Character Studies

The Housing Shortage(de)

The plot of the lost film is divided into two acts. Ossi Oswalda and Victor Janson play two apartment seekers, while Marga Köhler is a landlady. The housing shortage is treated in sketch form and "in a joking manner [...] the real housing calamity", whereby "humorous aspects" are wrested from the "tragedy." Lubitsch and Kräly used a sketch in the film that they had written especially for Ossi Oswalda.

A Fool and His Money(en)

Sam the white-washer pines for the affluent Lindy, but she has dumped him in favor of another. Sam finds a large sum of money, and goes to New York to enjoy a shopping spree, buying new clothes, jewelry and a car with a driver. Back home, Lindy flips for Sam and his newfound wealth, and dumps the rival. Sam throws an engagement party where he indulges in a friendly game of cards with his former rival and another man, who unbeknownst to Sam, is a card shark.

Tropic Thunder(en)

A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.

Passing Through(en)

Passing Through is a 1921 American silent comedy drama film, directed by William A. Seiter and written by Agnes Christine Johnston, and Joseph F. Poland.

The Outside Woman(en)

Thinking it is a worthless trinket, Dorothy trades her husband’s prized Aztec idol to a street peddler in exchange for a beautiful silk shawl. She soon discovers the idol is actually an extremely valuable artifact. Desperate to retrieve it before her husband notices, she learns that it has already been purchased by their neighbor, an artist named Cambridge. Dorothy enters Cambridge’s apartment to recover the idol secretly. Her efforts lead to a series of comedic misunderstandings and frantic situations as she tries to protect her marriage and her husband's property.

The Pirates(en)

Comic hijinks on a pirate ship with British comedian Lupino Lane.

Hey, Taxi!(xx)

Tramp Strategy(en)

A woman plans to dress her fiancé as a heroic tramp in order to impress her father, but a real tramp intervenes in his place.

When Spirits Move(en)

Silent Hank Mann comedy set in a haunted house.

Sugar and Cinnamon(de)

A resourceful landlady rents the same room to two men: the commercial clerk Zimt, who is at work during the day, and the conductor of a café orchestra Zucker, who has to work all night. After all kinds of turbulence, the trick comes to light and the two bitter enemies Zucker and Zimt eventually become good friends.

Prinz Sami(de)

Prince Sami comes from Nigeria and is an uncivilized "nature boy." He is sent to the highly civilized court of Duchess Maria of Arragon, where he initially causes chaos. In the end, however, he becomes the duchess's husband.

The Impossible Voyage(xx)

Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.

Modern Times(en)

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..

My Wife, the Movie Star(de)

While making a movie in the Alps, the female star falls in love with a nobleman.

Midnight Madness(en)

In Midnight Madness millionaire diamond miner Michael Bream (Clive Brook) discovers that the woman he’s marrying — funfair shooting-gallery hostess Norma Forbes — is a gold digger. So Bream decides to teach her a lesson, and forces her to live with him in the remote African outback where, eventually, she realizes her true affections.

L'Âge d'or(fr)

The film consists of a series of tightly interlinked vignettes, the most sustained of which details the story of a man and a woman who are passionately in love. Their attempts to consummate their passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, by the Church and bourgeois society in general.

Lavenza(en)

When Lavenza, a 19th-century noblewoman, overhears her husband complaining about her looks, she turns herself into his ideal wife by thrifting the body parts from all the women he desires.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid(en)

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

Be Honest(en)

One monkey is stealing eggs from the farmyard. Another monkey, with his dog friend, tries to stop the crook.

The Devil in Sofia(bg)

The devil is bored in his kingdom. He makes up his mind to descend to earth and get familiar with the kind of life people lead. He chooses the city of Sofia for his excursion. His first contacts are by no means encouraging. Strolling along the streets in the capital in his outlandish Mephistophelean costume, he is chased and stoned. Then the devil puts into operation his tiny machine for printing money. Dressed in the latest fashion he continues his walk unmolested. Money opens the doors of the richest homes for him and he soon becomes a member of the capital city's high life. The devil chooses a prostitute as his partner, who introduces him to her family. The father is a thief and a drunkard so that the mother is forced to be the bread-winner. Satan and the prostitute find themselves in the whirl of easy life.

Silent Movie(en)

Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.

Bowfinger(en)

On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue, a has-been diva and a film studio gofer, he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.

Back Stage(en)

Roscoe and Buster give a bullying Strongman the what-for, but after the performance troupe quits it's up to Fatty and Buster to keep the show going.

Bombshell(en)

A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.

Singin' in the Rain(en)

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.

Rock-a-Bye Baby(en)

An average television repairman must care for the newborn triplets of his former hometown sweetheart—now a famous movie star—so her career will not suffer.

Hail, Caesar!(en)

When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.

Show People(en)

Hollywood hopeful Peggy Pepper arrives at a major studio, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things don't go entirely according to plan.

S.O.B.(en)

A movie producer who made a huge flop tries to salvage his career by revamping his film as an erotic production, where its family-friendly star takes her top off.

You're Never Too Young(en)

When an aspiring barber becomes inadvertently involved in the theft of a valuable diamond, necessity forces him to masquerade as a 12 year-old child - with humorous consequences.

Out West(en)

The story involves Arbuckle coming to the western town of Mad Dog Gulch after being thrown off a train and chased by Indians. He teams up with gambler/saloon owner Bill Bullhum, in trying to keep the evil Wild Bill Hickup away from Salvation Army girl, Salvation Sue. Fatty and Buster have a series of adventures trying to beat St. John, until they discover his one weakness: his ticklishness.

Big Business(en)

Stan and Ollie play door-to-door Christmas tree salesmen in California. They end up getting into an escalating feud with grumpy would-be customer James Finlayson, with his home and their car being destroyed in the melee.

Why Worry?(en)

A hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a revolution instead.

The Purple Rose of Cairo(en)

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.

The Garage(en)

Roscoe and Buster operate a combination garage and fire station. In the first half they destroy a car left for them to clean. In the second half they go off on a false alarm and return to find their own building on fire.

Dough and Dynamite(en)

Pierre and Jacques are working as waiters at a restaurant where the cooks go on strike. When the two are forced to work as bakers, the striking cooks put dynamite in the dough, with explosive results.

Rookie of the Year(en)

12-year-old Henry Rowengartner, whose late father was a minor league baseball player, grew up dreaming of playing baseball, despite his physical shortcomings. After Henry's arm is broken while trying to catch a baseball at school, the tendon in that arm heals too tightly, allowing Henry to throw pitches that are as fast as 103 mph. Henry is spotted at nearby Wrigley Field by Larry "Fish" Fisher, the general manager of the struggling Chicago Cubs, after Henry throws an opponent's home-run ball all the way from the outfield bleachers back to the catcher, and it seems that Henry may be the pitcher that team owner Bob Carson has been praying for.

Mabel's Married Life(en)

Mabel goes home after being humiliated by a masher whom her husband won't fight. The husband goes off to a bar and gets drunk.

The Great Buster: A Celebration(en)

A celebration of the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians—Buster Keaton—whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary.

Scooby Goes Hollywood(en)

Shaggy and Scooby-Doo quit their Saturday morning TV series in pursuit of Hollywood stardom.