After more than fifteen years, this initial volume of the American Film Institute Catalog series is again in print. The 1920s set covers the important filmmaking period when "movies" became "talkies," and the careers of many influential directors and actors were launched. Films such as Wings, The Phantom of the Opera, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Jazz Singer are included in this volume.

On June 8, 1912, Carl Laemmle of the Independent Motion Picture Company, Pat Powers of Powers Picture Company, Mark Dintenfass of Champion Films, and Bill Swanson of American Eclair, meeting in New York City, signed a contract to merge their studios. The four formed a storied name in Hollywood history--the Universal Motion Picture Manufacturing Company.From A la flamme le papillon se brule les ailes, a 1912 French Eclair film distributed by Universal, to Zip and His Gang (1915), this is a comprehensive filmography of 9,397 silent-era feature, split reel, and one, two, and three reel films produced or distributed by Universal Motion Picture Manufacturing Company. The film entries include title, release date, copyright date, producer, director, scenarist, author, length of the film, and major cast members. The work also includes the 74 serials released by Universal.

Silent short films practically vanished from the movie screen with the advent of sound. Despite their relatively short existence, an enormous number of them were made, and on a very wide range of topics. Presented in this book, reorganized, are the extensive working papers of Richard E. Braff (at the time of his death in 2001) detailing split-reel and one, two, and three reel films produced or released in the United States between 1903 and 1929--over 25,000 films in all. It lists (in alphabetical order) short silent films that have cast or production credits. Each entry includes to the extent possible the following elements: title, release date, producing company, director, script writer, author of story, length of film in reels, and cast credits.