If you need inspiration of what to watch next or just want to check out some timeless screen gems (or both), the year 1926 was a good one for movies. A century of time doesn't diminish the entertainment!
Take a look at a few 1926 silent movies across the action-adventure, romance, comedy and drama genres from 100 years ago:
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What Price Glory?
"What Price Glory" (1926) is a World War I American silent comedy-drama film with U.S. Marines fighting on the battlefield and off.
Directed by Raoul Walsh, "What Price Glory" stars Victor McLaglen as Captain Flagg, Edmund Lowe as 1st Sergeant Quirt and Dolores del Río as Charmaine de la Cognac.
Bardelys the Magnificent
"Bardelys the Magnificent" (1926) is a silent film directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert, at the height of his fame, and Eleanor Boardman. "Bardelys the Magnificent" was the second pairing of director King Vidor with Gilbert after they'd worked on the blockbuster "The Big Parade" together in 1925.
Vidor's masterful and artful direction is already on display. Check out especially the romantic boat ride through hanging willow tree branches, beginning at 48:08
The Black Pirate
"The Black Pirate" (1926) is one of Douglas Fairbanks' many action-adventure movie hits during the silent film era. With Fairbanks, "The Black Pirate" stars Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse and Billie Dove and was directed by Albert Parker. It's one of the early Technicolor movies, shot in a two-color process.
"The Black Pirate" influenced many movies after it, including 1985's "The Goonies" recreating the movie's scene of a pirate sliding down a ship's sail with his knife.
Fairbanks' then-wife Mary Pickford has an uncredited cameo.
Tell It To the Marines
Lon Chaney, known for his versatile portrayals on film using makeup and costumes in such silent film classics as "Phantom of the Opera" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame), was just himself in 1926's silent romantic drama movie "Tell It to the Marines," reportedly one of Chaney's favorites of his films.
"Tell It to the Marines" stars Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and was directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him (Chaney). It was the biggest box office success of Chaney's career and the second biggest moneymaker of 1926/1927.
The Son of the Sheik
"The Son of the Sheik" is a 1926 American silent adventure/drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky.
Sequel to the 1921 hit "The Sheik," "The Son of the Sheik" was Valentino's last movie before his death at 31.
Faust
"Faust" (1926) is a silent fantasy film directed by F. W. Murnau, his last German film before moving to Hollywood and filming "Sunrise" with Janet Gaynor. "Faust" was made at the height of German Expressionist films.
"Faust" stars Emil Jannings, Gösta Ekman, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard, Wilhelm Dieterle and Yvette Guilbert. Based on classic German legend, "Faust" was a highly technical production for its time and full of special effects.
The original intertitles in German are included in this version.
Torrent
Greta Garbo's first American movie, "Torrent," was released in 1926 and directed by Monta Bell. The silent drama was based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, was produced by Irving Thalberg and co-starred Ricardo Cortez and Martha Mattox.
Kid Boots
"Kid Boots" (1926) was Eddie Cantor's first movie, starring with Clara Bow in the Frank Tuttle-directed silent comedy film. Cantor was a multi-talented entertainer of the 20th century and Clara Bow was a year away from her superstardom in a slate of now-classic silent movies.
"Kid Boots" is a movie adaptation of the Ziegfeld-produced Broadway play of the same name, which also starred Eddie Cantor.
Madame Mystery
"Madame Mystery" is a 1926 silent short movie starring Theda Bara in one of her last film appearances and one of the few surviving movies of her career.
"Madame Mystery" stars Theda Bara, Oliver Hardy and James Finlayson, and was directed by Richard Wallace and Stan Laurel (who also co-wrote it) and produced by Hal Roach.
A Page of Madness
"A Page of Madness" is a 1926 silent horror avant-garde movie set in a Japanese mental institution and directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. The "beautiful and disturbing" film explores the nature of madness.
It is different than anything you've seen from the era (or even today!)
Keep watching more -- Full-length movies on YouTube
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Historical movies content warning: Some content in these decades-old movies may contain outdated and sensitive content, reflecting biases. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices or behaviors found within them.
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