Highest-Rated Movies about '1920s', Sort by Popularity

The Man With a Movie Camera (1929), The Lodger (1927), The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987), Inherit the Wind (1960), Tabu (1931), Haxan (1922), The Godfather: Part II (1974), College (1927) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best 1920s movies.

#1. The Man With a Movie Camera (1929)

Storyline: Part documentary and part cinematic art, this film follows a city in the 1920s Soviet Union throughout the day, from morning to night. Directed by Dziga Vertov, with a variety of complex and innovative camera shots, the film depicts scenes of ordinary daily life in Russia. Vertov celebrates the modernity of the city, with its vast buildings, dense population and bustling industries. While there are no titles or narration, Vertov still naturally conveys the marvels of the modern city.

Plot Keywords: camera operator, townspeople, creative, fascinating, profound, patriotic, spectacular ...

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#2. The Lodger (1927)

Storyline: When a landlady (Marie Ault) and her husband (Arthur Chesney) take in a new lodger (Ivor Novello), they're overjoyed: He's quiet, humble and pays a month's rent in advance. But his mysterious and suspicious behavior soon has them wondering if he's the killer terrorizing local blond girls. Their daughter, Daisy (June), a cocky model, is far less concerned, her attraction obvious. Her police-detective boyfriend (Malcolm Keen), in a pique of jealousy, seeks to uncover the lodger's true identity.

Plot Keywords: lodger, landlady, husband, daughter, detective, witness, dark ...

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#3. The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987)

Storyline: Jobless and desperate, World War I veteran Robert Eliot Burns (Val Kilmer) is arrested for theft and sentenced to work on a prison chain gang. Eager to get away from brutal Warden Hardy (Charles Durning), Burns busts out of jail. Suddenly free, he woos foxy stranger Emily Del Pino Pacheco (Sonia Braga). Soon, though, the romance sours, and, without cover from Emily, Burns is left with nowhere to hide. To his dismay, he might just find himself making a return journey to Hardy's chain gang.

Plot Keywords: criminal, prisoner, prison guard, warden, cellmate, beautiful woman, rousing ...

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#4. Inherit the Wind (1960)

Storyline: In the 1920s, Tennessee schoolteacher Bertram Cates (Dick York) is put on trial for violating the Butler Act, a state law that prohibits public school teachers from teaching evolution instead of creationism. Drawing intense national attention in the media with writer E. K. Hornbeck (Gene Kelly) reporting, two of the nation's leading lawyers go head to head: Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March) for the prosecution, and Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) for the defense.

Plot Keywords: lawyer, teacher, reporter, intense, somber, suspenseful, witty ...

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#5. Tabu (1931)

Storyline: On the island of Bora Bora, the islanders welcome Tabu (Hitu), a messenger from the chief who has come to declare the island's virgin successor. Tabu names the beautiful young Reri (Anna Chevalier), unaware that she has a lover, Matahi (Matahi). Despite Tabu's claim that if a man touches Reri, it will mean death for him, Matahi follows Tabu as he leaves the island, and kidnaps Reri. Enduring numerous hardships, the couple arrives at another island -- but find that Tabu's curse has followed them.

Plot Keywords: young man, love interest, messenger, chief, young woman, bar owner, dreamy ...

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#6. Haxan (1922)

Storyline: A hybrid of documentary and fiction, this silent film explores the history of witchcraft, demonology and satanism. It shows representations of evil in a variety of ancient and medieval artworks, offers vignettes illustrating a number of superstitious practices and presents a narrative about the persecution of a woman accused of witchcraft. The film ends by suggesting that the modern science of psychology offers important insight into the beliefs and practices of the past.

Plot Keywords: satan, witch, monk, mentally impaired person, doctor, gory, offbeat ...

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#9. Lazybones (1925)

Storyline: "Lazybones" Steve (Buck Jones) is fawned over by his girlfriend, Agnes (Jane Novak) and doting mother. But, when he saves Agnes' sister from a suicide attempt, this loafer suddenly finds himself raising her secret newborn daughter, Kit. His easy life turns hard when the town assumes she's his illegitimate child. Steve is called to fight in World War I, and when he returns Kit is no longer a picked-on kid but a beautiful woman (Madge Bellamy). Then his love becomes not quite so paternal.

Plot Keywords: man, mother, adopted daughter, troubled woman, girlfriend, mother-in-law, mushy ...

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#11. Sunrise at Campobello (1960)

Storyline: In the summer of 1921, unsuccessful vice-presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Ralph Bellamy) is vacationing with his family at their estate on Campobello Island on the Maine/New Brunswick border. During their stay, the 39-year-old Roosevelt comes down with a fever and sudden paralysis that is eventually diagnosed as polio. With the help of his wife, Eleanor (Greer Garson), and his close friend and political consultant, Louis Howe (Hume Cronyn), FDR battles his newfound disability.

Plot Keywords: franklin delano roosevelt, eleanor roosevelt, political consultant, son, daughter, politician, heartwarming ...

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#12. Rosewood (1997)

Storyline: Rosewood, Florida, is a small, peaceful town with an almost entirely African-American population of middle-class homeowners, until New Year's Day 1923, when a lynch mob from a neighboring white community storms the town. Among the carnage, music teacher Sylvester (Don Cheadle) and mysterious stranger Mann (Ving Rhames) stand tall against the invaders, while white grocer John (Jon Voight) attempts to save the town's women and children. The film is based on a true story.

Plot Keywords: teacher, stranger, grocer, mother, child, dark, disturbing ...

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#13. Pather Panchali (1955)

Storyline: The story of a young boy, Apu, and life in his small Indian village. His parents are quite poor - his father Harihar, a writer and poet, gave away the family's fruit orchard to settle his brother's debts. His sister Durga and an old aunt also still lives with them. His mother Sarbojaya bears the brunt of the family's situation. She scrapes by and sells her personal possessions to put food on the table and has to bear the taunts of her neighbors as Durga is always stealing fruit from their orchard. Things get worse when Harihar disappears for five months and Durga falls ill. Even after Harihar returns, the family is left with few alternatives.

Plot Keywords: priest, mother, aunt, daughter, son, bleak, emotional ...

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