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Sherlock Holmes

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Discover Lost Movies: Read Reviews of Incomplete and Lost Films

In an era of nearly limitless streaming options, it seems inconceivable that thousands of films from the early days of cinema are either incomplete or totally lost because of destruction or neglect. In fact, it’s estimated that between 75 and 90 percent of films made before 1929 have experienced this fate. But while you won’t be able to see any of these movies anytime soon, you can get an idea of what they were like, and how audiences reacted to them at the time, by reading reviews from contemporaneous critics. You also get a picture of film criticism finding its feet, with writers finding ways to engage with a relatively new medium as they had been with books and plays for centuries.

Working with libraries and digital archives, we’ve added reviews for more than 100 lost films from dozens of newspapers and magazines across the world. Some of these movies may have been masterpieces, and some may have been duds, but all of them are part of a forgotten piece of film history that we hope to shed some light upon. And because we’re always unearthing more archival reviews, we’ll update this guide as these old movies get brand-new Tomatometers – which happens when a film gets at least five reviews in our system. Now, step back in time and discover lost films through critics’ reviews, ordered chronologically. Click on the films to go to their movie pages and read full reviews.

#115
#115
Adjusted Score: 100333%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: W.W. Freeman

#114
#114
Adjusted Score: 100818%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring:

#113
#113
Adjusted Score: 84727%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Charles Tait

#112
#112
Adjusted Score: 99027%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Herbert Brenon

#111
#111
Adjusted Score: 80211%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Christy Cabanne

#110
Adjusted Score: 83453%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Olive Wyndham
Directed By: Giles R. Warren

#109

Inspiration (1915)
100%

#109
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Audrey Munson
Directed By: George Foster Platt

#108
#108
Adjusted Score: 101000%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In a war-torn world, enemies of the United States use pacifists as pawns to ensure that the government doesn't spend... [More]
Directed By: J. Stuart Blackton

#107

Carmen (1915)
78%

#107
Adjusted Score: 78800%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Spanish soldier falls under the spell of a fiery gypsy girl named Carmen. His obsession with her leads to... [More]
Directed By: Raoul Walsh

#106
#106
Adjusted Score: 80000%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Colin Campbell

#105
#105
Adjusted Score: 45243%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Thomas F. Dixon Jr.

#104
#104
Adjusted Score: 95949%
Critics Consensus: As visually compelling as it is narratively engaging, Daughter of the Gods is a stunning celebration of beauty supported by a moving story.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Herbert Brenon

#103

Life Without Soul (1916)
100%

#103
Adjusted Score: 100390%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Joseph W. Smiley

#102

The Iron Claw (1916)
100%

#102
Adjusted Score: 100158%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Leaving the character of Elaine behind after three successful serials, Pearl White played Margery Golden in The Iron Claw, the... [More]

#101

The Vixen (1916)
60%

#101
Adjusted Score: 60147%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards

#100

Cleopatra (1917)
91%

#100
Adjusted Score: 98503%
Critics Consensus: Theda Bara is the magnetic focal point of this massive spectacle, with no expense spared to evoke the grandeur and tragedy of Cleopatra's life.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards

#99
#99
Adjusted Score: 87588%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards

#98

The Gulf Between (1917)
83%

#98
Adjusted Score: 84218%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young woman who is the daughter of a sea captain falls in love with a man from a rich... [More]

#97

Arizona (1918)
71%

#97
Adjusted Score: 71545%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]

#96

Madame Jealousy (1918)
71%

#96
Adjusted Score: 71545%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Robert Vignola

#95
Adjusted Score: 38766%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Arthur Berthelet

#94

Queen of the Sea (1918)
80%

#94
Adjusted Score: 80104%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John G. Adolphi

#93
#93
Adjusted Score: 80104%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: George Melford

#92
Adjusted Score: 100104%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By:

#91
#91
Adjusted Score: 100324%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Clarence G. Badger

#90

The She Devil (1918)
33%

#90
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A beautiful peasant woman falls for a French painter.... [More]
Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards

#89
#89
Adjusted Score: 63766%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Edwin Carewe

#88
#88
Adjusted Score: 100126%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]

#87

The Gray Horizon (1919)
80%

#87
Adjusted Score: 75062%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William Worthington

#86

Ravished Armenia (1919)
91%

#86
Adjusted Score: 92064%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Oscar Apfel

#85

Salome (1922)
64%

#85
Adjusted Score: 65615%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: King Herod's stepdaughter (Alla Nazimova) dances in exchange for a prophet's head on a platter.... [More]
Directed By: Charles Bryant

#84

The Better Wife (1919)
40%

#84
Adjusted Score: 37531%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William P.S. Earle

#83
#83
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William Worthington

#82

The Miracle Man (1919)
95%

#82
Adjusted Score: 97941%
Critics Consensus: Wildly entertaining on every level, The Miracle Man finds writer-director-producer George Loane Tucker setting a rousing new standard for cinema.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: George Loane Tucker

#81

Unpardonable Sin (1919)
43%

#81
Adjusted Score: 43314%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Marshall Neilan

#80
#80
Adjusted Score: 80877%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Maurice Tourneur

#79

Wildcat of Paris (1919)
80%

#79
Adjusted Score: 75062%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Priscilla Dean
Directed By: Joseph De Grasse

#78

An Arabian Knight (1920)
100%

#78
Adjusted Score: 100652%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young Egyptian helps his employers when they are menaced.... [More]
Directed By: Charles Swickard

#77

Double Speed (1920)
100%

#77
Adjusted Score: 101974%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Sam Wood

#76
#76
Adjusted Score: 100652%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Jacques Jaccard

#75
#75
Adjusted Score: 79974%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Leander De Cordova

#74
#74
Adjusted Score: 87313%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Lillian Gish

#73
#73
Adjusted Score: 100983%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By:

#72
#72
Adjusted Score: 80652%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Erich von Stroheim

#71

The Right of Way (1920)
83%

#71
Adjusted Score: 83983%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John Francis Dillon

#70

Treasure Island (1920)
82%

#70
Adjusted Score: 84635%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Maurice Tourneur

#69
Adjusted Score: 101517%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Knocked unconscious, a wealthy man (Harry C. Myers) awakes to find himself in medieval times.... [More]
Directed By: Emmett J. Flynn

#68
#68
Adjusted Score: 101517%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Joseph Henabery

#67

Jane Eyre (1921)
80%

#67
Adjusted Score: 80259%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Charlotte Bronte's gothic heroine loves her moody employer, who keeps a dark secret hidden from her.... [More]
Directed By: Hugo Ballin

#66
#66
Adjusted Score: 100500%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Bill Williams
Directed By: Lottie Lyell

#65
#65
Adjusted Score: 98796%
Critics Consensus: Led by Betty Blythe's luminous performance, The Queen of Sheba offers a thrilling showcase for cinema's ability to thrill and amaze.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Betty Blythe
Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards

#64

Disraeli (1921)
100%

#64
Adjusted Score: 101265%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Henry Kolker

#63
#63
Adjusted Score: 39014%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]

#62

A Blind Bargain (1922)
50%

#62
Adjusted Score: 50494%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Wallace Worsley

#61

Clarence (1922)
71%

#61
Adjusted Score: 71293%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William C. de Mille

#60

One Glorious Day (1922)
100%

#60
Adjusted Score: 100868%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: James Cruze

#59
#59
Adjusted Score: 57308%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William A. Seiter

#58

The Sin Flood (1922)
100%

#58
Adjusted Score: 100663%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Frank Lloyd

#57
#57
Adjusted Score: 56038%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Norman Dawn

#56

Thirty Days (1922)
43%

#56
Adjusted Score: 43313%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: James Cruze

#55

Trifling Women (1922)
82%

#55
Adjusted Score: 83055%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Rex Ingram

#54
#54
Adjusted Score: 50868%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Will Walling
Directed By: John Ford

#53

Flaming Youth (1923)
91%

#53
Adjusted Score: 93625%
Critics Consensus: Colleen Moore brings spitfire energy to Flaming Youth, a provocative celebration of Jazz Age liberation.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John Francis Dillon

#52

Hollywood (1923)
100%

#52
Adjusted Score: 100153%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young dreamer travels to Tinseltown to break into pictures, but fame and fortune finds other members of her family... [More]
Directed By: James Cruze

#51

Human Wreckage (1923)
71%

#51
Adjusted Score: 71143%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John Griffith Wray

#50

A Sainted Devil (1924)
67%

#50
Adjusted Score: 67858%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Joseph Henabery

#49

So Big (1932)

#49
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A woman (Barbara Stanwyck) feels that her sacrifices for her son (Hardie Albright) are wasted when he becomes a bond... [More]
Directed By: William A. Wellman

#48
#48
Adjusted Score: 38239%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Marshall Neilan

#47
#47
Adjusted Score: 88412%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Neil (Edward Everett Horton), an impoverished composer, is in love with Cynthia but proposes to a rich woman. He has... [More]
Directed By: James Cruze

#46

Forty Winks (1925)
100%

#46
Adjusted Score: 100059%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Paul Iribe, Frank Urson

#45

Graustark (1925)
82%

#45
Adjusted Score: 82942%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Dimitri Buchowetzki

#44
#44
Adjusted Score: 43236%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Léonce Perret

#43

That Royle Girl (1925)
89%

#43
Adjusted Score: 89589%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: D.W. Griffith

#42

The Alaskan (1924)
30%

#42
Adjusted Score: 30548%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Herbert Brenon

#41

The Dark Angel (1925)
100%

#41
Adjusted Score: 100766%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: George Fitzmaurice

#40

The Lady (1925)
83%

#40
Adjusted Score: 83059%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A woman falls in love and gets married, but her wealthy father-in-law soon disowns the couple.... [More]
Directed By: Frank Borzage

#39
#39
Adjusted Score: 67883%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Maurice Tourneur

#38

Camille (1927)
40%

#38
Adjusted Score: 24978%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After leaving her lover (Gilbert Roland) at the request of his father, a woman (Norma Talmadge) lives in poverty until... [More]
Directed By: Fred Niblo

#37

The Great Gatsby (1926)
52%

#37
Adjusted Score: 55847%
Critics Consensus: Dutifully adapted by director Herbert Brennon, The Great Gatsby faithfully enacts all the novel's prose -- but alas, it captures none of its poetry.
Synopsis: Although she is married to another man, Gatsby, a millionaire, woos his dream girl.... [More]
Directed By: Herbert Brenon

#36

Babe Comes Home (1927)
78%

#36
Adjusted Score: 78125%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The bubbly romance between a baseball star and a laundress goes down the drain when the slugger's love of chewing... [More]
Directed By: Ted Wilde

#35
#35
Adjusted Score: 62195%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Tired of their philandering husbands, three women hire three collegians to pose as their lovers.... [More]
Directed By: Howard Hawks

#34
#34
Adjusted Score: 76498%
Critics Consensus: Lon Chaney's typically strong performance -- and terrifying makeup -- casts an eerie spell in this solid detective thriller.
Synopsis: A Scotland Yard inspector (Lon Chaney) investigates grave goings-on at the mansion of a dead Londoner, in a restored version... [More]
Directed By: Tod Browning

#33

Rolled Stockings (1927)
73%

#33
Adjusted Score: 73375%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this campus comedy, two collegiate brothers, Jim and Ralph Treadway, are in love with the same girl, Carol Fleming.... [More]
Directed By: Richard Rosson

#32
#32
Adjusted Score: 75499%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Frank R. Strayer

#31

She's a Sheik (1927)
67%

#31
Adjusted Score: 67125%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Clarence G. Badger

#30
#30
Adjusted Score: 91464%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Dorothy Arzner

#29

The Dove (1927)
67%

#29
Adjusted Score: 67131%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A despot falls for a dancing girl. After she rejects him, he has her other beau framed for murder.... [More]
Directed By: Roland West

#28
Adjusted Score: 83247%
Critics Consensus: If its story isn't always as transporting as it should be, The Private Life of Helen of Troy offers an amusing -- albeit historically inaccurate -- diversion.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: María Corda
Directed By: Alexander Korda

#27
#27
Adjusted Score: 92245%
Critics Consensus: A weakness for melodrama dampens its impact, but Emil Jannings' outstanding performance makes The Way of All Flesh worth following.
Synopsis: Devoted family man and bank worker August Schilling (Emil Jannings) leaves Milwaukee for the first time to deliver bonds to... [More]
Directed By: Victor Fleming

#26

Beau Sabreur (1928)
60%

#26
Adjusted Score: 60617%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John Waters

#25

4 Devils (1928)
82%

#25
Adjusted Score: 86329%
Critics Consensus: 4 Devils combines thrilling cinematography and an affecting story to produce an absorbing and well-acted drama.
Synopsis: Four orphans are taken in by an aging clown and trained to be highwire artists.... [More]
Directed By: F.W. Murnau

#24
#24
Adjusted Score: 80615%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Malcolm St. Clair

#23
#23
Adjusted Score: 86099%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: William A. Wellman

#22
#22
Adjusted Score: 56455%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Fresh-faced thespians hoping to conquer the Great White Way become dispirited after crossing paths with a merciless theatrical producer.... [More]
Directed By: Dorothy Arzner

#21

My Man (1928)
86%

#21
Adjusted Score: 86130%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Archie Mayo

#20

Red Hair (1928)
100%

#20
Adjusted Score: 100130%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Clarence G. Badger

#19
#19
Adjusted Score: 63292%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Albert Rogell

#18

Tenderloin (1928)
25%

#18
Adjusted Score: 25292%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Michael Curtiz

#17

The Divine Woman (1928)
70%

#17
Adjusted Score: 70615%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Victor Sjöström

#16
Adjusted Score: 90617%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Director William Wellman's follow-up to Wings was based in part on his own WWI experiences with the Lafayette Flying Corps.... [More]
Directed By: William A. Wellman

#15

The Patriot (1928)
100%

#15
Adjusted Score: 100928%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The final days of the mad, tyrannical Czar Paul I of Russia (Emil Jannings) are recounted. As the Czar behaves... [More]
Directed By: Ernst Lubitsch

#14

Three Week-Ends (1928)
60%

#14
Adjusted Score: 48447%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Clarence G. Badger

#13
#13
Adjusted Score: 97600%
Critics Consensus: Ambitiously marrying jaunty songs with the bright canvas of technicolor, Gold Diggers of Broadway marks a sprightly step forward for talkies.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Roy Del Ruth

#12
#12
Adjusted Score: 40933%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Michael Curtiz

#11

Paris (1929)
92%

#11
Adjusted Score: 93323%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Clarence G. Badger

#10
#10
Adjusted Score: 60931%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A peasant girl goes to great lengths to protect her child in 19th century Vienna.... [More]
Directed By: Josef von Sternberg

#9
#9
Adjusted Score: 63545%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Rowland V. Lee

#8

Thunder (1929)
75%

#8
Adjusted Score: 75549%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A compulsively on-time locomotive engineer's fixation on promptness causes grief for himself and his family -- until his obsession saves... [More]
Directed By: William Nigh

#7

Kismet (1930)
85%

#7
Adjusted Score: 86231%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: John Francis Dillon

#6
#6
Adjusted Score: 82890%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A peasant leads a revolution in Russia and falls in love with a prince.... [More]
Directed By: Alan Crosland

#5

The Cat Creeps (1946)
75%

#5
Adjusted Score: 75324%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A reporter (Fred Brady) and a photographer (Noah Beery Jr.) solve murders thanks to a black cat's ESP.... [More]
Directed By: Erle C. Kenton

#4

The Rogue Song (1930)
79%

#4
Adjusted Score: 83836%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Russian bandit (Lawrence Tibbett) kidnaps a beautiful princess (Catherine Dale Owen) after killing her brother (Ullrich Haupt).... [More]
Directed By: Lionel Barrymore

#3

Men of Tomorrow (1932)
50%

#3
Adjusted Score: 50115%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Leontine Sagan

#2

Convention City (1933)
86%

#2
Adjusted Score: 89844%
Critics Consensus: A delightful depiction of bad behavior, Convention City tests taboos and busts guts with equal abandon.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Archie Mayo

#1

White Heat (1934)
40%

#1
Adjusted Score: 40154%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The owner of a tropical plantation pushes aside the affections of an island woman for the attentions of a socialite... [More]
Directed By: Lois Weber