BLACHEFAN

The Thief of Bagdad (1924) The acrobatic and occasionally balletic moves Douglas Fairbanks performed in his films took audiences breath away. Many decades removed from the silent film era, Fairbanks still delights, and never so imaginatively as in this awe-inspiring Arabian Nights spectacular. Audiences were awed not only by Fairbanks' athleticism (and his beguiling joie de vivre) but looked on in wonder as William Cameron Menzies' sets drew them in to an exotic adventure. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/thief_of_bagdad.pdf

Sherlock, Jr. (1924) A young movie theater projectionist and amateur sleuth (Buster Keaton) must solve the mystery of a stolen pocket watch in order to impress and win the love of the girl (Kathryn McGuire) he adores. Directed by Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell, Sherlock, Jr. utilizes Keaton's trademark physicality and dry humor, fast-paced editing, and jump cuts, to create a comedic masterpiece that both acknowledges and embraces the cinematic medium.

Peter Pan (1924) J.M. Barrie was understandably leery of Hollywood, particularly after Cecil B. DeMille rather flamboyantly adapted his play "The Admirable Crichton" for the film "Male and Female" (1919). When Paramount wanted to film "Peter Pan" five years later, Barrie insisted on the right to veto the director and star; however, he was extremely pleased with the choice of Herbert Brenon and Betty Bronson, and publicly expressed his appreciation of their work. "Peter Pan" remains one of the silent era's most successful fantasies, notable not only for Bronson's exquisitely stylized performance as Peter, but also for its elaborate settings and special effects. The film was an enormous success, which prompted Paramount to approach Barrie to film "A Kiss for Cinderella" for the following year's Christmas release with the same team.

The Iron Horse (1924) John Ford's epic Western "The Iron Horse" established his reputation as one of Hollywood's most accomplished directors. Intended by Fox studios to rival Paramount's 1923 epic "The Covered Wagon," Ford's film employed more than 5,000 extras, advertised authenticity in its attention to realistic detail, and provided him with the opportunity to create iconic visual images of the Old West, inspired by such master painters as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. A tale of national unity achieved after the Civil War through the construction of the transcontinental railroad, "The Iron Horse" celebrated the contributions of Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants although the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country legally was severely restricted at the time of its production. A classic silent film, "The Iron Horse" introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/iron_horse.pdf

Greed (1924) Erich von Stroheim's "Greed" chronicles the downfall of gold miner-turned-dentist, McTeague (Gibson Gowland) and his wife, Trina (ZaSu Pitts), after their lives are destroyed by greed following a lottery win. Based on the novel "McTeague" by Frank Norris, "Greed" is notorious for both its production difficulties, many of which stemmed from the fact that the film was shot on location, a rarity at the time, and its post-production in which MGM edited the film down against Von Stroheim's wishes from his initial 40-reel cut to about 13 reels (133 minutes). The cut sequences were destroyed, so no complete version of the film is known to exist. A 1999 reconstruction based on von Stroheim's final working script utilized still photos for missing sequences to create a 239-minute version.

The Chechahcos (1924) The title of this independent, regional film is Inuit for tenderfoot or newcomer. (Traditionally spelled "Cheechakos" the film's title was changed by Associated Exhibitors only after it was no longer controlled by Alaskans.) The first feature film produced in Alaska, it is renowned for its spectacular location footage of the lonely and unfathomable Alaskan wilderness, frenzied dogsled pursuits and life-and-death struggles on the glaciers. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/chechahcos.pdf

Solomon Sir Jones films (1924-28) Solomon Sir Jones was a Baptist minister and businessman who also had an important career as an accomplished amateur filmmaker. Jones was born in Tennessee to former slaves and grew up in the South before moving to Oklahoma in 1889. As described on the website of Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the Solomon Sir Jones films in Yale's collection consist of 29 silent black-and-white films documenting African-American communities in Oklahoma from 1924 to 1928. They contain nearly 355 minutes of footage shot with then-new 16-mm cameras. The films document a rich tapestry of everyday life: funerals, sporting events, schools, parades, businesses, Masonic meetings, river baptisms, families at home, African-American oil barons and their wells, black colleges, Juneteenth celebrations and a transcontinental footrace. Jones also documented his travels. IndieWire termed these films "the most extensive film records we have of Southern and urban black life and culture at the time of rapid social and cultural change for African-Americans during the 1920's, the very beginning of the Great Migration, which transformed not only black people as a whole, but America itself." The Smithsonian also has nine reels of film, comprising approximately two hours of footage. The films have been preserved by Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) One of the earliest "creepy clown" movies, "He Who Gets Slapped" was the first film produced completely by the MGM studio, though not the first released. The film features Lon Chaney in a memorable role as a scientist who is humiliated when a rival and his wife steal his ideas just as he is to present them to the Academy of Sciences. He then becomes a masochistic circus clown where the highlight of his act is being repeatedly slapped. One of many stand-out scenes occurs during a circus performance where Chaney spots those who betrayed him and tries to call them out, but his fellow clowns are doing their normal crowd-pleasing routine of slapping him in the face. Filled with nightmarish vignettes, this landmark film from the silent era was directed by Victor Sjöström (newly arrived from Sweden and using an anglicized last name of Seastrom) and also features Norma Shearer and John Gilbert, each on the cusp of stardom.

The Navigator (1924) Courtesy of Cohen Media Group Buster Keaton burst onto the scene in 1920 with the dazzling two-reeler "One Week." His feature "The Navigator" proved a huge commercial success and put Keaton in the company of Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin in terms of audience popularity and films eagerly awaited by critics. Decades after release, Pauline Kael reviewed the film: "Arguably, Buster Keaton's finest — but amongst the Keaton riches can one be sure?" Keaton plays an inept, foppish millionaire whose idea of a marriage proposal involves crossing the street in a chauffeured car, handing flowers to his girlfriend and popping the question. Later the two accidentally become stranded at sea on an abandoned boat and Keaton proves his worth by conceiving ingenious work-arounds to ensure they survive. The silent era rarely saw films rife with more creativity and imaginative gags.

Salomé (1923) Before entering films in 1916, Alla Nazimova, who studied with Russian theatrical visionary Constantin Stanislavski, had already earned a reputation as an intensely dedicated, if unorthodox, stage performer. She starred in several successful film adaptations of literary classics, and in 1922, chose to produce Oscar Wilde's sensational version of "Salomé," starring as the 14-year-old stepdaughter of King Herod. The resulting product was one of the earliest examples of surrealism in film, thanks to highly-stylized sets and costumes by the flamboyant Natacha Rambova as well as its overtly theatrical and sexualized presentation. The expanded essay is below the description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/salome.pdf

Safety Last! (1923) "Safety Last" may be Harold Lloyd's finest film, and from it comes the most recognizable image in silent comedy: the man dangling from a clock. Joining forces with Hal Roach in 1915, the former movie extras started a company to produce Lloyd's films, and the comedian was soon the highest paid actor and biggest box-office draw. Bolstered by his success with a few early "thrill" shorts and inspired by a popular stunt performer known as "the human fly," Lloyd was eager to make a feature-length film that would give audiences the same excitement. In the film, Lloyd's country boy seeks fame and fortune in the big city and ends up as an unwitting human fly forced to scale a tall building. The studio built sets on the rooftops of several downtown Los Angeles buildings to enhance the illusion, although Lloyd still risked danger with his antics, thus delivering on his recipe for a successful thrill picture: "a laugh, a scream and a laugh." The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/safety_last.pdf

Two-Color Kodachrome Test Shots No. III (1922) This two-color (green-blue and red) film was produced as a demonstration reel at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey under the direction of Kodak scientist John Capstaff. It features leading actresses Mae Murray, Hope Hampton, and Mary Eaton posing for the camera to showcase Kodachrome's superiority in capturing their translucent complexions and colorful costumes. Early on, color in film was achieved through laborious processes such as painting individual film frames by hand or overlaying stencils on prints and applying colors in sequence. These color additive methods were complicated and costly, and companies sought more efficient ways to reproduce the true colors of nature. Leading the way in the U.S. was Technicolor in 1912 and Eastman Kodak in 1914. Studios incorporated two-color sequences using Kodachrome and the rival Technicolor film stocks until three-strip Technicolor became the industry standard in the late 1930s. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/kodachrome.pdf

Sky High (1922) Western star Tom Mix, dubbed King of the Cowboys, portrays a government agent in pursuit of a ring of smugglers who Newbury has discovered are trafficking in Chinese immigrants. The pursuit eventually leads to a showdown in the Grand Canyon where many scenes in the film were shot. A romance with a character portrayed by Eva Novak dominates one of the subplots of the story written and directed by former newspaper reporter Lynn Reynolds. Mix, the antithesis of reigning Western hero William S. Hart, was easygoing, wore flashy gear and did his own stunts, a style that set a standard for cowboy stars that lasted decades.

Nanook of the North (1922) A scene from Robert J. Flaherty's "Nanook of the North." Prints and Photographs Division. A film now synonymous with the documentary form and with Eskimo life, Robert Flaherty's filmed record of an Inuit family living in artic Canada set down many of the standards for non-fiction filmmaking while also expanding film's ability to document vanishing, cultures. Though Flaherty's authenticity has since been called into question, its emotional impact and artistic style still resonate. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/nanook2.pdf

Miss Lulu Bett (1922) William C. de Mille (brother of Cecil B. DeMille) was a prolific director during America's silent and early talking era, though few of his films have survived to present day. This progressive study of gender roles and small town hypocrisy focuses on a victimized and belittled woman, Lulu Bett, who gains newfound confidence after a failed marriage, much to the irritation of her sniveling family. Lois Wilson gives a quiet and restrained performance in the lead role which mirrors de Mille's deceptively simple visual storytelling style.

Foolish Wives (1922) Director Erich von Stroheim's third feature, staged with costly and elaborate sets of Monte Carlo, tells the story of a criminal who passes himself off as a Russian count in order to seduce women of society and steal their money. This brilliant and, at the time, controversial film fully established von Stroheim's reputation within the industry as a challenging and difficult-to-manage creative genius. After six months in the editing room, Erich von Stroheim turned over his cut of the film to Universal Pictures. It was 32 reels (approximately six to eight hours long) which the studio cut down to just under two hours. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/foolish_wives.pdf

Cops (1922) Considered to be one of Buster Keaton's best short films, "Cops" exemplifies the star's popular blending of athleticism and his unique stone-faced comedic style. Written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton, the story features underachiever Keaton seeking success in business to win the affections of a girl (Virginia Fox). Along the way he inadvertently causes a riot at a policeman's parade, and the result is a gag-filled chase involving hundreds of cops. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/cops.pdf

Tol'able David (1921) Henry King 50-year career in Hollywood, reputation for capturing the values, culture, history, personality, and character of the nation. His nostalgia was honest, and often bittersweet. In "Tol'able David," King tells a coming-of-age story about a youth who must overcome savage, bullying neighbors as he takes on his first job delivering mail in rural Virginia. "Tol'able David" was studied by Russian filmmakers of the 1920s. They were inspired by King's memorable conjunctions of shots that evoked personalities and emotions without a need for explanatory titles. "Tol'able David" remains a powerful drama and is also known for its craftsmanship, which was tremendously influential on subsequent filmmaking. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/tolable_david.pdf

Manhatta (1921) The artistry of this 11-minute black-and-white film by photographer Paul Strand and painter Charles Sheeler helped to bring it to a broader audience than most avant-garde productions of the time. The stark cinematography that captured the 60-plus images of Manhattan is edited together into an elegantly rhythmic configuration. Interspersed with quotations from the writings of Walt Whitman. "Manhatta" inspired a genre of "city films" by directors such as Robert Flaherty and Alberto Cavalcanti.

The Kid (1921) Charles Chaplin's first full-length feature, the silent classic "The Kid," is an artful melding of touching drama, social commentary and inventive comedy. The tale of a foundling (Jackie Coogan, soon to be a major child star) taken in by the Little Tramp, "The Kid," represents a high point in Chaplin's evolving cinematic style, proving he could sustain his artistry beyond the length of his usual short subjects and could deftly elicit a variety of emotions from his audiences by skillfully blending slapstick and pathos. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/the_kid.pdf

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) Directed by Rex Ingram and based on the novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" tells the story of a family at odds during World War I. Starring Rudolph Valentino as Julio Desnoyers, the tango-dancing Casanova grandson of Argentinian patriarch, Madariaga (Pomeroy Cannon), "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" was the film that catapulted Valentino to superstardom. Of particular renown is the film's tango scene, which was included in the film specifically to highlight newcomer Valentino's dancing skills. In addition to launching the career of Valentino, "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" was also one of the highest-grossing films of the silent era, earning over $4 million at the box office during its initial theatrical run. The expanded essay is below the description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/four_horsemen.pdf

Within Our Gates (1920) Oscar Micheaux wrote, produced and directed this groundbreaking motion picture considered one of the first of a genre that would become known as "race films." Many critics have seen "Within Our Gates" as Micheaux's response to D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation," in which African Americans were depicted as generally negative stereotypes, as they were in almost all films of the day. Despite Micheaux's limited budget and limited production values, it still effectively confronted racism head on with its story of a teacher (Evelyn Preer) determined to start a school for poor black children. Contemporary viewers may find it difficult to defend Micheaux's balancing act between authenticity and acceptability to white audiences, but that's what he believed was necessary simply to get the film made.

One Week (1920) "One Week" is the first publicly released two-reel short film starring Buster Keaton. One of Keaton's finest films and one of the greatest short comedies produced during the 1920s, the film, as critic Walter Kerr noted, shows Keaton as "a garden at the moment of blooming." Considered astonishingly creative even by contemporary standards, "One Week" is rife with hilarious comic, often surrealist, sequences chronicling the ill-fated attempts of a newlywed couple to assemble their new home. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/one_week.pdf

The Mark of Zorro (1920) Douglas Fairbanks was gifted not only with a winning smile and athletic prowess, but also with keen insight. Aware that post-World War I audiences had grown weary of the romantic comedies that had made him a star, Fairbanks adapted his persona to create a daring hero and established himself as an icon of American culture. Under the name Elton Thomas, Fairbanks penned the screenplay for his first swashbuckler, portraying Don Diego Vega who has recently returned to California from Spain. Upon finding a despotic governor (George Periolat) persecuting the local inhabitants, he first poses as a preening fop to divert suspicion, then dons a cape and mask to defend the downtrodden armed with a razor-sharp sword and leaving behind his signature "Z" to taunt the evil Captain Ramon (Robert McKim) and his henchmen. The film, directed by Fred Niblo, also stars Marguerite De La Motte and Noah Beery. The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film has preserved the film.

The Making of an American (1920) Produced by the state of Connecticut, this silent short is a sincere, dramatically effective public education film aimed at persuading immigrants to learn English. The drama's protagonist is an Italian laborer who attends night school and with his newly acquired English skills obtains a better job. The film's intertitles address the audience in English, Italian and Polish. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/making_american.pdf