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Films 21
Ben-Hur
1925 · Fred Niblo
- MovementSilent Epic
- StyleSilent Cinema, Historical Epic, Biblical Epic, Classical Hollywood
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of the silent epic and the early MGM studio, it set a template for the biblical spectacle that Hollywood would remake and enlarge for decades. MGM's 1925…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…rived knowing the story and wanting to see the race. Source Silent film was at its technical peak. Selected sequences use two-colour Technicolor, a rare luxury, while the…
- Guide · What to expect…verent religious imagery typical of mid-1920s epics. Format Silent with intertitles. Modern releases carry an orchestral score, often based on the original William Axt co…
- Guide · Social context…M took over and finished it, making it one of the costliest silent films. Production troubles Fred Niblo, known for lively popular hits such as The Mark of Zorro, was bro…
- Guide · Watch with kids?BBFC rates it PG and the US has no rating (NR); a silent epic with intense set pieces and a long runtime suits roughly ages 10 and up, watched together. Spectacular silen…
- Guide · readout_beforeBen-Hur, from 1925, was the most expensive silent film of its day. It is also one of the great spectacles Hollywood ever built. Its Circus Maximus set and its chariot rac…
The Kid
1921 · Charlie Chaplin
- MovementSilent
- StyleSilent Cinema, Comedy, Melodrama, Classical Hollywood
- Guide · Cinema at the time…through First National under an earlier contract. Industry Silent and black and white, shown with live musicians whose accompaniment varied from theatre to theatre. Chap…
- Guide · What to expect…ance Expressive and physical but less exaggerated than many silents. Faces and small gestures carry the most weight. Format Silent, black and white, in the squarer silent…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…unrated), so the film is suitable for all; 5 allows for the silent format, reading, and emotional moments. Inventive slapstick, a warm and funny double act, and Chaplin's…
- Guide · Why watch this?A key film of the silent era's move toward longer, more ambitious storytelling, when comedy was still mostly short-form. It helped establish that comic stars could carry…
- Guide · readout_before…expressive and physical, but less exaggerated than in many silents. Faces and small gestures carry the most weight. It is silent and black and white, in the squarer fra…
Sherlock Jr.
1924 · Buster Keaton
- MovementSilent
- StyleSilent Cinema, Comedy, Classical Hollywood
- Guide · What to expect…moves from setup to set piece with little downtime. Format Silent, with intertitles. Live or recorded music accompaniment varies by version. Colour Black and white, in t…
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining work of the silent feature-comedy tradition, it shows that slapstick could be rigorous, formally adventurous and cinematic, not just a string of pratfalls. Dir…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…ing chaos, usually in a short running time. Dominant styles Silent film relied on in-camera tricks, careful matching of shots and precise editing. Special effects were pr…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…sts no rating; with no content concerns, 6 fits, though the silent format may suit slightly older children best. Inventive visual gags and daring stunts that need no dial…
- Guide · readout_before…ngth. That is why it matters. It is a defining work of the silent feature-comedy tradition. It shows that slapstick could be rigorous, adventurous and properly cinematic…
The General
1926 · Buster Keaton
- MovementSilent
- StyleSilent Cinema, Comedy, War Film
- Guide · What to expect…in wide shots, and usually built from several steps. Format Silent, black and white, standard square-ish frame. Intertitles are sparse; the story is told mostly through i…
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of late-silent Hollywood and the standard example of the comic chase as structure. It also marks the end of Keaton's most independent period as a filmmake…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…k were giving way to longer films that needed real stories. Silent comedy's golden age Keaton worked in his own studio, with producer Joseph Schenck distributing through…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…), with no US rating; 6 fits the mild slapstick peril and a silent film's demands on attention. Inventive slapstick and daring stunts on real trains, a persistent hero, a…
- Guide · readout_before…is often named alongside Chaplin's best work as the peak of silent comedy. It takes one long train chase and turns it into an entire film. The gags and the story are the…
The Passion of Joan of Arc
1928 · Carl T. Dreyer
- MovementSilent
- StyleSilent Cinema, Art Cinema, Auteur Cinema
- Guide · Watch with kids?…ntent is intense and emotional rather than graphic, and the silent format suits older children. Older children and teens curious about history, faith or film craft may be…
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of the late silent era and a touchstone for art cinema, it showed that close-up, framing and performance could carry a story without the usual machinery o…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeSound was arriving: The Jazz Singer appeared in 1927. Silent film was reaching peak visual refinement just as the industry was about to abandon it. Technology Dreyer, a D…
- Guide · What to expect…gestures. It feels closer to modern screen acting than much silent film. Format Silent, black and white, roughly 1.33:1, with intertitles taken from the trial record. Mus…
- Guide · readout_before…d asks you to read them. It arrived at the very end of the silent era. The Jazz Singer had appeared the year before, and sound was about to take over. Silent film had re…
Sunrise
1927 · F.W. Murnau
- MovementSilent
- StyleSilent Cinema, German Expressionism, Melodrama, Classical Hollywood
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of late silent cinema, Sunrise is where German Expressionist craft meets the Hollywood studio system. It also arrives just as synchronized sound is beginn…
- Guide · What to expect…, with stylised acting that is more restrained than in many silent melodramas. Sound Silent apart from a synchronized orchestral score and effects. There are very few int…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…re DE 6, FR U and US unrated; 8 is suggested because of the silent format, on-screen text and some serious, tense moments. Children who enjoy visual storytelling may like…
- Guide · readout_before…a remarkable crossing point in cinema history. It is a late silent film where German Expressionist craft meets the Hollywood studio system. And it arrives just as synchro…
City Lights
1931 · Charlie Chaplin
- StyleSilent Cinema, Comedy, Melodrama, Classical Hollywood
- Guide · Why watch this?One of the last great silent features, produced when sound had already taken over Hollywood. It is the defining late statement of silent comedy and of Chaplin's Tramp cha…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeBy 1931 talking pictures had replaced silents in nearly every major studio. Chaplin used the new ability to record sound only for a composed musical score and a few sound…
- Guide · What to expectFormat Silent film with a synchronised orchestral score by Chaplin, some sound effects, and intertitles for the few plot points that need words. Pace Brisk, built from se…
- Guide · Social context…e let him take years over the film, and keep it essentially silent with synchronised music and effects, even after talkies had taken over. The filmmaker's situation Produ…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…ated G (US) and U (GB), with FSK 12 in Germany; six suits a silent, black-and-white film that is gentle but long and slow for younger children. Inventive slapstick, a lov…
- Guide · readout_beforeBy 1931, silent film was supposed to be finished. Talking pictures had taken over nearly every major studio. And yet here is Charlie Chaplin, one of the most famous peopl…
Nosferatu
1922 · F.W. Murnau
- StyleSilent Cinema, German Expressionism, Horror
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of German silent cinema and the foundation of the cinematic vampire, it helped establish horror as a genre with its own visual language. F.W. Murnau's fil…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…al buildings, ships, forests and mountains. Dominant styles Silent film relied on intertitles, live musical accompaniment and colour tinting of black-and-white prints, wi…
- Guide · What to expect…sion builds through anticipation rather than shocks. Format Silent film with German intertitles, usually shown with English subtitles. A restored print comes with a recor…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…rated (US). Nothing is graphic, but the lingering dread and silent pacing suit around 10 with a parent. Older children and teens curious about film history will enjoy the…
- Guide · readout_before…acula story. It is also one of the defining films of German silent cinema. If you have ever pictured a vampire, you are standing on ground this film cleared. Max Schreck…
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
1920 · Robert Wiene
- StyleGerman Expressionism, Silent Cinema, Horror, Art Cinema
- Guide · Cinema at the time…. Cinema had barely taken it up before this film. Movements Silent film with tinted film stock, shot on studio stages. Painted flats could substitute for expensive locati…
- Guide · What to expectFormat Silent film with intertitles, running 77 minutes. The score by Giuseppe Becce is associated with the film, though many screenings use different music. Colour Black…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…s no rating; 12 suits the murder theme and the demands of a silent, subtitled film. Older children and teens curious about silent film will enjoy the striking painted set…
- Guide · readout_before…ulary they kept returning to. So what should you expect? A silent film with intertitles, running seventy-seven minutes. It is black and white, usually shown in restored…
Metropolis
1927 · Fritz Lang
- StyleSilent Cinema, German Expressionism, Science Fiction
- Guide · Watch with kids?…listing, with no US rating. Content is mild, but length and silent style suit confident older children. Children who enjoy grand sci-fi spectacle, towering city designs,…
- Guide · Why watch this?…as, enormous sets and ingenious trick photography show what silent cinema could achieve at full scale. The height of German silent spectacle Its picture of a ruling few a…
- Guide · What to expect…rather than expecting modern speed. Performance Heightened silent-era acting with expressive faces and large gestures. Treat it as stylised, closer to dance or opera tha…
- Guide · readout_before…later science fiction keeps borrowing from. It also shows silent cinema at full scale. This was the most expensive film the German studio UFA had ever made. Thousands o…
M
1931 · Fritz Lang
- Guide · Why watch this?A pivotal work of the transition from silent to sound cinema and of late Weimar filmmaking. It links Expressionist visual style to the realism and procedural detail that…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…The film draws on both. Dominant styles Lang had made large silent spectacles such as Metropolis. Here he works on a smaller canvas, with a contemporary setting and dialo…
- Guide · readout_before…ly talkies. It sits at a hinge in film history, between the silent era and sound, and in the last years of Weimar cinema. It joins the shadowy Expressionist style to the…
The Mummy
1932 · Karl Freund
- Guide · Why watch this?…er of The Last Laugh, Metropolis and Dracula, brings German silent-era lighting and camera craft to Hollywood, so the film's mood comes from images more than from action.…
- Guide · Cinema at the time…d moved from camera to direction. His German training under silent-era Expressionism shapes the lighting, close-ups and controlled, deliberate camera. Director's moment A…
- Guide · readout_before…n in how Universal Studios took the shadowy style of German silent cinema and turned it into a Hollywood genre. It arrived the year after Dracula and Frankenstein, and i…
Stagecoach
1939 · John Ford
- Guide · Cinema at the time…eral films in 1939. He had not directed a Western since the silent era, and this was his return to the form. Director's moment Hollywood studio filmmaking favoured sets a…
- Guide · readout_before…he Informer in 1935. But he hadn't made a Western since the silent era. Think about the moment, too. America was coming out of the Depression, with war looming in Europe…
The Ten Commandments
1956 · Cecil B. DeMille
- Guide · Cinema at the time…der the Production Code. Dominant styles DeMille had made a silent Ten Commandments in 1923. Here he returned to the story as a veteran showman, and he appears on screen…
- Guide · Social context…and in declining health, DeMille was remaking his own 1923 silent film. It was his final film as director, and he approached it as a summation of his career. The filmmak…
Wild Strawberries
1957 · Ingmar Bergman
- Guide · Why watch this?…hantom Carriage (1921) and was a founding figure of Swedish silent cinema, plays the lead. His presence links the silent era to the 1950s. A silent-film pioneer gives a l…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeSwedish cinema had a proud silent-era legacy but a smaller postwar profile. Bergman worked within the established studio Svensk Filmindustri, which gave him steady resour…
Ben-Hur
1959 · William Wyler
- Guide · Cinema at the time…as a veteran of prestige drama who had assisted on the 1925 silent version. He was an unexpected choice for a spectacle, which shaped its emphasis on character. Director'…
- Guide · Social context…h family and emigrated to the US. He had worked on the 1925 silent version as an assistant, and in 1947 he joined Hollywood figures protesting the congressional investiga…
Rashomon
1950 · Akira Kurosawa
- Guide · Cinema at the time…ually treated flashbacks as reliable. Kurosawa also drew on silent-film technique, relying on image and rhythm over dialogue. Dominant styles Flashbacks were framed as te…
Singin' in the Rain
1952 · Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen
- Guide · Why watch this?…ot just filmed By satirising Hollywood's panicked move from silent to sound, it is a cheerful, accurate-in-spirit way to understand a key upheaval in film history, made w…
Vertigo
1958 · Alfred Hitchcock
- Guide · What to expectPace Deliberate and hypnotic. Long stretches of silent pursuit and conversation replace action, so the suspense is mostly psychological. Style Studio-crafted but dreamlik…
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966 · Sergio Leone
- Guide · What to expectPace Deliberately slow, with long silent build-ups, broken by sudden violence and comic episodes. Allow for its length. Style Operatic and stylised: extreme close-ups, wi…
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968 · Sergio Leone
- Guide · Watch with kids?…n standards, but the tone is cold and serious. Menace Long, silent build-ups to confrontations, with ruthless villains and threatening behaviour that can feel tense for y…
People 85
Erwin Connelly
Acting
- Biography…er actor born in Chicago who worked in Hollywood during the silent era and the arrival of sound. He is best remembered for supporting roles in three Buster Keaton comedie…
- Key films…ter Keaton feature in which Connelly appeared, a classic of silent comedy. Sherlock Jr.: His most widely seen credit, in Keaton's inventive film about a projectionist who…
Ramon Novarro
Acting
- Biography…ols of the 1920s. He is best remembered for starring in the silent epic Ben-Hur (1925). He moved into sound films in the early 1930s and later worked in character roles o…
- Key films…r Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Early prominent role in a hit silent drama that helped launch his rise to stardom. Scaramouche: Swashbuckling title role that confirmed his…
Gottfried Huppertz
Sound
- Biography…for writing the original orchestral scores for Fritz Lang's silent epics Die Nibelungen and Metropolis, key works of Weimar-era cinema.
- Key films…r sound-era credit as composer, showing his work beyond the silent period.
Joe Keaton
Acting
- Biography…Keaton (1867–1946) was an American vaudeville performer and silent-film actor. He headlined the family act the Three Keatons with his wife Myra and their son Buster. He l…
- Key films…ong the family members in the cast. Sherlock Jr.: Inventive silent comedy from his son's peak period, with Joe in the cast. The Scarecrow: One of the short comedies on wh…
Charlie Chaplin
Acting
- Biography…composer who became one of the first global film stars. His silent-era character the Tramp blended slapstick with pathos. He wrote, directed and scored most of his films,…
- Key films…ike, with some of his best-known set pieces. City Lights: A silent romantic comedy made after sound arrived, often ranked among his finest films. Modern Times: Satire of…
David Mendoza
Sound
- Biography…poser and music director. He is credited on scores for late silent and early sound Hollywood films, including Ben-Hur and Little Caesar. His work belongs to the transitio…
- Key filmsBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ: Major silent epic with a score credited to Mendoza, showing his work on large-scale silent film music. Don Juan: Early feature with a synch…
Jackie Coogan
Acting
- Biography…or who became one of Hollywood's first major child stars in silent films, most famously opposite Charlie Chaplin in The Kid. His lawsuit over his squandered earnings led…
- Key films…career. Oliver Twist: Coogan played the title role in this silent adaptation, showing his stardom as a child lead. The Joker is Wild: A notable adult character role in h…
Carl Miller
Acting
- Biography…9) was an American actor born in Texas who worked mostly in silent films and early sound pictures. He appeared in roughly 48 films between 1917 and 1942. He is best remem…
- Key films…ure, in which Chaplin himself did not star. The Red Kimona: Silent-era drama that shows his work in leading and supporting parts outside Chaplin's films. The Great K&A Tr…
Adolphe Menjou
Acting
- Biography…njou (1890–1963) was an American actor whose career spanned silent films and talkies. Known for his debonair, impeccably dressed screen persona, he rose to stardom in Cha…
- Key films…ticated screen image. The Marriage Circle: Ernst Lubitsch's silent comedy of manners showcased Menjou's polished, witty style. The Sheik: Early major role in the hit sile…
Aleksandr Antonov
Acting
- Biography…s a Russian and Soviet film actor whose career ran from the silent era into the 1950s. He is best remembered for playing the sailor Grigory Vakulinchuk in Eisenstein's Ba…
- Key films…tein-linked film from the start of his screen career in the silent era. General Suvorov: Sound-era historical biopic showing his continued work in major Soviet production…
André Berley
Acting
- Biography…1890–1936) was a Paris-born French actor who worked in both silent and sound cinema. He is best remembered for appearing in Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of A…
- Key filmsThe Passion of Joan of Arc: Dreyer's silent masterpiece, widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and his best-known credit. Hara-Kiri: One of his notable…
Alfred Abel
Acting
- Biography…ed as a director and producer. He appeared in well over 100 silent and sound films and is best remembered as Joh Fredersen, the city's ruler in Fritz Lang's Metropolis. H…
- Key films…other F. W. Murnau film, a lighter work from the director's silent period. L'Argent: Took part in Marcel L'Herbier's major French silent production, showing his internati…
Antonin Artaud
Acting
- Biography…atre. In film, he played supporting roles in several French silent and early sound productions, including Dreyer's Joan of Arc.
- Key films…d played the monk Massieu in Carl Theodor Dreyer's landmark silent film, his most celebrated screen role. Napoleon: He played Marat in Abel Gance's epic, a major producti…
Betty Bronson
Acting
- Biography…(1906–1971) was an American actress who rose to fame in the silent era. She won the title role in the 1924 film Peter Pan, which made her a star. She worked through the s…
- Key films…the Christ: She appeared as the Virgin Mary in the landmark silent epic. The Singing Fool: She had a role in this Al Jolson hit, a major early sound-era success. Pocketfu…
Bodil Rosing
Acting
- Biography…haracter actress who built a Hollywood career from the late silent era into the early 1940s. She mostly played supporting roles in major studio films, including F. W. Mur…
- Key films…e in Murnau's celebrated Hollywood film, a landmark of late silent cinema. All Quiet on the Western Front: Supporting part in the acclaimed anti-war drama, a major early…
Edmund Meisel
Sound
- Biography…composer who worked in Berlin and wrote original scores for silent films. He is best remembered for his driving, percussive music for Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin and…
- Key films…c score for its German release became one of the best-known silent-film scores. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City: His original music accompanied Walter Ruttmann's landmar…
Brigitte Helm
Acting
- Biography…(1906–1996) was a German actress who became a star of late-silent and early-sound European cinema. She is best remembered for playing both Maria and the robot double in…
- Key films…orting role soon after Metropolis. L'Argent: A major French silent by Marcel L'Herbier, marking her success beyond German cinema. Alraune: She played the title role in th…
Buster Keaton
Directing
- Biography…is deadpan expression. He starred in and directed inventive silent comedies built on daring physical stunts and precise visual gags. He is widely regarded as one of cinem…
- Key films…e comedy, now widely ranked among the greatest films of the silent era. Sherlock Jr.: A inventive film about a projectionist who steps into the movie screen, showcasing h…
Chester Conklin
Acting
- Biography…dios as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops. He appeared in silent shorts with Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin, then built a long career as a character actor, working w…
- Key films…nklin in a supporting role in Erich von Stroheim's landmark silent drama, far from slapstick. Modern Times: A reunion with Chaplin in one of the last great silent-style c…
Cecil B. DeMille
Directing
- Biography…historical epics. His showman's style and long career, from silents to The Ten Commandments (1956), made him a lasting symbol of the Hollywood director.
- Key filmsThe Cheat: Early silent melodrama that showed his skill with dramatic lighting and established his reputation as a major director. The Ten Commandments: Lavish silent epi…
Claire McDowell
Acting
- Biography…American actress who appeared in hundreds of films from the silent era into the mid-1940s. She began in early shorts as a leading lady, then became a reliable character a…
- Key filmsThe Big Parade: One of the biggest silent hits; she played a mother in King Vidor's landmark war drama. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ: She played a mother in this major s…
Erich von Stroheim
Acting
- Biography…a director, he was known for lavish, obsessively realistic silent films that often ran over budget and were cut by studios. Later he became a memorable screen presence,…
- Key films…now regarded as a classic. The Wedding March: Opulent late-silent drama about love and class in imperial Vienna, which he directed and starred in. Grand Illusion: As Cap…
Clyde Bruckman
Writing
- Biography…an (1894–1955) was an American screenwriter and director of silent and early sound comedies. He is best remembered for co-directing Buster Keaton's The General. He also w…
- Key films…s Civil War chase comedy is regarded as one of the greatest silent films. The Battle of the Century: Laurel and Hardy short, famous for its large-scale pie fight, directe…
Friedrich Fehér
Directing
- Biography…onist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and for directing silent and early sound films, most notably The Robber Symphony. He was married to actress Magda Sonja.
- Key films…n film that is his main directorial legacy. Ssanin: A major silent-era directing credit from his run of 1920s German productions. Mata Hari: the Red Dancer: A well-known…
Florence Lee
Acting
- Biography…, who died in 1933. She worked in supporting roles from the silent era into the early sound period. She is best remembered as the grandmother in Charlie Chaplin's City Li…
- Key films…e flower girl's grandmother. Yes, Yes, Nanette: A mid-1920s silent comedy and one of her most-cited credits. The Trouper: An early-1920s silent role showing her work befo…
Frederick Vroom
Acting
- Biography…en 1912 and 1939. He played supporting roles throughout the silent era, including two Buster Keaton classics, and returned late in his career for Mr. Smith Goes to Washin…
- Key films…rated Civil War comedy, now regarded as one of the greatest silent films. The Navigator: Supporting role in another major Buster Keaton comedy, one of Keaton's biggest co…
Fay Wray
Acting
- Biography…) was a Canadian-American actress whose career began in the silent era and lasted decades. She is best remembered for early 1930s horror and adventure films, above all Ki…
- Key filmsThe Wedding March: Silent-era drama directed by Erich von Stroheim, an important early role before her horror fame. The Most Dangerous Game: Adventure-thriller in which s…
Francis X. Bushman
Acting
- Biography…American actor and one of the first great matinee idols of silent film, rising at Essanay and later Metro in the 1910s. He is best remembered as Messala in the 1925 Ben-…
- Key films…his debut year at Essanay, when he began his rapid rise to silent-era stardom. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ: His most famous role, as the villain Messala in a landmark…
Fred Niblo
Directing
- Biography…1925 epic Ben-Hur, one of the most expensive and successful silent films of its time.
- Key filmsBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ: His biggest hit: a lavish silent epic and one of the most expensive films of its era. The Mark of Zorro: Launched Douglas Fairbanks as an a…
Fritz Lang
Directing
- Biography…ema and later worked in Hollywood. He is best known for the silent sci-fi epic Metropolis and the thriller M. His dark, fatalistic crime films in the US helped define fil…
- Key films…or Weimar-era director. Metropolis: His landmark futuristic silent epic, hugely influential on science-fiction film design. M: Early sound thriller about a child murderer…
Georg H. Schnell
Acting
- Biography…best remembered as the shipowner Harding in F. W. Murnau's silent horror classic Nosferatu (1922), and he kept working steadily through the Weimar and Nazi-era German fi…
- Key films…His best-known role: shipowner Harding in Murnau's landmark silent horror film. The Old Fritz II: A late-silent-era German historical film showing his work in prestige pr…
Gloria Swanson
Acting
- Biography…was an American actress and one of the biggest stars of the silent era, also admired as a fashion icon. She rose to fame in Cecil B. DeMille's society comedies, then succ…
- Key films…, which helped make her a major star. Sadie Thompson: A hit silent drama that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Queen Kelly: Her ambitious, trouble…
George Bancroft
Acting
- Biography…who became a major star as a gruff, commanding lead in late silent and early sound films. He is best remembered for his work with director Josef von Sternberg. In the lat…
- Key films…ew York: Another Sternberg collaboration, a celebrated late-silent drama with Bancroft as a rough stoker. Thunderbolt: His early sound gangster lead, which earned him an…
George O'Brien
Acting
- Biography…e O'Brien was an American actor who became a leading man in silent films and kept working through the 1930s in sound-era Westerns and action pictures. He is best remember…
- Key filmsSunrise: A Song of Two Humans: Murnau's acclaimed silent masterpiece, with O'Brien in the lead role, is his best-known work today. The Iron Horse: John Ford's epic Wester…
Giuseppe Becce
Sound
- Biography…ny. He was a pioneer of film music, writing scores for many silent and early sound films, including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. He also appeared as an actor in the 1913…
- Key films…n film credit as composer. Secrets of a Soul: G. W. Pabst's silent psychoanalytic drama, showing his work on major Weimar-era productions. The Blue Light: Leni Riefenstah…
Greta Schröder
Acting
- BiographyGreta Schröder was a German actress of the silent era. She is best remembered as Ellen, the wife of Thomas Hutter, in F. W. Murnau's *Nosferatu* (1922). Most of her caree…
- Key films…'s menace, in a landmark of horror cinema. The Lost Shadow: Silent fantasy-era film from the early 1920s, the decade in which most of her career took place. Zirkus des Le…
Gustav Fröhlich
Acting
- Biography…He remained a popular leading man in German cinema from the silent era into the 1950s, later appearing in the controversial Die Sünderin.
- Key films…still his best-known work. Asphalt: Led this acclaimed late-silent Berlin drama, confirming his status as a major star of German cinema. Homecoming: Starred in Joe May's…
Gustav von Wangenheim
Acting
- Biography…hero of F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, and for other Weimar-era silent films. A committed communist, he later turned to directing in the Soviet Union and East Germany.
- Key films…or film. Warning Shadows: Starred in this celebrated German silent film, a key work of the Weimar-era expressionist tradition. Woman in the Moon: Acted in Fritz Lang's pi…
Harry Myers
Acting
- Biography…irector, born in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked from the silent era into the late 1930s. He is best remembered as the drunken millionaire in Charlie Chaplin's City Lig…
- Key films…e Marriage Circle: Appeared in Ernst Lubitsch's influential silent comedy of marital manners, a landmark of sophisticated screen farce. Zander the Great: A mid-1920s sile…
Hugo Riesenfeld
Sound
- Biography…ho moved to New York in 1907. He became a leading figure in silent-film music, writing original orchestral scores for around 100 films. He is best remembered for his scor…
- Key films…f the Wilderness: Landmark jungle-set feature from the late silent era, scored by Riesenfeld. The Cat and the Canary: Influential silent haunted-house comedy-thriller tha…
Inge Landgut
Acting
- Biography…-born German actress who began as a child performer in late-silent and early-sound films. She is best remembered for Fritz Lang's M (1931), in which she played the child…
- Key films…her earliest screen credits, from her childhood in the late silent era. Bookkeeper Kremke: Early-sound-era German film that shows her as a child actress in Weimar-period…
J. Farrell MacDonald
Acting
- Biography…n character actor and early director. He directed dozens of silent films in the 1910s, including for L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Manufacturing Company. He then appeared in ov…
- Key films…of Two Humans: Supporting role in F. W. Murnau's acclaimed silent masterpiece. Meet John Doe: Supporting part in a Frank Capra drama, showing his work with another major…
Ivan Bobrov
Acting
- Biography…a Moscow-born Soviet actor whose screen career ran from the silent era into the postwar years. He is best remembered for appearing in landmark films of Soviet cinema, inc…
- Key filmsBattleship Potemkin: Eisenstein's landmark silent film, central to Soviet montage cinema and the most prominent title in his filmography. Mother: Pudovkin's silent adapta…
Jameson Thomas
Acting
- Biography…omas (1888–1939) was an English actor who worked in British silent and early sound films before moving to Hollywood. He is best remembered for starring opposite Anna May…
- Key films…or starring role, opposite Anna May Wong, in a British late-silent film now highly regarded. It Happened One Night: Played King Westley, Claudette Colbert's fortune-hunti…
Janet Gaynor
Acting
- Biography…n American actress and one of the biggest stars of the late silent era. She won the first Academy Award for Best Actress, honoured for three films. She successfully moved…
- Key films…in. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans: F. W. Murnau's acclaimed silent masterpiece, in which she gave one of her most celebrated performances. Street Angel: Frank Borzage dra…
Jim Farley
Acting
- Biography…Waldron, Arkansas. His career ran about 30 years across the silent and sound eras, with many supporting parts in studio films. He is best remembered for appearing in Bust…
- Key films…eared in Buster Keaton's Civil War comedy, one of the great silent films and his best-known credit. Night Nurse: Early sound-era supporting credit in a pre-Code drama. Th…
Jullan Kindahl
Acting
- Biography…sh character actress whose screen career stretched from the silent era into the early 1960s. She is best remembered for supporting roles in Ingmar Bergman's films of the…
- Key films…busy work in the studio-era industry. Janne Modig: An early silent-era credit that marks the start of her long screen career.
Miyu Irino
Acting
- Biography…wn for voicing Haku in Spirited Away and Shouya Ishida in A Silent Voice, as well as Sora in the Kingdom Hearts games. He has become a familiar voice in modern anime.
- Key films…acter from the popular TV series, in its film adaptation. A Silent Voice: The Movie: Voiced Shouya Ishida, the troubled protagonist of this acclaimed drama about bullying…
Kathryn McGuire
Acting
- Biography…Guire (1903–1978) was an American actress and dancer of the silent era. She is best remembered as Buster Keaton's leading lady in Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator, both rel…
- Key films…k as a leading lady beyond comedy. Lilac Time: A major late-silent war romance, showing her career continuing in prominent productions. The Lost Zeppelin: An early sound-…
Lil Dagover
Acting
- Biography…n in the Dutch East Indies. She became a star of Weimar-era silent cinema, especially in Expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. She kept working through th…
- Key films…her best-known early role. Destiny: Fritz Lang's celebrated silent fantasy, which confirmed her as a leading lady of Weimar cinema. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler: Lang's influe…
Lillian Gish
Acting
- Biography…areer lasted 75 years. She became one of the great stars of silent cinema, closely tied to director D.W. Griffith, and later returned in occasional sound-era roles. Her e…
- Key films…fith's tragic melodrama is among the most celebrated of the silent era. Way Down East: A major Griffith hit, famous for her ordeal on the ice floe sequence. The Wind: A l…
Lucille La Verne
Acting
- Biography…merican actress with a long stage career who also worked in silent and early sound films, often in sharp-tongued, villainous roles. She is best remembered as the voice of…
- Key films…arly step toward her Snow White role. Orphans of the Storm: Silent-era appearance in D. W. Griffith's epic set during the French Revolution. A Tale of Two Cities: Appeare…
Maria Falconetti
Acting
- Biography…almost entirely for her title role in Carl Theodor Dreyer's silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), a performance often counted among the greatest in cinema histor…
- Key films…sion of Joan of Arc: Her defining role, as Joan in Dreyer's silent masterpiece, built around intense close-ups of her face. La comtesse de Somerive: An early screen credi…
Margaret Livingston
Acting
- Biography…temptress in F. W. Murnau's Sunrise (1927). She moved from silent films into early sound pictures.
- Key films…ture role as the seductive city woman in Murnau's acclaimed silent masterpiece. The Last Warning: Appeared in Paul Leni's atmospheric late-silent mystery, a notable thril…
Marion Mack
Acting
- BiographyMarion Mack (1902–1989) was an American silent-film actress and occasional screenwriter. She is best remembered as Annabelle Lee, Buster Keaton's co-star in The General (…
- Key films…ole as Annabelle Lee opposite Buster Keaton in a celebrated silent comedy classic. Mary of the Movies: Early film in which she appeared, from her silent-era rise in Holly…
Mary Astor
Acting
- Biography…ry Astor (1906–1987) was an American actress who moved from silent films as a teenager to a long career in sound pictures. She is best remembered as the duplicitous Brigi…
- Key filmsDon Juan: Early major silent role opposite John Barrymore, showing her rise as a teenage star. Dodsworth: Acclaimed dramatic performance in William Wyler's drama, a highl…
Maurice Schutz
Acting
- Biography…is-born French actor whose screen career stretched from the silent era into the early 1950s. He is best remembered for supporting roles in major films by Carl Theodor Dre…
- Key filmsThe Passion of Joan of Arc: Appeared in Dreyer's silent landmark, one of the most celebrated films of the era. Vampyr: Featured in Dreyer's atmospheric early sound horror…
Max Schreck
Acting
- Biography…bered for playing the vampire Count Orlok in F. W. Murnau's silent film Nosferatu (1922). His gaunt, unsettling look made the role a landmark of horror cinema and German…
- Key films…pires and a landmark of German Expressionism. The Street: A silent-era German drama in which he appeared, showing his work in Weimar-period cinema beyond horror. The Fina…
May McAvoy
Acting
- BiographyMay McAvoy was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent films of the 1920s. She is best remembered for The Enchanted Cottage, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and T…
- Key filmsThe Enchanted Cottage: One of her best-known silent leads, playing Laura Pennington. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ: Played Esther in MGM's lavish epic, one of the biggest…
Nora Gregor
Acting
- Biography…–1949) was an Austrian stage and film actress who worked in silent and early sound cinema in German-language productions. She is best remembered as Christine de la Chesna…
- Key films…wife at the centre of Renoir's masterpiece. Michael: Early silent-era credit in a film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. The Trial of Mary Dugan: Marks her transition int…
Paul Hörbiger
Acting
- Biography…who worked in theatre and in German-language film from the silent era into the 1960s. He was best loved for genial, warm-hearted Viennese roles. Internationally he is be…
- Key filmsAsphalt: Late-silent German drama that shows him in a prominent role during his early film career. Congress Dances: Hit German musical comedy set in Vienna, typical of hi…
Reginald Gardiner
Acting
- Biography…oyal Academy of Dramatic Art. After debuting in Hitchcock's silent The Lodger, he moved to Hollywood and became a familiar supporting player, often cast as urbane English…
- Key films…the London Fog: His early film debut, in Alfred Hitchcock's silent thriller. A Damsel in Distress: Supporting role in a Fred Astaire musical, part of his Hollywood rise i…
Edna Purviance
Acting
- BiographyEdna Purviance was an American silent-film actress, best known as Charlie Chaplin's leading lady. She appeared opposite him in more than thirty films over about eight yea…
Conrad Veidt
Acting
- Biography…an actor who became a defining face of German Expressionist silent cinema, notably as the somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. After leaving Nazi Germany i…
Crispin Glover
Acting
- Key films…vie, tying him to cult filmmaking. Charlie's Angels: As the silent Thin Man, he brought his offbeat menace to a major studio comedy-action hit. Willard: A rare leading ro…
Al Ernest Garcia
Acting
- Key films…Played the brutal circus director in one of Chaplin's major silent comedies. City Lights: Played the millionaire's snobbish butler in Chaplin's acclaimed silent romantic…
Damien Chazelle
Directing
- Key films…ssive period comedy-drama about Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound. Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench: His early low-budget jazz musical feature, which anti…
Alfred Hitchcock
Directing
- Biography…tor nicknamed the "Master of Suspense". He began in British silent film, then moved to Hollywood in 1939. His psychologically tense thrillers and TV hosting made him a ho…
Aoi Yuuki
Acting
- Key films…ise, one of the signature anime properties in her career. A Silent Voice: The Movie: Acclaimed drama film and one of her highest-profile feature anime credits. Your Name.…
Edmond Beauchamp
Acting
- Biography…roadway stage. His credits span French cinema from the late silent era to the New Wave, including films by Jean Renoir.
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Directing
- Key filmsThe Passion of Joan of Arc: Silent masterpiece built on intense close-ups; his most celebrated and influential work. Vampyr: Dreamlike early sound horror film, admired fo…
Chishū Ryū
Acting
- Key films…fining role of his career. I Was Born, But...: An early Ozu silent comedy showing their long collaboration at an early stage. There Was a Father: Plays the father in Ozu'…
Hans Erdmann
Sound
- Key films…Fritz Lang's celebrated thriller, showing his move from the silent era into early sound cinema. Urwaldsymphonie: An early sound-era credit that shows his continued work a…
F. W. Murnau
Directing
- Biography…u (1888–1931) was a German director and a leading figure of silent-era cinema and German Expressionism. He is known for atmospheric imagery and fluid, inventive camera mo…
Gerard Carbonara
Sound
- Biography…ra (1886–1959) was a film composer who worked from the late silent era into the 1940s. He is best remembered for scoring Westerns and genre pictures, including John Ford'…
Glen Cavender
Acting
- Key films…His best-known role, as a Union captain in Buster Keaton's silent classic. Blonde Venus: Small sound-era part in a Josef von Sternberg film starring Marlene Dietrich. Th…
Henry Bergman
Acting
- Key films…ole. The Gold Rush: Appeared in one of Chaplin's best-known silent feature comedies. The Circus: Another major Chaplin feature in his long run of supporting roles. Modern…
Jean Hagen
Acting
- Biography…) was an American actress best known for playing the shrill silent-film star Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain, a role that earned her an Oscar nomination. She also did…
Mikhail Gomorov
Directing
- Biography…He is best remembered for appearing in Sergei Eisenstein's silent landmarks, including Strike and Battleship Potemkin. He later directed the 1932 film Wings.
Karl Freund
Camera
- Key films…chael: His only known acting role, a cameo in Carl Dreyer's silent drama.
Lee Van Cleef
Acting
- Key filmsHigh Noon: His film debut, playing a largely silent outlaw in a classic Western. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Prominent Hollywood Western appearance in the period wh…
Lionel Barrymore
Acting
- Key films…Early screen work for D. W. Griffith, showing his roots in silent-era film.
Merian C. Cooper
Production
- Key films…n for adventurous location filmmaking. The Four Feathers: A silent adventure feature that carried his exotic-location style into dramatic storytelling. This Is Cinerama:…
Paul Dano
Acting
- Key films…or best debut performance. Little Miss Sunshine: Played the silent, disaffected teenager Dwayne in a hit indie ensemble comedy that raised his profile. There Will Be Bloo…
Paulette Goddard
Acting
- Key films…he Gamin opposite Charlie Chaplin's Tramp in his last major silent-style film. The Great Dictator: Chaplin's first full sound film, with Goddard as the ghetto laundress H…