Horror Movies of the 1920s
by kings_of_metal | created - 26 Aug 2012 | updated - 26 Aug 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover
Votes: 70,028
2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I) (1920)
Unrated | 69 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
Director: John S. Robertson | Stars: John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane
Votes: 6,043
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (II) (1920)
40 min | Short, Drama, Horror
Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
Director: J. Charles Haydon | Stars: Sheldon Lewis, Alex Shannon, Dora Mills Adams, Gladys Field
Votes: 189
4. Genuine: The Tragedy of a Vampire (1920)
88 min | Horror
Genuine is an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Fern Andra, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Ernst Gronau, Harald Paulsen
Votes: 1,129
5. The Golem (1920)
Unrated | 91 min | Fantasy, Horror
In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
Directors: Paul Wegener, Carl Boese | Stars: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Ernst Deutsch, Lyda Salmonova
Votes: 8,534
6. The Head of Janus (1920)
107 min | Horror
Two opposing characters are hidden in the person of the inconspicuous London gentleman.Dr.Warren and Janus
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Conrad Veidt, Magnus Stifter, Margarete Schlegel, Willy Kaiser-Heyl
Votes: 166
7. The Penalty (1920)
Passed | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of San Francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs.
Director: Wallace Worsley | Stars: Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, Lon Chaney
Votes: 2,633
8. Destiny (1921)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
When a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Bernhard Goetzke, Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Hans Sternberg
Votes: 6,689 | Gross: $0.01M
9. The Phantom Carriage (1921)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
On New Year's Eve, the driver of a ghostly carriage forces a drunken man to reflect on his selfish, wasted life.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg, Astrid Holm
Votes: 14,081
10. The Haunted Castle (1921)
Not Rated | 69 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the castle Vogeloed, a few aristocrats are awaiting baroness Safferstätt. But first count Oetsch invites himself.. Everyone thinks he murdered his brother, baroness Safferstat's first ... See full summary »
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Arnold Korff, Lulu Kyser-Korff, Lothar Mehnert, Paul Hartmann
Votes: 2,064
11. Anita (1920)
Horror
Depicts a society lady trapped under the spell of an unskilled hypnotist.
Directors: Jacob Fleck, Luise Fleck | Stars: Lola Urban-Kneidinger, Wilhelm Klitsch, Julius Strobl, Nora Herbert
12. A Blind Bargain (1922)
57 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In return for money and medical aid for his invalid mother, struggling author Robert Sandell agrees to subject himself to experiments by Dr. Lamb, who claims he is trying to extend the ... See full summary »
Director: Wallace Worsley | Stars: Lon Chaney, Raymond McKee, Virginia True Boardman, Fontaine La Rue
Votes: 72
13. The Ghost Breaker (1922)
57 min | Comedy, Horror
A young man and his manservant, escaping from a backwoods family feud, are persuaded by a beautiful young heiress to help her rid her newly-gained Spanish castle of ghosts. The ghostly ... See full summary »
Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, Walter Hiers, Arthur Edmund Carewe
Votes: 33
14. Häxan (1922)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary, Fantasy, Horror
Fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
Director: Benjamin Christensen | Stars: Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan
Votes: 16,712
15. The Headless Horseman (1922)
Not Rated | 75 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
The village of Sleepy Hollow is getting ready to greet the new schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, who is coming from New York City. Crane has already heard of the village's legendary ghost, a ... See full summary »
Director: Edward D. Venturini | Stars: Will Rogers, Lois Meredith, Ben Hendricks Jr., Charles E. Graham
Votes: 360
16. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,386
17. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)
Not Rated | 242 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede-Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel
Votes: 9,172
18. One Exciting Night (1922)
Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
A young orphan girl, courted by an unpleasant older wealthy man who has a hold over her adoptive mother, falls in love with a young stranger at a party. Odd noises begin to be heard as a ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Carol Dempster, Henry Hull, Porter Strong, Morgan Wallace
Votes: 187 | Gross: $0.41M
19. The Last Moment (1923)
60 min | Drama, Horror
Hercules Napoleon Cameron, who finds his adventure in books, is searching the waterfront with Alice Winthrop for a friend's father when they are shanghaied and taken aboard "The Finn's" ... See full summary »
Director: J. Parker Read Jr. | Stars: Henry Hull, Doris Kenyon, Louis Wolheim, Louis Calhern
Votes: 22
20. The Hands of Orlac (1924)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he doesn't know they once belonged to a murderer.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Strassny, Paul Askonas
Votes: 3,381
21. Waxworks (1924)
Not Rated | 107 min | Fantasy, Horror
A wax museum hires a writer to give the sculptures stories. The writer imagines himself and the museum owner's daughter in the stories.
Directors: Leo Birinsky, Paul Leni | Stars: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle
Votes: 2,308
22. Maciste in Hell (1925)
95 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
The devil takes Maciste down to hell in an attempt to corrupt and ruin his morality.
Director: Guido Brignone | Stars: Bartolomeo Pagano, Umberto Guarracino, Mario Saio, Franz Sala
Votes: 627
23. The Monster (1925)
Passed | 86 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
A meek clerk who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.
Director: Roland West | Stars: Lon Chaney, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley, Johnny Arthur
Votes: 1,363
24. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Passed | 93 min | Horror
A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
Directors: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Ernst Laemmle, Edward Sedgwick | Stars: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe
Votes: 20,093 | Gross: $3.75M
25. Wolfblood (1925)
Passed | 68 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
After wolf blood transfusion, man thinks he's becoming a wolf.
Directors: George Chesebro, Bruce Mitchell | Stars: George Chesebro, Roy Watson, Milburn Morante, Frank Clark
Votes: 358
26. The Bat (1926)
86 min | Mystery, Thriller
A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
Director: Roland West | Stars: George Beranger, Charles Herzinger, Emily Fitzroy, Louise Fazenda
Votes: 884
27. Faust (1926)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard
Votes: 16,615
28. The Magician (I) (1926)
Passed | 83 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A magician/alchemist, seeking to create life, finds that he needs the "blood of a virgin" to continue his experiments. He sends out his dwarf assistant to pick out the right girl.
Director: Rex Ingram | Stars: Alice Terry, Paul Wegener, Firmin Gémier, Iván Petrovich
Votes: 864
29. The Student of Prague (1926)
110 min | Drama, Horror
For Balduin, going out to beer parties with his fellow students and fighting out disputes at the tip of the sword have lost their charms. He wants to find love; but how would he, a ... See full summary »
Director: Henrik Galeen | Stars: Conrad Veidt, Elizza La Porta, Fritz Alberti, Ágnes Eszterházy
Votes: 767
30. The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Passed | 108 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.
Director: Paul Leni | Stars: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall
Votes: 3,331 | Gross: $0.33M
31. The Gorilla (1927)
80 min | Horror, Thriller
An ape is suspected of committing a series of murders.
Director: Alfred Santell | Stars: Charles Murray, Fred Kelsey, Walter Pidgeon, Brooks Benedict
Votes: 42
32. London After Midnight (1927)
Passed | 69 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The abandoned home of a wealthy man who supposedly committed suicide five years earlier is taken over by ghoulish figures - could they be vampires?
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, Henry B. Walthall, Percy Williams
Votes: 1,462 | Gross: $0.52M
33. Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Votes: 185,447 | Gross: $1.24M
34. The Unknown (1927)
Unrated | 68 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford, Nick De Ruiz
Votes: 9,149 | Gross: $0.41M
35. The Spider's Web (1927)
Crime, Horror
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Evelyn Preer, Lorenzo McClane, Edward Thompson, Henrietta Loveless
36. A Daughter of Destiny (1928)
108 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A scientist with an interest in genetics impregnates a sex worker with the seed of a hanged murderer. The sex worker gives birth to a child who has no concept of love, whom the scientist adopts.
Director: Henrik Galeen | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Paul Wegener, Iván Petrovich, Wolfgang Zilzer
Votes: 430
37. The Ape (1928)
50 min | Horror, Mystery
A supposedly tame ape suddenly goes on a rampage in a small town. Based on a true story.
Director: Beverly C. Rule | Stars: Gladys Walton, Ruth Stonehouse, Basil Wilson, Bradley Barker
Votes: 50
38. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Allan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.
Director: Jean Epstein | Stars: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy, Fournez-Goffard
Votes: 4,500
39. The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Unrated | 13 min | Short, Horror
An avant-garde take on Poe's classic story of a traveller taking shelter at a household under a mysterious curse.
Directors: James Sibley Watson, Melville Webber | Stars: Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson, Melville Webber, Friedrich Haak
Votes: 1,432
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