The Essential Watchlist that Capture the Essence of A Nymph of the Foothills: Cult Guide

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

Clara Angelo does not really love her husband, David, a distinguished Roman banker, who is old, ugly and bent. Unknown to her husband, her mother, Mrs. Brunschaut, has involved her in a foreign conspiracy, in order that she may add to the extravagance of her living. David Angelo becomes aware of the intrigue, but before he can discover just what it is, he is called to Naples on business. He leaves his fortune in care of his partner, Stroggi, to be given to Mrs. Angelo in case anything happens to him. On his trip back home he stops to see Vesuvius, and is caught by a sudden eruption and smothered under the hot ashes. He is, however, rescued, and under the treatment of a great scientist, is restored to health; his physical disabilities have also been removed, and he is straight and rejuvenated in appearance, so much so that the doctor tells him he would not be believed if he declared himself to be David Angelo, and he decides to let the world believe that he is dead. He returns to Rome and startles the national treasurer by his brilliant suggestions in connection with finance, spies on the conspirators who are seeking to compromise his wife, is introduced in his own home without being recognized, and prevents his wife's fortune being stolen by his former partner. He also wins his wife's love, and, upon consenting to marry him, she rejoices to learn that he is really the supposedly dead David Angelo.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

Blake Waring, a financier, whose life code is to have the best of everything at any cost, is surrounded with every conceivable luxury, but he wants a wife to complete his happiness. He is desirous of obtaining a beautiful picture, "The Chattel," owned by Roger Carvin, another financier, who cannot be induced to sell it. Later, Carvin, in stringent circumstances, is forced to part with it at an auction where Waring obtains it. Here he sees Leila Bard, and is attracted to her. At the opera he is presented to her by Mrs. Delavan. Determined to have Leila, he lavishes attentions on her until she is deceived into believing he loves her, and finally consents to marry him. On the eve of the wedding, her father confesses his financial ruin in a letter, explaining his present position was held through dishonesty. He then kills himself. Waring, nonplussed at first, decides to possess Leila in spite of all this and conceals Bard's suicide, making restitution under promise of secrecy. As time passes. Waring begins to grow distant and exacting. Waring, on Leila's birthday, presents her with a lovely necklace, but the sentiment is driven away when she finds that it has been selected by a friend of Waring's. When Leila returns to her home late one afternoon after spending the time at a matinee with Mrs. Delavan, she is reproved by her husband for not being home before him. He is overheard by Harding, Waring's closest friend, who is astonished at Blake's manner. A few days later, Waring, trying to engineer a great financial deal to impress his associates, invites them to dine with him at home. Harding, who is also invited, finds he has a previous engagement which cannot be put off, and stops at Waring's house to tell him. Waring is not at home, but his wife receives Harding's message. As Harding is incidentally telling Leila to overlook her husband's brusqueness, Waring appears and accuses his wife of making love to Harding. Harding goes away crestfallen. Leila and Blake have a dramatic and pathetic scene where Waring tells her that she is "his chattel," and that he cleared her father's name. Leila tells him she will be no man's chattel. The guests arrive, and Waring repents his bitterness toward Leila, for fear she will refuse to see his guests. Leila professes interest in business matters and finds out the inside information concerning the business deal. After the departure of the guests, Waring feels pleased with Leila's generosity and admires her, but won't relent. Leila is disappointed and the next day she departs for town with her jewels where she goes to the president of the Consolidated Trust Company and negotiates a loan of $75,000 on them. With the money she buys the stock under an assumed name. The stock rises higher and higher and finally she sells it to Waring. She takes the money to Waring with the jewels and tells him: "The chattel has come to buy back her freedom." Then she leaves. Leila, knowing she is not legally free, goes to Mrs. Delavan's cottage. When Waring, after an illness, is brought home he destroys the picture "The Chattel." After a month he sends for Mrs. Delavan and questions her as to Leila's whereabouts. She is moved by the change in Waring and confides in him. When strength returns, he hires a little cottage near Leila's and there lives alone. Sammy, a small boy, brings provisions to both Leila and Blake, who is living under the name of Hope. She does not know that her neighbor is her husband. After a short lapse of time, he slips up to her cottage in the night and leaves flowers on her steps. Waring keeps Leila's picture on his table. Sammy notices the resemblance to Leila in the picture and tells her of it. Sammy tells Waring what he has said to "the lady next door," and Waring has Sammy write a note to her asking if he may visit her. As she is answering the letter that night, she accidentally knocks over the lamp. The fire spreads rapidly and Waring rushes to her rescue, and the past is forgotten. They begin life anew.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Chattel perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

While her eccentric father perfects his latest invention, Nancy Fane wonders how she will clothe her brothers and sisters, and Mammy contemplates stealing the neighbor's chickens for dinner. One day Nancy hears a noise in the abandoned house next door and summons the sheriff, who reveals that the intruder is really Dick Ives, the house's owner. A novelist who hopes to win a prize for his new novel, Dick becomes so convinced of the value of Mr. Fane's invention that when a crooked promoter tries to buy it for a very low sum, Dick spirits it away to his room. Believing him a crook, Nancy shuns Dick's company, even after he contracts pneumonia while rescuing her sister from drowning. When Dick's contact with an engineering firm leads to a large check for her father's invention, however, Nancy enters the sick man's room and rushes his manuscript to the publisher, with the result that Dick wins both the prize and the girl next door.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

Standish, a wealthy Northerner, deserts his untutored Southern wife shortly after their daughter Primrose's birth, preferring to wed the cultured but haughty Emily. After her mother's death, Primrose is placed in the care of her uncle, who rears her as a refined and educated young lady. Longing for his daughter, Standish sends for her, and although Primrose, deeply resentful of her father, exaggerates the role of the uncouth mountain girl, he and his ward, Jack Wilton, come to love her deeply. Jack, who secretly married a dancer named Marie in a moment of drunken infatuation, reforms under Primrose's influence, but Newton, a broker to whom Standish is deeply in debt, demands her hand in marriage as his repayment. Primrose rejects Newton, and at a ball, she appears as her true self and offers her father some of her oil rich lands. After Standish has repaid Newton, his secretary recognizes Marie as his long-lost wife, leaving Jack free to marry his "wild" Primrose.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Mating perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

The famous story of Heidi, a little girl of the Swiss Alps, who is taken from her beloved grandfather to live in anguish in the city below, and how her grandfather sacrifices to bring her home.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

A drama of two feuding clans of rugged mountain folk, and the conflicting love of young couple from opposing sides.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Wild Primrose perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

Poverty forces Helen Shirley, a country lass, into New York in search of a living. Shy and unsophisticated, Helen falls an easy victim of the notorious band which preys upon young girls and she is easily induced to go to a boarding house which is in reality the headquarters of the gang. Failing to find employment, she decides to give violin lessons and while practicing, she hears the agonized cough of a girl in the next room. Investigating, she discovered that the girl is in last stages of tuberculosis and that only instant removal to the mountains will save her. Moved by compassion, Helen impulsively sells the beautiful dog which is her only source of amusement and contrives to set the girl on the path to recovery. Practically penniless as the result of her kindness, Helen is ejected from her room but young Bruce Kerwin, a wealthy New Yorker, who has been attracted by her beauty, learns of her plight and induces one of the other girls in the house to "loan" Helen some money. Through the efforts of Burke, a mounted policeman and his sweetheart, the girl obtains employment in a department store where the advances of a floorwalker annoy her. When she repulses him, he contrives to have her discharged, but when she tells her story to the matron, she is taken to the manager and reinstated. The floorwalker, finding that Helen and young Bruce are going together, informs the boy's father that he is interested in a shopgirl. In the row which follows between father and son, Bruce leaves his home and then marries Helen. Soon after he is injured and Helen decides to try her luck on the stage. She is a tremendous success and scores a great hit, captivating, among others, the elder Kerwin, who does not suspect that she is his daughter-in-law. The old gentleman meets Helen; she, of course, is aware of his identity, and the girl adroitly wins his heart before revealing her identity.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

Tom, a young man in a small town, wants to marry his sweetheart Jane, but Jane's father won't allow it until Tom proves he can support her. Tom heads to New York City to make his fortune and prove to Jane's father that he has what it takes, but he meets and falls in love with Amy, a chorus girl who already has a wealthy suitor. Complications ensue.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Heidi perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

When Wall Street dynamo Richard Strong rescues Edwin Rossiter from financial ruin, Rossiter is so grateful that he persuades his daughter Elinor to marry their benefactor, although she does not love him. Instead, Elinor favors her distant cousin, Charles Dalton, a dissipated member of the aristocracy who weds Zoldene, an actress, on the day of Elinor and Strong's wedding. Soon after, Dalton wearies of Zoldene and renews his attention to Elinor, now estranged from her husband. Meanwhile, Strong and Zoldene's names are linked together in the scandal sheets, alienating Elinor even more from her husband. Dalton enters into a pact with Daniel Brewster to ruin Strong, but Elinor, finally realizing her love for her husband, assists in defeating his enemies. Their problems thus reconciled, Elinor and Strong face a happy future together.

Dir: Frederick A. Thomson

A psychological study of the effects of drug addiction on humanity.