Best Movies of 1917

A derelict, huddled under the steps of a missionary church, feels enlightened by the sermon of a passionate preacher and infatuated by the beauty of the congregation's pianist, in such a way that he tries to improve his life of poverty by becoming a policeman. His first assignment will be to patrol along Easy Street, the turf of a vicious bully and his criminal gang.

The daring convict no. 23, known as The Eel, escapes from prison and, after mocking his inept persecutors, saves the lives of three people in peril: a beautiful girl, her mother and an annoying suitor, only to get exhausted and almost drowned. Once he regains his strength at Judge Brown's home, he participates on an upper-class social party where he competes with the suitor for the favors of the charming Miss Brown. But prison guards are still after him…

An alcoholic checks into a health spa and his antics promptly throw the establishment into chaos.

Gwen's family is rich, but her parents ignore her and most of the servants push her around, so she is lonely and unhappy. Her father is concerned only with making money, and her mother cares only about her social position. But one day a servant's irresponsibility creates a crisis that causes everyone to rethink what is important to them.

Customers and clerks frolic in a general store. Roscoe walks out of the freezer wearing a fur coat, then does some clever cleaver tossing. In Buster's film debut he buys a pail of molasses.

At the crook of a road leading to Success is the little hamlet of Sleepy Hollow; One day, the regular road is closed for repairs, and the detour forces traffic to pass through Sleepy Hollow on the way to Success. Passing through the town is Avarice and his beautiful bride Innocence who bestir the envy of the village blacksmith, Ambition. Following them along the road to Success, the smithy encounters a wishing tree which enables him to switch bodies with Avarice.

Arbuckle escapes the watch of his domineering wife and heads for Coney Island. Keaton arrives that same day with his attractive, and rather easy, girlfriend, who is immediately stolen from him by St. John.

Donald MacTavish, the last chieftain of his clan on an island off the coast of Scotland, dies at sea. This leaves his only daughter, Marget, to assume the responsibilities of leadership. Marget's burden is partially eased by her blossoming romance with Jamie Campbell. But there is a secret from Jamie's past that neither of them know about.

When circus aerialist Polly Fisher is injured, she is taken to the nearby home of minister John Hartley. The two fall in love and marry secretly. But when the news leaks out, the minister loses his pastorate over disdain by the parishioners for Polly's background as a performer. Polly must decide whether to stay with the man she loves or leave him for the good of his calling.

A newswoman meets a man who has bet his colleagues he can make her beautiful.

Al and Roscoe, employees at a gas station, are rivals for Alice. When Buster delivers a wedding gown for Alice and begins modeling it, he is mistaken for Alice and is kidnapped by Al.

Mischievous schoolboy Bobby disobeys his teacher and swings on a dangerous giant school bell.

Official film of the British Army’s autumn campaign on the Somme, which ran from 15th September to 18th November 1916.

In Scotland in 1751, young David Balfour is shanghaied aboard a ship where he meets Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart with whom he escapes to the Scottish Highlands, dodging the redcoats.

Living under the same roof with his newly-wed wife and his mother-in-law, a careless Mr Rough sets the nuptial bedroom on fire, as the residence's cook tries to woo the maid who only has eyes for the charming delivery boy. As one thing leads to another, Mr Rough ends up preparing dinner for a pair of duplicitous guests, when, clearly, he should be staying out of the kitchen. Does Mrs Rough know the visitors' true intentions? But, above all, how will this disastrous dinner party at the Rough house end?

In order to claim his inheritance, our hero must first produce a wife and family.

For a long time the homunculus had to hide from his pursuers. But now he mingles with humanity again and sows discord, strife and murder. One day, when he meets an orphaned girl, he takes her to the shepherd Rudolf's parents. His goal is to pair the two together in order to breed a new human race from them. To this end, he kidnaps her to a deserted island. But the plan fails because Rudolf tries to kill the homunculus after learning his true identity. In revenge, the homunculus destroys the entire island, including the young couple. His hitherto loyal companion Edgar Rodin is so horrified by this deed that he renounces the homunculus and threatens him with death.

Claire Curtis, Jimmie Strong and Mary have spent their childhood together in the country. Upon reaching adulthood, Claire goes to New York and becomes a success on stage. Jimmie, who has always dreamed of becoming an inventor, goes to New York to sell the machine he invented, and there he renews his acquaintance with Claire. Soon their old friendship ripens into love. Meanwhile, back in the country, Ralph and David Harding, who are making Jimmie's machine, plan to steal the right to it. Back in New York, Mary appears and informs Claire that she loves Jimmie, and the actress resolves to give her a chance to win him. When it appears that the Hardings' scheme to steal Jimmie's machine will succeed, however, Mary's ardor turns cold. Claire and Jimmie then rush back to the country in time to avert the takeover and save his firm from bankruptcy.

June a young orphan is befriended by Perry Boscam when he shares his lunch with her on the road to Rising Sun to take over his father's saw mill. The soon fall in love and marry only to find out that a women in Perry's past has come to town to make trouble. Teaming up with the local political bully they set out to make Perry's life miserable.. but June sticks by her husband to the end.

The picture shows Jeanette (Thelda Bara) becoming the mistress of the ambitious Jean DuBarry (Herschel Mayall) who marries her off to one of his cousins so that she has an entree to the court. She soon becomes the favorite of the King (Charles Clary) and Jean DuBarry becomes a regular around the Court too. But all this is disturbed when Madame DuBarry falls for Conte Brissac of the King's Guard (Fred Church). DuBarry's attempts to expose her affair only get him banished from the court.

An artist receives the visit of Grogg, an animated captain, to draw his portrait

Gloria Dawn lives down the hall from her sweetheart, Bobbie Knight. The dishonest Henry Black is Gloria's guardian, and he is also in charge of Bobbie's inheritance. The scheming guardian and his sister have been spending Bobbie's money, and they hope to have the sister marry Bobbie so that they can keep control over his money.

The lead Florence La Badie plays dual roles. Clever editing is used for the scene where her two characters meet. La Badie, however, does appear twice within a scene via superimposition, but that's in a flashback-within-a-mirror scene. There are a couple such scenes where La Badie's reflection in the mirror reflects her reflective melancholy mood.

A rich Easterner who has always wanted to live in "the Wild West" plans to move to a Western town. Unknown to him, the town's "wild" days are long gone and it is an orderly and civilized place now. The townsmen, not wanting to lose a rich potential resident, contrive to make over the town to suit the young man's fantasy.

A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to her ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.

A young man grows restless living in a small Kansas town, dreaming of the adventures of the Three Musketeers. So in hopes of becoming a modern D'Artagnan, he mounts his steed (a Model T Ford) and sets out across the West in search of excitement and adventure.

Spies from Japan conspire to steal the Channing "preparedness" fortune and invade the United States, beginning in New York, then allying themselves with Mexicans across the border. They are stopped by the efforts of munitions factory heiress Patria Channing and U.S. Secret Service agent Donald Parr.

A young girl travels west to live with her uncle during the California Gold Rush only to find that he has been killed by Indians and his identity assumed by an outlaw.

Originally written for Pearl White, this silent serial is a great action-packed adventure starring Molly King and Leon Bary. This serial had fifteen chapters, each one two reels in length. The chapters were: 1. The Lady in Number '7' 2. The Masked Stranger 3. An Hour to Live 4. Kidnapped 5. The Life Current 6. The Dead Come Back 7. Into Thin Air 8. The Stranger Disposes 9. When Jail Birds Fly 10. The Hole-in-the-Wall 11. Love's Sacrifice 12. Riddle of the Double Cross 13. The Face of the Stranger 14. The Hidden Brand 15. Mystery of the Double Cross.

A healthy outdoors-type follows the girl he loves to a resort for wealthy hypochondriacs. In order to prove to her and the other patients that their "illnesses" are all in their minds, he hatches a scheme to take them on a boat ride, then get them stranded in the wilderness, where he can show them that they can live without their pills, doctors and "cures".

Cortez sends Alvarado to Montezuma who throws him into a dungeon from which he is rescued by Tecza who loves him. He is recaptured when her lover Guatemoco finds Alvarado hiding in her chambers. Tecza next leads Cortez into the city, thus causing the destruction of her nation and securing the love of Alvarado.

AJ Raffles, a handsome jewel thief masquerades as a gentleman of society fitting in with well-to-do people. He dons a mask and waits for an opportune moment to steal belongings, usually some jewelry and to take advantage of unsuspecting women whether at an estate or aboard a passenger ship. Raffles knows secret passageways to aid his escape from capture such as disappearing into a large grandfather clock that is really a secret doorway. He even eludes capture by jumping off a ship and swimming to shore while women passengers fire pistols at him.

Cattleman Flint cuts off farmer Sims' water supply. When Sims' son Ted goes for water, one of Flint's men kills him. Cheyenne is sent to finish off Sims, but finding the family at the newly dug grave, he changes sides.

The story of Cleopatra, the fabulous queen of Egypt, and the epic romances between her and the greatest men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Antony.

A button factory worker has always dreamed that he was meant for better things, to be rich and famous and in "the company of kings". One day he discovers that he is indeed the only heir to the throne of a small European kingdom. However, there are forces at work who don't want him to survive to take the throne.

William S. Hart was the great solitary Western hero of silent film who rode his horse off to new adventures once his job was done. In WOLF LOWRY, he meets a young settler played by Margery Wilson, herself a director in the early 1920s whose films are all considered lost.

Based on the Happy Hooligan comic strip, by Frederick Burr Opper. Happy speaks with someone in the park and takes a trip to the moon on a rocket that looks like the front half of a current racing car, where he is made king of the moon. A ballerina does a shimmy and Our Hero winds up back in the park being accosted by a cop. The inference is that he has fallen asleep and dreamed the entire trip.

Behind in the mortgage on Sunnybrook Farm and barely managing to feed seven hungry mouths, mother sends young Rebecca off to Riverboro to be raised by her wealthy Aunt Miranda. The little girl is treated like a prisoner by her strict Aunt, yet she gamely does her best to get an education. When spoiled girls at school mock the spirited Rebecca as "missy poor-house," she soon makes them come to eat their words. Despite many difficulties, Rebecca manages to help the less fortunate and spread joy in Riverboro, dreaming that her reward will come when she is "all growed up." This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion.

In the film, Cunard plays a jewel thief pursuing the same wealthy marks as another thief, played by Francis Ford.

Kapten Grogg and his helper encounter a polar bear while on a trip to the North Pole. It chases them, they feed it alcohol so that it gets drunk, then they all dance.

Snitch steals Ginger's (stolen) baseball tickets and takes Ginger's girl to the game. Finding himself without tickets, Ginger dresses as a baseball player and wins the game. A possible debut of the "Glasses" or "Boy" character.

Roscoe is a doctor who falls in love with a pretty woman whose boyfriend, in turn, falls in love with Roscoe's wife's jewelry.

In the office of Major Northfield, the quartermaster of the Pacific Coast, a leak has been discovered which may endanger the safety of American transports that are secretly carrying troops across the Pacific. Nara-Nara, a Japanese detective, is assigned to the case because his country has guaranteed safety to these transport ships. Nara-Nara believes that Northfield is guilty, although in reality it is Northfield's secretary Kitty Little, a girl of German ancestry, who is passing information to Dr. Ebell Smith, a German agent. Nara-Nara falls in love with Kitty, but soon after discovers that she is the leak in the quartermaster's office.

A Dolly short.

A restless young girl yearns to leave her rural environment and "get away from it all". One day she stumbles upon a film crew shooting a western near her home. She makes friends with the film's leading man, who encourages her to try her luck as an actress. So she leaves her small town and goes to the big city to break into the picture business. However, things don't turn out quite the way she planned.

Set in prehistoric times, this short film was created for the Edison Company by Willis H. O'Brien, a pioneer of American stop-motion animation.

On a ranch in Wyoming, one of the cowboys, Cheyenne Harry (Harry Carey), falls in love with his boss's daughter. But she decides to elope to the city with Captain Thornton, a wealthy visitor to the ranch. She quickly discovers that life in the city is not what she expected. Cheyenne, devastated by the loss of his fiancée, decides to go to the city to find her, and in the end rescues her from the grips of Captain Thornton and from the extravagant and decadent way of life in the city.

Roscoe flirts with a girl in the park. Later he takes his wife and mother-in-law to the movies only to see his flirtation showing on the screen.

Jean Valjean, a good and decent man who has committed a minor crime, is imprisoned but escapes. He is pursued thereafter for years by Javert, the cruel and implacable arm of the law.