Must-Watch List Comparable to the Style of Bardelys the Magnificent...

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.

Dir: Edward Dillon

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

Her education in a French convent school completed, plain Justine Spencer returns to New York. There she is shocked to discover that her mother Dodo is a flamboyant musical comedy actress with many male admirers. Dodo, on the other hand, is dismayed to find Justine priggish and dowdy. One of Dodo's suitors is Billy Ferris, who, in a fit of jealousy, murders her and slays himself. Out of pity, Cosmo Spotiswood, another admirer of Dodo, marries Justine, but soon tires of his platonic marriage and leaves for Europe. Upon his return, Cosmo finds Justine transformed. Under the tutelage of Dodo's maid Loti, she has bobbed her hair and donned fashionable apparel. Thus changed, Justine is surrounded by suitors. Stung by jealousy, Cosmo falls in love with his sophisticated wife.

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.

Dir: Wilfred Lucas

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

Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.

Dir: King Vidor

Dorothy Perkins, the eldest daughter of a simple, wholesome country family, leaves for the big city to study architecture. After winning a competition, she is a success, and meets Monty Rhodes, the son of aristocratic parents. Despite his parents' objections, Monty and Dorothy marry, but Mrs. Rhodes continually humiliates Dorothy for her lack of breeding. When she finally succeeds in driving the heartbroken Dorothy back to her own family, Monty realizes his mistake, and follows her to the country, where he finds happiness with his wife and their poor relations.

Dir: Eduardo Notari

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

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

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Charles Horan

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

While working as a flower girl in Devlin Maddox's nightclub, Nellie Vaughan meets wealthy young Pelton Van Teel and falls in love. Maddox, desirous of using Nellie to blackmail Van Teel, spreads a rumor that she is his mistress. This makes Nellie uncomfortable, and she demands that Van Teel marry her immediately, to which he agrees. Meanwhile, Van Teel has been losing money gambling to Maddox, who threatens to break up the marriage by producing a worthless check that the young husband has written. Venturing to Maddox's apartment for a showdown, Nellie pulls a gun and demands the check, accidentally shooting Maddox when he throws a lamp at her. Maddox plans to charge Nellie with assault, but when the police arrive, his butler, actually a detective employed by the elder Van Teel, exposes Maddox, who is then arrested, clearing the path for the couple's happiness.

Dir: Alexander Butler

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.

Dir: King Vidor

Donald Trent, the son of an iron-works owner, loses his belief in class distinction and recognizes his debt to others while fighting in the trenches. At home he tells his father, who abhors sentiment in business, that he wants to start at the bottom and becomes a mill hand, working near his Army buddy Colonel Jimmy, a machinist. While Donald and his sweetheart Katherine Boone are helping Jimmy care for his sick girlfriend Jennie Jones, known as "The Jazz Kid," Donald learns that his father has died and that he must take over the business. Donald's attitude soon changes, and when Jimmy, now foreman, demands repairs be made to protect lives, Donald refuses. When a wall collapses on Jimmy and he goes temporarily blind, the men strike. Katherine refuses to marry Donald, and works for an uplifting newspaper popular among the poor. After an article by Katherine changes Donald, he orders reforms and they marry. Jimmy's sight returns and he marries Jennie.