February 10, 1970

Top 10 Films of 1920

1. "The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari" (Robert Wiene, Germany)

2. "The Mark Of Zorro" (Fred Niblo, USA)

3. "The Penalty" (Wallace Worsley, USA)

4. "The Tall Gate" (Lambert Hillyer, USA)

5. "The Parson's Widow" (Carl T. Dreyer, Sweden)

6. "Way Down East" (D.W. Griffith, USA)

7. "Something New" (Nell Shipman, USA)

8. "Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde" (John S. Robertson, USA)

9. "The Golem" (Carl Boese, Paul Wegener, Germany)

10. "Why Change Your Wife ?" (Cecil B. DeMille, USA)


Other great films:

Dla ciebie Polsko (Poland) 
Genuine (Germany)

1. "L'Illustre attrice Cicala Formica" (Lucio D'Ambra, Italy)

2. "Convict 13" (Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline, Metro)

3. "One Week" (Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline, Metro)

4. "The Garage" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Paramount)

5. "Neighbors" (Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline, First National)

6. "High And Dizzy" (Hal Roach, Pathe)

7. "Haunted Spooks" (Alf Goulding, Roach, Pathe)

8. "The Scarecrow" (Eddie Cline, Buster Keaton, Metro)

9. "Number Please" (Fred C. Newmeyer, Hal Roach, Pathe)

10. "An Eastern Westerner" (Hal Roach, Pathe)


Other great shorts:


Cartoon Top 3:

1. "A Cat's Life" (Paul Terry, Pathé)


2. "Ouija Board" (Max Fleischer, Paramount)


3. "The Clown's Little Brother" (Max Fleischer, Paramount)


Other great cartoons:

Perpetual Motion

Weak films of 1920:

Anna Boleyn (Germany)
Erotikon (Sweden)
Humoresque
One Arabian Night (Germany)

Weak shorts:

Cinderella Cinders
Dry And Thirsty

Weak cartoons:

Day At The Park
Wonders Of The Deep

The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari (1920) ****

One of the most influential films of all times, a true classic of German Expressionist cinema.

L'Homme du large (1920) ***

Within Our Gates (1920) ***

Genuine (1920) ***

The Penalty (1920) ***



Pollyanna (1920) ***

Dla ciebie Polsko (1920) ***


Excellent war drama about Polish soldiers trying to reconquer Wilno from the Bolshevik invaders. Very patriotic and very anti-Communist, one of the earliest surviving Polish films.

The Tall Gate (1920) ***

Excellent western starring William S. Hart. Constantly surprising.

Humoresque (1920) **

Story of a famous Jewish musician from New York who enrolls in the Army during World War II.

Erotikon (1920) **

Silent Swedish melodrama directed by Mauritz Stiller.

One Week (1920) ****

Buster and his new bride are trying to put a house together, panel by panel. Hilarious film, one of Keaton's finest.

Convict 13 (1920) ****

Buster is mistaken for a criminal. Excellent comedy with many unexpected twists.

The Garage (1920) ****

Fatty and Buster are working in a garage. An excellent silent comedy, very funny.

Neighbors (1920) ****

Buster wants to marry his girlfriend. An excellent film with great chases and hilarious gags.

L'Illustre attrice Cicala Formica (1920) ****

An ambitious young woman finally gets to star in a film. But the premiere of her film is a disaster because due to the inexperience of the projectionist, the actors in the picture are all rapidly moving backwards, causing general laughter in the audience and spelling the end of the glorious but brief cinematic career of our heroine.

The Scarecrow (1920) ***

Buster is chased by a dog. Hilarious, fast-paced comedy short.

Get Out And Get Under (1920) ***

Car chases and car repairs dominate this Harold Lloyd comedy. An uneven, but entertaining romp. Produced by Hal Roach.

An Eastern Westerner (1920) ***

Rich East Coast boy Harold is sent to a lawless Far West town, where he fights a gang of hooded criminals.

Mousquetaire au restaurant (1920) ***

Le Menage moderne du Madame Butterfly (1920) ***


Beautiful Girl At Waterfall (1920) ***

Number Please (1920) ***

This Harold Lloyd comedy is set in an amusement park, but the longest sequence has Harold trying to make a phone call. Later, he's trying to get rid of a wallet.

The Taking Of The Winter Palace (1920) ***

Filmed record of a mass performance in Petrograd which took place on November 7, 1920 with the participation of artists and a crowd of several thousand people to celebrate the third anniversary of the Soviet Revolution.

High And Dizzy (1920) ***

Harold is a doctor. His only patient - an attractive girl who walks in her sleep. His only goal - to save her from falling off a building. His only problem - he's completely drunk. An uneven film that starts slow, but builds to an exciting climax.

Haunted Spooks (1920) ***

Harold and his new wife run away from ghosts in a haunted mansion. Superb comedy, loaded with gags (including Harold's hilariously unsuccesful suicide attempts).

The Parson's Widow (1920) ***

A memorable Swedish film shot in Norway by a Danish director, Carl T. Dreyer. A black comedy about a young parson forced to marry the former parson's old widow. Still, he brings his young fiancee to live with them, pretending that she's his sister. Surprising film, both humorous and touching.

Dry And Thirsty (1920) *

Directed by Billy Bletcher. Produced by Gayety. A very lousy comedy about Prohibition.

Cinderella Cinders (1920) *

Boring short comedy starring Alice Howell.

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde (1920) ***

John Barrymore is excellent in both roles.