The Migration Act

Freckles

1928

Freckles, an orphan with disabilities, gets a job at McLean's lumber camp as a guard in Limberlost forest. Although the forest is infested with desperate characters, Freckles shows courage and determination. A beautiful girl whom he calls the "Swamp Angel" and the "Bird Woman" assist him in driving off timber thief Wessner and his gang. Later, Freckles refuses a bribe Wessner offers if he will permit Wessner to steal some trees. Instead, Freckles gives Wessner a beating, and his loyalty to McLean earns him a cash reward. Freckles falls in love with the Swamp Angel, but the social differences between him and the girl prevent him from declaring himself. He makes no attempt to recover when a large tree falls and seriously injures him. His recuperation is hastened, however, when the girl expresses her love for him.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

1927

A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl

1919

The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.

City Lights

1931

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

1928

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Three Week Ends

1928

A sexy young nightclub singer sets her sights on a young man she believes to be a millionaire playboy, although he is in reality only an insurance agent.

The Buddenbrooks

1923

Four-generation story-saga dealing with the decline of a middle-class Lübeck family. The first adaptation of a Thomas Mann book was also Gerhard Lamprecht’s first major film.

Pandora's Box

1929

The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.

Tortured Souls

1917