Silent films

1–48 of 3,471 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive The Phantom of the Opera 1925 · Feature · 1 h 46 min At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for… Internet Archive 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1916 · Feature · 1 h 48 min The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was not known in the silent era as premier producer of motion pictures. Yet, in 1916 they produced a film that could… Internet Archive Mark of Zorro 1920 · Feature · Subtitles Mark of Zorro was the transition between Douglas Fairbanks' early career as a brash all-American hero and the lavish 1920s costume adventures. Internet Archive Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari ( The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ) 1919 · Feature · 51 min The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the first modern Horror Film and it influence a number of contemporary productions. A real classic! PLOT: A man named Francis… Internet Archive Bronenosets Potyomkin (Battleship Potemkin) 1925 · Feature · 1 h 13 min Considered one of the most important films in the history of silent pictures, as well as possibly Eisenstein's greatest work, Battleship Potemkin brought… Internet Archive The Birth of a Nation 1915 · Feature In its time, "The Birth of a Nation" was a masterpiece. Its racist undertones and revisionism are quite disturbing, but it is still worth watching for its… Internet Archive Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Horror) 1922 · Short · 1 min This is the most complete version available (just over 93 minutes) as this movie was demanded by Bram Stokers widow to be destroyed after winning 2 lawsuits… Internet Archive Que Viva Mexico 1931 · Feature Sergei Eisenstein shot ¡Que viva México! in Mexico in 1931 at the height of the Great Depression. The courageous financiers of this project were the author… Internet Archive Last of the Mohicans 1920 · Feature · 1 h 11 min · Subtitles First film adaptation from the James Fenimore Cooper novel of the same name. This film also features one of Boris Karloff's earliest film appearances in a… Internet Archive Intolerance 1916 · Feature · 2 h 57 min Director D.W. Griffith's expensive, most ambitious silent film masterpiece Intolerance (1916) is one of the milestones and landmarks in cinematic history.… Internet Archive The General 1927 · Feature · 1 h 15 min Union solders have stolen The General, a Confederate train manned by Johnnie Gray, who was unable to enlist in the Confederate army because he is needed as an… Internet Archive The Goat 1921 · Short · 27 min Dumb luck sets some policemen on his trail -- after a series of innovative escapes, he gets mistaken for a murderer with a price on his head, which means the… Internet Archive Tarzan of the Apes 1918 · Feature · 1 h Original (PD) version of this classic, NOT the VHS version "copyrighted" in 1982. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009682/ At this early point in American film… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's " The Pawnshop" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 56th Film Released Oct 02 1916. The Pawnshop was Charlie Chaplin's sixth film for Mutual Film Company. Chaplin played the role of assistant… Internet Archive Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1920 · Feature John Barrymore stars in the renowned silent adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic about a Victorian scientist who turns himself into a murderous… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Count" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 55th Film released Sept. 04 1916. The Count was Charlie Chaplin's fifth film for Mutual Films. Co-starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance,… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Floorwalker" 1916 · Short · 19 min Charlie Chaplins 51st Film Released May 15 1916 The Floorwalker was Charlie Chaplin's first Mutual Film Company made in 1916. It starred Chaplin as a customer… Internet Archive West of Hot Dog 1924 · Short · 30 min Silent western starring Stan Laurel before he teamed up with Oliver Hardy. Note : This movie can only be viewed properly using the VLC player. You can… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Rink" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 58th Film Released Dec. 04 1916 The Rink was Charlie Chaplin's 8th film for Mutual Films. It co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry… Internet Archive Haxan 1922 · Feature Häxan (Haxan) is a 1922 film, more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4xan Source for this video: http://www.publicdomaintorrents.com/nshowmo… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Charlie Shanghaied" 1915 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 46th Film Released Oct 04 1915 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006032/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Good For Nothing" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 25th Film Released Aug. 31 1914 As His New Profession An American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie… Internet Archive Robin Hood 1922 · Feature 1922 (public domain) silent version of the classic, with Douglas Fairbanks, Alan Hale and many others. Visit the IMDB page for this movie. Internet Archive Thief of Bagdad 1924 · Feature · 2 h 19 min Original (and therefore public domain) version of this classic. Does not contain any of the "additional" footage, interviews, new music or other… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Charlie's Recreation" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 23rd film released August 13 1914 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004518/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Tillies Punctured Romance" 1914 · Feature Charlie Chaplin's 33rd Film Released Nov. 14 1914. Tillie's Punctured Romance was the first feature-length comedy film from Keystone Film Company and the… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Kids Auto Race At Venice" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 2nd Film Released Feb. 07 1914 Kid Auto Races At Venice is 1914 American-made motion picture starring Charlie Chaplin in which his "Tramp"… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "One A.M." 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 54th Film Released Aug. 07 1916 One A.M. was a unique Charlie Chaplin silent film created for Mutual Films in 1916. It was the first film he… Internet Archive Steamboat Bill Jr. 1928 · Feature · 1 h 9 min Steamboat Bill, Jr. is the story of a naive, college-educated dandy who must prove himself to his working-class father, a hot-headed riverboat captain, while… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Making A Living" 1914 · Short · 8 min Charlie Chaplin's 1st Film Released Feb. 02 1914 Making a Living is the first film appearance of Charlie Chaplin, which premiered on February 2, 1914. Chaplin… Internet Archive The General (complete & clearer) (1926) 1926 · Feature · 1 h 18 min A great Buster Keaton silent movie. In 1862, after spies steal his locomotive, "The General", he wages a one-man battle to recover it. The copies previously… Internet Archive The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 · Feature · 1 h 40 min Early adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo starring Lon Chaney. You can find out more about this movie on its IMDB page . Internet Archive Chelovek s kinoapparatom (Man With A Movie Camera) 1929 · Feature · 1 h 8 min Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera is considered one of the most innovative and influential films of the silent era. Startlingly modern, this film… Internet Archive Nosferatu_DVD_quality 1922 · Feature NOTE: THIS FILM IS SEPARATED INTO FOUR FILES Nosferatu, up elsewhere on archive.org, this is the highest resolution version up so far, a direct DVD rip,… Internet Archive The Sin of Harold Diddlebock 1947 · Feature · 1 h 29 min This final film by silent screen star Harold Lloyd comes nine years after his previous feature. In this film, that reprises a character portrayed by Lloyd in… Internet Archive Arizona Days 1928 · Feature · 53 min Bob Custer, cowboy star of the 1920s and '30s, fights rustlers and saves the heroine from a Fate Worse Than Death in this typical B western from the last days… Internet Archive Mud and Sand 1922 · Short · 40 min 'Mud and Sand' is a satire on the Rudolph Valentino Classic Blood and Sand .. Stan Laurel plays the Bullfighter (Rubharb Vaseline) who wants to make it to the… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Immigrant" 1917 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 61st Film Released June 17 1917. The Immigrant (also called Broke) starring the Charlie Chaplin Tramp character as an immigrant coming to… Internet Archive Buster Keaton's "Cops" (1922) 1922 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "A Fair Exchange" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 34th Film Released Dec. 05 1914. This Film was released as Getting Acquainted. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004011/ Charlie Chaplin In The… Internet Archive A Romance of the Redwoods 1917 · Feature A young girl (Mary Pickford) travels west to live with her uncle during the California Gold Rush only to find that he has been killed by Indians and his… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Mabels Strange Predicament" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 3rd Film Released Feb. 09 1914 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004284/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive The Ace of Hearts 1921 · Feature · 1 h 14 min From IMDb : A secret society holds a meeting to determine what to do about a powerful and dangerous man whom they have been studying closely for the past… Internet Archive Steamboat Bill, Jr. 1928 · Feature · 1 h 9 min Steamboat Bill, Jr. is the story of a naive, college-educated dandy who must prove himself to his working-class father, a hot-headed riverboat captain, while… Internet Archive The Phantom of the Opera 1925 · Feature · 1 h 46 min A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer. - IMDB Description Internet Archive The Electric House 1922 · Short · 19 min The Electric House starts with Buster's graduation ceremony as the first of his comic misfortunes, including a mix-up of diplomas so Buster receives a diploma… Internet Archive The Sinking of the Lusitania 1918 · Short · 9 min The Sinking of the Lusitania, released in 1918, is an animated short film by American artist Winsor McCay. It features a short 12 minute explanation of the… Internet Archive One Week 1920 · Short · 22 min Buster and Sybil exit a chapel as newlyweds. Among the gifts is a portable house you easily put together in one week