My 100 favorite movies from before 1930
by loserfilmnerd | created - 02 Oct 2014 | updated - 09 Jun 2020 | PublicIn order with favorite on top.
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1. 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
2. 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: 98,112 | Gross: $1.03M
3. The Red Mill (1927)
Passed | 74 min | Comedy, Romance
A tavern worker and the daughter of a burgomaster enter into elaborate masquerades in order to win the hearts of the men they love.
Director: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle | Stars: Marion Davies, Owen Moore, Louise Fazenda, George Siegmann
Votes: 1,514
4. Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927)
Passed | 144 min | Drama, History
Slavery tears apart a Black family in the South before the start of the Civil War.
Director: Harry A. Pollard | Stars: Margarita Fischer, James B. Lowe, Arthur Edmund Carewe, George Siegmann
Votes: 502
5. The Freshman (1925)
Not Rated | 77 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
A nerdy college student will do anything to become popular on campus.
Directors: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, James H. Anderson
Votes: 6,066 | Gross: $0.00M
6. The Kid Brother (1927)
Passed | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A sheriff's milquetoast son has a chance to prove himself when a medicine show run by con artists comes into town.
Directors: Ted Wilde, Harold Lloyd, Lewis Milestone, J.A. Howe | Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Walter James, Leo Willis
Votes: 4,818 | Gross: $1.55M
7. The Gold Rush (1925)
Passed | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman
Votes: 118,622 | Gross: $5.45M
8. 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: 16,714
9. 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: 11,731 | Gross: $1.30M
10. 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: 9,151 | Gross: $0.41M
11. 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
12. Salomé (1922)
Not Rated | 72 min | Biography, Drama, History
Salome, the daughter of Herodias, seduces her step-father/uncle Herod, governor of Judea, with a salacious dance. In return, he promises her the head of the prophet John the Baptist.
Directors: Charles Bryant, Alla Nazimova | Stars: Alla Nazimova, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis, Rose Dione
Votes: 1,156
13. The Rag Man (1925)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Tim Kelly is an orphan who runs away after his orphanage burns down. Presumed to be killed in the fire, he is able to roam the streets of New York freely. He meets Max Ginsberg, an old ... See full summary »
Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: Jackie Coogan, Lydia Yeamans Titus, Ethel Wales, Robert Edeson
Votes: 406
14. 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: 5,029
15. Something New (1920)
Unrated | 57 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A young woman visiting Mexico is kidnapped by a gang of bandits who drag her through the rugged wilderness to their hideout. She manages to leave word for her friend Bill, who knows the ... See full summary »
Directors: Nell Shipman, Bert Van Tuyle | Stars: Nell Shipman, Bert Van Tuyle, L.M. Wells, Merrill McCormick
Votes: 361
16. Strike (1925)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
A group of oppressed factory workers go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Maksim Shtraukh, Mikhail Gomorov, I. Ivanov
Votes: 8,622
17. Within Our Gates (1920)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Romance
Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin, Jack Chenault
Votes: 3,623
18. Orphans of the Storm (1921)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama, History, Romance
Two orphaned sisters are caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, encountering misery and love along the way.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Losee
Votes: 5,477 | Gross: $0.79M
19. Our Hospitality (1923)
Passed | 65 min | Comedy, Romance, Thriller
A man returns to his Appalachian homestead. On the trip, he falls for a young woman. The only problem is her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.
Directors: John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts
Votes: 12,494 | Gross: $1.17M
20. The Circus (1928)
Passed | 72 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
The Tramp finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Al Ernest Garcia, Harry Crocker
Votes: 36,035
21. The Kid (1921)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan, Carl Miller
Votes: 134,793 | Gross: $5.45M
22. Safety Last! (1923)
Not Rated | 74 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.
Directors: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young
Votes: 22,904 | Gross: $1.36M
23. 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: 11,057
24. Tell It to the Marines (1926)
Passed | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A gruff Marine sergeant and a handsome new recruit compete for the affection of a nurse.
Director: George W. Hill | Stars: Lon Chaney, William Haines, Eleanor Boardman, Eddie Gribbon
Votes: 1,621 | Gross: $0.74M
25. 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: 53,837 | Gross: $0.54M
26. October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1927)
95 min | Drama, History
A large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.
Directors: Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Boris Livanov, Nikolay Popov, Vasili Nikandrov, Layaschenko
Votes: 8,445
27. Mother (1926)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
A story about a family torn apart by a worker's strike. At first, the mother wants to protect her family from the troublemakers, but eventually she realizes that her son is right and the workers should strike.
Director: Vsevolod Pudovkin | Stars: Vera Baranovskaya, Nikolay Batalov, Aleksandr Chistyakov, Anna Zemtsova
Votes: 3,068
28. Faust (1926)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard
Votes: 16,618
29. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
TV-PG | 195 min | Drama, History, War
The Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper
Votes: 26,336 | Gross: $10.00M
30. Battling Butler (1926)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy, Sport
A love-struck weakling must pretend to be boxer in order to gain respect from the family of the girl he loves.
Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Snitz Edwards, Sally O'Neil, Walter James
Votes: 3,890 | Gross: $0.70M
31. The Call of the Cumberlands (1916)
Passed | 62 min | Drama
A family feud erupts in the mountains of Kentucky.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Dustin Farnum, Winifred Kingston, Herbert Standing, Page Peters
Votes: 141
32. Motherhood: Life's Greatest Miracle (1925)
Passed | 59 min | Drama
Two women discover they are pregnant, and experience the anxiety, discomfort, fear, hope, and ultimate joy of pregnancy and motherhood. Both fathers encounter the parallel experiences of first-time fatherhood.
Director: Lita Lawrence | Stars: George E. Patton, Adelaide M. Chase, J. Thomas Hopkins, Nance Newman
Votes: 118
33. '49-'17 (1917)
Unrated | 61 min | Drama, Western
A retired judge comes West to restore a ghost town.
Director: Ruth Ann Baldwin | Stars: Joseph W. Girard, Leo Pierson, William Dyer, Mattie Witting
Votes: 363
34. The Cocoanuts (1929)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
During the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.
Directors: Robert Florey, Joseph Santley | Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx
Votes: 8,193 | Gross: $3.92M
35. The Battle of the Sexes (1928)
Passed | 88 min | Comedy
Gum-chewing frizzy-haired gold-digger Marie Skinner cooks up a scheme with her lover Babe Winsor, a jazz hound, to fleece a portly, middle-aged real estate tycoon, William Judson. Marie ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Sally O'Neil
Votes: 513
36. The Coward (I) (1915)
Not Rated | 77 min | Drama, History, War
Confederate soldier Frank Winslow is terrified of the war and eventually runs away from battle. But when he finds himself behind enemy lines with vital information, he must decide between his fear and his conscience.
Directors: Reginald Barker, Thomas H. Ince | Stars: Frank Keenan, Charles Ray, Gertrude Claire, Patricia Palmer
Votes: 333
37. Way Down East (1920)
Passed | 145 min | Drama, Romance
A naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Mrs. David Landau, Lowell Sherman
Votes: 5,897 | Gross: $4.50M
38. College (1927)
Not Rated | 66 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Ronald's high-school valedictory address praises books and condemns sports. His girlfriend Mary condemns his attitude. Fearing to lose her to rival Jeff, he decides to go to college and pay more attentions to sports.
Directors: James W. Horne, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Anne Cornwall, Flora Bramley, Harold Goodwin
Votes: 5,472
39. The Mysterious Lady (1928)
Passed | 96 min | Drama, Romance
An attractive Russian spy seduces an Austrian officer in order to get some important plans, but when she actually falls in love with him, both of them are placed in a dangerous situation.
Director: Fred Niblo | Stars: Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Albert Pollet
Votes: 1,460 | Gross: $0.54M
40. 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
41. The Broadway Melody (1929)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Eddie Kane
Votes: 8,003 | Gross: $6.12M
42. The Dream Lady (1918)
54 min | Comedy, Romance
After receiving an inheritance from an uncle, a woman sets up a fortunetelling business.
Director: Elsie Jane Wilson | Stars: Carmel Myers, Thomas Holding, Kathleen Emerson, Harry von Meter
Votes: 145
43. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Passed | 93 min | Horror
A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
Directors: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Ernst Laemmle, Edward Sedgwick | Stars: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe
Votes: 20,097 | Gross: $3.75M
44. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (I) (1923)
Passed | 133 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
In 15th-century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with a gypsy dancer.
Director: Wallace Worsley | Stars: Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester
Votes: 6,100 | Gross: $2.22M
45. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,397
46. Foolish Wives (1922)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama, Thriller
A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
Director: Erich von Stroheim | Stars: Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George, Mae Busch
Votes: 4,020 | Gross: $0.40M
47. The Unholy Three (1925)
Passed | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A sideshow ventriloquist, a midget, and a strongman form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" and commit a series of robberies.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen
Votes: 2,212 | Gross: $0.70M
48. West of Zanzibar (1928)
TV-G | 65 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A magician seeks vengeance upon the man who paralyzed him and the illegitimate daughter he sired with the magician's wife.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore, Mary Nolan, Warner Baxter
Votes: 1,964 | Gross: $0.92M
49. Broadway Love (1918)
60 min | Romance
A small-town girl goes to New York hoping to become a star on Broadway, but the best she can do are roles as chorus girls. She falls in with a "fast" crowd, notably a "party girl" named ... See full summary »
Director: Ida May Park | Stars: Dorothy Phillips, Juanita Hansen, William Stowell, Harry von Meter
Votes: 190
50. Blackmail (1929)
Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anny Ondra, John Longden, Sara Allgood, Charles Paton
Votes: 11,954
51. 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: 70,040
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