Complete Filmography: Vilma Banky

Vilma Banky was a cutie. And very talented. Unfortunately much like Theda Bara so few of her films still exist. However unlike Theda, Vilma's reason is a lot more unfair: war. She was from Hungary and that is where she started her film career. The studio which housed her early films was destroyed during World War 2. Apparently only 5% of Hungary's Silent films still exist...the general guess on Silent Films all around is 15-25% still exist. So extremely unfair for Vilma!

Unlike Theda its even more unlikely any of Vilma's films will show up. Maybe her lost English ones but the Hungary ones are likely gone for good. Doesn't mean you shouldn't keep looking though! So for now this is the Complete Filmography of Vilma Banky.

Surviving Films:

*Der Zirkuskönig

1924. German Production. Her second German film, and it exists entirely. Cinematek-Svenska Filminstitutet in Stockholm owns the only known print and it has been screened as recently as 2002. However is not released on DVD or VHS and quality of print is unknown.

*The Eagle

1925. Her second US film, and her first with Valentino. This film of course exists in its entirety in excellent condition. Has been released on DVD via Synergy Entertainment. Click here to purchase. Bonus note: Will be screened at the Silent Movie Theatre on August 27th, 2008.

*The Son of the Sheik

1926. Her third US film and second (and final) with Valentino. This film again exists in its entirety and is in excellent condition though some people think it could be better (I find it lovely). Vilma and Karl Dane=perfection. Has been released on DVD alongside The Sheik via Image Entertainment. Click here to purchase.

*The Winning of Barbara Worth

1926. A Western! How weird! Click here to read a history of the production of the film including Vilma tidbits. Featured Gary Cooper in his first starring role and was a success. This film exists and has been released on DVD. Click here to purchase.

*The Night of Love

1927. Was screened in 2007 but has yet to be released on VHS or DVD.

*A Lady to Love

1930. There was a German and English version, Vilma was featured in both. Both prints exist but have the German version has not been released on DVD or VHS. MGM made the film but it is unclear who owns the prints. UCLA has several archive copies of this film though just the sound parts. Silents Please via Ioffer.com has released the English version on DVD. Click here to purchase.

*The Rebel

1932 and 1933. A German and English version exists but neither have been released on DVD or VHS. Vilma was not part of the German production. Universal Germany made the film, its unclear who has the prints. This was Vilma's last film.

Surviving Fragments:

*Tavaszi Szerelem
1921. Hungarian Production. Her third film, and it only exists in fragments. The condition is not known. The clips were featured in the 1998 documentary Magyar filmek nyomában which has not been released on DVD or VHS.

*Two Lovers

1928. The Museum of Modern Art owns both a 35mm and 16mm print but both prints are unfortunately missing reels 3, 7, and 8. The surviving footage has yet to be released on DVD or VHS.

Lost Films:

*The Magic Flame

1927. The first 5 reels are rumored to exist at the infamous George Eastman house, though this is disputed. If it exists it has not been shown or released.

The Complete Vilma Banky Filmography List
Purple means fully exists
Blue means partially exists or a clip exists
Pink means lost
* means released on DVD or VHS

1919:
Im Letzten Augneblick (Germany)

1921:Galathea (Hungary)Tavaszi szerelem (Hungary)
Veszélyben a pokol (Hungary)
1922:Kauft Mariett-Aktien (Germany)
Das Auge Des Toten (Germany)/A Halott Szerelme (Hungarian Title)
Schattenkinder Des Glücks (Germany)/The Shadow Children of Fortune (English Title)

1923:
Das Bildnis (Germany)/L'Image (French title)

1924:
Hotel Potemkin (Austria)/Die Letzte Stunde (German title)/One Night (English title)
Das Verbotene Land (Austria)/Die Liebe Des Dalai Lama (German title) Das Schöne Abonteuer (Germany)/The Lady of Paris (US 1927 title)
Der Zirkuskönig (Austria)/King of the Clowns (English title)
1925:Soll Man Heiraten? (Germany)The Dark Angel (first US film)
*The Eagle*Son of the Sheik
*The Winning of Barbara Worth
1927:
The Night of LoveThe Magic Flame
1928:
Two Lovers
The Awakening
1929:This is Heaven
1930:*A Lady to LoveDer Sehnsucht jeder Frau (German version of A Lady to Love)
1932:The Rebel (English version only)
Documentaries:
Magyar filmek nyomában (1998)

I'd like to give some thanks to this awesome site. They provided me with a lot of this great info. Please note any film with a / means that there was just another title for this film. Vilma acted in several countries and being silent films it was easy to put in new language cards and retitle it as a local film.

Why the Low Survival Rate?

As mentioned earlier many of Vilma's early films were German, Austrian, or Hungarian. This meant that during World War 2 many of the studios or vaults holding Vilma's films were destroyed. Her first 12 films were of this nature, and only one exists entirely and another in fragments. Only 3 of her 11 English films are lost, and another being partially lost (Two Lovers).

Vilma only made 4 talkies, one of them in German. Ironically only her debut talkie "This is Heaven" is lost. Apparently she found the experience traumatic, but how true that is I don't know as it sounds like one of those talkie myths. She however did make very few films after that and decided to retire after 1932. Unfortunately none of her surviving talkies have been released on DVD...yet.