Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of Brownie's Doggone Tricks: Cult Guide

Dir: Vin Moore

A rare example of a short with the Silent female comic, who was compared to Chaplin, here as a rural milkmaid who gets mixed up with various problems including a bootlegger.

Dir: Vin Moore

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Vin Moore

Runt Simpkins and his pal, fired by the ranch manager, ride away to seek a new job. They see a child in danger and rescue it, only to find that the infant is a dummy being used by a company of movie actors. The two cowpunchers are smitten at the sight of Queenie LaRue, the leading lady, and both go home and press up their clothes to pay her court. Using gasoline to clean his pants, the runt lights a cigar over the gasoline bottle. His pard, enraged at his foolhardiness, throws the cigar and box of matches out of the window and both pairs of pants are burned up. They cut cards for a pair of pants stolen from a neighbor. The runt wins, but while he is bathing, the other double-crosses him, steals the pants and goes to see the movie queen at the hotel. Simpkins filches a suit from a fleeing crook and goes to the hotel to out-Romeo his betrayer. He is taken for the crook and arrested, his pal declaring that he never saw him before. Simpkins breaks jail and follows his pal to the country where he is buckboard driving with the queen. A rear wheel comes off and the runt catches up, pulls out his gun and forces the double-crosser to take the place of the missing wheel, holding up the back of the wagon all the way back to town, while he rides in state with the film vamp. She recognizes her husband, who chases the two sparkers whom he engages for a bank hold-up scene on the following day. The robbers speed away in a car with the loot, followed by the two cowpunchers who think it is a real robbery and put on a great scene, bringing back the money. They are rewarded for their bravery with the stage money and the movie crowd departs, giving them the laugh.

Dir: Vin Moore

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

A man gets a job back stages in which he bungles everything.

Dir: Vin Moore

Cohen and Kelly families go to Africa to buy elephant tusks.

Dir: Vin Moore

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Vin Moore

The trials and tribulations of a pair of rube lovers.

Dir: Vin Moore

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Cohens and the Kellys in Africa perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The town of Parched City was being reformed. One of the evidences was a she-sheriff named Susie. But Susie had seen Eddie Polo in the pictures and had adopted his pattern of shirt and his inexhaustible revolvers. By looking cross-eyed she could shoot a man standing at right or left angles with the accuracy of a boomerang thrower. Susie's brother was a bold bad man, although in Susie's hands he was like putty. His gang was always falling afoul of the liquor laws. The greatest indoor sport in Parched City was going to the express office and calling for shipments of dynamite, T.N.T. and Mustard Gas, but finally Susie got wise to this game and shot her revolver through every package as it went by the desk. As a glassware exhibit it wasn't worth taking away. Al Cohol called for his shipment. Susie busted the look with a well-placed shot and out jumped a ferocious lion. When the lion got through with the town it was still more parched and not a drop to wet its whistles.

Dir: Vin Moore

Lucy Whittacker is returning home from her finishing school and bringing her teacher with her. She warns the community teacher is a heart-breaker. Teacher brings her pet monkey with her, but hardly comes up to her advance billing, in the way of looks. Pa Whittacker details Dirtyshirt Jones on a ride through a bandit-ridden territory. Magpie is jealous and rigs up a speaking tube with which he waylays them on a lonely road. Through the speaking tube Magpie orders Dirtyshirt Jones to beat it with the homely girl and leave Lucy behind. Magpie then puts in a timely appearance and rescues Lucy, whom he takes to the circus, where he is met by Dirtyshirt and the teacher. The latter's monkey plays havoc with the sideshow attractions and eventually Magpie and Dirtyshirt are thrown on the back of an elephant. After a wild ride they are rescued by the local fire department.

Dir: Vin Moore

Last Chance Valley fairly wallowed in wickedness. To it came Professor Polonius Pinhead upon the back of his donkey and boon companion, King Solomon, and there he found two shrinking flowers of the valley. One's name was Violet and the other was Molly, whose expansion was in direct contrast to Violet's shrinking. She weighed 350 and could juggle a bean-shooter as well as any gun-toter. And, of course, there was a bad man. His name was Howling Hank, and he was a union villain licensed by the Moving Picture Theater Villains' Association, to wear the official black mustache and carry forty-seven shots in his six-shooter. Now, Howling Hank was determined that Violet should work in his dance-hall, and Molly was just as determined that Violet should not. Into this life and death struggle King Solomon, the donkey, kicked Professor Pinhead, and this elongated individual eventually obtained Dutch courage enough to route the villain, to save Violet, and to marry Molly.