Top 10 Films of 1918

1. "I Don't Want To Be A Man" (Ernst Lubitsch, Germany)

2. "Stella Maris" (Marshall Neilan, USA)

3. "Blue Blazes Rawden" (William S. Hart, Paramount)

4. "Be Silent Sorrow Be Silent" (Pyotr Chardynin, Cheslav Sabinsky, Russia)

5. "The Blue Bird" (Maurice Tourneur, Paramount)

6. "The Life Story Of David Lloyd George" (Maurice Elvey, UK)

7. "Zolty paszport" (Paul L. Stein, Victor Janson, Eugen Illés, Poland)

8. "Fabiola" (Enrico Guazzoni, Italy)

9. "A Trip To Mars" (Holger-Madsen, Denmark)

10. "Hell Bent" (John Ford, Universal)

Top 6 Guilty Pleasures of 1918:

1. "Outlaw And His Wife" (Victor Sjöström, Sweden)

2. "Tih Minh" (Louis Feuillade, France)

3. "Over The Rhine" (Fred J. Balshofer, Republic)

4. "Tarzan Of The Apes" (Scott Sidney, First National) 

5. "Amazonas Maior Rio do Mundo" (Silvino Santos, Brazil)

6. "Among The Cannibal Isles Of The South Pacific" (Martin E. Johnson, USA) - short

Top 10 Shorts:

1. "Shoulder Arms" (Charles Chaplin, First National)

2. "A Dog's Life" (Charles Chaplin, First National)

3. "Frauds And Frenzies" (Larry Semon, Vitagraph)

4. "Good Night Nurse!" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Paramount)

5. "Fireman Save My Child" (Alf Goulding, Pathe)

6. "Out West" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Paramount)

7. "The Bell Boy" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Paramount)

8. "Bathing Beauties And Big Boobs" (Larry Semon, Vitagraph)

9. "Know Thy Wife" (Al Christie, USA)

10. "Moonshine" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Paramount)

Top 3 Cartoon:

1. "The Sinking Of The Lusitania" (Winsor McCay, USA)

2. "Extra Quick Lunch" (Charles R. Bowers, Fox)

3. "Bobby Bumps Puts A Beanery On The Bum" (Earl Hurd, Bray, Paramount)

Weak films of 1918:

Amarilly Of Clothesline Alley
Carmen (Germany)
Father Sergius (Russia)
The Whispering Chorus

Weak shorts:

Are Crooks Dishonest

Blekitna Armia we Francji (Poland)
The Bond
The City Slicker
The Cook
He's In Again
Hey There
Just Rambling Along
The Non-Stop Kid
Two Gun Gussie

Tih Minh (1918) ****

Outlaw And His Wife (1918) ****

I Don't Want To Be A Man (1918) ****

Early German comedy about a tomboy (Ossi Oswalda) dressing as a man to go out. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. 44'

The Life Story Of David Lloyd George (1918) ***

Made in 1918, but only released in 1996, it's a biographical drama about Britain's Prime Minister during World War I.

Tarzan Of The Apes (1918) ***

The Blue Bird (1918) ***

Amazonas Maior Rio do Mundo (1918) ***

Over The Rhine (1918) ***

Fascinating American silent film written, produced and directed by Fred J. Balshofer. Fascinating because of its evolution over the years. The original version, called "Over The Rhine" was first shown on November 19, 1918, at the Florence Theatre in Pasadena, California. However, it didn't get a wide release at the time, because, according to the director, "nobody wanted to show war pictures now that the conflict was over". The film was re-cut and released in 1920 as "An Adventuress". Then, two things happened. Rudolph Valentino, who has a very small part in the film, became a huge star in 1921. And Virginia Rappe, who also had a very small part in the film, became famous after her death in 1921 led to the greatest sex scandal in Hollywood history. And so, to cash in on the notoriety of these two supporting players, the film was re-cut again and released in 1922 as "The Isle Of Love". The director boosted Valentino's part with outtakes, and a scene between Rappe and Valentino took on dimensions that were never intended in the original film.

Blue Blazes Rawden (1918) ***

A silent western starring William S. Hart. Very interesting, but uneven, with an excellent first half and a disappointing third act.

Hell Bent (1918) ***

Be Silent Sorrow Be Silent (1918) ***

Fabiola (1918) ***

Italian film about Christian martyrs in the early 4th century Rome.

A Trip To Mars (1918) ***

Zolty paszport (1918) ***

Father Sergius (1918) **

Russian melodrama inspired by the Tempation of Saint Anthony - story of a monk tempted by a woman.

Amarilly Of Clothesline Alley (1918) **

It's quite amazing just how Marxist is this Mary Pickford drama from 1918, the year the Bolshevik revolution triumphed in Russia. It's pure class warfare, early Hollywood-style, pitting the snobbish rich against the unsophisticated poor.