Franz Osten

A historical romance set in the Mughal Empire. Selima is a princess-foundling raised by a potter and loved by her brother, Shiraz. She is abducted and sold as a slave to Prince Khurram, later Emperor Shah Jehan, who falls for her, to the chagrin of the wily Dalia. When Selima is caught is Shiraz, the young man is condemned to be trampled to death by an elephant. A pendant reveals Selima's royal status and she saves her brother, marries the prince and becomes Empress Mumtaz Mahal while Dalia is banned for her machinations against Selima. When Selima dies (1629), the emperor builds her a monument to the design of the now old and blind Shiraz, the Taj Mahal.

Two neighboring kings addicted to gambling, Ranjit and his cousin Sohat, vie for the same beautiful young woman, Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa.

Karl is an avid stamp collector and journeyman in the employ of the tailor Kuhn. Having taken a fancy to the journeyman, the tailor’s wife Paula means to woo him by adding a priceless stamp to his collection. When a client is robbed, the value of the stamp makes Karl a suspect, and he is wrongly imprisoned until the embarrassing particulars come to light.

During the silent film era, Mara Chukleva was perhaps the most famous actress of Bulgarian origin. Success came to her in Italy during the heyday of Italian silent cinema; later the actress worked in Germany, where she starred in the film Blackface directed by Franz Osten.

The love story between the beautiful village belle Radha and Kamal, the son of the village zamindar who wants to be a great poet. The zamindar sends his son to the city, where Kamal becomes a noted novelist and playwright, while Radha is persecuted by the zamindar and his henchman Banwari. She feigns suicide but in fact goes to join her beloved in the city (on the same train as the now repentant father). When she eventually reaches Kamal's house, she hears him declaring his love to a woman. Unaware that he is merely reading lines from his latest play.

The film is family social drama, which deals with the issue of young widows. It put a special focus on the Indian society's attitude towards them, and society's bigoted approach to "man- woman relationships"

Lata, daughter of a dancing girl, is brought up by social worker Mathuradas and is engaged to marry the rich Ranjit when the villain Chand arrives to blackmail her with her undisclosed ancestry. Lata is forced to disclose the truth to Ranjit and the assembled wedding guests. Ranjit disowns her but they are reunited when Ranjit, blinded by an explosion, is nursed back to health by a devoted woman who turns out to be his wife.

A simple inn in the mountains is transformed into a grand hotel.

Silent film social drama

1933 German film.

Based in Central India, a story about struggle of a young man belonging to Bheel (an adivasi) tribe against the exploitation of his people by stronger Maratha tribe.

Living an indolent life in a luxurious palace, Prince Gautama (Rai) is insulated by his family from the harshness of the world outside. But he is destined to learn greater truths: shocked to discover the pain and suffering of so many in his kingdom, he abandons his privileged existence, and his wife Gopa (Seeta Devi), to become a wandering teacher, eventually finding enlightenment and founding Buddhism. Featuring superimposed images and deep-focus shots that were highly impressive for the time, Light of Asia astutely combines a deeply felt spirituality with the surefire attraction of Indian exotica, which helped make it a considerable success in Europe.

A nationalist rural drama. The plot has Ajau and his girl friend Protima working on behalf of Indian villagers, incurring the enmity of the local zamindar and the villainous Sanatan. Ajay's relentless goodness eventually persuades the zamindar to bequeath his property to the hero, and general well-being reigns as class conflict is transmuted into class collaboration. The film includes the nationalist song 'Jai jai janani janmabhoomi' and other choruses with a similar thrust.

No description available.

What the children conceal from their parents. Banned at first in Europe. Released in the U.S.

No description available.

An "untouchable" girl and a Brahmin boy fall in love, but the strict caste system and the gossip of the villagers threaten to keep them apart.

Kamala elopes on her wedding day with her childhood friend Ratanlal. Her father Manganlal chases the couple and catches them on a train. His furious exchanges with Ratanlal are interrupted by gunfire and in the mysterious gloom of the evening a body is thrown off the train. The suspects are Ratanlal, who cannot furnish an alibi, Kamala, who insists on being the murderess, ex-convict Sukhdev, who confesses to the murder claiming robbery to be the motive, and the lunatic Tarachand, who also admits his guilt.

Thanatos is none other than death, and he's tired of bringing home lost souls. Finally, he too wants to taste earthly life, just live for three days like a human on earth, feel, love and suffer like the humanoids. His wish is granted, and Thanatos is allowed to walk as a normal mortal for three days. But soon he become disgusted with the behavior of the humans, till he in the third day is confronted with the love of a beautiful girl, Phaleria.

Rural melodrama about Durga, an adolescent child of nature, living with her aged mother Heera. Unable to get the medicine required to prevent her mother's death, one misfortune after another befalls the heroine in spite of the sympathies of the newly arrived village doctor, Jawahar.