Melvelet's Favourite Silent Movies
by Melvelet | created - 06 Jan 2014 | updated - 30 Nov 2020 | PublicFor the iCM Board: http://s15.zetaboards.com/iCheckMovies/topic/7533308/1/
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Last Laugh (1924)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
An aging doorman is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors and society after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz
Votes: 15,199 | Gross: $0.09M
2. The Crowd (1928)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Romance
The life of a man and woman together in a large, impersonal metropolis through their hopes, struggles, and downfalls.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Eleanor Boardman, James Murray, Bert Roach, Estelle Clark
Votes: 9,165
3. Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Votes: 185,462 | Gross: $1.24M
4. Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary
A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova
Votes: 27,968
5. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Passed | 45 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly
Votes: 56,943 | Gross: $0.98M
6. The Big Parade (1925)
Not Rated | 151 min | Drama, Romance, War
A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.
Directors: King Vidor, George W. Hill | Stars: John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell
Votes: 7,274 | Gross: $11.00M
7. Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard
Votes: 11,059
8. The Joyless Street (1925)
125 min | Drama
In post-WWI Vienna, Greta (Greta Garbo), her kid sister, and retired dad try to make it through tough times.
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst | Stars: Asta Nielsen, Greta Garbo, Ágnes Eszterházy, Werner Krauss
Votes: 1,720
9. He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
95 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Ruth King
Votes: 4,286 | Gross: $0.19M
10. A Page of Madness (1926)
Not Rated | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Hiroshi Nemoto
Votes: 4,570
11. The Wind (1928)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A frail young woman from the East moves in with her cousin in the West, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming
Votes: 7,159
12. Intolerance (1916)
Passed | 163 min | Drama, History
The story of a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Mae Marsh, F.A. Turner
Votes: 16,717 | Gross: $2.18M
13. Sunrise (1927)
Passed | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Bodil Rosing
Votes: 53,836 | Gross: $0.54M
14. Pandora's Box (1929)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst | Stars: Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz
Votes: 11,853 | Gross: $0.01M
15. I Was Born, But... (1932)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Tatsuo Saitô, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara
Votes: 6,212
16. The Great White Silence (1922)
80 min | Documentary
In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole.
Director: Herbert G. Ponting | Stars: Robert Falcon Scott, Herbert G. Ponting, Henry R. Bowers, Edgar Evans
Votes: 1,680
17. Queen Kelly (1932)
Passed | 101 min | Drama
A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.
Directors: Erich von Stroheim, Richard Boleslawski | Stars: Gloria Swanson, Walter Byron, Seena Owen, Sylvia Ashton
Votes: 3,361
18. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover
Votes: 70,032
19. The General (1926)
Passed | 78 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley
Votes: 98,102 | Gross: $1.03M
20. À Propos de Nice (1930)
Not Rated | 24 min | Documentary, Short, Comedy
What starts off as a conventional travelogue turns into a satirical portrait of the town of Nice on the French Cote d'Azur, especially its wealthy inhabitants.
Directors: Boris Kaufman, Jean Vigo
Votes: 4,628
21. Un chien andalou (1929)
Not Rated | 16 min | Short, Fantasy, Horror
Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí present 16 minutes of bizarre, surreal imagery.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Luis Buñuel, Pancho Cossío
Votes: 53,785
22. The Unknown (1927)
Unrated | 68 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford, Nick De Ruiz
Votes: 9,150 | Gross: $0.41M
23. Lonesome (1928)
Passed | 69 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two lonely people in the big city meet and enjoy the thrills of an amusement park, only to lose each other in the crowd after spending a great day together. Will they ever see each other again?
Director: Pál Fejös | Stars: Barbara Kent, Glenn Tryon, Fay Holderness, Gusztáv Pártos
Votes: 2,601
24. Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925)
Passed | 71 min | Documentary
The struggles of a hardscrabble Iranian nomadic tribe as they journey through bleak country to reach the grasslands that will save their livestock.
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Marguerite Harrison, Haidar Khan
Votes: 1,196
25. Limit (1931)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Romance
Three people (Raul Schnoor, Olga Breno and Tatiana Rey) sail aimlessly while remembering their past.
Director: Mario Peixoto | Stars: Olga Breno, Tatiana Rey, Raul Schnoor, Brutus Pedreira
Votes: 2,874
26. The Faithful Heart (1923)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Romance
Marie wants to escape from her job and also from her lover, Paul, an unemployed drunk. She dreams of going off with Jean, a dockworker. The two men quarrel and fight over Marie on two ... See full summary »
Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Léon Mathot, Gina Manès, Edmond Van Daële, Claude Benedict
Votes: 1,456
27. Bed and Sofa (1927)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
A married couple have a small apartment in Moscow. When an old friend of the husband's arrives in the city, he is unable to find lodgings. Kolia, the husband, invites his friend to move in with them.
Director: Abram Room | Stars: Vladimir Fogel, Nikolay Batalov, Lyudmila Semyonova, Leonid Yurenev
Votes: 1,335
28. The Navigator (1924)
Unrated | 59 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Two spoiled rich people find themselves trapped on an empty passenger ship.
Directors: Donald Crisp, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Frederick Vroom, Clarence Burton
Votes: 11,063 | Gross: $1.48M
29. Erotikon (1929)
85 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman is seduced and abandoned by a man who was invited to stay at his home by her father in a stormy night. Noticing that she is pregnant, the girl decides to leave home and start a new life.
Director: Gustav Machatý | Stars: Karel Schleichert, Ita Rina, Olaf Fjord, Theodor Pistek
Votes: 643
30. Asphalt (1929)
Not Rated | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Joe May's sensual drama of life in the Berlin underworld is in many ways the perfect summation of German filmmaking in the silent era: a dazzling visual style, a psychological approach to ... See full summary »
Director: Joe May | Stars: Albert Steinrück, Else Heller, Gustav Fröhlich, Betty Amann
Votes: 1,687
31. Seven Chances (1925)
Passed | 56 min | Comedy, Romance
A man learns that he will inherit a fortune if he marries by 7PM that evening.
Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards
Votes: 11,727 | Gross: $1.30M
32. Turksib (1929)
Not Rated | 57 min | Documentary
Resisting the character-driven narrative adhered to by the rest of the world's filmmakers, Victor Turin formulated a grand, elemental drama centered around the struggle for survival in Asia... See full summary »
Director: Victor A. Turin
Votes: 458
33. Shen nu (1934)
TV-PG | 85 min | Drama
Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China.
Director: Yonggang Wu | Stars: Lingyu Ruan, Tian Jian, Zhizhi Zhang, Keng Li
Votes: 2,471
34. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
Not Rated | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.
Directors: Lotte Reiniger, Carl Koch
Votes: 6,887
35. A Man There Was (1917)
Not Rated | 65 min | Drama, War
Terje Vigen, a sailor, suffers the loss of his family through the cruelty of another man. Years later, when his enemy's family finds itself dependent on Terje's beneficence, Terje must decide whether to avenge himself.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Victor Sjöström, August Falck, Edith Erastoff, Bergliot Husberg
Votes: 2,321
36. The Scarecrow (1920)
Not Rated | 19 min | Comedy, Short, Family
Two inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.
Directors: Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline, Luke the Dog, Joe Keaton
Votes: 4,744
37. The Cameraman's Revenge (1912)
Not Rated | 12 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Mr Beetle seeks companionship from a statuesque dragonfly dancer, unaware that her ex-boyfriend, a slender grasshopper and an industrious cameraman, watches their every move. Will Mrs Beetle forgive him? Will he get away with adultery?
Director: Wladyslaw Starewicz
Votes: 3,215
38. Crossroads (1928)
81 min | Drama
After falling in love with a courtesan, Rikiya is blinded by ash during a fight in a brothel. Believing the blindness permanent and his opponent dead, Rikiya goes back home to his sister. ... See full summary »
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Akiko Chihaya, Junosuke Bandô, Yukiko Ogawa, Ippei Sôma
Votes: 460
39. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
TV-PG | 86 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Anne Chevalier, Matahi, Hitu, Bill Bambridge
Votes: 6,383
40. Ménilmontant (1926)
38 min | Short, Drama
A couple is brutally murdered in the working-class district of Paris. Later on, the narrative follows the lives of their two daughters, both in love with a Parisian thug and leading them to separate ways.
Director: Dimitri Kirsanoff | Stars: Nadia Sibirskaïa, Yolande Beaulieu, Guy Belmont, Jean Pasquier
Votes: 2,733
41. By the Law (1926)
80 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A five-person team of gold prospectors in the Yukon has just begun to enjoy great success when one of the members snaps, and suddenly kills two of the others. The two survivors, a husband ... See full summary »
Director: Lev Kuleshov | Stars: Aleksandra Khokhlova, Sergey Komarov, Vladimir Fogel, Pyotr Galadzhev
Votes: 1,233
42. The Blizzard (1923)
101 min | Drama
Gunnar Hede, a young Swedish man, wants to become a professional musician, but when his father suddenly dies he is pressured by his family to take over the family business, raising and ... See full summary »
Director: Mauritz Stiller | Stars: Gustav Aronson, Stina Berg, Hugo Björne, Pauline Brunius
Votes: 201
43. The Soul of the Cypress (1921)
7 min | Short
A young composer's mesmerising music frees an immortal tree nymph, entwined spiritually with an ancient cypress. As the human falls in love with the immortal creature, a sacrifice awaits.
Director: Dudley Murphy | Star: Chase Harringdine
Votes: 190
44. The Phantom Carriage (1921)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
On New Year's Eve, the driver of a ghostly carriage forces a drunken man to reflect on his selfish, wasted life.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg, Astrid Holm
Votes: 14,081
45. Eldorado (1921)
100 min | Drama
Sibilla is a single mother, working as a gypsy dancer in a lousy cafe in the south of Spain. Unable to keep with the costs of his son's medical bills, she asks for help to Estiria, her ... See full summary »
Director: Marcel L'Herbier | Stars: Ève Francis, Jaque Catelain, Marcelle Pradot, Philippe Hériat
Votes: 492
46. After Death (1915)
46 min | Drama, Horror
Andrei lives a secluded life with his aunt, studying and thinking about his now-deceased mother. His friend Tsenin is concerned, and tries to get Andrei to accompany him to social events. ... See full summary »
Director: Yevgeny Bauer | Stars: Vitold Polonsky, Olga Rakhmanova, Vera Karalli, Mariya Khalatova
Votes: 1,023
47. Brumes d'automne (1929)
15 min | Short, Drama
A woman--a pained expression on her face--burns letters in a stove.
Director: Dimitri Kirsanoff | Star: Nadia Sibirskaïa
Votes: 699
48. Four Heads Are Better Than One (1898)
TV-PG | 1 min | Short, Comedy
Much to our amazement, an elegant and masterful illusionist detaches his own head effortlessly from his shoulders for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Director: Georges Méliès | Star: Georges Méliès
Votes: 4,012
49. Vampyr (1932)
Not Rated | 75 min | Fantasy, Horror
A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz
Votes: 20,508
50. People on Sunday (1930)
Not Rated | 73 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two men and two women enjoy a pleasant Sunday at the beach amid the unending toil of the working week.
Directors: Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Rochus Gliese, Curt Siodmak, Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Erwin Splettstößer, Brigitte Borchert, Wolfgang von Waltershausen, Christl Ehlers
Votes: 3,548
51. The Wedding March (1928)
Passed | 113 min | Drama
A young impoverished aristocrat falls in love with an inn-keepers daughter, but has to marry money.
Director: Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Fay Wray, Zasu Pitts, Matthew Betz
Votes: 1,899
52. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Not Rated | 70 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
The effete son of a cantankerous riverboat captain comes to join his father's crew.
Directors: Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Tom McGuire, Ernest Torrence, Tom Lewis
Votes: 16,183
53. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Votes: 60,630 | Gross: $0.02M
54. The Docks of New York (1928)
Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Clyde Cook
Votes: 5,030
56. Berlin: Symphony of Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 65 min | Documentary
This movie shows us one day in Berlin, the rhythm of that time, starting at the earliest morning and ends in the deepest night.
Director: Walter Ruttmann | Star: Paul von Hindenburg
Votes: 4,793
57. Variety (1925)
Passed | 72 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Prologue: The murderer "Boss" Huller - after having spent ten years in prison - breaks his silence to tell the warden his story. "Boss", a former trapeze artist, and his wife own a cheap ... See full summary »
Director: Ewald André Dupont | Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti, Warwick Ward
Votes: 1,408 | Gross: $0.71M
58. Ballet mécanique (1924)
19 min | Short
A pulsing, kaleidoscope of images set to an energetic soundtrack. A young women swings in a garden; a woman's face smiles. The rest is spinning cylinders, pistons, gears and turbines, ... See full summary »
Directors: Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy | Stars: Kiki of Montparnasse, Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy, Katherine Murphy
Votes: 3,293
59. The Love Nest (1923)
Unrated | 20 min | Short, Comedy
In an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at sea where he boards a whaling ship with a strict captain.
Directors: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline | Stars: Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, Virginia Fox, Steve Murphy
Votes: 2,571
60. Nanook of the North (1922)
Passed | 78 min | Documentary
In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
Director: Robert J. Flaherty | Stars: Allakariallak, Alice Nevalinga, Cunayou, Allegoo
Votes: 13,446
61. Häxan (1922)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary, Fantasy, Horror
Fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
Director: Benjamin Christensen | Stars: Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan
Votes: 16,713
62. The Penalty (1920)
Passed | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of San Francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs.
Director: Wallace Worsley | Stars: Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, Lon Chaney
Votes: 2,633
Tell Your Friends