In honor of The Great Gatsby coming out, I thought I'd do a quick list of films from the early 20s (Gatsby was published in '25). I'm still working my way through the 20s, but it is a pretty wonderful decade. These are just going to be 20s films. I may do another list inspired by Gatsby's themes, or maybe its parties? Hmmm....
This is also a tricky list because a LOT of the films I think of when I think of the 20s are actually from 1927-29. So, this list is as much (or more) things I need to see, as ones I can comment on.
And I actually may have seen the Merry Widow (1925) and Doctor Jack (1922) at the 1997 Silent Film fest, but I don't remember. I only remember Poor Little Rich Girl.
(Links to Hulu+, netflix, and youtube).
1920
So wonderful! I find it a little weird that Douglas Fairbanks was a leading man, but I appreciate that he did his own stunts and this film has some very fun action sequences.
I'm not a huge fan of this film, but it's well worth seeing for the production design.
This is a very weird movie. It's about an entomologist who is too preoccupied with work, so his wife goes out and flirts with other men. It's Swedish.
Notable Omissions: The Phantom Carriage, Way Down East, The Golem, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Garage, the Last of the Mohicans
1921
Two of Buster's best. Well worth checking out.
Notable omissions: Orphans of the Storm, The Kid
1922
Um, I've got a blank here.
And I haven't actually SEEN Nosferatu, just Shadow of the Vampire, but... it seems well worth checking out? Other notable omissions: Dr. Mabuse: der Spieler, Doctor Jack, Robin Hood, Nanook of the North, Haxan
1923
Ummm.... again. I got nothing. Things to be seen: Our Hospitality, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Safety Last (how is that not online?!)
1924
I love this one so much. The movie sequence is just so much fun and so clever.
Notable omissions:
The Navigator, The Last Laugh, Girl Shy, He Who Gets Slapped, the Sea Hawk, The Thief of Bagdad, Greed, Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Kriemhild's Rache
1925
Not my favorite Chaplin, but responsible for the most famous bit ever.
Other options: The Merry Widow, Battleship Potemkin, The Phantom of the Opera, Stachka, The Wizard of Oz, The Lost World, Ben-Hur, The Big Parade, Seven Chances
Well worth checking out are Observations on Film Art's annual top 10 films... of the 20s. Here is 1922, here is 1921, and here is 1920.
This is also a tricky list because a LOT of the films I think of when I think of the 20s are actually from 1927-29. So, this list is as much (or more) things I need to see, as ones I can comment on.
And I actually may have seen the Merry Widow (1925) and Doctor Jack (1922) at the 1997 Silent Film fest, but I don't remember. I only remember Poor Little Rich Girl.
(Links to Hulu+, netflix, and youtube).
1920
Four fantastic Buster Keaton shorts. 1920 was clearly a good year for him.
Erotikon
Notable Omissions: The Phantom Carriage, Way Down East, The Golem, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Garage, the Last of the Mohicans
1921
Notable omissions: Orphans of the Storm, The Kid
1922
Um, I've got a blank here.
And I haven't actually SEEN Nosferatu, just Shadow of the Vampire, but... it seems well worth checking out? Other notable omissions: Dr. Mabuse: der Spieler, Doctor Jack, Robin Hood, Nanook of the North, Haxan
1923
Ummm.... again. I got nothing. Things to be seen: Our Hospitality, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Safety Last (how is that not online?!)
1924
I love this one so much. The movie sequence is just so much fun and so clever.
Notable omissions:
The Navigator, The Last Laugh, Girl Shy, He Who Gets Slapped, the Sea Hawk, The Thief of Bagdad, Greed, Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Kriemhild's Rache
1925
Other options: The Merry Widow, Battleship Potemkin, The Phantom of the Opera, Stachka, The Wizard of Oz, The Lost World, Ben-Hur, The Big Parade, Seven Chances
Well worth checking out are Observations on Film Art's annual top 10 films... of the 20s. Here is 1922, here is 1921, and here is 1920.
