The Top 100 Silent Era Films
Updated July 24, 2000
Copyright © 1999-2000 by Carl Bennett.
What are the 100 best silent era films? With all the interest in AFI's best 100 American films list (which, in our opinion, should remove The Jazz Singer (1927) and add Saving Private Ryan), we couldn't help asking that question. Because we love silent films and because we are insatiable list makers, this project has been started. The effort is hampered considerably by the fact that most of the films made in the silent era have been lost to decomposition and willing destruction. It is our opinion, however, that most of the truly great films have survived due to their timeless popularity and enduring value. The list will not be limited to features exclusively. There are several short silent film masterpieces and they will be considered along with features. While our definition of the silent cinema timeline usually spans from about 1891 to 1929, we will accept later true silents like City Lights (1931) or Japanese silent films from the early 1930s, for example. The film must still exist somewhere and in some viewable form. Without surviving prints there is no way to validate the true value of a film. No lost film can fairly be included on the list based solely on its reputation. We will limit the list to films that were produced to be silent films exclusively (synchronized music tracks are acceptible, but part-talkies and talkies that have only survived as silents are out). This will also be a flexible listing. Once the list reaches 100 ranked titles, it will continue to change based on the responses we receive. We suggested several titles as a starting point. Additional titles have been nominated and voted onto the ranked list by our readers. In the case of a tie in the number of votes, we exercise our own editorial opinion as to the better of the two tied films. Once a film is on the list the only way it can be removed is to vote it off the list (something we wish we could do to several titles on the AFI list). The more votes we receive for the better films, the faster the lesser films get pushed off the list. Use the link below to e-mail your votes to us. List the films you think deserve to be included in a list of the best silent era films. No particular order is necessary, but please include the full title, the year of release, the country of its production, and the film's director (if known). We previously limited your voting to 10 films, but we received complaints that that limitation was too restricting. Feel free to vote for as many films as you would like but, remember, each vote is only a single vote for each film. Vote only for those films you think deserve to be on a top 100 list, up to 100 individual films. Ranking of the films began early in 2000. In the case of ties we exercise our editorial opinion of the tied films and rank accordingly. We have acknowledged that the first few revisions to the list resulted (with the small number of early votes) in wildly skewed ranking orders. The ranking order has begun to settle down and truly reflect the best films of the silent era. If you think the current standing results are unrealistic then send in your votes today and let's see how this list continues to shake out. COMMENTS ON THE LATEST UPDATE: The latest round of voting left much of the list in order, with many of the top films getting an equal ratio of votes. Napoléon has climbed back to No. 5. Metropolis, a one-time favorite at No. 1, breaks back into the list of top 10 films. City Lights continues its reign at No. 1. And Pandora's Box holds firmly onto the No. 2 position. More films have been voted onto the bottom of the ranked list, which now numbers 94. We'll soon reach the golden 100 number. Very few of the films on this list are not available on home video. Thanks to home video, more people have an opportunity to enjoy these silent masterpieces and can make informed judgments on each film's historic and esthetic value. We would like to thank the people who took a few moments to vote for their favorite silent era films, you are the ones who make this project work through your involvement.
CAST YOUR VOTES HERE
Remember: Title, year, director, country.
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Films Nominated to the List
But Not Yet Ranked
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Alias Jimmy Valentine |
1915 |
Maurice Tourneur |
USA |
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Alraune |
1928 |
Henrik Galeen |
Germany |
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America |
1924 |
D.W. Griffith |
USA |
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Anna Christie |
1923 |
John Griffith Wray |
USA |
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Le Ballet Méchanique |
1924 |
Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy |
France |
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The Bat
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1926
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Roland West
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USA
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Beau Geste
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1926
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Herbert Brenon
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USA
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The Black Pirate
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1926
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Albert Parker
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USA
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Blood and Sand
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1922
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Fred Niblo
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USA
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Brewster's Millions
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1921
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Joseph Henabery
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USA
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Brown of Harvard
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1925
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Jack Conway
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USA
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The Covered Wagon
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1923
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James Cruze
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USA
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David Copperfield
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1913
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Thomas Bentley
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England
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Dr. Mabuse: Der Spieler
[Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler]
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1922
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Fritz Lang
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Germany
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Don Juan
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1926
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Alan Crosland
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USA
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Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood
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1922
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Allan Dwan
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USA
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Gertie the Dinosaur
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1914
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Winsor McCay
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USA
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The Goose Woman
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1925
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Clarence Brown
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USA
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Go West
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1925
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Buster Keaton
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USA
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Hintertreppe [Backstairs]
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1921
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Leopold Jessner and
Paul Leni
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Germany
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The Iron Horse
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1924
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John Ford
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USA
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The Iron Mask
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1929
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Allan Dwan
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USA
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Joan the Woman
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1917
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Cecil B. DeMille
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USA
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Le Joueur d'échecs
[The Chess Player]
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1927
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Raymond Bernard
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France
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The King of Kings
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1927
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Cecil B. DeMille
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USA
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Kurutta Ippeiji
[A Page of Madness] |
1926 |
Teinosuke Kinugasa |
Japan |
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The Last of the Mohicans
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1920
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Maurice Tourneur and
Clarence Brown
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USA
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The Last Warning
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1928
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Paul Leni
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USA
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Male and Female
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1919
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Cecil B. DeMille
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USA
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Mantrap
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1926
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Victor Fleming
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USA
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Man, Woman and Sin
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1927
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Monta Bell
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USA
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Old Ironsides
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1926
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James Cruze
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USA
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The Perils of Pauline
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1914
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Louis J. Gasnier and
Donald MacKenzie
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USA
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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
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1917
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Marshall Neilan
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USA
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Regeneration
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1915
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Raoul Walsh
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USA
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Romola
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1924
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Henry King
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USA
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Scaramouche |
1923 |
Rex Ingram |
USA |
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The Scar of Shame
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1927
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Frank Peregrini
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USA
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The Sea Beast
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1926
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Millard Webb
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USA
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Seven Footprints to Satan
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1929
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Benjamin Christensen
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USA
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The Sheik
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1921
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George Melford
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USA
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Sherlock Holmes
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1922
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Albert S. Parker
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USA
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Son of the Sheik
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1926
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George Fitzmaurice
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USA
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Spione [Spies]
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1928
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Fritz Lang
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Germany
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The Squaw Man
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1914
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Oscar C. Apfel and
Cecil B. DeMille
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USA
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Street Angel
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1928
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Frank Borzage
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USA
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The Street of Forgotten Men |
1925 |
Herbert Brenon |
USA |
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Sylvesterabend [Sylvester]
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1923
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Lupu Pick
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Germany
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Tarzan of the Apes
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1918
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Scott Sidney
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USA
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The Three Musketeers
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1921
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Fred Niblo
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USA
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Tumbleweeds
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1925
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King Baggot
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USA
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Underworld
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1927
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Josef von Sternberg
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USA
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Les Vampires
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1915-16
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Louis Feuillade
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France
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Variété [Variety] |
1925 |
E.A. Dupont |
Germany |
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Von morgens bis mitternachts
[From Morning till Midnight]
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1920
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Karl-Heinz Martin
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Germany
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The Way of All Flesh
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1927
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Victor Fleming
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USA
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Wild Orchids
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1929
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Sidney Franklin
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USA
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Within Our Gates
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1920
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Oscar Micheaux
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USA
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A Woman of Paris
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1923
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Charles Chaplin
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USA
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CAST YOUR VOTES HERE
Remember: Title, year, director, country.
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