I’ve been immersed in silent movies recently, partly as research for a book but also because I’m fascinated by both the history and the films of this period. Spending more time at home this year has enabled me to take a long, close look at movies made in 1920, exactly one hundred years ago.
It was a particularly fascinating year. The world had just emerged from WWI and a devastating pandemic. Both left a psychological mark especially on defeated Germany, where filmmakers responded with dark folk tales, horror, and expressionism. (And some comedy as well – thank you Ernst Lubitsch!)
In America the mood was lighter. 1920 saw the enactment of Prohibition outlawing the sale or use of alcohol, but despite this – perhaps because of it – Americans were in a party mood. The movie industry, having entered its rebellious teen years, was eager to set the pace. They would have ten more years to whoop it up before the Hays Code came in to regulate movie morals and ruin everyone’s fun.
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