Top 10 Films of 1924

1. "The Last Laugh" (F.W. Murnau, Germany)

2. "Sherlock Jr" (Buster Keaton, Metro)

3. "Greed" (Erich Von Stroheim, Metro-Goldwyn)

4. "The Thief Of Bagdad" (Raoul Walsh, United Artists)

5. "Siegfried" (Fritz Lang, Germany)

6. "Messalina" (Enrico Guazzoni, Italy)

7. "The Navigator" (Donald Crisp, Buster Keaton, Metro-Goldwyn)

8. "Girl Shy" (Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor, Pathe)

9. "The Marriage Circle" (Ernst Lubitsch, Warner)

10. "Michael" (Carl T. Dreyer, Germany)


Other great films:

Aelita (Soviet Union)

Forbidden Paradise
Hands Of Orlac (Germany)
He Who Gets Slapped
Hot Water
Kino-Eye (Soviet Union)

Kriemhild's Revenge (Germany)

Moon Of Israel (Austria)

Peter Pan

The Saga Of Gosta Berling (Sweden)

Slubowanie (Poland)
Waxworks (Germany)

Short Top 10:

1. "Paris qui dort" (René Clair, France)

2. "Entr'acte" (René Clair, France)

3. "Ballet mécanique" (Fernand Leger, France)

4. "Galloping Bungalows" (Eddie Cline, Sennett, Pathe)

5. "The First Hundred Years" (Harry Sweet, Sennett, Pathe)

6. "Lizzies Of The Field" (Del Lord, Sennett, Pathe)

7. "Wall Street Blues" (Del Lord, Sennett, Pathe)

8. "Luck O' The Foolish" (Harry Edwards, Sennett, Pathe)

9. "High Society" (Robert F. McGowan, Roach, Pathe)

10. "His New Mamma" (Roy Del Ruth, Sennett, Pathe)

Other great shorts:

All Wet
Backward Flow (Japan)
Big Moments From Little Pictures
The Hansom Cabman
One Wet Night

Out Bound
Picking Peaches
Publicity Pays

Smithy
Ten Dollars Or Ten Days

La Voyeuse (France)

Cartoon Top 10:

1. "Symphonie diagonale" (Viking Eggeling, Germany)

2. "Alice's Wild West Show" (Walt Disney, Winkler)

3. "Opus III" (Walter Ruttmann, Germany)

4. "Alice And The Dog Catcher" (Walt Disney, Winkler)

5. "Trip To Mars" (Dave Fleischer, Red Seal)

6. "Alice And The Three Bears"  (Walt Disney, Winkler)

7. "Alice's Spooky Adventure" (Walt Disney, Winkler)

8. "The Cartoon Factory" (Dave Fleischer, Red Seal)

9. "Alice's Day At Sea" (Walt Disney, Winkler)

10. "Alice's Fishy Story" (Walt Disney, Winkler)

Other great cartoons:

The Cat And The Magnet

Weak films of 1924:

America

Dante's Inferno
Enchanted Cottage
The Extraordinary Adventures Of Mr West In The Land Of The Bolsheviks (Soviet Union)
The Iron Horse
Isn't Life Wonderful
Monsieur Beaucaire

Weak shorts:

All Night Long
Family Life
Feet Of Mud
Our Congressman
Shanghaied Lovers
Smile Please
West Of Hot Dog
Yukon Jake

Weak cartoons:

Alice Gets In Dutch
Felix Goes West
Sharp Shooters
She's In Again

Sherlock Jr (1924) *****

One of Buster Keaton's best film. Particularly memorable is a sequence where Buster tries to enter a movie being projected on the screen.

The Last Laugh (1924) *****

The greatest silent German film ever made. It tells the story of a hotel porter who looses his job. It's not an expressionist film. It belongs to another movement, known as "Kammerspiel".

The Thief Of Bagdad (1924) ****

An enchanting Oriental fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks as a smart thief trying to marry a beautiful princess. It's adapted from an "Arabian Nights" tale. The first hour is particularly exciting.

Greed (1924) ****

Very different from Erich von Stroheim's other films. It's a story of a San Francisco dentist and his greedy wife (Zasu Pitts). The non-restored version is 104 min.

Hands Of Orlac (1924) ***

A perfect example of the fantastic genre, directed by Robert Wiene.

Aelita (1924) ***

Soviet science fiction film about a Bolshevik revolution on Mars. Superb art direction and costumes (inspired by Constructivism).

Siegfried (1924) ***

Legends about old German heroes come to life in this impressive epic film directed by Fritz Lang.

Slubowanie (1924) ***

A classic of Polish silent cinema, based on the same old Jewish legend that also inspired Michal Waszynski's "Dybuk" (1937). This silent film was slightly modified for a US release in 1933, adding a soundtrack and a few new scenes. That sound version is atrocious, but it was thanks to it that the film itself has been preserved in the United States, while all the original silent copies in Poland has been destroyed during World War II.

Waxworks (1924) ***

Uneven, but fascinating German expressionist film directed by Paul Leni and consisting of three distinct segments. The first one (first photo), set in 9th century Baghdad, is an example of "caligarism" at its most extreme and visually thrilling. Unfortunately, its story is a bit weak. The second segment (second photo), about Ivan The Terrible, is by far the best, both visually and narratively. It has clearly been an inspiration for Sergei Eisenstein's films made 20 years later. The third segment (last photo), about Jack the Ripper, is visually stunning, but much too short to develop any narrative threads.

Kriemhild's Revenge (1924) ***

Moon Of Israel (1924) ***

Peter Pan (1924) ***

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) ***

A man becomes a clown.

The Marriage Circle (1924) ***

An excellent comedy of manners about two Viennese couples facing divorce. Remade as "One Hour With You" in 1932.

Hot Water (1924) ***

This Harold Lloyd comedy has plenty of hilarious situations (Harold causing a traffic jam, Harold smashing his new car, Harold thinking that he murdered his mother-in-law). Co-directed by Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor.

Girl Shy (1924) ***

A fine Harold Lloyd comedy that satirizes the "vamp" melodramas and concludes with a series of wild rides in cars, trolleys, motocycles and horse carriages. Co-directed by Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor.

The Saga Of Gosta Berling (1924) ***

A classic of silent Swedish cinema. Greta Garbo's first film.

Michael (1924) ***

German drama about a famous painter who falls in love with his male model.