The Cult Collection Comparable to the Style of Burning Gold: Cult G...

Dir: John W. Noble

Cyril Van Cortlandt Hamilton, one of the wealthiest young bachelors in New York, has led a life of ease. He is engaged to be married to Marcia West, the daughter of an Army Colonel. While Cyril and Marcia are at a house party, news comes that the National Guard has been called into service. Cyril, a member of a militia regiment, not caring to be subjected to discomfort, declines to accompany his regiment to the border and resigns his commission. For this Marcia breaks her engagement, and accompanies her parents to the border, where Col. West is to take command of his regiment. Upon his return home Cyril considers his act and later enlists as a private in an Irish regiment and goes to the border. His society manners annoy the rough-and-ready men among whom he has cast his lot, and they proceed to make life miserable for him. Corporal Mallin especially loses no opportunity to bully him. Cyril wanders about by himself when not on duty, and meets Idiqui, a Mexican Indian, whose gratitude he earns by aiding his daughter, Rana, who has fallen and hurt herself. The Mexican bandit chief Navarete comes into camp. He has been educated in the United States, and has fallen in love with Marcia, who has refused him. He gets Mallin to steal one of the machine guns for him. When the theft is discovered Mallin accuses Cyril and Idiqui of the crime. Cyril and Idiqui are ordered to the guardhouse. The Indian attempts to escape to his daughter, whose condition is critical, and Mallin raises a gun to shoot, but Cyril overcomes him. Then, realizing that he has placed himself in a serious position and can hope for no leniency from Mallin, he deserts, Idiqui going with him. They set out afoot on the Mexican side of the river. Marcia has come across the river on her early morning ride and stumbles upon the bandits taking the automatic away. She is seen and captured, and Cyril and Idiqui, unarmed and helpless, follow in pursuit, to find out where she is being taken. Idiqui is struck by a rattlesnake, and Cyril cauterizes the wound. The Indian goes to warn the American troops, and Cyril goes on to the Mexican village, where the Mexicans are carousing in front of Navarete's house, where Marcia is held prisoner. Cyril draws the villagers away from the chief's house by setting the village on fire, and then enters the house in time to save Marcia from Navarete, killing the bandit. They escape. They are overtaken in the morning, and ensconced in a sand pocket put up a brave fight. When one cartridge alone remains, Marcia. now acknowledging Cyril's bravery, asks him to kiss her and then kill her with the remaining cartridge, to save her from falling into the hands of the Mexicans. He is about to do so when he himself is shot down. The bandits swoop upon the two, but are stopped by Col. West and a number of his men. A squadron of cavalry and a battalion of infantry also come to the rescue from different directions, cutting off the escape of the Mexicans. Cyril is lifted into Col. West's auto in a dying condition. By the blessing of Providence and his own vigorous constitution, Cyril recovers, and two months later, as he watches the return of the regiment with his beloved wife, Marcia, the men recognize him and discipline is forgotten while the marching troops turn to cheer him.

Dir: John W. Noble

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

While touring India, noted English criminologist Richard Duvall saves the life of a Buddhist priest who rewards him with the presentation of a wonderful crystal globe. By gazing in it the priest demonstrates that Duvall can fall into a cataleptic state and his astral body is released and is free to roam at will. Leaving the temple, Duvall collides with Grace Ellicott, who is touring the Far East with her aunt, the Countess D'Este and the Count. A mutual admiration between Grace and Duvall results from the accidental meeting. Later, in England, the mistress of Count D'Este makes financial demands which he cannot meet. With his housekeeper, Mrs. Cooke, he plans to put his wife out of the way and thus obtain her fortune. Poison is put in candy which the Countess eats. Her sudden death arouses the suspicion of her niece. On his return to England, Duvall experiments with the magic globe. He is surprised and pleased to see the face of the girl he met in India. Further experiments, while in the cataleptic state, discloses part of the plot that resulted in the death of Grace's aunt, which has cheated her out of the fortune. Duvall seeks out Grace to explain his strange experiments. She tells him that previous to the death of the Countess she had seen her will and that the entire fortune, which included one million dollars in cash, was to be left to her. But after the suspicious death of the Countess, Grace is puzzled when the Count produces a new will in which he is named the sole beneficiary. Duvall succeeds in having his East Indian servant, Purtab Gar, secure a position in the Count's home. Then he proceeds to unravel the mystery and at the same time recover the one million dollars for Grace. Count D'Este is driven to distraction by finding, everywhere he turns in his home, cards that read: "I want One Million Dollars. Victor Gerard." Disguised as "Victor Gerard," Duvall pays a visit to the Count. He insists that the one million dollars be ready for him at midnight, when he will call again. D'Este notifies the police and the chief calls in Duvall to assist in solving the mystery and apprehending "Gerard." Duval outlines a plan in which the Count is directed to have the money ready as demanded. He assures him the premises will be well protected and that "Gerard" cannot escape. "Gerard" arrives at the appointed time and mysteriously disappears, together with the money, as the police close in. Duvall walks out of a room where they think they have "Gerard" trapped. Count D'Este accuses Grace of stealing the money and attempts to strangle her when Purtab Gar saves her. Duvall succeeds in obtaining a confession of the murder from the housekeeper, when he traps her as she is attempting to poison Grace. Duvall explains everything to the mystified police. D'Este is carried off under arrest and Grace and Duvall are left happily together.

Dir: John W. Noble

A story about the affects of cocaine on the lives of a family.

Dir: John W. Noble

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

At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, John Grey enlists in the Army and leaves his sweetheart Mary for Cuba. Later Mary discovers that she is pregnant, but John is killed before they can legalize their union. When Mary dies, her daughter Little Mary is taken into an orphanage and adopted by Peters, a cruel farmer who turns her into a slave. Befriended by Seppe, a hunchback farmhand of similar parentage, young Mary escapes to the city where she finds work at a hospital run by Dr. Strong. Soon after, she falls in love with Strong's son Donald and accepts his marriage proposal. When Donald learns from Peters, who comes to the city to reclaim Mary, that she is illegitimate, he backs out of the engagement. To stop Peters from stealing Mary, Seppe shoots him, wounding him only slightly. The incident shocks Donald into rethinking his decision; but even after she and Seppe are freed from Peters and the law, Mary refuses to compromise Donald's reputation and returns to the country with Seppe.

Dir: John W. Noble

After a brief courtship, Louise Joyce is married to her employer, architect Mortimer Grierson, who soon tires of her and begins to see other women. One night, he comes home drunk and informs Louise that the marriage was a fraud, actually only a mock ceremony arranged by Grierson's nephew Howard Hayes, then deserts her for good. Louise becomes an artist's model, and while working she meets Paul Vivian, a protégé of her husband, and the two fall in love. Grierson discovers their relationship and tells Paul that Louise was his mistress. Soon after, Grierson is mortally wounded by one of his lovers and Howard returns from Mexico to visit his uncle's deathbed. As Grierson instructs Howard to put his affairs in order, Howard confesses that Louise's marriage is legal because in an effort to spite his uncle, he secured a real minister to perform the ceremony. After Grierson's death, Paul finds Louise and learns the true story, and together they begin a new life.

Dir: John W. Noble

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

Rhy MacGhesney and her two brothers, Clem and Sonnie, live with their father and their servant Maggie in a small boom mining town in Colorado. The boom has passed to the camps further on, leaving their little camp practically deserted. Rhy still has faith in the claim her father worked up to the time he was killed, some five years before, but her brother hates the life of the camp, and wants to sell for what they can get and go back to New York, where he feels he can have a chance to make something of himself. Their neighbor across the street is Lewis Beresford, whose obvious mission in the camp is one of pleasure, but who is in reality a mining expert, connected with big mining interests. He has ingratiated himself into the affection of the people of this little camp, and shows a great liking for Rhy and her brothers. Steve Towney, the former mine superintendent for "The Three of Us," is in love with Rhy and is jealous of Beresford, as he has been accepted as suitor for Rhy's hand, up to the time of Beresford's coming. Mr. and Mrs. Bix, Rhy's closest friends in the camp, give a Hallowe'en dinner, which is to be the biggest event of the year. On the day that the dinner is to be given, Steven strikes, by accident, mineral. This assures the success of the mine on which he holds an option, and which adjoins "The Three of Us." Overjoyed, he rushes to Rhy to tell the good news, informing her that it will be impossible for him to attend the Bix dinner, as his option expires the next day at noon. Rhy confesses her love for him, and asks him to wait until next morning. She will then go with him. He consents, giving her the option and samples of ore. Clem overhears the conversation. He is bribed by Beresford to reveal it. The latter thus has an opportunity to make an attempt to gain possession of the mine. He is at the recording office waiting to establish a claim the moment that the option to Towney's mine expires. But Rhy saves the mine and proves her loyalty to Steve by a thrilling ride over the mountains. This is shown in a series of exciting pictures. A great explosion for the breaking of ground for a smelter for the two successful mines ends the picture.

Dir: John W. Noble

Faro Black, the chief of the Gypsies, finds out that his son Faro and his girlfriend Egypt have gotten married. Infuriated, he tells that their marriage isn't valid, since Egypt is actually the daughter of wealthy Gordon Lindsay, who is on his way to the gypsy camp to claim her. The two promise to remain faithful to each other, but as time passes and she never hears from him, her love turns to bitterness. What she doesn't know is that Faro is being held prisoner by his father who, on his deathbed, tells him a secret that changes everything.

Dir: John W. Noble

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

Philip and Miles Quaintance quarrel over the love of Ellen Sheridan; Miles is rejected, while Philip is successful. Philip dies soon after his son is born, and Miles proposes to the widow. When she refuses him, he uses every means to make her unhappy. She leaves the Southland where they live, taking her infant son Stephen. When Stephen has grown to manhood, his mother dies, first telling him the story of Miles' persecution. He is so embittered against his uncle that he avoids meeting him, and he leaves for South Africa. Miles Quaintance amasses a fortune, and in his declining years he hopes to meet Stephen to make restitution for the wrongs he had done his parents. Miles has a ward, Dagmar Lorraine, whom he sends to Paris to study singing. There she meets Etienne, the Duke de Reves, who has an unsavory reputation. He makes violent love to Dagmar and obtains her consent to marry him. After the ceremony a woman enters the church carrying a baby whom she claims is the Duke's son. Horrified, Dagmar flees from the church and returns to America. In a whimsical mood, and partly to atone for the wrongs he had done in his past, Miles makes a will leaving his $10 million fortune to Dagmar and Stephen, provided that they marry and that the wedding takes place before midnight of the following May 31. Miles does not know of Dagmar's wedding and dies before she arrives in America. Stephen is notified of the contents of the strange will at a trading station in Africa. He decides he will take no assistance from his uncle, and with Timothy O'Farrell, a companion, he plans a way out of it. They find the body of a white man floating in the river, and Stephen puts all his papers and trinkets in the pockets of the dead man. Mark Seager, a gunrunner, finds the body and conceives the idea of impersonating the dead man, marrying Dagmar, and claiming the legacy. He sets off for America immediately. Stephen and O'Farrell also leave for America. They are in a restaurant, where they see a man abusing a young girl and using threatening language. It is the valet of the Duke, who has met Dagmar and is trying to blackmail her for his silence. Stephen drives the valet out of the place, and is charmed by the appearance and manner of the girl. She leaves before he can question her. While driving her automobile home that night, Dagmar has trouble with the engine. When she stops to fix it Seager, who does not know her, observes her predicament and attempts to take advantage of it. She frightens him away with a revolver. The next day, Stephen sees an automobile offered for sale, and noticing that it corresponds with the one driven by the girl he met the day before, he answers the advertisement. Dagmar sells the car to him as she is low in funds. That night the valet and the Duke come to her home and she flees, taking passage the next morning on a steamship bound for Paris, where she has left some money in a bank. Seager learns that she has gone, and he follows. Likewise do the Duke and Stephen and O'Farrell. Stephen, taking the name of A. Newman. Seagar finds Dagmar in Paris and tells her he has come to marry her. One look at him and she leaves. The Duke finds her and persuades her to come to him, saying he will lead a better life, and introduce her to his own society. On the night of the reception she is kidnapped by Seager, who takes her to a deserted house where he has arranged for a rascally advocate to come and marry them. The Duke follows to the house and is killed in a fight with Seager. Stephen and O'Farrell have followed the Duke's valet and arrive there just as Seager is forcing Dagmar into a marriage. It is just 10 minutes to midnight, the time assigned for the $10 million wedding. Seager is driven from the place and Stephen and Dagmar tell each other of their love. Both agree not to touch a penny of Miles' fortune, and after the clock strikes twelve they are married.

Dir: John W. Noble

John Kendall was brought up in a wealthy family, but when his father loses the family fortune and then dies, John is left penniless. He joins the army and rises to the rank of sergeant. He soon meets and falls in love with Edith Ferris, the daughter of Col. Dickinson. When he talks to her at a party, Lt. Burkett upbraids him for fraternizing with an officer's family. Edith's mother, not wanting her daughter getting involved with a lowly enlisted man, conspires with Lt. Burkett to discredit John.

Dir: John W. Noble

After a biblical and historical prologue detailing the evolution of the idea of democracy through the creation of the world, the flood, the crucifixion of Christ, the discovery of America, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Civil War, the present-day threat to this idea by autocratic powers is dramatized. Fritz Schmidt, a German-American steel plant owner, and his son Oscar remain loyal to the Kaiser, while son George fights for the Allies. When the American army hospital where Louisa Schmidt works as a nurse is attacked by the Germans, Oscar, now a German soldier, assaults her, not recognizing his sister in the confusion. George, recovering in the hospital, kills his brother and then returns home to find his mother and a German spy struggling for some secret papers. George kills the spy, Fritz realigns his loyalty to the American cause, and the family is reunited.