Silent Film Reviews
All Galloping Tinypes reviews are subjective to the context of the movie being reviewed. That means a Keystone comedy is not compared to a F.W. Murnau drama. It also means that a film of 1909 is not held to the same standard as a film from 1927.
The reviews are listed in alphabetical order by title. The selection of films reviewed is entirely random. Whenever possible, we try to review films that are easily available to the public via DVD, download or television. Films that are only available on VHS or that are out of print are generally not reviewed, though there are exceptions. Galloping Tintypes is based in the United States and all DVDs are region 1 or 0 unless stated to be otherwise.
Silent Era Feature Films and Serials
Annabell Lee (1921)
New England boiled romance.
The Beloved Rogue (1927)
John Barrymore's medieval swashbuckler and Conrad Veidt's American debut!
Below the Surface (1920)
Paternal love and treasure diving collide in this little-known drama.
Carmen (1915)
The oft-told tale of Gypsy flirtation and romantic obsession.
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
An old dark house comedy. It was a dark and stormy night...
The Charlatan (1929)
Little-known whodunnit. A light and clever mystery. Highly recommended.
The Cheat (1915)
Splendidly lurid melodrama. Embezzlement, affairs and a branding iron.
Don't Change Your Husband (1919)
If she followed that advice, we wouldn't have a movie. Swanson and DeMille collaboration.
Daddy Long Legs (1919)
Mary Pickford has a secret admirer.
The Eagle (1925)
Valentino goes Russian as a masked bandit who robs from the rich and.. oh, you know.
Ella Cinders (1926)
Colleen Moore's fast and funny Cinderella story.
Eve's Leaves (1926)
Lesson: Don't shanghai the man you love!
The Forbidden City (1918)
A variation on Madame Butterfly that follows both the doomed mother and her daughter.
The Garden of Eden (1928)
A humorous look at a singer's quest for love in Monte Carlo.
The Golden Chance (1915)
Early DeMille melodrama about a modern Cinderella and the burglar she is married to.
Hell's Hinges (1916)
William S. Hart takes out the trash as only William S. Hart can.
The Indian Tomb, Das Indische Grabmal (1921)
Conrad Veidt as a maharajah looking to bury his wife. She's not dead yet but he'll be seeing to that shortly.
Judex (1916-1917)
The vengeance and love life of a caped vigilante. Move over Batman!
Little Annie Rooney (1925)
Mary Pickford is a spunky kid trying to save her gangster love.
Mantrap (1926)
Clara Bow runs wild in the Canadian woods.
Great fun!
Miss Lulu Bett (1921)
Feminism and family drama blend in this subtle film of ugly ducklings and second chances.
Monte Cristo (1922)
John Gilbert as Dumas's famous vengeance-seeker.
My Best Girl (1927)
Mary Pickford's last silent feature. Co-starring future husband Buddy Rogers.
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917 & 1925)
A very early John Barrymore feature and a Universal Jewel Production, both concerning Raffles, the gentleman crook.
The Sea Lion (1921)
Hobart Bosworth is a bitter captain who seeks revenge against the woman who betrayed him.
The Sheik (1921)
Valentino's signature role: A love-sick sheik who kidnaps an Englishwoman to be his bride.
The Social Secretary (1916)
A secretary tries to fend off amorous employers by pretending to be plain. Rare Norma Talmadge dramedy.
The Son of the Sheik (1926)
Valentino's final film. The much superior sequel to The Sheik.
That Certain Thing (1928)
Frank Capra's charming romantic comedy about a golddigger who ends up providing her own gold.
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Douglas Fairbanks plays a thief who lives in Bagdad. It really is that simple.
Two Arabian Knights (1927)
Howard Hughes-produced action/comedy. Fast, funny and thoroughly enjoyable.
The Volga Boatman (1926)
The alternate title should be Communists Need Love Too. Yummy hokum from DeMille.
Way Down East (1920)
D.W. Griffith's rural melodrama. Blizzards, chases, romance, what else could you want?
Waxworks, Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (1924)
A writer is dragged into a nightmare world that he has created through his stories.
West of Zanzibar (1928)
A entertaining and grotesque melodrama
from the incomparable Lon Chaney.
The White Rose (1923)
Later melodrama by D.W. Griffith. A sort of Southern Scarlet Letter.
The Wind (1928)
Lillian Gish's silent masterpiece, co-starring Lars Hanson and a wind machine. A true psychological classic. Do not miss this one!
A Woman of the World (1925)
Small-town America meets Pola Negri. And she's got a whip, folks!