DRAMA FILMS OF THE 1920s
silent films silent dramas CAFÉ ELEKTRIC DADDY LONG LEGS DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS FLESH AND THE DEVIL MADAME X
The 1920s was a decade of change. It was the era of the eighteenth and nineteenth Amendments being passed. The former was Prohibition - the forbidding the manufacture or sale of   “intoxicating liquors” -  the latter was allowing women the right to vote
The Timeless Theater
The 1920s was a decade of change. It was the era of the eighteenth and nineteenth Amendments being passed. The former was Prohibition - the forbidding the manufacture or sale of “intoxicating liquors” - the latter was allowing women the right to vote. For leisure, families gathered around the radio to listen to news, music and comedy shows.

When you weren't gathering around the radio, perhaps you were taking in a movie at one of several "Picture Palaces" - these lavish theaters often had a full orchestral accompaniment complementing the silent films they were running. Devoid of synchronized dialog, these films relied on a pantomime of over-the-top body language and facial expressions to convey its storyline.

The 1920s produced a number a major film stars including: Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Ramon Novarro, Pola Negri, Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, among many others.

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Greta Garbo came to Hollywood in 1925 at the behest of Louis B. Mayer (MGM). The 3rd film she made at MGM that catapulted her to stardom was A Woman of Affairs (1928). One of 23 films featured on this site of her iconic portrayal of world-weary, strong-willed heroines.