The Birth of a Nation, originally called The Clansman, is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play The Clansman. Griffith co-wrote the screenplay with Frank E. Woods and produced the film with Harry Aitken.
The General is a 1926 American silent film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The story was adapted from the 1889 memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger. The film stars Buster Keaton, who also co-directed it along with Clyde Bruckman.
The Black Pirate is a 1926 American silent action adventure film shot entirely in two-color Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. Directed by Albert Parker, it stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, and Billie Dove. In 1993, The Black Pirate was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Cops is a 1922 American two-reel silent comedy film about a young man who accidentally gets on the bad side of the entire Los Angeles Police Department during a parade and is chased all over town. It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton. This very Kafka-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of Fatty Arbuckle, a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement.
A Corner in Wheat is a 1909 American short silent film which tells of a greedy tycoon who tries to corner the world market in wheat, destroying the lives of the people who can no longer afford to buy bread. It was directed by D. W. Griffith and adapted by Griffith and Frank E. Woods from a novel and a short story by Frank Norris, titled The Pit and A Deal in Wheat.
The Exploits of Elaine is a 1914 American film serial in the damsel in distress genre of The Perils of Pauline (1914).
The Gold Rush is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman and Malcolm Waite.
Pass the Gravy is a 1928 short comedy silent film directed by Fred Guiol and supervised by Leo McCarey. It stars Max Davidson, Gene Morgan, Spec O'Donnell, Martha Sleeper, and Bert Sprotte. The movie was produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation. In 1998, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The Tall T is a 1957 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, and Maureen O'Sullivan. Adapted by Burt Kennedy from the 1955 short story "The Captives" by Elmore Leonard, the film is about an independent former ranch foreman who is kidnapped along with an heiress, who is being held for ransom by three ruthless outlaws. In 2000, The Tall T was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Raymond Griffith was an American silent movie actor and comedian. Later in his career, he worked behind the camera as writer and producer.
The Son of the Sheik is a 1926 American silent adventure drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky. The film is based on the 1925 romance novel The Sons of the Sheik by Edith Maude Hull, and is a sequel to the 1921 hit film The Sheik, which also stars Rudolph Valentino. The Son of the Sheik is Valentino's final film and went into general release nearly two weeks after his death from peritonitis at the age of 31.
The Iron Horse is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by John Ford and produced by Fox Film. It was a major milestone in Ford's career, and his lifelong connection to the Western film genre. It was Ford's first major film, in part because the hastily planned production went over budget, as Fox was making a hurried response to the success of another studio's western. In 2011, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1916 American silent film directed by Stuart Paton. The film's storyline is based on the 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne. It also incorporates elements from Verne's 1875 novel The Mysterious Island.
The Fugitive is a 1910 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive at the film archive of the Library of Congress and at George Eastman House. The script was by John MacDonagh, who would later fight in the Easter Rising under the command of his brother, Thomas MacDonagh, one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, who would be executed by the British along with 15 other leaders after the Rising.
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB's inception in 1988.
Mabel's Blunder (1914) is a silent comedy film directed by, written by, and starring Mabel Normand, the most successful of the early silent screen comediennes.
Trent's Last Case is a 1929 American sound part-talkie Pre-Code detective film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Raymond Griffith, Marceline Day, Raymond Hatton, and Donald Crisp. It was released by Fox Film Corporation. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Movietone sound-on-film system.
Court Martial is a 1928 American silent film war drama film directed by George B. Seitz, starring Jack Holt, Betty Compson as Belle Starr, and Frank Austin as Abraham Lincoln, and released by Columbia Pictures.
Jack Straw is a 1920 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. William C. deMille directed the film and Robert Warwick and Carroll McComas star. The film is based on a 1908 stage play by W. Somerset Maugham starring John Drew and a young Mary Boland. In 1926 Paramount attempted a remake of this film called The Waiter from the Ritz which was begun and/or completed but never released. James Cruze directed and Raymond Griffith starred; this film, if completed, is now lost. The 1920 film survives at the Library of Congress.
The Battle of Bull Run is a 1913 American historical drama silent black-and-white film directed by Francis Ford. It portrays the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War.
