Simple Question, Difficult Answer: Best Film of the 1920s

Okay, here it is.  The big enchilada.  Best film of the decade.  It's a choice I'm struggling with myself, so I'm dying to see what you all come up with.

Poll closes Saturday, September 15.  You can vote in the sidebar.

Here's the film list:

• Battleship Potemkin
• Destiny
• Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler
• Flesh and the Devil
• The General
• The Gold Rush
• Greed
• The Iron Horse
• The Jazz Singer
• The Kid
• The Last Laugh
• Metropolis
• Nosferatu
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Safety Last
• The Seven Chances
• Sherlock, Jr.
• Sunrise
• Tol'able David
• The Unknown
• Other- Write your answer in the comments!

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Simple Question, Difficult Answer: Best Actresses of the 1920s

Okay, I'll just say it: I found most of the female performances I saw in the 1920s underwhelming, especially compared to the women's dominance of the previous decade.  So, I'm breaking my previous rule (that I had to see them in more than one film) in order to pull together this list.

Of course, at least one of those single film performances may just be my favorite one of the 1920s... but, I've already said too much.  This is your poll to vote on, not mine.

Vote in the sidebar. Poll closes Monday, September 10.

• Vilma Banky (The Eagle)
• Clara Bow (It, Wings)
• Joan Crawford (The Unknown)
• Janet Gaynor (Sunrise)
• Dorothy Gish (Orphans of the Storm)
• Lillian Gish (Way Down East, The Wind)
• Brigitte Helm (Metropolis, The Love of Jeanne Ney)
• Mary Philbin (The Phantom of the Opera, The Man Who Laughs)
• Mary Pickford (Tess of Storm Country, Little Annie Rooney)
• Gloria Swanson (Beyond the Rocks, Sadie Thompson)
• Other

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Simple Question, NOT So Difficult Answer: Keaton

So our first poll closes with a landslide victory for Buster Keaton over Charlie Chaplin. 73% to 26%. That's a spanking.

A year ago, before I started watching the films, this would have been shocking. My perception as an outsider to the silent film world was that there was Chaplin first, then everyone else. Having watched a lot of films by both men, I can totally understand this poll result.And agree with it.

My only trepidation is that I still have the bulk of Chaplin's classics (Modern Times, City Lights, The Great Dictator) yet to come. I was hopeful that things might improve a lot but... recalibrating expectations, recalibrating expectations... okay, I'm good.

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Simple Question, Difficult Answer: Chaplin or Keaton?

Keaton and Chaplin together

Time for our first 100 Years of Movies poll.  And it's a doozy.  An obvious doozy, but still a doozy.

Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton?

The Tramp or The Great Stone Face?

The Kid or The General?

Obviously, I still have a way to go before I can reach my own conclusion, but I have a preference today. 

So what do you think?  Poll is in the right sidebar.  Feel free to show your work below.

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