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1920 Movies

Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1920, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.

Way Down East
Written by: Anthony Paul Kelly, D.W. Griffith, Joseph R. Grismer
Directed by: D.W. Griffith
Starring: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh
Country: United States of America
Outline: 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.
source: imdb.com
The Mark of Zorro
Written by: Johnston McCulley, Douglas Fairbanks, Eugene Miller
Directed by: Fred Niblo
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Noah Beery, Robert McKim
Country: United States of America
Outline: A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed.
source: imdb.com
The Penalty
Written by: Gouverneur Morris, Charles Kenyon, Philip Lonergan
Directed by: Wallace Worsley
Starring: Lon Chaney, Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, Claire Adams
Country: United States of America
Outline: Blizzard, a legless crime boss in San Francisco's underworld, seeks revenge on Dr. Ferris, the physician who amputated his legs during childhood. He plans to loot the city and confront Dr. Ferris, leading to a dramatic showdown.
source: imdb.com
Sand
Written by: Lambert Hillyer, Russell A. Boggs
Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Starring: William S. Hart, Mary Thurman, G. Raymond Nye, Patricia Palmer, Bill Patton, S.J. Bingham
Country: United States of America
Outline: Railroad station agent Dan Kurrie is fired from his job by his rival in love, Joseph Garber. Believed false by Margaret, the girl he loves, Kurrie must prove himself by unmasking a gang of bandits preying on the trains.
source: imdb.com
The Golem
Written by: Carl Boese, Paul Wegener, Henrik Galeen
Directed by: Carl Boese, Paul Wegener
Starring: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Lyda Salmonova, Ernst Deutsch, Hans Sternberg, Otto Gebühr
Country: Germany
Outline: A rabbi creates a golem, a giant humanoid creature, to protect his people from persecution, but the golem becomes uncontrollable and causes destruction.
source: imdb.com
The Woman in the Suitcase
Written by: Fred Niblo, June Mathis, Rex Ingram
Directed by: Fred Niblo
Starring: Alice Terry, Antonio Moreno, Edward Connelly, Charles Clary, Jack Curtis, George Periolat
Country: United States of America
Outline: A woman is kidnapped and placed in a suitcase, leading to a series of adventures as she tries to escape.
source: imdb.com
The Mollycoddle
Written by: Thomas J. Geraghty, Harold MacGrath
Directed by: Victor Fleming
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery
Country: United States of America
Outline: An American dandy educated in England returns to the American West, where he confronts his rugged heritage and proves his true mettle.
source: imdb.com
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Written by: John S. Robertson, Clara Beranger, Robert Louis Stevenson
Directed by: John S. Robertson
Starring: John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane, Nita Naldi, Charles Clary
Country: United States of America
Outline: A doctor discovers a potion that transforms him into his evil alter ego, leading to a series of tragic events.
source: imdb.com
The Last of the Mohicans
Written by: James Fenimore Cooper, Robert Dillon
Directed by: Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur
Starring: Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Lillian Hall, Alan Roscoe, Boris Karloff
Country: United States of America
Outline: During the French and Indian War, two sisters are escorted through the wilderness by the last of the Mohican tribe, facing numerous dangers.
source: imdb.com
Pollyanna
Written by: Eleanor H. Porter, Paul Powell
Directed by: Paul Powell
Starring: Mary Pickford, Edmund Gwenn, Karl Dane
Country: United States of America
Outline: A young girl brings joy and optimism to a small town, teaching its residents to look on the bright side of life.
source: imdb.com
Anna Boleyn
Written by: Ernst Lubitsch, Hanns Kräly
Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
Starring: Henny Porten, Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke
Country: Germany
Outline: A dramatization of the life and tragic end of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.
source: imdb.com
Outside the Law
Written by: Tod Browning, Lucien Hubbard, Gardner Bradford
Directed by: Tod Browning
Starring: Priscilla Dean, Wheeler Oakman, Lon Chaney, Ralph Lewis, E. Alyn Warren
Country: United States of America
Outline: In San Francisco, gangster Silent Madden and his daughter Molly attempt to reform under the guidance of philosopher Chang Lo. When rival Black Mike Sylva frames Silent Madden for murder, Molly returns to a life of crime, leading to a climactic shootout in Chinatown.
source: imdb.com
Erotikon
Written by: Hjalmar Bergman, Mauritz Stiller
Directed by: Mauritz Stiller
Starring: Tora Teje, Gösta Ekman, Nils Asther
Country: Sweden
Outline: A young woman in early 20th-century Sweden navigates love and societal expectations, leading to unexpected consequences.
source: imdb.com
The Toll Gate
Written by: William S. Hart, Lambert Hillyer
Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Starring: William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Singleton, Jack Richardson, Richard Headrick
Country: United States of America
Outline: Bandit leader Black Deering plans his final raid but is betrayed by a gang member. Seeking refuge, he meets widow Mary Brown, and their ensuing relationship leads to a confrontation with the law.
source: imdb.com
Sex
Written by: Fred Niblo, June Mathis
Directed by: Fred Niblo
Starring: Nita Naldi, Lew Cody, John Bowers, Edward Arnold, Charles Clary
Country: United States of America
Outline: A young woman becomes entangled in a scandalous affair, leading to personal and social repercussions.
source: imdb.com
Within Our Gates
Written by: Oscar Micheaux
Directed by: Oscar Micheaux
Starring: Evelyn Preer, Charles D. Lucas, William H. Thompson, Edward Thompson, Sylvia De Séligny
Country: United States of America
Outline: A young African-American woman travels north to raise money for her school, confronting racial prejudice and personal challenges along the way.
source: imdb.com
Down on the Farm
Written by: Ray Grey, Raymond Griffith, Mack Sennett
Directed by: Ray Grey, F. Richard Jones, Erle C. Kenton
Starring: Louise Fazenda, Harry Gribbon, James Finlayson, Billy Armstrong
Country: United States of America
Outline: A silent comedy film produced by Mack Sennett, featuring Louise Fazenda and others. It premiered in Santa Ana, California, on December 28–30, 1919, and was released nationally on April 4, 1920.
source: imdb.com
The Man Who Had Everything
Written by: Ben Ames Williams, Arthur F. Statter
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
Starring: Jack Pickford, Lionel Belmore, Priscilla Bonner, Shannon Day, Alec B. Francis
Country: United States of America
Outline: A drama about Harry Bullway, a carefree young man who, after nearly running over a blind beggar, is cursed to always have everything he wants. The film explores the consequences of this curse.
source: imdb.com
Sumurun
Written by: Ernst Lubitsch, Hanns Kräly
Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
Starring: Polly Moran, Harry Liedtke, Paul Wegener, Lya De Putti, Max Pallenberg
Country: Germany
Outline: A harem girl falls in love with a prince, leading to a series of romantic and political entanglements.
source: imdb.com
Godless Men
Written by: Ben Ames Williams, J.G. Hawks, Edfrid A. Bingham
Directed by: Reginald Barker
Starring: Russell Simpson, James "Jim" Mason
Country: United States of America
Outline: Sea captain Black Pawl confronts his son aboard their trading schooner in the South Pacific, leading to a dramatic father-son conflict.
source: imdb.com