Thomas Graal's Best Film

The Perfect Flapper

May 1924 •English

A 1924 film directed by John Francis Dillon.

A Star Is Born

October 1954 •English

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Love Aflame

January 1917 •English

Jack Calvert bets four friends that he can travel from New York to Constantinople without a cent.

The Callahans and the Murphys

June 1927 •English

The story of two feuding Irish immigrant families living in a tenement.

Hans hustrus förflutna

August 1915 •Swedish

The international criminal Helene Voigt, who calls herself Countess Montigno, is on the run from the law.

A Knight in London

December 1928 •German

A prince makes a socialite think she spent the night in his room.

Suzanna

February 1923 •English

Hoping to consolidate their adjoining ranches, Don Fernando and Don Diego betroth their children, Ramón and Dolores, although Ramón is in love with Suzanna, the daughter of a peon on his father's ranch, and Dolores is interested in Pancho, a toreador. When Suzanna learns that she was kidnapped in infancy and is really Don Diego's daughter, she keeps silent; but Ramón finally rebels and steals Suzanna from the altar as she is about to marry Pancho. There are explanations, Ramón marries Suzanna, and Dolores marries Pancho. Suzanna (1923) has been mastered from a good quality but incomplete 35mm print.

Only Once a Year

January 1914 •Russian

Based on Gustav Kadelburg's farce The Road to Hell.

All Jazzed Up

June 1919 •English

Phil Dunham and Eva Novak must contend with Dan Russell and Hughie Mack in this early L-KO Kompany release.

Molly and Me

March 1929 •English

One Enjoyed, the Other Paid

November 1913 •Russian

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

October 1917 •English

In Bagdad, Princess Badr al-Budur, the daughter of the Sultan, falls in love with Aladdin, the son of a poor tailor, and rejects the suit of evil alchemist al-Talib, her father's choice. Al-Talib consults his Evil Spirit, who advises him to find the magic lamp hidden in an underground cave. Unable to get it himself, al-Talib hires Aladdin, who secures the lamp but keeps it when he realizes al-Talib's wickedness. With wealth obtained through wishes, Aladdin courts the princess. After the lamp changes hands between al-Talib and Aladdin, al-Talib steals it and abducts the princess to the desert. Aladdin follows with only a gourd of water. Suffering from thirst and exhaustion, Aladdin nearly succumbs, but the horsemen of the Sultan, who learned of his daughter's abduction, ride up and rescue Aladdin.

He Comes Up Smiling

September 1918 •English

Jerry Martin quits his dull job as a bank clerk and falls in with a band of hobos. He takes on the guise of Bachelor, the "king of the market," and finds himself pursued by dangerous men who are after the real Bachelor. *Only fragments are known to exist. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

The Veiled Adventure

July 1919 •English

A woman has second thoughts about her socialite fiancé when she finds a grey veil in his overcoat. When she discovers that the veil belongs to the owner of a beauty shop, she begins to investigate.

Hans bröllopsnatt

September 1915 •Swedish

Tortured Souls

May 1917 •Russian

A Daughter of the Poor

March 1917 •English

A young girl, Rose Eastmen lives with her lazy Uncle, who works as a janitor in a publishing house. Lacking education, both Rose and her Uncle are susceptible to the socialist ideas of writer Rudolph Creig. One day Rose encounters Jack Steven's the wealthy son of the publishing house, working on his car. She believes he is a common laborer, and begins seeing him. Through her exposure to Jack, Rose begins to realize the rich are not such an abominable people. Rudolph has also reached this conclusion after learning Steven's has published his book. Now with a hefty royalty check and success, Rudolph is able to marry Rose.

Betsy's Burglar

March 1917 •English

Betsy Harlow is a hard-working maid in a boarding house. Her dream. however, is to be a detective, a dream she shares with her boyfriend Oscar, a delivery boy for a local grocer. One day a mysterious character named Harry Brent takes a room at the boarding house. Harry, seeing that Betsy is falling for his rather shady charms, persuades her to help him get a box of jewels owned by the Jaspers, an elderly couple who lives across the hall. It turns out that Harry is not quite who he seems; neither, however, are the Jaspers.

The Law Forbids

April 1924 •English

Paul and Rhoda Remsen, having marital difficulties, separate; and each is awarded custody of their child Peggy for 6 months of the year. Rhoda and Peggy move to a farm town, while Paul remains in the big city to write a play for actress Inez Lamont, who is in love with him. Peggy knows that her mother still loves Paul, so she flees to the big city to explain the situation to her father.

The American Venus

January 1926 •English

A lost film - Mary Gray, whose father manufactures cold cream, is engaged to sappy Horace Niles, the son of Hugo Niles, the elder Gray's most competitive rival in the cosmetics business. Chip Armstrong, a hot-shot public relations man, quits the employ of Hugo Niles and goes to work for Gray, persuading Mary to enter the Miss America contest at Atlantic City, with the intention of using her to endorse her father's cold cream should she win. Mary breaks her engagement with Horace. When it appears that she will win the contest, Hugo lures her home on the pretext that her father is ill, and she misses the contest. Chip and Mary return to Atlantic City, discovering that the new Miss America has told the world that she owes all her success to Gray's cold cream. On this note, Chip and Mary decide to get married.