Cinematic Discoveries Resonating with the Themes of Blockade: Cult ...

Dir: Charles Swickard

A young Egyptian goes to the rescue of his employers, a wealthy European family, when they are menaced by a local strongman and his gang.

Dir: George B. Seitz

A young heiress of an American gun factory is threatened by a masked man after her father was murdered. This criminal might be a member of her family or a German agent, who wants to get information about the factory's products, perhaps his mystery has a combined solution - we will probably never know...

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

Dir: Aubrey M. Kennedy

Wealthy oil magnate Harry Mangin is in love with his competitor James Murdock's daughter Blanche. Mangin schemes to ruin Blanche's father so that the girl will be forced to accept his attention. However, Blanche loves "Sky Eye" Blake, an aviator at the adjoining U. S. aviation field. When Mangin is driven in desperation to muster his own private air force in order to destroy his rival's oil plants, "Sky Eye" takes to the skies to quell the riot. After several daring escapades, "Sky Eye" captures Mangin and wins Blanche for his bride.

Dir: Cecil M. Hepworth

A soldier's tunic button, made from Aladdin's lamp, grants his wishes.

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

Dir: George B. Seitz

Episode 1: "The Lost Torpedo" Craig Kennedy's marvelous invention, a super-force torpedo to revolutionize warfare, has been stolen. Kennedy himself has disappeared, although Elaine has a note from him begging her not to grieve whatever happens, for he is safe. And then, one night, on a barren strip of land jutting out into the Atlantic, a fisherman, concealed behind a rock, sees the periscope of a submarine rise; sees a man's head and shoulders rise seemingly out of the sea, and sees a pair of athletic arms strike out bravely for the shore. That night, at a hotel in New York, a distinguished-looking foreigner, much resembling the man who seemed to rise up out of the sea, is shadowed by a fussy old gentleman resembling the fisherman of the coast scenes. The foreigner goes out and the fussy old gentleman goes to his room, where, after a short, sharp struggle with a valet, he searches through all drawers and papers. One paper he pockets with glee, and then departs. Elaine and Jameson are visited by the distinguished-looking foreigner who tells them he is a secret service agent from Washington, and begs to get information with regard to Kennedy and the lost torpedo. Elaine's dog, digging with its forepaws in a pot of palms, unearths the lost torpedo and carries it to the attic, where he drops it behind a trunk. The torpedo's propeller, however, has been left in the palm-pot. where Marcius Del Mar, the foreigner, finds it. Elaine is suspected by him of having concealed the torpedo. The fussy old gentleman, in Del Mar's tracks since he left his rooms, is an interested spectator. He is unaware that Del Mar has spies guarding the house, and is set upon by them. Rushing madly into the conservatory, he faces Del Mar. Both draw their guns, but the fussy old gentleman fires first. His gun is loaded with bullets containing an overpowering gas. Both Del Mar and Elaine fall suffocated to the floor. How the fussy old gentleman escapes is a fitting climax to this episode.

Dir: George B. Seitz

Lost film serial. Only about 2-minute fragmentary segments of this serial about World War One remains.

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

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: George Beranger

Writer Frank Theydon goes undercover to research the criminal activity in New York City's Chinatown.

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

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.