
What This Page Contains
On this page you will find a list of all 56 American silent feature films of 1920 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 1920 Online Films
The most important item on our list is the earliest appearance of Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American feature-film director. Two of his first four films (Within Our Gates and The Symbol of the Unconquered) survive, and both appear on our list of 1920 films.
A scan of our list may reveal another interesting quality: the appearance of quite a large number of unfamiliar names; this is significant, as it does suggest the wide variety of silent films that managed to survive the last century. Having said that, a number of well-known names are well-represented, as always: Mary Pickford, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Gloria Swanson and William S. Hart appear in multiple uploaded films from 1920.
With the release of The Mark of Zorro in 1920, Douglas Fairbanks was transformed from a popular comic actor into a swashbuckling, adventure mega-star. There were two versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde released in 1920: the one starring John Barrymore survives, and appears on our list for this year. In 1920, Olive Thomas starred in The Flapper, introducing the partying, convention-busting female character-type which would, in a sense, define the 1920’s.
Directors Sam Wood and Wesley Ruggles and actors Leatrice Joy and Conrad Nagle make their first appearance on a feature-film list of 1920. Buster Keaton‘s first feature offering, The Saphead, also can be found on our list.
Other films of interest include: Headin’ Home, in which Babe Ruth plays himself; The Daughter of Dawn, in which we find one of the earliest films to feature a credited American Indian, Hunting Horse, in a lead role; and Stolen Moments, Rudolph Valentino’s last film (in which he plays a villain) before exploding into superstardom in 1921 with The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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]
Evelyn Preer and James D. Ruffin
in Within Our Gates (1920)Olive Thomas as The Flapper (1920) John Barrymore as Mr. Hyde
1920 Statistics (per the Library of Congress database):
Number of Features Released: 735
Number Extant (complete and incomplete): 228
Number Completely Lost: 507
1920 American Feature Films Available for Viewing Online
Title | # Reels | Director | Stars | Genre | Youtube Link | Comments | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Below the Surface | 6 | Irvin Wallat | Hobart Bosworth, Grace Darmond, Lloyd Hughes | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: no music, lesser quality. Link II: great quality, no music, intertitles in Dutch. |
|
Confession, The | 7 | Bertram Bracken | Henry B. Walthall, Francis McDonald | Drama | Link | No music. | |
Conrad in Quest of His Youth | 6 | William C. DeMille | Thomas Meighan, Mabel Van Buren | Comedy | Link | No music. | |
County Fair, The | 5 | Edmund Mortimer, Maurice Torneur | Helen Jerome Eddy, David Butler | Drama | Link | With ads. | |
Cradle of Courage | 5 | William S. Hart, Lambert Hillyer | William S. Hart, Ann Little | Drama, War | Link | With untraditional, contemporary-style soundtrack. | |
Daughter of Dawn, The | 6 | Norbert A. Myles | White Parker, Esther LeBarre, Hunting Horse | Western | Link | No music. | |
Dinty | 7 | John McDermott, Marshall Neilan | Wesley Barry, Noah Beery, Collen Moore | Comedy | Link | No music; with Dutch intertitles and optional Spanish CC. | |
Down Home | 7 | Irvin Wallat | Leatrice Joy, Edward Hearn | Drama | Link | ||
Down on the Farm | 5 | Ray Grey, F. Richard Jones, Erie C. Kenton | Louise Fazenda, Harry Gribbon | Comedy | Link | ||
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 7 | John S. Robertson | John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield | Drama, Horror | Link I Link II Link III | Link I: vintage organ accompaniment. Link II: small ensemble score. Link III: with classical soundtrack, sound effects, and John "Barrymore's voice". |
|
Excuse My Dust | 5 | Sam Wood | Wallace Reid, Ann Little | Comedy | Link | ||
Flapper, The | 6 | Alan Crosland | Olive Thomas | Comedy | Link I Link II | Link I: with period jazz soundtrack. Link II: with a bit lifeless piano accompaniment. |
|
Godless Men | 7 | Reginald Barker | Russell Simpson, Jim Mason | Drama | Link | No music. | |
Headin' Home | 6 | Lawrence C. Windom | Babe Ruth | Biography | Link I Link II | Link I: old orchestral soundtrack, but awful film quality. Link II: no music, but more watchable video quality. |
|
His Wonderful Chance | 5 | George Archainbaud | Eugene O'Brien, Martha Mansfield | Crime, Drama | Link | No music; film could use restoration. | |
Homer Comes Home | 5 | Jerome Storm | Charles Ray, Priscilla Bonner | Comedy | Link | ||
Humoresque | 6 | Frank Borzage | Gaston Glass, Alma Rubens | Drama | Link | ||
Idol Dancer, The | 7 | D.W. Griffith | Richard Barthelmess, Clarine Seymour, Creighton Hale | Drama | Link | ||
Jack-Knife Man, The | 6 | King Vidor | F.A. Turney | Drama | Link | ||
Jungle Princess, The | 7 | E.A. Martin | Juanita Hansen, George Chesebro | Adventure | Link | No music. "The Jungle Princess" was a serial, repackaged as a feature in 1920. | |
Just Pals | 5 | John Ford | Buck Jones, Helen Ferguson | Comedy, Western | Link | ||
Last of the Mohicans, The | 6 | Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur | Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford | Historical drama, Adventure | Link | ||
Leopard Woman, The | 7 | Wesley Ruggles | Louise Glaum, House Peters | Adventure | Link | ||
Love Expert, The | 6 | David Kirkland | Constance Talmadge | Comedy | Link | ||
Love Flower, The | 7 | D.W. Griffith | Carol Dempster, Richard Barthelmess | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: piano score. Link II: classical soundtrack. |
|
Man Who Had Everything, The | 5 | Alfred E. Green | Jack Pickford, Priscilla Bonner | Drama | Link | ||
Mark of Zorro, The | 8 | Fred Niblo | Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte | Adventure | Link I Link II Link III Link IV | Link I: traditional small ensemble score. Link II: traditional piano score. Link III: traditional organ score. Aspect slightly off (too wide). Link IV: contemporary score; subtitles added for all speeches. |
|
Mollycoddle, The | 6 | Victor Fleming | Douglas Fairbanks, Ruth Renick | Comedy | Link I Link II | Link I: with untraditional music, with ads. Link II: no music, but no ads. |
|
Nomads of the North | 6 | David Hartford | Lon Chaney, Lewis Stone, Betty Blythe | Drama, Western | Link | Good quality video, but with tedious, looping music. | |
Nurse Marjorie | 5 | William Desmond Taylor | Mary Miles Minter, Clyde Fillmore | Comedy | Link | ||
Outside the Law | 8 | Tod Browning | Lon Chaney, Priscilla Dean | Crime, Thriller | Link I Link II Link III | Link I: looping organ soundtrack. Link II: with classical accompaniment, but occasional long lapses of silence. Link III: not particularly appropriate contemporary score, but best picture quality. |
|
Penalty, The | 7 | Wallace Worsley | Lon Chaney | Horror | Link I Link II Link III Link IV Link V | Link I: contemporary soundtrack. Link II: nice piano soundtrack; English intertitles, with French subtitles. Link III: orchestral accompaniment. Link IV: traditional small ensemble score. Link V: classical soundtrack. |
|
Pink Tights | 5 | B. Reeves Easton | Gladys Walton, Jack Perrin | Comedy | Link | No music. | |
Pollyanna | 6 | Paul Powell | Mary Pickford | Comedy | Link | ||
Sand! | 5 | Lambert HIllyer | William S. Hart, Mary Thurman | Western | Link | ||
Saphead, The | 7 | Herbert Blaché, Winchell Smith | Buster Keaton, Beulah Booker | Comedy | Link I Link II | Link I: small ensemble score. Link II: piano score. |
|
Sex | 7 | Fred Niblo | Louise Glaum, Irving Cummings | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: mixed contemporary soundtrack. Link II: traditional organ accompaniment. |
|
Something New | 5 | Nell Shipman, Bert Van Tuyle | Nell Shipman, Bert Van Tuyle | Link | No music. | ||
Something to Think About | 7 | Cecil B. DeMille | Elliot Dexter, Gloria Swanson | Drama | Link | No music. | |
Soul of Youth, The | 6 | William Desmond Taylor | Lewis Sargent, Clyde Fillmore | Drama | Link | ||
Stolen Moments | 6 | James Vincent | Marguerite Namara, Rudolph Valentino | Drama | Link | Only 35-minute abridged version survives. No music. Link is to archive.org. | |
Suds | 6 | John Francis Dillon | Mary Pickford, Albert Austin | Comedy | Link Link II Link III | ||
Symbol of the Unconquered, The | 8 | Oscar Micheaux | Iris Hall, Walker Thompson | Drama | Link | ||
Terror Island | 5 | James Cruze | Harry Houdini, Lila Lee | Mystery, Adventure | Link I Link II | Link I: with organ accompaniment. Link II: with ols-sounding piano accompaniment. Link III: with classical soundtrack. |
|
Testing Block, The | 6 | Lambert Hillyer | William S. Hart, Eva Novak | Western | Link | First seven minutes comprise nice introduction by the Capitola Historical Museum |
|
Texan, The | 5 | Lynn Reynolds | Tom Mix, Gloria Hope | Western | Link | Intertitles in Dutch. Link is to archive.org. | |
Tiger's Coat, The | 5 | Roy Clements | Lawson Butt, Tina Modotti | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: with contemporary soundtrack; first 5:30 comprise introductory material in Italian. Link II: with piano score. |
|
Toll Gate, The | 5 | Lambert Hillyer | William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson | Western | Link | With original score by Ray Lowe. | |
Unknown Ranger, The | 5 | Harris Gordon | Rex Ray, Marie Newall | Western | Link | No music. | |
Unseen Forces | 6 | Sidney Franklin | Sylvia Breamer, Conrad Nagle | Drama | Link | No music. | |
Virgin of Stamboul, The | 7 | Tod Browning | Priscilla Dean, Wheeler Oakman, Wallace Beery | Drama | Link | No music. | |
Way Down East | 13 | D.W. Griffith | Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess | Drama | Link I | ||
What Happened to Rosa | 5 | Victor Schertzinger | Mabel Normand | Comedy | Link | ||
Why Change Your Wife? | 7 | Cecil B. DeMille | Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson | Drama | Link I Link II | Link I: small ensemble score. Link II: piano accompaniment. |
|
Within Our Gates | 8 | Oscar Micheaux | Evelyn Preer, James D. Ruffin | Drama | Link I Link II Link III | Link I: no music, but best quality video. Link II: string quartet soundtrack, lesser quality video. Link III: small ensemble soundtrack, lesser quality video. |
|
Woman in the Suitcase, The | 6 | Fred Niblo | Enid Bennett, William Conklin | Drama | Link |
American Feature Films of 1920 Commercially Available,
But Not Yet Uploaded Online
The goal is to get the films listed below uploaded to YouTube. All of these films are in the public domain. However, any musical accompaniment is likely not in the public domain, and may be flagged by YouTube; consequently, you may wish to upload them without any soundtrack (or add your own).
Title | Director | Stars | Buy From | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
April Folly | Robert Z. Leonard | Marion Davies | Grapevine SHOF | Grapevine edition is part of Marion Davies double-feature. SHOF #195 |
|
Copperhead, The | Charles Maigne | Lionel Barrymore | SHOF | SHOF #63 | |
Dangerous Days | Reginald Barker | Lawson Butt | SHOF | SHOF #135 | |
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | J. Charles Hayden | Sheldon Lewis | Oldies.com | There were 2 versions of this title released in 1920. The other one (starring John Barrymore) is on our other list above. | |
Huckleberry Finn | William Desmond Taylor | Lewis Sargent, Katherine Griffith | SHOF | SHOF #67 | |
Jes' Call Me Jim | Clarence G. Badger | Will Rogers | SHOF | SHOF #38 | |
Kismet | Louis J. Gasnier | Otis Skinner, Rosemary Theby | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
Mid-Channel | Harry Garson | Clara Kimball Young | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
Night Riders, The | Alexander Butler | Albert Ray | Oldies.com | Listed as lost by LOC. | |
Roman Candles | Jack Pratt | J. Frank Glendon | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
Silk Husbands and Calico Wives | Alfred E. Green | House Peters, Mary Alden | Grapevine Oldies.com | ||
Whispering Shadows | Emile Chautard | Lucy Cotton | Oldies.com |