I love Night of the Hunter. Scared the $*+* out of me when I was a child. Gish is perfect as the alternate mother/angel. Don't forget Shelly Winters. 

The Goddess with the amazing Ruan Lingyu. 

A woman works as a Shanghai prostitute as she raises her son. Amazing visuals and absolutely no moral judgments. Stanley Kwan recreated some of the scenes with Maggie Cheung in Actress.