1920

Within Our Gates is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Migration of blacks to cities of the North and Midwest, and the emergence of the "New Negro". It was part of a genre called race films.

Why Change Your Wife? is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson.

Way Down East is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play Way Down East by Lottie Blair Parker. There were two earlier silent versions, and one sound version in 1935 starring Henry Fonda.

The Twelve Pound Look is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by Jack Denton and starring Milton Rosmer, Jessie Winter and Ann Elliott. A woman marries a cold, wealthy businessmen in order to be able to financially support her younger brothers and sisters. She later saves up enough money to buy a typewriter and leaves her husband to work independently as a writer.

Trent's Last Case is a 1920 British silent crime film directed by Richard Garrick and starring Gregory Scott, Pauline Peters and Clive Brook. It was an adaptation of the novel Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley. Detective Philip Trent investigates the mysterious murder of the financier Sigsbee Manderson.

Treasure Island is a 1920 silent film adaptation of the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, directed by Maurice Tourneur, and released by Paramount Pictures. Lon Chaney played two different key roles in this production. Charles Ogle, who had played Frankenstein's Monster in the first filmed version of Frankenstein a decade earlier at Edison Studios, portrayed Long John Silver.

Caravan of Death (German: Die Todeskarawane) is a 1920 silent German film directed by Josef Stein and featuring Carl de Vogt as Kara Ben Nemsi. Béla Lugosi played a supporting role. The film was an adaptation of the Karl May novel of the same name and is now considered to be lost.

Sumurun (aka One Arabian Night) is a 1920 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch based on a pantomime by Friedrich Freksa.

Suds is a 1920 silent film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Mary Pickford. The film is based on the 1904 English stage play 'Op o' Me Thumb, a one-act work first produced in London and presented the following year in New York with Maude Adams, a curtain raiser for her appearance in Peter Pan.

Stolen Moments (1920) is a silent film starring Marguerite Namara with Rudolph Valentino playing a villain, the last film in which he played one. It was released in December 1920, just a few months before Valentino was elevated to stardom by his performance in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (released 6 March 1921). In fact, filming of Stolen Moments was expedited so that Valentino could make it to Hollywood before filming began on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The Son of Tarzan (1920) is a 15-chapter film serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also known as Korak, the son of Tarzan and Jane. The serial was produced by David P. Howells, written by Roy Somerville (based on the 1915 novel The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and directed by Arthur J. Flaven and Harry Revier. The film was released starting in the summer of 1920, with the final chapter released in January 1921.

A Son of David is a 1920 British silent sports film directed by Hay Plumb and starring Poppy Wyndham, Ronald Colman, and Arthur Walcott.

Something to Think About is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Elliott Dexter and Gloria Swanson. Prints of the film exist at George Eastman House and the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.

Shipwrecked Among Cannibals is a 1920 American silent film travel documentary film directed by William F. Alder, and released by Universal Studios in July 1921.

Sex is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo, written by C. Gardner Sullivan, produced by J. Parker Read, and starring Louise Glaum. On its surface, the film was a morality story on the evils of marital infidelity. However, the film's producer, J. Parker Read, had made a series of pictures on sex themes. The release of Sex, with its provocative title and explicit scenes of seduction and debauchery, made it the subject of controversy among censors and commentators.

The Scarecrow is a 1920 American short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 19 minutes. One of the more memorable scenes of the film is the opening, where Buster and Joe Roberts share a small one room house that is filled with many space- and labor-saving Rube Goldberg devices.

Satan (German: Satanas) is a 1920 silent German drama film directed by F. W. Murnau. A fragment of the film is kept in the Cinémathèque Française film archive.

The Saphead is a 1920 American comedy film featuring Buster Keaton. It was the actor's first starring role, on the recommendation of Douglas Fairbanks, in a full-length feature and the film that launched his career.

Romance is a 1920 American silent film directed by Chester Withey and released through United Artists. The film is based on the 1913 play Romance by Edward Sheldon and stars Doris Keane, the actress who created the role in the play. This was Miss Keane's only motion picture. D.W. Griffith allowed the use of his Mamaroneck Studios for the production. The nephew of Griffith's favorite cameraman, Billy Bitzer, was the cinematographer. The story was later remade as Romance in 1930, an early talking vehicle for Greta Garbo.

The Prince and the Pauper (German: Prinz und Bettelknabe) is a 1920 Austrian silent adventure film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Tibor Lubinszky, Albert Schreiber and Adolf Weisse. It is based on Mark Twain's 1881 novel The Prince and the Pauper about a poor boy who switches places with Edward, Prince of Wales in Tudor England.

Pollyanna is a 1920 American silent melodrama/comedy film starring Mary Pickford, directed by Paul Powell, and based upon Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel of the same name. It was Pickford's first motion picture for United Artists. It became a major success and would be regarded as one of Pickford's most defining pictures. The film grossed $1.1 million (approximately $12,950,000 today).

The Penalty is an American crime film starring Lon Chaney and originally released in 1920. The movie was directed by Wallace Worsley, and written by Philip Lonergan and Charles Kenyon, based upon the pulp novel by Gouverneur Morris. The supporting cast includes Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, and Claire Adams.

The Parson's Widow (Swedish: Prästänkan), aka The Witch Woman, is a 1920 comedy drama film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film is based on a story Prestekonen by Kristofer Janson.

Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, also known as Over the Hill, is a 1920 American silent film about a woman who has a lot of children, and who never gets the chance to enjoy life. The film starred actress Mary Carr and almost all of her real-life children.

Outside the Law is a 1920 American crime film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. Browning would remake the film in 1930.

One Week is a 1920 American short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton, the first film to be released made by Keaton on his own; Keaton had worked with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle for a number of years. The film was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline, and runs for 19 minutes. Sybil Seely co-stars. The High Sign had been filmed prior to One Week, but Keaton considered it an inferior effort to debut with, and released it the following year when he was convalescing from an injury.

Old Lady 31 is a 1920 American silent comedy drama film produced and distributed by Metro Pictures and directed by John Ince. It is based on a novel by Louise Forsslund turned into a play by Rachel Crothers. The film starred actress Emma Dunn reprising her 1916 stage success for the screen. The film was remade in 1940 as The Captain Is a Lady.

Number, Please? is a 1920 American short comedy film directed by Hal Roach and Fred C. Newmeyer featuring Harold Lloyd.

Now or Never is a 1921 short comedy film starring Harold Lloyd.

Nomads of the North is a 1920 American film featuring Lon Chaney and Lewis Stone. A Canadian Mountie allows an innocent fugitive to escape with the woman he loves. The film is based on the 1919 novel of the same name by American author James Oliver Curwood.

Neighbors is a 1920 short comedy film co-written, co-directed by, and starring comedian Buster Keaton.

Mr. Gilfil's Love Story is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by A.V. Bramble and starring Robert Henderson Bland, Mary Odette and Peter Upcher. It was based on the short story Mr. Gilfil's Love Story from George Eliot's 1857 work Scenes of Clerical Life. A chaplain to an aristocratic British family falls in love with their ward, a young Italian woman, who he marries. Tragedy strikes when she dies only a few months later leaving him in a state of grief.

The Monastery of Sendomir (Swedish: Klostret i Sendomir) is a 1920 Swedish drama directed by Victor Sjöström, based on a 1828 short story by Franz Grillparzer. It has also been released in the UK as The Secret of the Monastery. A German adaptation of the story The Monastery of Sendomir, directed by Rudolf Meinert, had been released the previous year.

The Mollycoddle is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming. Beery plays an ice-cold villain brawling with Fairbanks' character all the way down the side of a steep mountain in one sequence. A copy of the film is in the Museum of Modern Art and in other film collections.

The Mark of Zorro is a 1920 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery, Sr.. This genre-defining swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of The Mark of Zorro. Based on the 1919 story "The Curse of Capistrano" by Johnston McCulley, which introduced the masked hero, Zorro, the screenplay was adapted by Fairbanks (as "Elton Thomas") and Eugene Miller.

The Lure of Crooning Water is a 1920 British silent comedy romance film directed by Arthur Rooke and starring Guy Newall, Ivy Duke and Hugh Buckler. It is adapted from a novel by Marion Hill. It was one of several rural romances that Rooke directed. At least copy of the film survives in a collection.

The Last of the Mohicans (German: Der Letzte der Mohikaner) is the feature-length second part of the two-part 1920 German adventure film Lederstrumpf (Leatherstocking) directed by Arthur Wellin and featuring Bela Lugosi. It is based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name. The first part was The Deerslayer and Chingachgook (Der Wildtöter und Chingachgook).

The Last of the Mohicans is a 1920 American film adapted from James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name. Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur directed an adaption by Robert Dillon — a story of two English sisters meeting danger on the frontier of the American colonies, in and around the fort commanded by their father. The adventure film stars Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Lillian Hall and Alan Roscoe.

Lady Rose's Daughter (1920) is a silent film drama starring Elsie Ferguson and David Powell with directing being from Hugh Ford. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. The film was based on a stage play performed in 1903 on Broadway. Both the film and the play were based on the famous novel by Mrs. Humphry Ward. Actress Ida Waterman had appeared in the original 1903 Broadway play.

Kohlhiesels Töchter (English title: Kohlhiesel's Daughters) is a 1920 German silent comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Henny Porten, Emil Jannings and Jakob Tiedtke. It is an adaptation of the play Kohlhiesel's Daughters by Hanns Kräly, Lubitsch's frequent collaborator, who also worked on the film's screenplay. Three further film adaptations have been made of the work including a 1930 sound remake which also starred Porten.

Karin Daughter of Ingmar (Swedish: Karin Ingmarsdotter) is a 1920 Swedish silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It is the second part in Sjöström's large-scale adaption of Selma Lagerlöf's novel Jerusalem, following Sons of Ingmar from the year before, and depicting chapter three and four from the novel. The critical reception was, however, unenthusiastic, and Sjöström decided to not direct any more parts. Eventually the suite was finished by Gustaf Molander in 1926.

Judy of Rogue's Harbor is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Grace Miller White. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Realart and Paramount Pictures.

The Jack-Knife Man is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor. Prints of the film survive in several film archives.

If I Were King is a 1920 American silent film produced by Fox Film Corporation, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, and starring William Farnum as François Villon with Fritz Leiber, Sr. and Betty Ross Clarke.

The Hunchback and the Dancer (German: Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin) is a 1920 silent German horror film directed by F. W. Murnau. This is now considered to be a lost film.

Huckleberry Finn is a surviving American silent dramatic rural film from 1920, based on Mark Twain's classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. William Desmond Taylor directed Huckleberry Finn, as he had the 1917 film version of Tom Sawyer, using a scenario written by Julia Crawford Ivers, who also had been the writer for Tom Sawyer.

High and Dizzy is a 1920 American short comedy film starring Harold Lloyd.

The Head of Janus (German: Der Janus-Kopf) is a 1920 German horror silent film directed by F. W. Murnau. The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but the source material went unrecognized by some of the German media due to changes in the characters' names.

Haunted Spooks is a 1920 American silent comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis.

The Golem: How He Came into the World (original German title: Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) is a 1920 silent horror film co-directed by and starring Paul Wegener. The picture was directed by Carl Boese and Wegener, written by Wegener and Henrik Galeen, and stars Wegener as the golem. The script was adapted from the 1915 novel The Golem by Gustav Meyrink. The film was the third of three films that Wegener made featuring the golem, the other two being The Golem (1915) and the short comedy The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917), in which Wegener dons the Golem make-up in order to frighten a young lady he is infatuated with. It is a prequel to The Golem and is the best known of the series, largely because it is the only one of the three films that has not been lost. One of the early horror films, the film was sensational upon its release and has left a lasting legacy within the movie industry, alongside another early German expressionist horror film, The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, also released in 1920.

The Girl in Number 29 is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Girl in the Mirror (1919) by Elizabeth Jordan. The film is presumed to be lost.

Get Out and Get Under is a 1920 silent comedy film directed by Hal Roach and starring Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis.

General Post is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Douglas Munro, Lilian Braithwaite and Joyce Dearsley. It was based on the play General Post by J.E. Harold Terry.

The Garage is a 1920 American short comedy film starring Buster Keaton and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It was directed by Arbuckle himself. The film was also known as Fire Chief. This was the fourteenth film starring the duo. The film also stars Luke the Dog who starred in many other short comedies starring Keaton and Arbuckle.

The Fordington Twins is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by W.P. Kellino and starring Dallas Anderson, Mary Brough and Nita Russell. It is based on a novel by Edgar Newton Bungay. Two young brothers who live over a fishmongers in Bethnal Green inherit a large sum of money and a country estate, but are almost cheated out of it by a swindler.

The Flapper is a 1920 American silent comedy film starring Olive Thomas. Directed by Alan Crosland, the film was the first in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle which would soon become a 1920's fad.

The Ever Open Door is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by Fred Goodwins and starring Hayford Hobbs, Daphne Glenne and Margaret Hope. It was based on the play The Ever Open Door by George R. Sims, a leading Victorian writer of stage melodramas. It was one of a number of Sim's plays to be adapted for cinema during the Silent era.

Evening – Night – Morning (German: Abend – Nacht – Morgen) is a 1920 silent German drama film directed by F. W. Murnau. The film is considered to be lost.

Erotikon is a 1920 Swedish romantic comedy film directed by Mauritz Stiller, starring Tora Teje, Karin Molander, Anders de Wahl and Lars Hanson. It is based on the 1917 play A kék róka by Ferenc Herczeg. The story revolves around an entomology professor obsessed with the sexual life of bugs, and his easygoing wife who is courted by two suitors.

Ernest Maltravers is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by Jack Denton and starring Cowley Wright, Lillian Hall-Davis and Gordon Hopkirk. It is an adaptation of the 1838 novel Ernest Maltravers by Edward Bulwer-Lytton which had previously been made into an American film Ernest Maltravers in 1914.

An Eastern Westerner is a 1920 American short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. A copy of the film exists.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 horror silent film, produced by Famous Players-Lasky and released through Paramount/Artcraft. The film is based upon Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and starring actor John Barrymore.

The Devil's Pass Key (or The Devil's Passkey) was a 1920 silent drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim.

The Copperhead is a 1920 silent film historical drama based on a novel by Frederick Landis and a play by Augustus Thomas. The star of this film is Lionel Barrymore who won acclaim in the play version on Broadway, and who appeared in the play and this film with his first wife Doris Rankin. A print of this film has been screened in recent years.

Convict 13 is a 1920 short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline.

Colonel Newcome (or Colonel Newcome, the Perfect Gentleman) is a 1920 British silent historical drama film directed by Fred Goodwins and starring Milton Rosmer, Joyce Carey and Temple Bell. It was based on the novel The Newcomes by William Makepeace Thackeray.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who uses a somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) to commit murders. The film features a dark and twisted visual style, with sharp-pointed forms, oblique and curving lines, structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles, and shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto the sets.

Build Thy House (1920) is a British silent film directed by Fred Goodwins and starring Henry Ainley, Ann Trevor, and Reginald Bach. The screenplay was written by Eliot Stannard from the story by S. Trevor Jones. The film was the first film featuring Claude Rains.

Bleak House is a 1920 British silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Constance Collier, Berta Gellardi and Helen Haye. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1852 novel Bleak House. It was one of a large number of silent film versions of Dickens' stories.

Barrabas is a 1920 French silent crime thriller film directed and written by Louis Feuillade.

Anna Boleyn, also known as Deception, is a 1920 German historical film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It stars Henny Porten as Anne Boleyn and Emil Jannings as King Henry VIII.

Among Those Present (1921) is a short comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis.

Algol: Tragedy of Power (German: Algol. Tragödie der Macht) is a 1920 German science fiction film about an alien from the planet Algol.