Released - October, 1922 

Directed By - Allan Dwan

Starring – Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (Robin Hood/Earl of Huntingdon), Wallace Beery (King Richard), Enid Bennett (Lady Marion Fitzwalter), Sam De Grasse (Prince John).

Description – A silent classic that established Robin Hood as one of the most loved heros in film history. With King Richard off fighting in the Crusades, his brother Prince John is left to rule his kingdom.

With encouragement from Sir Guy of Gisbourne, Prince John seeks total control of the kingdom and soon is revealed to be no more than a cruel and betraying tyrant. When Lady Marions’s word of John’s treachery reaches the Earl of Huntingdon who has accompanied King Richard on the Crusades he returns to England to oppose Prince John and return Richard to the throne.

It is now that the Earl assumes the identity of Robin Hood, champion of the oppressed, and with his band of loyal followers begins to “rob the rich, and give to the poor.” It doesn’t take long for these actions to get the attention and draw the ire of Prince John leading to an exciting final confrontation.

NOTABLE: Robin Hood was the first motion picture to have a grand Hollywood premiere. The premiere was held at the then Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre.

This film was entirely financed and produced by Douglas Fairbanks for his own production company, Douglas Fairbanks Picture Corporation which was jointly owned by Fairbanks, his wife Mary Pickford, D. W. Griffith, and Charles Chaplin.

Actor Alan Hale, Sr. was so effective in the role of Little John that he would play the character again in 1938′s The Adventures of Robin Hood , with Errol Flynn and 1950′s Rogues of Sherwood Forest.

The castle built for this production is considered to be the largest Hollywood set built for a silent picture.

Robin Hood

The Douglas Fairbanks Collection (The Thief of Bagdad/The Mark of Zorro/The Three Musketeers/Robin Hood/The Black Pirate/Don Q, The Son of Zorro)

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Released - December, 1921 

Directed By - D.W. Griffith

Starring – Lillian Gish (Henriette Girard), Dorothy Gish (Louise Girard), Joseph Schildkraut (Chevalier de Vaudrey), Frank Losee (Count de Linieres), Katherine Emmet (Countess de Linieres), Monte Blue (Danton).

Description – Taking place during the French Revolution, this is the story of the Girard sisters as played by the Gish sisters. Though the revolution itself never takes center stage it is used to demonstrate “class conflict” among the citizens of France,

After Louise goes blind, she and her sister Henriette go to Paris in the hope that Louise’s blindness might be cured.

While there they become seperated as Henriette is kidnapped by an aristocratic nobleman leaving Louise alone in the streets of Paris until she too is taken into a family of beggers.

The two suffer innumerable deprivations from both the beggers and the betraying and self-serving aristocrats. Watch the drama unfold as Henriette falls in love while attempting to free herself and find her sister.

NOTABLE:  Though the plot may be outdated, the settings and the acting provide excellent examples of what can be done with a high-quality silent film. The facial expressions of silent screen legend Lillian Gish convey emotions that equal what any words could say.

D.W. Griffith was considered the first of the “master directors,” with this film being his last pairing with both Gish sisters.

Orphans of the Storm

D. W. Griffith Silent Classics (Orphans of the Storm (1921) / Intolerance (1916) / Way Down East (1920) / Birth of A Nation (1915) / Broken Blossoms (1919)) (5-DVD)

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Released – October, 1921 

Directed By - George Melford

Starring – Rudolph Valentino (Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan), Agnes Ayres (Lady Diana Mayo), Adolphe Menjou (Raoul de Saint Hubert), Walter Long (the bandit).

Description – This silent classic stars one of screen historys most famous romantic leading men with Rudolph Valentino as an Arabian sheik who becomes infatuated with Englishwoman Lady Diana. He abducts her and takes her away to his home in the Sahara desert.

The Lady tries to resist the romantic advances of the Sheik and desires only to go home. However, when she is again taken against her will by a desert bandit does she realize that she has fallen love with Sheik Ahmed. Will the sheik be able to rescue the Lady, or is it already too late?

NOTABLE: The motion picture itself drew most of its popularity from the amazing appeal Rudolph Valentino had with female fans, instantly making him a romantic superstar.

Predicted to fail, The Sheik went on to become a huge success with audiences and shattered attendance records with its debut.

Many male viewers resented The Sheik, often walking out from its showing. It has been suggested that the men, of this time, may have felt threatened by Valentino due to his immense romantic popularity with women.  Women simply could not get enough of Rudolph Valentino. 

The Sheik / The Son of the Sheik (Special Edition)

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Released – November, 1920

Directed By - Maurice Tourneur, Clarence Brown

Starring – Wallace Beery (Magua), Barbara Bedford (Cora Munro), Lillian Hall (Alice Munro), Albert Roscoe (Uncas), Harry Lorraine (Hawkeye), Henry Woodward (Major Heyward).

Description – An exciting silent film version of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel of the same name tells the story of two English sisters and their harrowing frontier journey to reach a fort commanded by their father during the French and Indian War.

Along their perilous trek is a Huron massacre of unarmed American soldiers led by Magua, and the kidnapping of the sisters.  Frontiersman Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) along with Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last two of the Mohican tribe, attempt to rescue the sisters. 

An early movie instance of interracial love between one of the sisters and Uncas is beautifully handled in this film.

NOTABLE: This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1995.  Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi both appeared in uncredited roles as Indians. 

A very popular story, there were five motion pictures and one television mini-series based on The Last of the Mohicans.
 

Buy Here The Last of the Mohicans (1920 – Silent)

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Released – November, 1920

Directed By - Fred Niblo

Starring - Douglas Fairbanks (Don Diego Vega/Zorro), Marguerite De La Motte (Lolita Pulido), Noah Berry, Sr (Sargeant Pedro Gonzales).

Description – A classic, swashbuckling, silent motion picture that started Douglas Fairbanks on his way to becoming an American action film legend.

Based on the 1919 story The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley this movie offers a variety of plot twists, romance, swordplay, and comedy as Zorro helps the early 19th century citizens of old Spanish California escape oppressions from both the colonial government and rich landowners.  This proved to be a fantastically popular silent film.

NOTABLE: Douglas Fairbanks produced this film for his own production company, Douglas Fairbanks Picture Corporation; and was the first release for United Artists.

The instantly recognizable vision of Zorro with black mask, black clothing and hat originated in this film.
 

Buy Here The Mark of Zorro

The Douglas Fairbanks Collection (The Thief of Bagdad/The Mark of Zorro/The Three Musketeers/Robin Hood/The Black Pirate/Don Q, The Son of Zorro)

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