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    Home/Browse/1920s Movies/1920s Thriller Movies

    1920s Thriller Movies

    The 40 most popular 1920s thriller movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.

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    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
    TMDB4.0

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    1920 · 1h 17m

    country: Germany

    Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.

    Un Chien Andalou
    TMDB3.7

    Un Chien Andalou

    1929 · 17m

    country: France

    Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.

    Safety Last!
    TMDB3.9

    Safety Last!

    1923 · 1h 13m

    country: United States

    When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.

    Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
    TMDB3.8

    Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

    1922 · 4h 31m

    country: Germany

    Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

    The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
    TMDB3.6

    The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

    1927 · 1h 31m

    country: United Kingdom

    London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.

    Our Hospitality
    TMDB3.8

    Our Hospitality

    1923 · 1h 13m

    country: United States

    A young man falls for a young woman on his trip home; unbeknownst to him, her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.

    Blackmail
    TMDB3.3

    Blackmail

    1929 · 1h 26m

    country: United Kingdom

    London, 1929. Frank Webber, a very busy Scotland Yard detective, seems to be more interested in his work than in Alice White, his girlfriend. Feeling herself ignored, Alice agrees to go out with an elegant and well-mannered artist who invites her to visit his fancy apartment.

    The Unknown
    TMDB3.8

    The Unknown

    1927 · 1h 8m

    country: United States

    On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.

    An Eye for an Eye
    TMDB3.4

    An Eye for an Eye

    1925 · 54m

    country: Soviet Union

    The film is about the search for foreign intelligence agents and secret police's struggle with them.

    The Wind
    TMDB3.7

    The Wind

    1928 · 1h 16m

    country: United States

    When Letty Mason relocates to West Texas, she finds herself unsettled by the ever-present wind and sand. Arriving at her new home at the ranch of her cousin, Beverly, she receives a surprisingly cold welcome from his wife, Cora. Soon tensions in the family and unwanted attention from a trio of suitors leave Letty increasingly disturbed.

    Dracula's Death
    TMDB4.3

    Dracula's Death

    1921 · 1h 5m

    country: Hungary

    The film is about a woman who experiences frightening visions after visiting an insane asylum where one of the inmates claims to be Count Dracula (here following the Hungarian spelling Drakula). She has trouble determining whether the inmate's visions are real or merely nightmares.

    Destiny
    TMDB3.7

    Destiny

    1921 · 1h 38m

    country: Germany

    As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman poisons herself in order to join him and is met by Death, who gives her three opportunities to prove that love is stronger than death, thereby freeing her beloved from his fate.

    Korkein voitto
    TMDB2.8

    Korkein voitto

    1929 · 1h 29m

    country: Finland

    The heavily indebted baron Henrik von Hagen, who loves women and partying, learns that his former lover, Russian ballerina Madame Vera Vasiljevna, will be visiting Finland. They are reunited and sparks fly. But Vasiljevna's new hobby casts a shadow over their romance.

    Roaring Road
    TMDB4.0

    Roaring Road

    1926 · 50m

    country: Unknown

    A young racing driver combines the best features of two rival cars, thus producing an automobile which is the best entry in the race. He triumphs over the other contestants, incidentally winning the girl of his heart.

    The Hands of Orlac
    TMDB3.4

    The Hands of Orlac

    1924 · 1h 38m

    country: Austria

    A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he is horrified to learn they once belonged to a murderer.

    The Lost World
    TMDB3.4

    The Lost World

    1925 · 1h 44m

    country: United States

    The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

    The Diplomatic Pouch
    TMDB2.4

    The Diplomatic Pouch

    1927 · 1h 12m

    country: Soviet Union

    The Soviet embassy in England sends two couriers with diplomatic mail to Leningrad. The inspector of security police, White, and a group of policemen attack the Soviet diplomatic couriers at night. The documents get to an English trackman, who gives them to his son, a sailor in Portsmouth.

    Battling Brewster
    TMDB4.5

    Battling Brewster

    1924 · 2h 30m

    country: United States

    An action movie serial that premiered in 1924

    He Who Gets Slapped
    TMDB3.8

    He Who Gets Slapped

    1924 · 1h 12m

    country: United States

    After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.

    Beautifully Trimmed
    TMDB4.0

    Beautifully Trimmed

    1920 · 50m

    country: United States

    Norine Lawton is a young woman living by her wits in New York City. When she becomes friendly with Count Bonzi, a swindler, he enlists her aid in his scheme to sell worthless Mercer oil company stock to wealthy Christopher Gibbons, a retired war hero.

    West of Zanzibar
    TMDB3.5

    West of Zanzibar

    1928 · 1h 10m

    country: United States

    A magician seeks vengeance upon the man who paralyzed him and the illegitimate daughter he sired with the magician's wife.

    Unknown Treasures
    TMDB5.0

    Unknown Treasures

    1926 · 1h

    country: United States

    A poor man refrains from proposing to the woman he loves until he can secure the fortune left him by his uncle. Believing the treasure awaits in his uncle's abandoned mansion, he begins searching... only to uncover mystery, murder, and a killer ape.

    The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
    TMDB3.0

    The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

    1929 · 1h 22m

    country: United States

    A Chinese doctor vows revenge against the allied troops who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion.

    Der Teufelsreporter
    TMDB3.5

    Der Teufelsreporter

    1929 · 54m

    country: Unknown

    Thirteen wealthy American daughters visiting Europe are secretly abducted in Berlin by a dubious guide and governess. Stenographer Eddie, who missed their arrival, discovers a plea for help from one girl and pursues the kidnappers across the countryside. After capture and escape, he ultimately tracks them down, rescues the young women, wins their gratitude, and secures his dream job as a reporter.

    Foolish Wives
    TMDB3.2

    Foolish Wives

    1922 · 2h 23m

    country: United States

    A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

    The Unholy Three
    TMDB3.4

    The Unholy Three

    1925 · 1h 26m

    country: United States

    Three sideshow performers form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" - a ventriloquist, midget, and strongman working together to commit a series of robberies.

    Spies
    TMDB3.7

    Spies

    1928 · 2h 25m

    country: Germany

    The mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.

    The Penalty
    TMDB3.5

    The Penalty

    1920 · 1h 30m

    country: United States

    Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld.

    Bride 13
    TMDB5.0

    Bride 13

    1920 · 5h

    country: United States

    A gang of Tripolitan pirates swooped down and kidnapped 13 wealthy brides, whom they held for ransom.

    A Detective Story
    TMDB3.3

    A Detective Story

    1929 · 50m

    country: Belgium

    This story is built up with filmed documents in an experimental fashion.

    Backstairs
    TMDB3.1

    Backstairs

    1921 · 50m

    country: Germany

    In a poor neighborhood of a big city, a crippled mailman is in love with a maid who lives in his building. However, she is in love with a wealthy and handsome young man, who soon disappears. The mailman provides the maid with letters that get her hopes up... but tragedy will soon befall all three.

    Warning Shadows
    TMDB3.3

    Warning Shadows

    1923 · 1h 30m

    country: Germany

    During a dinner given by a wealthy baron and his wife, attended by four of her suitors in a 19th century German manor, a shadow-player rescues the marriage by giving all the guests a vision what might happen tonight if the baron stays jealous and the suitors do not reduce their advances towards his beautiful wife. Or was it a vision?

    My Lady's Lips
    TMDB5.0

    My Lady's Lips

    1925 · 1h 8m

    country: United States

    A newspaper publisher finds out that his wild daughter has fallen in with a ring of gamblers. A reporter who has infiltrated the gang to get a story falls in love with the gang's female leader, and when the two are caught in a police raid, they find themselves in equal amounts of trouble.

    White Tiger
    TMDB2.6

    White Tiger

    1923 · 1h 23m

    country: United States

    Three crooks pull off a magnificent crime. As they're forced to hide out together they slowly begin to distrust each other.

    The Bat
    TMDB3.2

    The Bat

    1926 · 1h 26m

    country: United States

    A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.

    The Radio Detective
    TMDB4.0

    The Radio Detective

    1926 · 3h 18m

    country: United States

    Film serial from Universal.

    Outside the Law
    TMDB3.1

    Outside the Law

    1921 · 1h 16m

    country: United States

    Silent Madden and his daughter Molly have left the criminal underworld of San Francisco thanks to the wise teachings of Chang Low, a Confucian master. But the evil Black Mike Sylva is determined to frame Madden to avenge a mistake from the past…

    The Locked Door
    TMDB3.0

    The Locked Door

    1929 · 1h 14m

    country: United States

    On her first anniversary, Ann Reagan finds that her sister-in-law is involved with a shady character that she used to be intimate with, and determines to intervene.

    O Táxi Nº 9297
    TMDB2.9

    O Táxi Nº 9297

    1927 · 2h 13m

    country: Portugal

    The story of this film is based on actual facts, the murder of actress Maria Alves, and the investigation that ensued, covered by Reinaldo Ferreira himself. Ferreira also wrote a novel based on the same facts.

    The Gorilla
    TMDB5.0

    The Gorilla

    1927 · 1h 20m

    country: United States

    An ape is suspected of committing a series of murders.

    About 1920s Thriller Movies

    The 1920s

    The 1920s were silent cinema's artistic peak, when directors had perfected a purely visual storytelling language just as sound arrived to displace it. German Expressionism and Soviet montage both date from here.

    Thriller

    Thrillers are engineered for tension: the pace, the withholding, the sense that something is closing in. The genre blends freely with crime, horror, and science fiction, and it's where a lot of the sharpest genre craft happens.

    In this list

    Best reviewed
    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (7.9)
    Often also
    Drama, Romance, Crime

    Common questions

    What are the best 1920s thriller movies?
    By popularity across Flickfolio and TMDB, the top picks right now are The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Un Chien Andalou, and Safety Last!. The full ranked list of 40 sits above — open any movie for ratings, reviews, and streaming availability.
    How is this list ranked?
    1920s thriller movies are ordered by overall popularity, which blends how often a title is viewed, searched, and logged. It updates as viewing habits shift, so the list reflects what people are actually watching rather than a fixed critical canon.
    Where can I watch these movies?
    Every movie page lists current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region, alongside community ratings and reviews from Flickfolio members.

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