|
| 1924 |
1924 Sherlock, Jr. Comedy / Action / Fantasy / Drama / Mystery N/R, 56 Minutes
Director: Buster Keaton More Info
Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Ward Crane, Erwin Connolly, Kewpie Morgan, George Davis, Ruth Holly, Jane Connelly, Doris Deane A film projectionist (Buster Keaton) dreams of being a detective, and–miracle-of-miracles–he falls asleep and finds himself inside the film he is showing. He takes on the persona of Sherlock Jr., ace detective, and becomes involved in mystery stories. One story parallels his own life involving his girlfriend (Kathryn McGuire) and her other suitor (Ward Crane) who has stolen a watch to buy her a large box of chocolates. Camera tricks utilized provide classic moments in silent-film history. |
| 1926 |
1926 The Bat Mystery N/R, 84 Minutes
Director: Roland West More Info
Starring: Tullio Carminati, Charles Herzinger, Louise Fazenda, Emily Fitzroy, Arthur Housman, Robert McKim, Jack Pickford, Eddie Gribbon, George Beranger, Jewel Carmen Based on a popular Broadway play by Mary Roberts Rinehart, the story takes place in an old mansion. A killer, who dresses as a giant bat and flashes a bat-shadow on the wall when he strikes, goes after an assorted group of guests at the mansion. Remade by the director in 1930 as a talkie ("The Bat Whispers"). |
1926 The Lodger Drama / Mystery / Thriller N/R, 84 Minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock More Info
Starring: Ivor Novello, June, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, Malcolm Keen, Alfred Hitchcock, Eve Gray, Reginald Gardiner This is the prototype for Alfred Hitchcock's future suspense movies. "The avenger" is murdering women in London, and suspicions of being a murderer plague innocent Jonathan Drew (Ivor Novello) who has recently rented a room in a boarding house. The proprietor's daughter Daisey (June) suspects Jonathan and clues in her fiance Joe (Malcolm Keen) about her suspicions. Joe is a police detective, and he arrests Jonathan, but Jonathan manages to escape. Now, the police are on his trail, and Jonathan must evade the police until the real killer is discovered. |
| 1927 |
1927 The Cat and the Canary Mystery / Horror N/R, 74 Minutes
Director: Paul Leni More Info
Starring: Laura LaPlante, Tully Marshall, Flora Finch, Creighton Hale, Gertrude Astor, Lucien Littlefield, Forrest Stanley, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Martha Mattox, George Siegmann This silent film classic is about expectant heirs who spend the night in a haunted house. It has been 20 years since wealthy Cyrus West died, and relatives are there for the reading of his will, which demands that they spend one night in the house. And the night of frights begins with murder not out of the question. |
| 1928 |
1928 The Terror Mystery / Horror N/R, 80 Minutes
Director: Roy Del Ruth More Info
Starring: May McAvoy, Louise Fazenda, Edward Everett Horton, Alec B. Francis, Matthew Betz, Holmes Herbert, John Miljan, Otto Hoffman, Joseph W. Girard, Frank Austin Edgar Wallace's play is brought to the screen in one of the first "talkies." A mysterious killer is on the loose and is now present at a dinner with assorted guests, including an undercover Scotland Yard investigator. Remade in 1938. |
| 1929 |
1929 Behind That Curtain Mystery N/R, 90 Minutes
Director: Irving Cummings More Info
Starring: Warner Baxter, Gilbert Emery, Philip Strange, E.L. Park, Lois Moran, Claude King, Boris Karloff, Jamiel Hasson, Peter Gawthorne, John Rogers This early sound movie, featuring the wise detective Charlie Chan (E.L. Park), is about an heiress (Lois Moran) who leaves her husband for a new "love" in her life but is about to suffer the consequences. |
1929 Blackmail Mystery N/R, 96 Minutes
|
1929 Bulldog Drummond Mystery N/R, 89 Minutes
|
1929 The Canary Murder Case Mystery N/R, 80 Minutes
Director: Malcolm St. Clair More Info
Starring: William Powell, Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Eugene Pallette, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Charles(1) Lane, Lawrence Grant, Ned Sparks, Louis John Bartels This is the first of what would be a series of mysteries centered on the sophisticated Philo Vance. The films spanned nearly 20 years with several actors in the lead role, though William Powell is generally associated with the films. Beautiful nightclub singer Margaret (Louise Brooks), also called the "Canary," is not a nice person. She has affairs with, then blackmails, wealthy men. After meeting her true love, Jimmy (James Hall), she demands one lump-sum payment from each of her playboys. When she is murdered, Jimmy is suspected, and Philo enters the scene to solve the crime. Originally completed as a silent film, the cast was called back to dub the sound. Louise Brooks, an up-and-comer, refused, thus effectively ending her career (except for a few low-budget films). |
1929 The Greene Murder Case Mystery N/R, 68 Minutes
Director: Frank Tuttle More Info
Starring: William Powell, Florence Eldridge, Ullrich Haupt, Jean Arthur, Eugene Pallette, E.H. Calvert, Gertrude Norman, Lowell Drew, Morgan Farley, Brandon Hurst Philo Vance (William Powell) is back in the second film of S.S. Van Dine's sophisticated amateur sleuth/psychologist. He is called in by the police to assist in solving the murder of a rich, New York businessman. Philo has his hands full when the nine primary suspects begin to be killed off one-by-one. |
1929 The Unholy Night Mystery N/R, 94 Minutes
Director: Lionel Barrymore More Info
Starring: Ernest Torrence, Roland Young, Dorothy Sebastian, Boris Karloff, Natalie Moorhead, Sidney Jarvis, Polly Moran, Sojin Veterans of a British regiment, who had served in India, are being systematically murdered. Now, they try to figure out who is the murderer before more killings occur. |
|
|
|