Top 10 Films of 1918

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. "Fabiola" (Enrico Guazzoni, Italy)

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

Other great films:

The Blue Bird

Stella Maris

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) ***

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.

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.

The Whispering Chorus (1918) *

Dreadful silent melodrama from Cecil B. DeMille. It's all about a swindler who changes his identity with a dead man and who is later sentenced to death for murdering himself.

The Bond (1918) *

One of Chaplin's worst films.

Shoulder Arms (1918) ****

A simple Allied soldier (Charlie) manages to kidnap the Kaiser during World War I. One of Chaplin's best comedies.

Frauds And Frenzies (1918) ****

Larry Semon and Stan Laurel star as a pair of convicts in this hilarious slapstick farce.

A Dog's Life (1918) ****

A poor tramp tries to survive in a ruthless world.

Bathing Beauties And Big Boobs (1918) ***

Fireman Save My Child (1918) ***

Hilarious silent comedy starring Harold Lloyd as a fireman.

The Non-Stop Kid (1918) **

Harold Lloyd pretends to be a professor.

Are Crooks Dishonest (1918) *

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard are crooks.

The Sinking Of The Lusitania (1918) ***

The tragic sinking of the American passenger ship by a German U-Boat in 1917 was metriculously recreated by Winsor McCay in this impressive short film.

Know Thy Wife (1918) ***

An amusing comedy with Dorothy Devore dressed as a man. Directed by Al Christie.

He's In Again (1918) **

Silent comedy set in a restaurant, where some customers try to have a drink without paying for it. The film stars Chaplin's imitator, Billy West. It was directed by Charley Chase under his real name Charles Parrott.

Carmen (1918) **

Pola Negri is excellent in this otherwise mediocre silent version of Prosper Merimee's immortal tale. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (one of his first German costume dramas), released in the USA as "Gypsy Blood".

Just Rambling Along (1918) **

Hungry Stan Laurel tricks a cook by tasting his food and pretending not to like it. Simple comedy set in a cafeteria. Directed and produced by Hal Roach.

Hey There (1918) *

A confusing Harold Lloyd's comedy.

Two Gun Gussie (1918) **

Everyone is shooting at the piano player in this Harold Lloyd comedy from his "Winckle" period. Directed by Alf Goulding and produced by Hal Roach.

Stella Maris (1918) ***

Widely considered as Mary Pickford's greatest film.

The Cook (1918) *

An incoherent Fatty Arbuckle comedy. Buster Keaton's weird dance is a highlight, but otherwise there is little humor in this failed effort.

The City Slicker (1918) *

Harold Lloyd is running a hotel.

Blekitna Armia we Francji (1918) *

Moonshine (1918) ***

Brechtian touches (mostly in self-reflexive inter-titles) greatly enliven this otherwise routine comedy set in Virginia's hillbilly country. Directed by Roscoe Arbuckle.

Out West (1918) ***

Slapstick comedy western starring Roscoe Arbuckle (who also directs), Buster Keaton and Al St.John. The train sequence is a classic.