGreatest Silent Films

Men and women, fathers and children. Ahmed, son of Diana and Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, falls in love with Yasmin, a dancing girl who fronts her father’s gang of mountebanks. Among the cutthroats is Ghobah, a villainous Moor to whom Yasmin is promised. In ruins near Touggourt, the city where Yasmin dances, she and Ahmed meet secretly until one night when her father and the gang capture the son of the sheik, torture him, and hold him for ransom. Will Ahmed believe that Yasmin set him up for capture? Even if true love finds a way through webs of deceit, what will the vigorous and imposing sheik say about his son consorting with a dancing girl?

 

93The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg1928Ernst Lubitsch, John M. StahlGreatest Silent FilmsYoung Prince Karl Heinrich has spent his entire life behind the palace gates protected from the world. He has been raised in a melancholy atmosphere of strict discipline and duty, yet he often looks out at the frolics of youths and maidens who live beyond the walls. When he passes his exams, Karl is sent to Heidelberg to complete his studies. It is a heady new world of brew, song, and comradeship. Karl falls in love with Kathi, a pretty barmaid, and she reciprocates. But can the love survive their disparate backgrounds? Will Karl ever find happiness or will duty deny it to him?  
36The Thief of Bagdad1924Raoul WalshGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsA thief falls in love with the Caliph of Bagdad’s daughter. The Caliph will give her hand to the suitor that brings back the rarest treasure after seven moons. The thief sets off on a magical journey while, unbeknownst to him, another suitor, the Prince of the Mongols, is not playing by the rules…  
42The Unknown1927Tod BrowningGreatest Horror Films, Greatest Silent Films

Alonzo is an armless knife thrower and gun shooter for a circus—or so he appears. He is actually a burglar with his arms intact. He and his accomplice, Cojo (a little person), are hiding from the police, and Alonzo views his disguise as perfect, especially since it keeps from view an unusual deformity of his left hand that would immediately give him away as the burglar. Nanon, the daughter of the circus owner, is the target in his act. Although Alonzo is in love with her, Nanon’s father despises him. Nanon is attracted to Malabar, the circus strong man, but she is also repulsed by his uninhibited sexual advances and desire to touch and hold her. Apparently her phobia extends to the touch of any man. Alonzo feeds her fears in the hopes that Nanon will fall in love with him since he is “armless.” Because Zanzi discovers Alonzo really has arms, Alonzo kills him, but Nanon witnesses the killing without seeing Alonzo’s face; however, she does see the telltale deformity of his left hand. As Alonzo continues to plot to steal Nanon away from Mirabar, Cojo makes him realize that she will hate him once she discovers he has arms—and the deformity showing that he is her father’s murderer. Alonzo decides to have his left arm amputated, which he succeeds in doing through blackmailing a surgeon. He thinks Nanon will forgive him for hiding the fact that he has ONE arm. While Alonzo is recuperating from the surgery, Nanon gets over her fear of being touched and falls completely in love with Mirabar. Discovering this upon his return, Alonzo hatches a scheme to kill Mirabar as he attempts his latest, most daring stunt. Although the stunt goes horribly awry, it is Alonzo who gets killed.

 

53The Wedding March1928Erich von StroheimGreatest Silent Films

Prince Nikki, Lieutenant of the Guard in pre WWI Vienna, is flat broke, but the only advice he gets from his parents is either to shoot himself or to marry money. During the Chorpus Christi parade his horse accidentaly hurts poor Mitzi, the daughter of inn-keepers in a Viennese suburb, who is, according to the wishes of her parents, going to marry the butcher Schani. When Nikki visits her at the hospital, they fall in love, much to the dislike of her parents and Schani. Nikki’s parents, meanwhile have arranged a prospective marriage with Cecilia, the limping daughter of a very rich non-aristocratic industrial. Due to the fact, that Nikki’s father is a general in the Austrian-Hungarian Army, resitance is useless. When Mitzi, after hearing of it, is still refusing Schani’s proposal, he vowes to shoot Nikki when he leaves the church.

 

15The Wind1928Victor SjöströmGreatest Silent FilmsInnocent and naive Letty Mason moves from her Virginia home to Sweet Water on the western prairies to live on the ranch of her cousin Beverly, his wife Cora and their three children. Letty quickly learns how inhospitable the environment in Sweet Water is, the most obvious item being the incessant wind. But equally inhospitable are the unrefined way the people in Sweet Water live to which she is unaccustomed, and Cora, who believes Letty has come to steal Beverly away from her. As such, Cora orders Letty out of her and Bev's house. With no money, Letty is forced to accept one of the marriage proposal she receives, the lesser evil being that from Bev and Cora's ranching neighbor, Lige Hightower, a man who she does not love. Despite a less than harmonious start, Letty, in part due to her isolation as she is more often than not forced to stay inside due to the wind, begins to have affection for Lige, who wants to do right by her, and who promises to send her back to Virginia when he is financial able. But a visitor who takes refuge in their house away from the wind may threaten Letty's ultimate happiness.
45Tol'able David1921Henry KingGreatest Silent Films

When three thuggish men are responsible for the death of his father and the crippling of his brother, young David must choose between supporting his family or risking his life and exacting vengeance.

 

24Un Chien Andalou1929Luis BuñuelGreatest Fantasy Films, Greatest Silent FilmsA surrealistic film with input from Salvador Dalí. Director Luis Buñuel presents stark, surrealistic images including the slitting open of a woman’s eye and a dead horse being pulled along on top of a piano. A mysterious film open to interpretations ranging from deep to it all meaning absolutely nothing. It is certain that this short (17 minute) film presented something new in the cinema of its day.  
76Underworld1927Arthur Rosson, Josef von SternbergGreatest Silent Films

‘Nobody helps me — I help them!’ boasts open-handed gangster Bull Weed, handing over what will prove to be the best investment in his high-spending career: a thousand dollars that will put the literate ‘Rolls Royce’ of vagrants back on his feet. Living it up in the Twenties with the aid of cool but smouldering moll Feathers, the Bull lords it over the law and his rivals alike — specifically big Buck Mulligan, whose floral-tributes business echoes that of a certain real-life Chicago gangster… Yet Feathers, prize possession and object of envy, proves his weak point; and in the end, Bull Weed will indeed come to need help from others, and more than he has ever needed it before. But can Rolls Royce and Feathers still give it to him? And will the Bull accept?

 

19Way Down East1920D.W. GriffithBestselling Blockbusters Through History, Greatest Silent Films, Mega Money Makers Through History

The callous rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure. Anna is but a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. She believes that it is true, but secret, while he has his way with her. When she is pregnant, he leaves her and she must have the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own. When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett. David falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past and then Lennox shows up lusting for Kate. Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to leave, but she doesn’t, and she tells no one about his past. When Squire Bartlett learns of her past from Martha, the town gossip, he tosses Anna out in a snow storm. But before she goes, she fingers the respected Lennox, as the father of her dead baby and the spoiler of herself.

 

41Wings1927Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, William A. WellmanBest Picture Winners, Greatest Silent Films

Two young men from the same town but different social classes end up as fighter pilots in WW1. Jack Preston is a keen auto mechanic, building and modifying cars. David Armstrong comes from a wealthy family. They are both in love with the same woman, Sylvia. Her heart belongs to David but she doesn’t let Jack know and plays along with his infatuation. Meanwhile, Jack’s neighbour, Mary, is deeply in love with him but he just views her as a friend. WW1 interrupts the romantic entanglements as Jack and David enlist in the US Army Air Service (Air Service of the AEF at the time). They are initially bitter enemies, due to them both vying for Sylvia’s affections. Over time, however, they become very good friends. They are both posted to the same fighter squadron in France, where being a fighter pilot means every day could easily be your last.