The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of April Fool: Cult Guide

Dir: Lloyd Ingraham

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

Dir: Charley Chase

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

Charlie (West) stays at a seaside lodging house frequented by sailors. He gets involved with a gang of crooks when a sea captain attempts to kidnap his landlady's daughter.

Dir: Charley Chase

Snub, a henpecked husband, joins an equally unhappy man on the floor below. They rebel and turn the tables on their wives.

Dir: Richard Smith

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

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: Eduardo Notari

A crime drama in the Gennariello-series. The police detective in Naples that is confronted with modern gangsters and crime events.

Dir: Charley Chase

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

The premise of this film is two rival men pursuing the same girl. In the mean time a gang of car thieves are going around town stealing cars and then reselling them to their original owners. The rich man takes the girl to see a minister to get married so the other man comes up with a plot to have the car thief gang help him win the girl back.

Dir: Henry Edwards

A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.

Dir: Charley Chase

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Charley Chase

Billy is mistaken for a dangerous Bolshevik, and thrown into jail.

Dir: Charley Chase

Misadventures of a traveling company of actors performing for one night in a small town. When the troupe's leading lady deserts the show for a better paying job as a waitress, a young woman from the town gets the role for one night.