Top 10 Films of 1919

1. "The President" (Carl T. Dreyer, Denmark)

2. "The Oyster Princess" (Ernst Lubitsch, Germany)

3. "J'accuse" (Abel Gance, France)

4. "Back To God's Country" (David Hartford, Canada)

5. "Die Puppe" (Ernst Lubitsch, Germany)

6. "Madame Dubarry" (Ernst Lubitsch, Germany)

7. "Blind Husbands" (Erich von Stroheim, Universal)

8. "Sir Arne's Treasure" (Mauritz Stiller, Sweden)

9. "Male And Female" (Cecil B.DeMille, Paramount)

10. "L'Atleta fantasma" (Raimondo Scotti, Italy)

Other great films:

Barrabas (France)

Daddy Long Legs

Ravished Armenia

Short Top 10:

1. "Hearts And Flowers" (Eddie Cline, Sennett)

2. "Sunnyside" (Charles Chaplin, First National)

3. "From Hand To Mouth" (Alf Goulding, Pathe)

4. "Bumping Into Broadway" (Hal Roach, Pathe)

5. "Ask Father" (Hal Roach, Pathe)

6. "A Day's Pleasure" (Charles Chaplin, First National)

7. "The Grocery Clerk" (Larry Semon, Vitagraph)

8. "My Brother Is Coming" (Michael Curtiz, Hungary)

9. "Billy Blazes, Esq." (Hal Roach, Pathe)

10. "The Brain Of Soviet Russia" (Dziga Vertov, Russia)

Other great shorts:

Polska delegacja na Konferencji Wersalskiej (Poland)

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Feline Follies" (Otto Messmer, Sullivan)

2. "The Tantalizing Fly" (Max Fleischer, Bray, Paramount)

3. "Dud Leaves Home" (Wallace Carlson, Bray, Paramount)

Other great cartoons:

Oh'phelia (UK)

Weak films of 1919:

Broken Blossoms
The Busher
Don't Change Your Husband
The Greatest Question
A Romance Of Happy Valley
Spiders (Germany)
True-Heart Susie

Weak shorts:

Back Stage
Captain Kidd's Kids
The Chef
The Detectress
Don't Shove
The Hayseed
His Royal Slyness
I'M On My Way
A Jazzed Honeymoon
Looking For Trouble
Neighbours
Never Touched Me
Next Aisle Over
Pay Your Dues
Ring Up The Curtain
Rowdy Ann
A Sammy In Siberia
Spring Fever

The Oyster Princess (1919) *****

Delightful comedy from Ernst Lubitsch, probably his best German film. Cynical and fresh, its biting humour hasn't aged one bit. Ossi Oswalda plays a millionaire's daughter who wants to marry a prince.

The President (1919) *****

Carl T. Dreyer's first film and a masterpiece of sobriety and restraint. An excellent melodrama.

J'accuse (1919) ****

Sir Arne's Treasure (1919) ***

Impressive Swedish drama about crime, love and fate.

Barrabas (1919) ***

Daddy Long Legs (1919) ***

Mary Pickford's version of the classic novel by Jean Webster.

Ravished Armenia (1919) ***

Male And Female (1919) ***

One of Cecil B. DeMille best silent films, remade countless times (most memorably by Lina Wertmuller in 1974 and by Ruben Ostlund in 2022).

Back To God's Country (1919) ***

L'Atleta fantasma (1919) ***

Italian adventure film in the style of Louis Feuillade's serials.

Spiders (1919) *

Awful adventure film by Fritz Lang.

A Romance Of Happy Valley (1919) *

Ridiculous Griffith's melodrama. It was once considered a lost film but unfortunately a copy was found in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

The Greatest Question (1919) *

Very dated melodrama starring Lilian Gish.

The Busher (1919) *

A baseball picture.

The Grocery Clerk (1919) ***

It's the usual mayhem at Larry's grocery store, with cats walking on flypaper and an exciting climax atop high towers. Directed by Larry Semon and produced by Vitagraph.

The Brain Of Soviet Russia (1919) ***

Directed by Dziga Vertov.

Polska delegacja na Konferencji Wersalskiej (1919) ***

Ask Father (1919) ***

Harold tries to ask a father for his daughter's hand. Probably the first Harold Lloyd film with a building-climbing sequence.

My Brother Is Coming (1919) ***

Michael Curtiz's first surviving film, made in Communist Hungary in 1919. A bit pretentious, but well-directed and a unique document of its era. Impressive images.

From Hand To Mouth (1919) ***

A Harold Lloyd comedy about a naive heiress kidnapped by bandits. A clear inspiration for Buster Keaton's “Cops”. Directed by Alf Goulding, with often hilarious titles by Hal Walker.

Ring Up The Curtain (1919) **

There are some funny gags involving a snake, but otherwise it's a rather ordinary silent farce starring Harold Lloyd.

Captain Kidd's Kids (1919) **

Harold Lloyd is taken prisoner by girl pirates.

A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919) **

Harold Lloyd is on a honeymoon on a ship.

Next Aisle Over (1919) **

Better than average comedy set in a department store.

Spring Fever (1919) *

Very forgettable farce starring Harold Lloyd.

True Heart Susie (1919) **

A quintessential Griffith's film about a sophisticated city gal and a naive country girl competing for the attention of a young college student. A very dated pastoral melodrama starring Lilian Gish.

Broken Blossoms (1919) **

Overrated D.W.Griffith's melodrama about a pathetic waif (Lilian Gish), abused by her evil stepfather (Donald Grisp) and saved by a gentle Chinese immigrant (Richard Bartolomess). Unbearably sentimental.

Madame Dubarry (1919) ***

Pola Negri's best German film is a costume drama about the last mistress of King Louis XV.

A Sammy In Siberia (1919) *

Harold Lloyd participates in the Russian Civil War in Siberia.

Blind Husbands (1919) ***

Erich von Stroheim plays a Prussian officer who tries to seduce a married woman.

Don't Change Your Husband (1919) **

Dated film starring Gloria Swanson as a bored wife who divorces her stiff husband and marries a volatile lothario. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

Neighbours (1919) *

Weak farce about two neighbors. A Harold Loyd comedy from his “Winkle” period.

Pay Your Dues (1919) *

Harold's initiation into a lodge.

Rowdy Ann (1919) *

A rowdy tomboy cowgirl (Fay Tincher) is sent to proper school to become a proper young lady. Fat chance. Directed by Al Christie.

Never Touched Me (1919) *

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard are rivals fighting over a girl. Plenty of action, but little coherence. Produced by Hal Roach.

Looking For Trouble (1919) *

Snub Pollard defeats a boxing champion. Produced by Hal Roach.

I'M On My Way (1919) *

Harold Lloyd has second thoughts about marriage. Produced by Hal Roach.

His Royal Slyness (1919) *

Harold Lloyd and Snub Pollard star in this comic spoof of "The Prisoner Of Zenda". Produced by Hal Roach.

Don't Shove (1919) *

Harold learns how to skate. Produced by Hal Roach.

The Detectress (1919) *

Racist stereotypes seriously weaken this fast-paced (though rather incoherent) comedy about a tomboyish detective (Gale Henry) investigating a robbery in Chinatown. Produced by Gaumont.

The Chef (1919) *

Harold Lloyd plays Winckle, a resourceful chef, who uses various mechanical contraptions to cook his meals. Produced by Hal Roach. Aka "On The Fire".

Hearts And Flowers (1919) ***

Pretty racy comedy with cute little girls (Phyllis Harver) dressing as men, flower girls (Louise Fazenda) being married for their (non-existent) fortunes and the Bathing Beauties frolicking on the beach. Directed by Eddie Cline and produced by Mack Sennett.

A Day's Pleasure (1919) ***

Charlie takes his family for a picnic.

The Hayseed (1919) *

A rival accuses Fatty of stealing money. Weak comedy directed by Roscoe Arbuckle.

Bumping Into Broadway (1919) ***

Excellent comedy starring Harold Lloyd. Produced by Hal Roach.

Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919) ***

Comedy western starring Harold Lloyd.

Back Stage (1919) **

Fairly amusing, but ordinary comedy starring Fatty Arbuckle (who also directs) and Buster Keaton as two stage hands wrecking havoc in a vaudeville theatre.

The Tantalizing Fly (1919) ***

An annoying little fly interrupts an animator drawing a clown. Directed and produced by Max Fleischer.