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5 silent films to watch, 100 years later

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Good art can be appreciate long after its creation, and movies are no exception. The year 1924 was a banner year for movie-making, and a century of time doesn't diminish some of the entertainment on screen. 

Take a look at a few 1924 silent movies across different genres from 100 years ago:

Thriller: 'He Who Gets Slapped'

"He Who Gets Slapped" has a bit of everything that audiences today will appreciate. Lon Chaney is a lovelorn clown in this silent psychological thriller movie. The box office hit also stars John Gilbert and Norman Shearer, and was instrumental in launching their careers. 

Lon Chaney is the master of the horror genre, of course. "The Man of a Thousand Faces" would follow the success of "He Who Gets Slapped" with such classics as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera." 


Comedy: 'Girl Shy'

Following his successful 1923 with "Safety Last!" and "Why Worry?", "Girl Shy" in 1924 was another hit for Harold Lloyd. The romantic comedy silent film also starred Jobyna Ralston.

The movie was the first independent production for the pioneering comedian Lloyd, and keeps all the death-defying stunts (and humor) of his earlier films -- "Girl Shy" includes a still-amazing race sequence to cap the end of the movie. 



Drama: 'Greed' 

Modern audiences can still enjoy the epic drama of 1924's "Greed." The silent movie was written and directed by Erich von Stroheim, an actor and avant-garde pioneer of the silent film era. Many movie fans know him from his Oscar-nominated role as an ex-Hollywood silent film director working as the devoted butler to Gloria Swanson's Norma Desmond in 1950's "Sunset Boulevard."

But a generation before that 1950 hit, Stroheim was known as a visionary and innovative director, but one who often clashed with the studio system. "Greed" is full of such innovative and entertaining techniques, and is considered one of the most groundbreaking in cinema. 

Shot entirely on location, "Greed" stars Gibson Gowland, ZaSu Pitts and Jean Hersholt. The final sequence was shot at Death Valley, California.


Action-adventure: 'The Sea Hawk'

"The Sea Hawk" (1924) is considered one of the best sea adventure stories in movie history. 1987's "The Princess Bride" gives a nod to the plot of "The Sea Hawk," that of a man captured and sold into slavery who then escapes and becomes a pirate king. Sounds familiar!

The silent film was directed by Frank Lloyd and used full-size replica ships instead of miniatures in the adventure sequences. Milton Sills stars as Sir Oliver Tressilian with Enid Bennett as Lady Rosamund and Wallace Beery as Capt. Jasper Leigh.


Adventure-fantasy: 'Peter Pan'

The first movie adaptation of the 1904 J.M. Barrie play, "Peter Pan" still delights at a century old. 

The Paramount-produced silent movie stars Betty Bronson as Peter Pan, Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook, Mary Brian as Wendy and Anna May Wong as the Native American princess Tiger Lily.

The 1924 "Peter Pan" was considered a "lost film" for decades, but the George Eastman Museum (by way of film curator James Card) discovered and preserved the supposedly last known surviving print.

Watch the found full movie, complete with early special effects of Tinker Bell "talking" and Bronson as Peter Pan appealing to the audience to clap to help revive Tinker Bell.

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