Public Domain Movies

Kansas City Confidential is an excellent film noir that begins with a very unusual bank robbery. First, a masked man, calling himself Mr. Big, recruits three criminals. None of the three know each other, their names, or even what thy look like. They all wear masks when interacting with each other, as well as during the robbery. That way, they can’t rat any of the gang out. After the robbery, he gives each of them a torn playing card of a king. This is to serve as an identifier, for when it’s time to divvy up the money — weeks later. In the meantime, they’re to hide out in foreign countries … https://family-friendly-movies.com/film-noir/kansas-city-confidential/

In Speak Easily, thanks to his butler, a professor thinks he has inherited a fortune and lives it up. He invests in a failing show, and accidentally becomes the star attraction! https://famousclowns.org/buster-keaton/buster-keaton-movies/speak-easily/

In Dough and Dynamite, Charlie Chaplin and Chester Conklin play waiters at a cafe/bakery. But they’re forced by their ill-tempered employer to man the ovens when the bakers go on strike. And then, to make things worse, the striking bakers decide to sabotage the bakery … with a stick of dynamite! https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/dough-and-dynamite-charlie-chaplin/

In The Freshman, Harold Lloyd plays the role of Harold (Speedy) Lamb, a starry-eyed college freshman, who’s been dreaming of becoming a “big man on campus”, imitating his college football player idol all the way down to imitating a (silly) jig that he does before shaking someone’s hand. Once he’s at college, his over-eagerness makes him an object of ridicule by many, but his determination compensates. For example, Harold Lloyd thinks he’s made the college football team, when at first the coach is simply using him as a tackling dummy (a very funny scene), and later as the water boy … https://famousclowns.org/movies/freshman-starring-harold-lloyd/

In The Cure, Charlie Chaplin is an inebriate. He goes to a sanitarium for “the cure” to stop his drinking. Although he’s brought a trunk full of booze! And soon he’s got everyone drunk! https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/the-cure/

The Floorwalker was Charlie Chaplin‘s first Mutual Film Corporation film, made in 1916. The film stars Charlie Chaplin as the Little Tramp, as a customer who creates chaos in a department store. He inadvertently becomes entangled in the scheme of the store manager, played by Eric Campbell. Along with the store’s floorwalker, played by Lloyd Bacon, they scheme to embezzle money from the store. Edna Purviance plays a minor role as a secretary to store manager. https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/the-floorwalker/

The Woman in Green is a very enjoyable Sherlock Holmes murder mystery. There are serial murders, with the corpse having been mutiliated. Who’s behind it? Why? https://family-friendly-movies.com/murder-mystery/sherlock-holmes-the-woman-in-green-in-color/

In The Screaming Skull, after his first wife dies, Eric remarries Jenni. The two move to his family estate. There Jenni learns from the gardener that he believes the ghost of Marion, the first wife, still wanders the land. Disturbingly, she begins to hear screaming and sees skulls everywhere she goes. Jenni believes she may be going insane and contemplates committing herself. https://family-friendly-movies.com/horror-movies/the-screaming-skull/

The Ape is an unusual horror film. It has a kindly doctor (Boris Karloff), who’s working on a cure for polio. So, that’s good, although his cure requires human spinal fluid. He has a strong affection for Frances Clifford, suffering from polio. The audience never finds out why, but that’s okay. Then, a circus gorilla escapes. A rather vicious gorilla, that’s terrorizes the townspeople. And it breaks into the doctor’s home! https://family-friendly-movies.com/horror-movies/the-ape/

Horror Express is a very good horror film, putting the talents of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Telly Savalas all to good use. It’s been described as Murder on the Orient Express meets The Thing from Another World — and that’s about right.The basic premise has Professor Saxton (Christopher Lee) traveling by train from Old Russia with a fossil discovery that he believes is the “missing link” — on the same train is Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing) … but it appears that the 2 million-year-old fossil is alive, committing murders, and … stealing brains. And jumping from body to body with each murder, making every surviving passenger on the train a possible suspect. And a near-psychotic cossack (Telly Savalas) willing to kill suspects first, and prove guilt later. https://family-friendly-movies.com/horror-movies/horror-express/

The Vampire Bat (1933) starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Dwight Frye, Robert Frazer In The Vampire Bat, people are dying in the small German town of Kleinschloss. They are found dead in bed and drained of blood. So, Burgermeister Gustave Schoen (Lionel Belmore) and Dr Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill ) think that vampires are at large. But Detective Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas) thinks otherwise. Suspicion falls on village idiot Herman Gleib (Dwight Frye), known for befriending bats. When the townsfolk attempt to capture him, Herman panics and falls off into a deep well. He is killed, and the townspeople finish the job by driving a stake through his heart. Still, the vampire attacks don’t stop. https://family-friendly-movies.com/horror-movies/the-vampire-bat/

Roger Corman's "The Wasp Woman" - The Wasp Woman. A cosmetics queen develops a youth formula from jelly taken from queen wasps. She suffers from unwanted side effects when exceeding the dosage. It’s actually an interesting story, dealing with how society treats — and discards — people as they age. It’s a story about ageism, wrapped in a science fiction/horror story. https://family-friendly-movies.com/horror-movies/the-wasp-woman/

The Knockout - a 1914 Keystone silent comedy starring Fatty Arbuckle in a boxing comedy, with Charlie Chaplin in a supporting role as the referee https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/the-knockout/

HE Who Gets Slapped (1924) starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert - a truly great silent film, HE Who Gets Slapped is a sad, bittersweet story of love, betrayal, revenge. And the circus. https://family-friendly-movies.com/drama/he-who-gets-slapped-lon-chaney-sr/

The Adventurer - Charlie Chaplin's an escaped convict, who rescues Edna Purviance, but boyfriend Eric Campbell's determined to have the police take him away!

Rosalind Russell is a rough and tumble reporter, looking to get out of the news racket by marrying and becoming a housewife after her divorce from newspaper publisher Cary Grant. Just when she is about to leave town with her husband-to-be, the still lovesick Grant drafts her to cover one final breaking story …

Seven Chances (1925) starring Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer - a hilarious silent movie comedy, where poor Buster must marry by 7:00 pm to inherit a fortune - and the girl he loves turns him down! But he still has seven chances … https://famousclowns.org/buster-keaton/buster-keaton-movies/seven-chances-buster-keaton/

Behind the Screen(2 reels) (1916) An early satire on the film industry. Charlie is an overworked stagehand, abused by Eric Campbell. He falls in love with Edna Purviance who has disguised herself as a man in order to get a job. The other workers eventually revolt, and destroy the movie studio. https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/behind-the-screen/

Triple Trouble (2 reels) (1918) (aka. Charlie's Triple Trouble Charlie the Tramp is an inept janitor working for eccentric inventor Colonel Nutt. Until crooks try to steal the Colonel's latest invention, and it's the fired Charlie to the rescue!

A Night Out (2 reels) (1915) (aka. Charlie’s Night Out, Charlie’s Drunken Daze) First, Charlie the Little Tramp gets drunk with Ben Turpin. Then he’s thrown out of a fancy restaurant by the head waiter (Bud Jamison). Back at his hotel gets in trouble for bothering the man’s wife …

Buster Keaton's "The Scarecrow" (1920) - Farmhands Buster Keaton and Joe Roberts share a cottage full of mechanical devices for making life easy. They're also rivals for the farmer's daughter, Sybil Seely. Buster , disguised as a scarecrow, causes troubles for his rival and the farmer.

Do Detectives Think? (1927) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson - a funny, early Laurel and Hardy comedy, where they need to protect James Finlayson from the Tipton Slasher -- poor Finn! https://famousclowns.org/laurel-and-hardy/movie-reviews-laurel-and-hardy/do-detectives-think/

In Charlie Chaplin's The Fireman, Charlie the little tramp is an incompetent firefighter, fighting his corrupt boss Eric Campbell and rescuing Edna Purviance

The Balloonatic - Buster Keaton accidentally goes on a flight in a hot air balloon, encounters a young outdoorswoman & proceeds to have a series of adventures

In His Prehistoric Past, Charlie the Little Tramp falls asleep on a park bench, and dreams that he's a caveman. https://famousclowns.org/charlie-chaplin/short-films/his-prehistoric-past/