Best Picture 1923
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- DirectorJean EpsteinStarsLéon MathotGina ManèsEdmond Van DaëleMarie wants to escape from her job and also from her lover, Paul, an unemployed drunk. She dreams of going off with Jean, a dockworker. The two men quarrel and fight over Marie on two occasions, but Paul retains a hold over her. Marie has a baby who falls ill and as time goes on Jean and a crippled neighbor try to help the child. Paul nearly causes the death of the child whilst in a drunken stupor and in a final struggle that occurs, the crippled woman seizes Paul's gun and shoots him dead.
- DirectorIvan MozzhukhinStarsIvan MozzhukhinNathalie LissenkoNicolas KolineA woman, named simply "Elle" and her husband, a wealthy industrialist, are not on the best of terms. While she enjoys the way he caters to her every whim, she wonders whether he really loves her. He, on the other hand, torments himself by imagining rivals. One morning she awakens from a nightmare in which she has been pursued by a man in various guises, who turns out to be the famous Detective Z, whose memoirs she has been reading. When she and her husband quarrel over leaving Paris permanently for a country estate, he goes to the "Trouve Tout" Agency and hires, of all people, Detective Z, to win back her affection. She promptly steals their marriage contract. Z tracks down the document and is nearly seduced in the process, but he resists her and returns to the comforts of home, his adoring mother, and a pet bulldog. In a chic restaurant one evening, she challenges him to a dancing duel, which he wins. After her confession of love, he goes home with a toothache. The contract is returned, the married couple plan to go away on a trip - all is ending as it should...
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsTheodore RobertsCharles de RochefortEstelle TaylorAfter hearing the story of Moses, the sons of a devout Christian mother go their own ways, and the atheist brother's breaking of the Ten Commandments leads to tragedy.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydJobyna RalstonJohn AasenA hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a revolution instead.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydMildred DavisBill StrotherA boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.
- DirectorGermaine DulacStarsGermaine DermozMadeleine GuittyJean d'YdAn unhappily married woman devises a scheme to get rid of her husband.
- DirectorAbel GanceStarsGabriel de GravonePierre MagnierGeorges TérofA railway engineer adopts a young girl orphaned by a train crash. Years later when she starts getting suitors, he grapples with whether or not to tell her the truth about her parentage.
- DirectorSidney OlcottStarsMarion DaviesHarrison FordCourtenay FooteAn Irish girl comes to America disguised as a boy to claim a fortune left to her brother who has died.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsGloria SwansonH.B. WarnerFerdinand GottschalkZaza is the favorite actress at an open-air theater in a small French town. When diplomat Bernard Dufresne comes to the village, he stays away for fear he will fall for her. But when Zaza is badly injured, he has no choice.
- DirectorMauritz StillerStarsGustav AronsonStina BergHugo BjörneGunnar Hede, a young Swedish man, wants to become a professional musician, but when his father suddenly dies he is pressured by his family to take over the family business, raising and selling reindeer. He doesn't like the business and isn't suited for it, but he gives in and takes over. However, when he is badly injured one day in an accident while driving the herd over the frozen Arctic and sustains some serious head trauma, his family fears that he may be permanently mentally damaged and they may lose both Gunnar and the family business.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsAlbert SteinrückLucie MannheimIlka GrüningIn and around a bell maker near Marburg (today Slovenia) people tell the story of a treasure that was hidden during the Turki invasion of 1683, the year the Turkish Army was besieging Vienna. Everybody think it's nonsense except for an old worker there, who feels that the treasure must be in the bell maker's house. A young traveling worker who has fallen in love with the bell maker's daughter Beate makes fun of this, but she convinces him that the old worker is not that nuts. So he starts searching for himself, and soon he finds it, as well as the old worker. He tells his master, who decides, that the young one has to disappear. He and Beate are leaving, while the old worker offers his part of the treasure to the master if he allows him to marry Beate. Beate, after coming home, hears of that and leaves together with the young worker.
- DirectorRupert JulianErich von StroheimStarsNorman KerryMary PhilbinCesare GravinaA nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer although he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.
- DirectorA.W. SandbergStarsOlga BelajeffAage BendixenFrederik JacobsenThe reporter Jimmie Brand at the "Daily Wire" solves the case of the Vibeleje murder. However, this put Brand in a terrible stressed condition and for this reason his boss decides to give him two weeks of vacation. But it will be a restless sabbatical because Brand will witness a strange crime in broad daylight in the Hill Park as he is looking through the window of his home. Brand decides to solve such a mysterious crime.
- DirectorArthur RobisonStarsFritz KortnerRuth WeyherGustav von WangenheimA wealthy man invites the local wealthy bachelors over for a puppet show about men who covet another man's wife. The puppeteer is actually a witch and gives the men nightmares about what could happen if they date the lady of the house.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsHal Roach's RascalsJoe CobbJackie CondonThe gang wages war using old vegetables as munitions. Later, they ruin a movie in progress when they double-expose the film.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonNatalie TalmadgeJoe KeatonA man returns to his Appalachian homestead. On the trip, he falls for a young woman. The only problem is her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.
- DirectorLen PowersA short film with an all animal cast about a young chimp who is kicked out of his home by his parents and heads west to make his fortune.
- DirectorRupert HughesStarsEleanor BoardmanMae BuschBarbara La MarrA young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceSyd ChaplinDisguised as a priest, an escaped convict makes his way to Texas. He ends up in a small rural town where the townsfolk mistake him for their new church minister.
- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLon ChaneyPatsy Ruth MillerNorman KerryIn 15th-century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with a gypsy dancer.
- DirectorRex IngramStarsLloyd IngrahamAlice TerryRamon NovarroWhen a nobleman murders his best friend, a lawyer becomes a revolutionary with his heart set on vengeance.
- DirectorKarl GruneStarsAnton EdthoferAud Egede-NissenLeonhard HaskelPresents two distinct plot lines until the two eventually merge: the first is that of the bored middle-aged man seeking a departure from monotony in his life; the second is that of the blind man and the little boy, his grandson, who are interdependent. None of the characters have been given names and are therefore referred to only by description. The city is an expressionistic nightmare, a dangerous and chaotic place.
- DirectorBuster KeatonEdward F. ClineStarsBuster KeatonJoe RobertsVirginia FoxIn an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at sea where he boards a whaling ship with a strict captain.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsEdna PurvianceClarence GeldertCarl MillerA kept woman runs into her former fiancé and finds herself torn between love and comfort.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsLillian GishRonald ColmanGail KaneA young woman becomes a nun when she believes her sweetheart has been killed, then things get complicated when he returns alive.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsMae MarshCarol DempsterIvor NovelloJoseph, a wealthy young Southern aristocrat, graduates from a seminary; before he takes charge of his assigned parish, he decides to go out and see what "the real world" is all about. He winds up in New Orleans and becomes attracted to Bessie, a poor, unsophisticated orphan girl. One thing leads to another, and before long Bessie discovers that she is pregnant by Joseph.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsNorma TalmadgeLew CodyJack MulhallWhen Mary Turner is sent to prison for a crime she did not commit, she vows upon her release to take vengeance on those who wronged her, always staying however within the letter of the law.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsLon ChaneyVirginia ValliJack MowerA gang of blackmailers sends a cripple to San Francisco to expose a banker they have been blackmailing. However, the cripple meets and falls in love with the banker's daughter.
- DirectorJean EpsteinStarsGina ManèsMarcelle SchmittMadame DelaunayBased on the story by Honoré de Balzac. Caught in a storm, two young doctors book into an inn for the night and find themselves sharing a room with a Dutch diamond merchant. During the night Prosper steals from the merchant, but when he awakes in the morning he finds the merchant dead and his friend gone. When the stolen property is found on him he is arrested for the crime and executed. 25 years later the innkeeper's daughter relates the tale to a traveler, who in turn later relates it at a dinner party. At that party is Frederic Taillefer, the missing friend and murderer.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsJoe CobbJackie CondonMickey DanielsAfter the gang goes to the horse races, they decide to have a derby of their own.
- DirectorHugh FayStars'Snub' PollardMarie MosquiniWilliam GillespieA group of oil magnates are trying to think of new ways to attract business. One of them suggests that they contact the inventor Pollard, who has devised a new gasoline substitute. Pollard himself lives in a home filled with his eccentric inventions. When he gets the message from the oil company, he is excited about the opportunity to demonstrate his innovation.
- DirectorAugusto GeninaStarsPierre MagnierLinda MogliaAngelo FerrariCyrano de Bergerac is a joyous and witty poet filled with plenty of charisma and bravado in 17th-century France. He has only one flaw: an unusually long nose which makes him unattractive to any woman.
- DirectorJacques FeyderStarsMaurice de FéraudyFélix OudartJean ForestA poor vegetable peddler in Paris runs afoul of the law and finds himself ground up in the cogs of the corrupt French judicial system.
- DirectorIvane PerestianiStarsKonstantin DavidovskiPavel YesikovskySofia JozeffiAdventures of three Red Army soldiers - Misha, Dunyasha, and Tom Jackson (an African-American boy) - who fight against Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno and his forces during the Russian Civil War.
- DirectorBertolt BrechtErich EngelStarsBlandine EbingerKarl ValentinErwin FaberKarl Valentin plays a journeyman in a barber shop who prefers to stay in bed than to take care of his (already heavily bearded) customers. When he's at work, he removes boils with hammer, chisel and pincers, turns long-haired men into skin-heads and chops off people's heads.
- DirectorF. Richard JonesStarsMabel NormandRalph GravesGeorge NicholsA small town girl dreams of movie stardom. A switched photo wins her a movie contract. Arrivng in Hollywood, she is assigned to the props department. Her parents visit and invest some money with a very shifty individual.
- DirectorErnst LubitschRaoul WalshStarsMary PickfordHolbrook BlinnIrene RichRosita, a peasant singer in Seville, captures the attention of the King.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsLilly MarischkaMary KidVictor VarconiTo lead a whole new life, probably more carefree, with the dancer Kitty, George Rothwill abandoned his wife Nora and his son. And without any scruples he squanders, with his new conquest, the money of his old mother.
- DirectorCharles BryantAlla NazimovaStarsAlla NazimovaNigel De BrulierMitchell LewisSalome, the daughter of Herodias, seduces her step-father/uncle Herod, governor of Judea, with a salacious dance. In return, he promises her the head of the prophet John the Baptist.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsJackie CondonMickey DanielsJack DavisMickey and Jackie feud over Mary, so Sammy schedules a championship bout between the two rivals.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonJohn BrownPhyllis HaverA hapless amusement park attendant finds his runaway balloon ride has left him in a strange predicament.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsJoe CobbJackie CondonMickey DanielsThe gang, after a premature end to their baseball game, find themselves quarantined in an elegant home, which they proceed to destroy.
- DirectorOtto MessmerFelix is reading a book about Fairyland, and decides that it must be a wonderful place to be. Suddenly he hears a cry for help, and finds a fly stuck on a piece of flypaper. He rescues the insect, only to have it turn into a beautiful fairy princess who, in gratitude for his help, grants him one wish. He wishes he were in Fairyland, and is immediately transported there.
- DirectorOtto MessmerAfter enduring various indignities by the human population in town, including getting beaten up by the fish market owner and forced to eat hot mustard by a customer in a restaurant, Felix finally breaks when he hears the mayor give a speech vowing to drive all cats out of town. Felix gathers his feline friends and stages a revolution to restore cats to their rightful place in society.
- DirectorOtto MessmerA wife throws her husband out of the house, telling him not to return unless he brings her a fur coat. Deciding that the only way he'll get one is to make his own, he grabs his rifle and goes hunting. All his efforts fail, though, until he meets Felix, who offers to help him shoot rabbits, and impresses the man with his marksmanship skills. However, it turns out that shooting the rabbits isn't quite as easy as they thought it would be.
- DirectorJames CruzeStarsJ. Warren KerriganLois WilsonAlan HaleTwo wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and Indian attacks. To complicate matters further, a love triangle develops, as pretty Molly must chose between Sam, a brute, and Will, the dashing captain of the other caravan. Can Will overcome the skeleton in his closet and win Molly's heart?
- DirectorOtto MessmerA starving actor, reduced to trying his luck in the movies, travels to Hollywood. His cat, Felix, poses as a travel bag and comes along.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsGregori ChmaraElisabeta SkulskajaAlla TarasovaStudent Raskolnikow, who has written an article about laws and crime, proposing the thesis, that un-ordinary people can commit crimes if their actions are necessary for the benefit of mankind, murders an old woman, who operates a crooked loaning house, as well as her sister, who made the mistake of visiting her at the wrong time. He is suspected of the crime, but somebody else confesses to the murder. Meanwhile, he has fallen in love with Sonja, the street-walking daughter of an ex-official who was fired because of drinking. Raskolnikow's sister is engaged with an arrogant official, who dislikes him, because Raskolnikow gave Sonja 25 Rubel for her father's funeral. When Raskolnikow tells him his opinion of his behaviour against the poor, he tries to show he's a good guy also to the public and showing that Sonja is also a thief at the same time by framing her of a theft of 100 Rubels. But after this, Raskolnikow finds out that Sonja was a very close friend of his second victim.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsPriscilla DeanMatt MooreRaymond GriffithThree crooks pull off a magnificent crime. As they're forced to hide out together they slowly begin to distrust each other.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsGrigoriy AleksandrovAleksandr AntonovSergei EisensteinFilmic insert to Eisenstein's modernized, free adaptation of Ostrovskiy's 19th-century Russian stage play, "The Wise Man" ("Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty"). The anti-hero Glumov tries to escape exposure in the midst of acrobatics, derring-do, and farcical clowning. Several members of Eisenstein's troupe at the legendary "Proletkult" stage theatre in Moscow briefly appear in this little film.
- DirectorMan RayStarsKiki of MontparnasseExperimental film, white specks and shapes gyrating over a black background, a light-striped torso, a gyrating eggcrate. One of the first Dadaist films.
- DirectorJames D. DavisLarry SemonStarsLarry SemonKathleen MyersOliver HardyA boxer offers $50 to anyone who can stay in the ring with him for an entire minute. Larry, through a series of mix-ups--including hitting the boxer in the face with a tomato--winds up in the ring with him but, with the aid of some strategically placed horseshoes, manages to knock the boxer out. When he comes to and finds out what happened, the outraged boxer sets out after Larry,
- DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMargaret LeahyWallace BeeryThe misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.
- DirectorJohn Griffith WrayThomas H. InceStarsBlanche SweetWilliam RussellGeorge F. MarionA troubled young woman comes to live with her estranged father on the New York waterfront. A tough sailor falls in love with her, sparking conflict between her father and her suitor. What neither knows is that she has a secret that could cause her to lose both of them.
- DirectorLewis H. MoomawStarsWilliam DillsAlbert Van AntwerpEva GordonFollowing a shipwreck, a family of prospectors become separated from their infant daughter in the Klondike. Years later, the grown-up daughter begins to unravel the truth about her heritage.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsCorinne GriffithConway TearleTom RickettsA Manhattan playboy falls in love with a mysterious European woman whom he notices as an exact double for a famous socialite who disappeared at the turn of the century. At first, he thinks it's just pure coincidence, as the beautiful young woman he's currently romancing is much younger than the woman who vanished years before, but he soon starts to believe that it's not such a coincidence after all.
- DirectorOtto MessmerBored with life in town, Felix sees an opportunity for some excitement when a traveling circus passes through, so he joins up. One day he overhears the Skeleton Man propose to the Fat Lady, then change his mind because she's too fat. Felix decides to help her lose weight so the Skeleton Man will marry her, but this results in the ringmaster getting angry with Felix and firing him. Felix comes up with a plan to force the circus to re-hire him.
- DirectorOtto MessmerFelix is trying to get some sleep in a graveyard, but keeps getting bothered by a ghost. He follows the ghost to the house of an old farmer, and the ghost proceeds to terrorize the old man, and when the farmer calls for help from the police, the ghost terrorizes them, too. Felix, however, suspects something fishy is going on, and with the help of the farmer's donkey, gets to the bottom of things.
- DirectorOtto MessmerFelix spots a fisherman on his way to his fishing spot, and figures he can follow the guy and grab a quick lunch by stealing his catch. Although he successfully nabs a few fish, the angler catches on and finally captures Felix. To get his revenge, he sends Felix through the telephone wires ("broadcasted") to Egypt, and Felix finds out that the Egyptians don't want him there, either.
- DirectorHarry HoudiniStarsHarry HoudiniGladys LeslieWilliam HumphreyHeath Haldane (Houdini) tracks down a vicious gang of counterfeiters, narrowly missing death several times. He must rescue Adele Ormsby, whom he loves despite her pending marriage.
- DirectorJohn Griffith WrayStarsMadge BellamyCullen LandisNoah BeeryRuth, a young girl, runs away from an abusive stepfather, who owns a circus, and takes the circus' trained elephant--her only friend--with her. She winds up in a logging camp in the Canadian woods and meets Paul, a young crippled musician who has made an enemy of the town bully, Caesare. Caesare starts to take out his wrath on Ruth also, but she receives protection from an unexpected source.
- DirectorLarry SemonStarsLarry SemonKathleen MyersOliver HardyA fashion show for wealthy clientele at a fancy dress shop devolves into utter chaos.
- DirectorJ. Gordon EdwardsStarsEdmund LoweBela LugosiCarl HarbaughBenedict Hisston is a foreign agent, part of a conspiracy to destroy the Panama Canal and the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet. He attempts to acquire information about mine placement in the Canal Zone from Captain Richard Decatur but fails. That information is essential to the conspiracy's success and so he then hires vamp Peg Williams to obtain the intelligence through seduction. Decatur is not fooled and obeys the "silent command" of the Chief of Naval Intelligence to play along with the spies without revealing his purpose to friends or family. He is court-martialed, stripped of rank, and dismissed from the Navy after he strikes an admiral. His association with Williams estranges him from his wife but earns him the trust of Hisston and the other spies. When the conspirators are ready to enact their plan, he travels to Panama with them. He thwarts their attempt at sabotage, saving the canal and the fleet. He is then reinstated into the Navy, reunited with his wife, and honored by the nation for his heroism
- DirectorWalt DisneyHugh HarmanCarman MaxwellStarsVirginia DavisWalt DisneyHugh HarmanAlice visits an animation studio, where the animators show her various scenes on their drawing boards. A few of them: a cat dancing to a cat band; a mouse poking at a (live) cat until it moves; a couple mice boxing, while the animators crowd around cheering and acting as corner-men. That night, she dreams of taking a train to cartoon-land, where a red carpet reception awaits. She appears in live action. They have a welcoming parade, with Alice riding on an elephant. The cartoons dance for her, and she dances for them. Meanwhile, the lions break out of the zoo. The lions chase her into a hollow tree, then into a cave and down a rabbit hole. Finally, she jumps off a cliff and awakes back in her bed.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn GilbertGertrude OlmsteadAlan HaleWrongfully blamed for the death of Col. John Randall, Cameo Kirby (Gilbert) must find the true villain and clear his name before he can declare his love for Adele (Olmstead), the dead man's daughter.
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelKatherine GrantEddie BakerAfter getting into a scuffle with his boss and some co-workers, an orange packer tries to help another co-worker, only to wind up in a conflict with him as well. Trying to elude his boss, he heads inside the packing house, and visits with the women who are packing fruit into cases. Then he heads to a storage area, and tries to use the machinery to escape his pursuers.
- DirectorHans RichterRhythm 23 (Rhythmus 23, 1923) is an extension of the same film but with more angles and overlays added, and adding lines rather than adhering to the squares of the original. It looks so similar that the academic argument that both "21" and "23" were made in 1923 looks rather likely. Richter himself at some exhibitions showed these two together as a single film called Un film de Hans Richter. The hand-colored Rhythm 25 (Rhythmus 25, 1925) was the final "chapter," but it does not survive."
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelKatherine GrantJames FinlaysonA feckless young man who wishes to switch from one streetcar to another is told to follow a pretty young lady-- so he follows her all over town.
- DirectorLee De ForestStarsEddie CantorThis experimental talking short shows Cantor in his vaudeville act.
- DirectorScott PembrokeStarsStan LaurelKatherine GrantNoah YoungA hapless door-to-door salesman tries to sell his 'miracle cure' to an unappreciative public.
- StarsEmilie SannomA woman performs a series of dangerous stunts, many of which involve precarious climbs at tremendous heights, including riding down a windmill and hanging from the landing gear of a biplane.
- DirectorRalph CederStarsStan LaurelJames FinlaysonKatherine GrantTwo explorers travel to Africa to capture and photograph various wildlife.
- DirectorRalph CederScott PembrokeStarsStan LaurelMarie MosquiniEddie BakerStan Laurel bounces between the kitchen and dining room of a disordered restaurant. Menu specialties include over-sugared doughnuts, exploding meringues, stinky cheese sandwiches and steaks that double as shoe leather. A final debacle gives new meaning to a restaurant's going to the dogs.
- DirectorRalph CederStarsStan LaurelEna GregoryMae LaurelDuring the Alaska gold rush, a miner hits the mother lode, but a corrupt sheriff jumps his claim, leading to a tremendous fight.
- StarsEve BessetteWilliam H. DanielsGibson GowlandC-V News follows the cast and crew of "Greed" (1925) into Death Valley while filming the infamous closing scenes in 150+ degree heat in 1923 at the height of the summer.
- DirectorVirginia MayStarsVirginia MayMonsters of the Past is an 1923 American short silent documentary film, produced as part of the Pathé Review series, featuring sculptor Virginia May at work and stop-motion footage of her dinosaur creations fighting.
- DirectorJ. Searle DawleyLee De ForestStarsNoble SissleEubie BlakeIn a rare filmed record, the famed songwriters and vaudevillians perform. One of De Forest's earliest experimental sound films.
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelJames FinlaysonKatherine GrantStan Laurel's blundering worker drops all kinds of heavy props on poor James Finlayson, the foreman of a failing lumber company that cannot possibly have enough insurance to cover all the pratfalls. You just knew that big bucket of hot glue was trouble.
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelJames FinlaysonMarvin LobackPursued by the law, a street cleaner finds refuge by impersonating a dentist.
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelJames FinlaysonKatherine GrantTrouble ensues when an incompetent man, played by Stan Laurel, goes to work in "A Worthless Mine" and falls for the bosses daughter.
- DirectorGeorge JeskeStarsStan LaurelKatherine GrantMae LaurelAn early Stan Laurel comedy set, improbably enough, in the Arabian Peninsula. The silent star is a strange sight in his Chaplin-esque tramp costume surrounded by men in Arabic dress. Once scooped up by a company of British soldiers, his character proves his military ineptitude in sidesplitting fashion.