What This Page Contains
On this page you will find a table listing all 31 American silent feature films of 1915 that can be viewed online, mostly on YouTube. For each film on the list, you will find a link to the best online version of the film.
Highlights of our List of 1915 Online Films
1915 was undoubtedly the year of The Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith’s controversial film of the Civil War and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. The film earned $10 million in 1915 alone, over 65 times as much as its nearest rival, Carmen. Douglas Fairbanks made his film debut in 1915, starring in his early years in a series of comedies, and is represented on our list by Double Trouble.
Director Raoul Walsh’s first feature, Regeneration, was released in 1915, and directors Lois Weber, Ralph Ince and Allan Dwan all debut on our features lists. Cecil B. DeMille is represented by four films on our list of 1915. Notable films released this year include: Ghosts, which treats on the subject of insanity; A Fool There Was, in which Theda Bara most famously played the role of a vamp; and Hypocrites, an early American full-length film featuring − repeatedly −a completely nude lady, in actress Margaret Edwards.
Want to See American Feature Films from Other Years?
Go to American Feature Films of: 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931.
Rockliffe Fellowes in Regeneration (1915) 
Henry Walthall and Lillian Gish in
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Vila Savoy as Alice in Wonderland (1915)
1915 Statistics (per the Library of Congress silent movie database):
Number of Features Released: 600
Number Extant (complete and incomplete): 155
Number Completely Lost: 445
1915 American Feature Films Available for Viewing Online
| Title | # Reels | Director | Stars | Genre | Youtube Link | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alias Jimmy Valentine | 5 | Maurice Tourneur | Robert Warwick, Robert Cummings | Drama | Link | ||
| Alice in Wonderland | 5 | W.W. Young | Vila Savoy | Fantasy | Link I Link II Link III Link IV Link V Link VI | Link I: with an appropriate ensemble score by Dr. Marco de Boni. Link II: with an interesting sitar score by Xavi Ganjam. Link III: another appropriate, mixed ensemble score by Paul Sylvester. Link IV: with contemporary soundtrack; a more complete version of film, incorporating pieces from various versions into a slightly longer edition. Cleaner picture too. With contemporary soundtrack. Link V: with playful orchestral soundtrack. Link VI: with contemporary, more "electric" score, by Tuktu and the Belugas Quartet. |
|
| Birth of a Nation, The | 12 | D.W. Griffith | Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall | Historical drama | Link | ||
| Captive, The | 5 | Cecil B. DeMille | Blanche Sweet, House Peters | Historical drama | Link | ||
| Carmen | 5 | Cecil B. DeMille | Geraldine Farrar, Wallace Reid | Period drama | Link | We recommend you watch Chaplin's parody of Carmen after watching this feature version. A second version of Carmen, starring Theda Bara, was also released in 1915, but this version is lost. |
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| Cheat, The | 5 | Cecil B. DeMille | Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: traditional Robert Israel score. Link II: alternate traditional-style score by Giorgos Papamitrou. |
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| Children of Eve | 5 | John H. Collins | Viola Dana, Robert Conness | Drama | Link I Link II Link III | Link I: no music. Link II: side by side comparison of unrestored and restored versions, with music. Link III: with music, but incorrect aspect ratio. |
|
| Coward, The | 6 | Reginald Barker | Frank Keenan, Charles Ray | Drama | Link | ||
| Darkening Trail, The | 4 | William S. Hart | William S. Hart, Enid Markey | Western | Link | No music; link is to version on archive.org. | |
| David Harum | 5 | Allan Dwan | William H. Crane, Harold Lockwood, May Allison | Comedy, Drama | Link | ||
| Double Trouble | 5 | Christy Cabanne | Douglas Fairbanks, Margery Wilson | Comedy | Link | Film could use some restoration. | |
| Fanchon the Cricket | 5 | James Kirkwood | Mary Pickford, Jack Standing | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: watch on tubiTV.com. Link II: available for rent only on YouTube, though the film is in the public domain. |
|
| Fool There Was, A | 6 | Frank Powell | Theda Bara, Edward José | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: interesting old-recordings soundtrack. Link II: traditional piano accompaniment. |
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| Ghosts | 5 | George Nichols | Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: good classical soundtrack. Link II: with live organ score from the great folks at Retroformat. Film begins at 15:15. |
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| Girl of the Golden West, The | 5 | Cecil B. DeMille | Mabel Van Buren, Theodore Roberts | Western | Link | ||
| Hearts in Exile | 5 | James Young | Clara Kimball Young, Montagu Love | Drama | Link | Print needs restoration. | |
| How Molly Malone Made Good | 6 | Lawrence B. McGill | Marguerite Gale | Comedy | Link | No music. | |
| Hypocrites | 4 | Lois Weber | Courtenay Foote, Myrtle Stedman | Drama, Fantasy | Link I Link II | Link I: restored version with traditional organ score. Link II: lesser quality print with traditional piano score. |
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| Italian, The | 6 | Reginald Barker | George Beban, Clara Williams | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: restored version, with traditional piano score. Link II: very good, but slightly lesser quality, print, with traditional small ensemble score. |
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| Juggernaut, The | 5 | Ralph Ince | Anita Stewart, Earle Williams | Drama | Link | From archive.org; a reconstruction, only 2 reels of 5 survive. | |
| Kidnapped in New York | 40 min. | J. Stuart Blackton | Barney Gilmore | Drama, Crime | Link | No music; not on LOC list. | |
| Madame Butterfly | 5 | Sidney Olcott | Mary Pickford, Marshall Neilan | Drama | Link | The only versions presently online have no music, and also feature an obtrusive running time stamp. | |
| Man From Texas, The | 40 min. | Tom Mix | Tom Mix | Western | Link | Not on LOC list. | |
| Martyrs of the Alamo, The | 5 | Christy Cabanne | Sam De Grasse, Walter Long | Historical drama | Link | Contains brief introduction by Marvin Bannerman; film quality not great. | |
| On the Firing Line with the Germans | 9 | n/a? | n/a? | Documentary, War | Link I Link II | Link I: no music. Link II: CSPAN broadcast of the film with running commentary by various experts. |
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| On the Night Stage | 5 | Reginald Barker | William S. Hart, Rhea Mitchell | Western | Link | No music; film needs restoring. | |
| Raven, The | 6 | Charles Brabin | Henry B. Walthall, Warda Howard | Biography | Link | From archive.org; there is no music, and the film needs restoration. | |
| Regeneration | 5 | Raoul Walsh | Rockliffe Fellowes, Anna Q. Nillson | Drama, Crime | Link I Link II | Link I: with small ensemble score. Link II: with original piano score by Benjamin Klum. |
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| Trilby | 5 | Maurice Tourneur | Wilton Lackaye, Clara Kimball Young | Drama | Link | No music. | |
| Whirl of Life, The | 6 | Oliver D. Bailey | Vernon Castle, Irene Castle | Biography | Link | No music; video is 49 minutes, seems to be missing last reel or so. | |
| Young Romance | 4 | George Melford | Edith Taliaferro, Florence Dagmar | Comedy | Link |
American Feature Films of 1915 Commercially Available,
But Not Yet Uploaded Online
| Title | Director | Stars | Buy From | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child of the Prairie | Tom Mix | Tom Mix, Louella Maxam | Oldies.com | Not on LOC list. | |
| Disciple, The | William S. Hart | William S. Hart, Dorothy Dalton | Oldies.com Grapevine | ||
| Lamb, The | Christy Cabanne | Douglas Fairbanks, Seena Owen | Grapevine | ||
| Majesty of the Law, The | Julia Crawford Ivers | George Fawcett, Jane Wolfe | Oldies.com | Only reel 4 survives. | |
| Old Heidelberg | John Emerson | Wallace Reid, Dorothy Gish | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
| Playing Dead | Sidney Drew | Sidney Drew, Mrs. Sidney Drew | SHOF | ||
| Rags | James Kirkwood | Mary Pickford, Marshall Neilan | SHOF | ||
| Scandal | Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley | Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley | Oldies.com | ||
| Stolen Voice, The | Frank Hall Crane | Robert Warwick, Frances Nelson | SHOF | ||
| Sweet Allysum | Colin Campbell | Tyrone Power Sr., Kathlyn Williams | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
| Vanity Fair | Charles Brabin, Eugene Nowland | Minnie Maddern Fiske, Shirley Mason | SHOF |