"A Tale of Two Cities", Frank Lloyd (1917)

Charles Dickens no primeiro filme de monta de Frank Lloyd.

An actor in British theater while still a teenager, Scottish-born Frank Lloyd came to Canada in 1910 then the U.S. in 1913, and after acting in films he turned to writing and directing. By the late teens he was helming a series of notable films starring William Farnum, ranging from historic adaptations (a seven-reel version of A Tale Of Two Cities [1917] and a ten-reel Les Miserables [1918]) to Zane Grey westerns (Riders of the Purple Sage [1918], The Rainbow Trail [1918]). Lloyd's notable films of the '20s include Oliver Twist (1922) with Lon Chaney as Fagin, the Milton Sills swashbuckler The Sea Hawk (1924), and his Academy Award-winning historical drama The Divine Lady (1929). A prolific and reliable craftsman, Lloyd's enduring popularity resides on his 1930s films: Cavalcade (1933), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and the Preston Sturges-scripted If I Were King (1938). His '40s films — an episode of Forever and a Day (1943), the James Cagney actioner Blood on the Sun (1945) — are also admired. Lloyd also produced several films in the early '40s, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942).

"The Butcher Boy", Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle (1917)

O primeiro filme de Buster Keaton. Aqui, e até 1920, na companhia de 'Fatty' Arbuckle: "The Rough House" (1917), "His Wedding Night" (1917), "Oh Doctor" (1917), "Coney Island" (1917), "Out West" (1918), "The Bell Boy" (1918), "Moonshine" (1918), "Good Night Nurse" (1918), "The Cook" (1918), "Back Stage" (1919), "The Hayseed" (1919) e "The Garage" (1920).

"Terje Vigen", Victor Sjöström (1917)

A interpretação do poema de Ibsen, "Terje Vigen", pelo cineasta-actor sueco Victor Sjöström.

"Hilde Warren und der Tod" (Hilde Warren and Death), Joe May (1917)

"Hilde Warren und der Tod" trata-se de um filme realizado pelo realizador austro-húngaro Joe May e escrito pelo igualmente austro-húngaro e grande cineasta Fritz Lang.

A colaboração entre estes dois austro-húngaros foi bastante complicada e tormentosa, durante estes primeiros anos quando Fritz Lang trabalhou às ordens de May como argumentista; Lang alegava que o seu trabalhado não tinha o suficiente reconhecimento, extremando-se posições quando escreveu "Das Indische Grabmal" (1921), que seria supostamente para ser realizado por Lang e que May não deixou (Lang acabaria por fazer um remake no final da sua vasta carreira).

"Hilde Warren Und Der Tod" conta-nos uma história teutónica na qual a Morte faz visitas periódicas a Hilde Warren, uma famosa actriz, convidando-a a acompanhá-la na última e definitiva viagem; contudo, Hilde gosta das boas coisas que a vida oferece e vai rechaçando os intentos da Morte. Mas a Morte é persistente ...

O filme é interpretado por Mia May, que faz o que pode (mas infelizmente, não é muito) por dar vida à personagem atormentada de Hilde, e Fritz Lang como Morte.

Há claras similitudes entre esta história escrita por Lang e o seu posterior filme "Der Müde Tod2 (1921), um filme que partilha com "Hilde Warren Und der Tod" o tema da impossibilidade das suas personagens evitarem o seu cruel destino.

John Barrymore: "The Great Profile"

John Barrymore, the stage and screen legend, nicknamed "The Great Profile" was a gifted actor, whose dramatic roles often mirrored his own tragic and troubled life. Born John Sidney Blyth into an acting family (parents were stage actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew; his brother was Lionel Barrymore and his sister Ethel Barrymore), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14th, 1882, John at first tried an art career in cartooning, before turning to acting permanently as his life's work. John Barrymore became a leading Shakespearean actor, the Broadway idol of his time. He started in silent films in 1912, several years after his older brother Lionel.

He made swashbucklers, dramas, straight comedies, and romantic comedies. Silent films of particular success for John Barrymore were "Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman" (1917), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1920), "Sherlock Holmes" (1922), "Beau Brummel" (1924), "Don Juan" (1926), and "The Beloved Rogue" (1927). John was paid huge salaries at the time, the fame and money no doubt going to his head, and contributing to his declining health from alcoholism. He was as flamboyant off screen as well as on, marrying four times, including a marriage to popular silent screen actress and beauty Dolores Costello. He had two children, a son John Drew, and a daughter, Diana.

In his sound film years John appeared in roles which caricatured his flamboyant personal life and dissolution, including the famous early talkies "Grand Hotel", "Twentieth Century", "Dinner at Eight", and "A Bill Of Divorcement". John died of pneumonia and cirrhosis of the liver on May 29th, 1942.

His daughter Diana wrote an autobiography, in part about her relationship with her famous father, titled "Too Much Too Soon", published in 1958, and actor Errol Flynn (himself notorious for a fast lifestyle) played John Barrymore in a film version based on that book.

"Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman", George Irving (1917)

O lendário John Barrymore como ladrão da alta-sociedade num filme à medida do seu percurso como galã do Mudo.

"La Guerra e il sogno di Momi", Giovanni Pastrone e Segundo de Chomón (1917)

Um filme em duas partes: a Guerra com actores verdadeiros e o Sonho com marionetas em cinema de animação pelo cineasta espanhol Segundo de Chomón.