The Wizard of Oz is a 1925 American silent fantasy-adventure comedy film directed by Larry Semon, who also performs in the lead role as a Kansas farmhand and later in the story disguised as the Scarecrow. This production, which is the only completed 1920s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, costars Dorothy Dwan as Dorothy,… Read more →
The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a… Read more →
The Adventurer is an American short comedy film made in 1917 written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, and is the last of the twelve films made under contract for the Mutual Film Corporation. Plot: Charlie Chaplin plays an escaped convict from the state penitentiary who, clad in his striped prison uniform, is on the run from prison guards. He skillfully… Read more →
The Merry Frolics of Satan (French: Les Quat’Cents Farces du diable, literally The Four Hundred Tricks of the Devil) is a 1906 French silent film directed by and starring Georges Méliès. The film, an updated comedic adaptation of the Faust legend, follows the adventures of an engineer who barters with the Devil for superhuman powers and is forced to face… Read more →
Ghosts is a 1915 silent film drama based on the famous play Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen. It was directed by George Nichols. D. W. Griffith produced the film and Erich von Stroheim served in several capacities as technical advisor, wardrobe assistant and costume designer. George Siegmann was an assistant director. The film had an alternate or working title The Wreck…. Read more →
Gertie the Dinosaur is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie did tricks at the command of her master. McCay’s employer William Randolph Hearst curtailed… Read more →
Alice’s Wonderland is a 1923 Walt Disney short silent film, produced in Kansas City, Missouri. The black-and-white short was the first in a series of Walt Disney’s famous Alice Comedies and had a working title of Alice in Slumberland. The film was never shown theatrically, but was instead shown to prospective film distributors. It was included as a bonus feature… Read more →
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film directed by Fred Niblo and written by June Mathis based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace. Starring Ramon Novarro as the title character, the film is the first feature-length adaptation of the novel and second overall, following the… Read more →
Seven Years Bad Luck is a 1921 American comedy film written and directed by, and starring Max Linder. A man about to be married becomes fearful of bad luck when he breaks a mirror. Plot: Max Linder returns home drunk after his bachelor party. The next morning, he is awakened by a loud noise. His valet John, while chasing his… Read more →
Haldane of the Secret Service is a 1923 American adventure silent film directed by Harry Houdini. The film stars Harry Houdini, Gladys Leslie, William J. Humphrey, Richard Carlyle, Edward Boulden, Jane Jennings and Charles Fang. The film was released on September 30, 1923, by Film Booking Offices of America. Plot: “Heath Haldane (Houdini), son of a detective slain by a… Read more →
