Curated cinema history, character actor dossiers, and restored Public Domain masterpieces curated by Mike Jones and engineered by Jacob Reed.
The everyman authority figure: kindly small-town preachers, beleaguered shopkeepers, nervous town marshals, folksy judges, and grounded heartland souls.
Character Actor / Screen Legend
The tragic monster, the deformed outcast, the mutilated criminal mastermind, the tortured grotesque with an unbreakable romantic soul.
The Vanishing Lady is an 1896 French silent trick film directed by Georges Mรฉliรจs. It features Mรฉliรจs and Jehanne d'Alcy...
Frankenstein is a 1910 American short silent horror film produced by Edison Studios. It was directed by J. Searle Dawley...
A womanizing city man meets Tillie in the country. When he sees that her father has a very large bankroll for his worker...
The Rink, a silent film from 1916, is Charlie Chaplin's eighth film for Mutual Films. The film co-starred Edna Purviance...
The Vagabond is a 1916 American silent romantic comedy film by Charlie Chaplin and his third film with Mutual Films. Rel...
The Fireman is a 1916 film and the second one Charlie Chaplin distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation. Released on Ju...
The Immigrant is a 1917 American silent romantic comedy short written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film stars Ch...
The Scarlet Car is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Edith Johnson, ...
The Rough House is a 1917 American two-reel silent comedy film written by, directed by, and starring both Roscoe "Fatty"...
The Light of the Western Stars is a lost 1918 American silent Western film starring Dustin Farnum and Winifred Kingston....
Victory is a surviving 1919 American action film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Ch...
The Wicked Darling is a 1919 American silent crime film directed by Tod Browning, and starring Priscilla Dean, Wellingto...
The Tong Man is a 1919 American silent crime thriller film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictu...
Feline Follies is a 1919 animated short silent film, distributed by Paramount Pictures. It marked the first appearance o...
The Son of Tarzan is a 1920 15-chapter American film serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also kno...
The Mark of Zorro is a 1920 American silent Western romance film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery. This genre-d...
The Golem: How He Came into the World is a 1920 German silent horror film and a leading example of early German Expressi...
The Penalty is an American psychological thriller crime film starring Lon Chaney and originally released in 1920 by Gold...
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 American silent horror film produced by Famous PlayersโLasky and released through Para...
Nomads of the North is a 1920 American drama film of the North Woods co-directed and co-written by David Hartford and Ja...
Outside the Law is a 1920 American pre-Code crime film produced, directed and co-written by Tod Browning and starring Pr...
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz an...
The Kid is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and fea...
The Three Musketeers is a 1921 American silent film based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, pรจr...
The Ace of Hearts is a 1921 American crime drama film produced and directed by Wallace Worsley. The screenplay by Ruth W...
The Rotters is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by A. V. Bramble and starring Joe Nightingale, Sydney Fairbrot...
The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) is a 15 chapter movie serial which features the third and final appearance of Elmo Linco...
The Lucky Dog (1921) is the first film to include Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy together in a film before they became the...
Robin Hood is a 1922 silent adventure film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery. It was the first motion picture...
Shadows is a dramatic 1922 silent film starring Lon Chaney, Marguerite De La Motte, Harrison Ford and John Sainpolis. Sh...
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a scree...
Oliver Twist is a 1922 American silent drama film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, featuring Lon ...
Flesh and Blood is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Irving Cummings and starring Lon Chaney, Noah Beery, Ed...
The Trap is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Robert Thornby and starring Lon Chaney and Alan Hale. It was...
Mud and Sand is a 1922 silent film starring Stan Laurel. The title spoofs the Rudolph Valentino film Blood and Sand from...
The Sawmill is a 1922 American silent comedy short film directed by Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy. The Sawmill ...
The Ten Commandments is a 1923 American silent religious epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Written by...
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American drama film starring Lon Chaney, directed by Wallace Worsley, and produced...
Safety Last! is a 1923 American silent romantic comedy film starring Harold Lloyd. It includes one of the most famous im...
The Shock is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Lon Chaney as a disabled man nam...
Oranges and Lemons is a 1923 American one-reel silent comedy film starring Stan Laurel. He plays an incompetent employee...
Mist in the Valley is a 1923 British silent crime film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, G. H. Mul...
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1924 American silent fantasy adventure film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairba...
Winter Storms (German:Winterstรผrme) is a 1924 German silent film directed by Otto Rippert....
West of Hot Dog is a 1924 American comedy film starring Stan Laurel....
Kid Speed also known as The Four Wheeled Terror is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Larry Semon and featur...
The Unholy Three is a 1925 American silent crime melodrama film involving a trio of circus conmen, directed by Tod Brown...
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel of the same name...
The Wizard of Oz is a 1925 American silent fantasy-adventure comedy film directed by Larry Semon, who has the lead role ...
The Lost World is a 1925 American silent fantasy giant monster adventure film, directed by Harry O. Hoyt and written by ...
The Pleasure Garden is a 1926 silent drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in his feature film directorial debut. Base...
Yes, Yes, Nanette is a 1925 American silent film comedy starring Lyle Tayo and James Finlayson. It also features Oliver ...
Stick Around is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Ward Hayes and starring Oliver Hardy. It was later releas...
Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by George W. Hill and starring Lon Chaney,...
The Blackbird is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. The screenplay was ...
The Bat is a 1926 American silent comedy mystery film directed by Roland West and starring Jack Pickford and Louise Faze...
The Bells is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by James Young and starring Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff. ...
The Black Pirate is a 1926 American silent color adventure film directed by Albert Parker, starring Douglas Fairbanks, B...
The King of Kings is a 1927 American silent epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Starring H. B. Warner i...
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction silent film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Har...
The General is a 1926 American silent comedy film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Ch...
The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent comedy horror film directed by Paul Leni. An adaptation of John Willard...
The Ring is a 1927 British silent romance film written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Carl Brisson, Lilli...
Downhill is a 1927 British silent drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ivor Novello, Robin Irvine and Isabe...
It is a 1927 American silent film directed by Clarence G. Badger, and starring Clara Bow. It is based on the serialised ...
The Return of Boston Blackie is a 1927 American low-budget, silent, drama film starring Bob Custer. Based upon a charact...
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is a 1927 British silent thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring M...
College is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film directed by James W. Horne and Buster Keaton, and starring Keaton, Anne Cornw...
Tarzan and the Golden Lion is a 1927 American Tarzan film directed by J. P. McGowan based on the 1923 novel of the same ...
The Unknown is a 1927 American silent horror film directed by Tod Browning, and starring Lon Chaney as carnival knife th...
London After Midnight is a lost 1927 American silent mystery horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning and st...
Successful middle-aged farmer Samuel Sweetland becomes widowed, then his daughter marries and leaves home. Deciding he w...
Laugh, Clown, Laugh is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young. The film was directed by...
Steamboat Bill, Jr. is a 1928 American silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton. Released by United Artists, the film i...
Six Girls and a Room for the Night is a 1928 German silent film directed by Hans Behrendt and starring Georg Alexander, ...
Plane Crazy is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, produced by Disne...
Tarzan the Tiger (1929) is a Universal movie serial based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burro...
M is a 1931 German mystery thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, a serial kille...
The Speckled Band is a 1931 British mystery film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Lyn Harding, Raymond Massey and A...
The Sign of Four is a 1932 British crime film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Hunter and Graha...
White Zombie is a 1932 pre-Code horror movie produced independently by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin. ...
A Study in Scarlet is a 1933 American pre-Code horror mystery thriller film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Regi...
The Vampire Bat is a 1933 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wra...
Riders of Destiny is a 1933 pre-Code Western musical film starring 26-year-old John Wayne as Singin' Sandy Saunders, and...
Of Human Bondage is a 1934 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and regarded by critics as the film that made B...
The Lucky Texan is a 1934 American Lonestar Films B-movie Western film featuring John Wayne, Barbara Sheldon, Gabby Haye...
The Star Packer is a 1934 Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne, George "Gabby" Hayes, Yak...
Randy Rides Alone is a 1934 American Pre-Code Western film starring John Wayne, Yakima Canutt, and George Hayes. The 53-...
Blue Steel is a 1934 American pre-Code Monogram Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne. Way...
The 39 Steps is a 1935 British spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carro...
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes is a 1935 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner....
Rainbow Valley is a 1935 American Western film released by Monogram Pictures, written by Lindsley Parsons, directed by R...
Flash Gordon is a 1936 science-fiction adventure serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure...
My Man Godfrey is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring William Powell and Caro...
Silver Blaze is a 1937 British black-and-white crime mystery film, based loosely on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1892 short stor...
The Lone Ranger is a 1938 American Republic Pictures movie serial based on The Lone Ranger radio program. It was the nin...
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 American mystery adventure film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock H...
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe is a 1940 American black-and-white science-fiction 12-chapter movie serial from Unive...
Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, written by Robert Riskin, and s...
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holme...
The Arctic Giant is the fourth of seventeen animated Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character of Super...
The Woman in Green is a 1945 American horror mystery film, the eleventh of the fourteen Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherl...
Dressed to Kill is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Roy William Neill. Released by Universal Pictures, it is the...
Terror by Night is a 1946 British Sherlock Holmes crime drama film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Basil Rath...
Angel and the Badman is a 1947 American Western film written and directed by James Edward Grant and starring John Wayne,...
The Gay Amigo is a 1949 American Western film starring Duncan Renaldo in the lead role of The Cisco Kid. This film was...
The Bat is a 1959 American crime-mystery thriller starring Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. It is the fourth film adap...
Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace is a 1962 mystery film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Curt Siodmak, b...
McLintock! is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLagle...
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It featured an ens...
The Lone Ranger is an American Western television series that aired on the ABC Television network from 1949 to 1957, wit...
Dragnet โ later syndicated as Badge 714 โ is an American crime television series, based on the radio series of the same ...
The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy....
The Cisco Kid is a 1950โ1956 half-hour American Western television series starring Duncan Renaldo in the title role, the...
Bonanza is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 1...
Stories of the Century is a 39-episode Western historical fiction television series starring Jim Davis that ran in syndi...
Annie Oakley is an American Western television series that fictionalizes the life of the famous Annie Oakley. Featuring ...
The Phil Silvers Show, originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, is an American sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Ne...
Dennis the Menace is an American sitcom based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. It preceded The Ed Sulli...
Sherlock Holmes is an American detective television series syndicated in the autumn of 1954, based on the Sherlock Holme...
Flash Gordon is a science-fiction television series based on the King Features characters of the Alex Raymond-created co...
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951...
Tombstone Territory is an American Western television series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The first two seas...