Cinema in the 1920s - The Silent Era and the Birth of Talkies

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

The Big Swallow (c1901)

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Frankenstein (1910)




The Circus (1929)




Steamboat Willie (1928)




Metropolis (1927)




Nosferatu (1922)

One Week (1920)

The Silent Era

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

The Big Swallow (c1901)

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Frankenstein (1910)




Steamboat Willie (1928)

One Week (1920)

The Great Train Robbery

Well, here it is. The world's first western movie...

Here is some trivia about the film:

• The film uses simple editing techniques (each scene is a single shot) and the story is mostly linear (with only a few "meanwhile" moments) but it represents a significant step in movie making, being one of the first "narrative" movies. 
• The final shot of a gun being fired toward the camera had a profound effect on audiences. As cinema was in its infancy, many people who saw the film thought that they were actually about to be shot. 
• The film was originally distributed with a note saying that the famous shot of the bandit firing his gun at the camera could be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the film. All known prints put it at the end. 
• The original camera negative still exists in excellent condition. The Library of Congress, who holds it, can still make new prints.