1920s Films: Best Movies, Directors And Trends

Silent comedy at its peak, a pianist in the pit, and sound arriving at the very end.

Below: the films worth watching from the 1920s, the directors behind them, what was changing in cinema, and the year-by-year screen highlights from 1920 to 1929.

Useful for a film night, a themed party, a quiz round or working out what someone grew up watching.

Best films of the 1920s

• The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) - German expressionism, and still unsettling.
• Nosferatu (1922).
• Safety Last! (1923) - Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock.
• Sherlock Jr (1924) and The General (1926), Buster Keaton.
• Battleship Potemkin (1925).
• The Gold Rush (1925), Charlie Chaplin.
• Metropolis (1927).
• The Jazz Singer (1927) - the first feature with synchronised dialogue.
• Blackmail (1929) - Hitchcock, and Britain's first sound feature.

Directors who defined the 1920s

• Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, writing, directing and performing.
• Fritz Lang, whose Metropolis still sets the look of every future city on film.
• Sergei Eisenstein and the Soviet montage school.
• F. W. Murnau, from Nosferatu to Sunrise (1927).
• Alfred Hitchcock, starting in British silents before the decade is out.

Cinema trends of the 1920s

• Silent film reaches its artistic peak just as sound makes it obsolete.
• The Jazz Singer in 1927 begins the talkie changeover, which takes about three years.
• Purpose-built picture palaces open in British towns, seating a thousand or more.
• Live music with every screening - a pianist in a small hall, an orchestra in a big one.
• Hollywood's studio system takes shape and the star becomes the selling point.

Going to the pictures

• Continuous programmes - you went in when you liked and stayed until it came round again.
• A newsreel, a short and a feature for one price.
• Intertitles read aloud by whoever in the row could read fastest.
• Cinema as the cheapest night out there was, and the warmest room many people sat in all week.

Film and television, year by year

• 1920 - Cinema was silent, with live piano or organ accompaniment.
• 1921 - The Kid, Chaplin's first full-length film, was released.
• 1922 - Nosferatu was released in Germany.
• 1923 - Safety Last!, with Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock, was released.
• 1924 - Sherlock Jr. and The Thief of Bagdad were released.
• 1925 - The Gold Rush and Battleship Potemkin were released.
• 1926 - John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in January.
• 1927 - The Jazz Singer effectively ended the silent era.
• 1928 - Steamboat Willie introduced Mickey Mouse with synchronised sound in November.
• 1929 - Blackmail, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, became Britain's first full talking picture.

Years covered in the 1920s

• 1920 - The first Remembrance at the Cenotaph and a country still counting its losses. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1920
• 1921 - A miners' lockout, mass unemployment and the first British Legion poppy appeal. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1921
• 1922 - The BBC's first broadcast, the Austin Seven and Tutankhamun's tomb. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1922
• 1923 - The White Horse Final at Wembley and the first Radio Times. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1923
• 1924 - The first Labour government, the Empire Exhibition and the Chariots of Fire Olympics. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1924
• 1925 - The Charleston, the return to the gold standard and a summer of dance halls. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1925
• 1926 - The General Strike, the birth of Elizabeth II and Baird's public television demonstration. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1926
• 1927 - The BBC became a corporation, talking pictures arrived and the FA Cup went to Wales. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1927
• 1928 - Votes for all women, penicillin discovered and the Thames flood. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1928
• 1929 - Britain's first talkie, a second Labour government and the Wall Street Crash. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1929
• That is every 1920s year we have written up so far: 1920 to 1929.

How to use this

• Film night: one film from the decade, the matching party playlist before it, and a quiz round after.
• Quiz round: read a film and ask for the year, or read a director and ask for the film.
• Reminiscence: ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was, and who took them.
• Anyone born in 1920 turns 50 in 1970, 60 in 1980 and 70 in 1990.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Check the UK release date as well as the year - plenty of American films reached Britain months later.
• For a themed night, pick the film from the year someone turned eighteen, not the year they were born.
• Ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was. It gets a better story than asking their favourite.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1920
• Look back to 1921
• Look back to 1922
• Look back to 1923
• Look back to 1924
• Look back to 1925
• Look back to 1926
• Look back to 1927
• Look back to 1928
• Look back to 1929
• 1920s books, films and TV
• 1920s calendar: year by year
• 1920s trivia: fun facts
• 1920s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1920s shopping guide
• The 1920s: the whole decade
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Village fete and church hall games
• Card games your nan taught you
• Traditional British party games
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade films: best films and directors by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade shopping guides by era
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best films of the 1920s?

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) - German expressionism, and still unsettling. The full list above names real films with their release years, from the 1920s.

Which directors defined the 1920s?

Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, writing, directing and performing. The directors section above covers the rest.

What was cinema like in the 1920s?

Silent film reaches its artistic peak just as sound makes it obsolete. The trends and going-to-the-pictures sections above cover both the industry and the experience.

Do you sell films or DVDs?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a film night.