Hand-Picked Alternatives for Fans of Captain of the Guard: Cult Guide

Dir: John S. Robertson

Gossip spreads quickly throughout a small New England village when Betty Taradine extravagantly entertains wounded Colonel Preedy, billeted at her home. After a bank official suggests that Betty, deeply in debt, raise money on the life insurance policy of her husband, who left years earlier because of her extravagances, Betty sends herself a telegram announcing her husband's death. Preedy's aide, Captain Peter Rymill, in reality Betty's husband, arrives, and falling in love with her again, agrees to keep his identity secret. Although Betty flirts with Preedy to irritate Peter, Preedy really loves Betty's friend, Penelope Moon. One night, Preedy sneaks into Betty's bedroom to steal Penelope's picture, and hides in the closet when Peter enters seeking reconciliation. Peter then hides under the bed when Reverend Ambrose Liptrott, who loves Betty, and his spinster sister Tabitha, arrive to investigate rumors. After Peter and Preedy explain themselves, Preedy confesses his love to Penelope, and Peter and Betty are reunited.

Dir: John S. Robertson

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

After serving a term in prison for a crime he did not commit, a man exacts revenge upon the two people who framed him.

Dir: John S. Robertson

During World War I, Washington, D.C. society girl Nancy Craddock decides to enlist in the Food Administration on the theory that "eggs will win the war."

Dir: John S. Robertson

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

Barnabetta Dreary's grim life of slaving for her Amish father Barnaby and her two brothers, is surprisingly changed when Barnaby marries Juliet Miller. Known as Erstwhile Susan, she becomes fond of Barnabetta, and because she retains control of her fortune, induces the other Drearys to relieve Barnabetta of some of her drudgery. After Barnaby has a stroke brought on when Susan proposes sending Barnabetta to school, she goes to a prep school where the president, Doctor Barrett, and a trustee, State Senator Jordan, both fall for her newly acquired charm, to the dismay of Jordan's sister who loves Barrett. When the sister interferes with Barnabetta's plan to work in the school after graduation, Barnabetta helps Jordan win his campaign for governor, and after exposing him to her family's crude table manners, Barnabetta accepts Jordan's marriage proposal, while Susan succeeds in reforming Barnaby and his sons.

Dir: Edgar Jones

A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.

Dir: Alexander Butler

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

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

Dir: John S. Robertson

During World War I, beautiful and patriotic Leslie Selden is courted by two ardent admirers: Jack Wynn, a young man not yet taken by the draft, and Dr. Wolff, a Danish scientist who is actually a German agent. When Jack learns that Wolff is masterminding a plot to bomb several munitions factories and destroy the water system in New York City, he goes to the spy's home and confronts him. Wolff locks him up, then forges a note to Leslie claiming that the young man has run away to escape the draft. Her suspicions aroused, Leslie alerts the authorities and plants a dictograph in Wolff's house, through which she learns of the scheduled bombings. Accompanied by the police, she arrives at Wolff's residence just in time to prevent Jack's murder and the destruction of the city.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

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

When famous opera singer Elinore Duane undergoes an operation on her throat, she has a series of ether-induced visions. In one, she is transported to ancient Rome where she appears as a much-admired woman in love with Paul, a young heretic, and at odds with Lutor, the high priest. To save her love, she poisons Lutor with her ring. After several other visions which involve variations on this love triangle, Elinore awakens to discover that Lutor is actually her doctor, Sascha Jaccard, and that Paul is the son of a friend who has come to visit the recovering prima donna.

Dir: John S. Robertson

Having sold his share in a mine, Gregory Drake blows it up in pique when it turns out to be good, and disappears, leaving Helen Ogden sole owner, as her father was killed in the mine. Later, in New York, Helen is much sought because of her money. Dr. Granger, a worker among the poor, induces her to see his "family," as he calls the many in want. Helen becomes interested and is loved by the poor for her good deeds among them. She buys a pin from Jack Burton on the bread line. Later Dr. Granger secures him employment as a reporter. Jack loves Helen, and she begins to feel affection for him, but he realizes that her money stands between them. Richard Drake, Gregory's son, is operating a get-rich-quick investment scheme in New York when his father turns up. By changing the names on the old sales document Gregory has reserved, the swindlers are able to steal the mine from Helen. She feels that now she and Jack are on a plane, but Dr. Granger convinces her that they must both work to recover the mine. This Helen does by becoming a stenographer at the "Money Mill" and after many adventures she and Jack are united through Dr. Granger.

Dir: John S. Robertson

Phyllis Ashbrook hosts a party in the Adirondacks for her fiancé Roger Mason and their engaged friends, John Manning and Anita Webb. In a climbing expedition, Phyllis and John are separated from the others by a storm and seek refuge in a cabin. To save her reputation, Phyllis' parents insist that she marry John immediately, after which they may obtain a divorce and marry their respective partners. After the ceremony, John leaves for China to provide grounds for divorce, but upon discovering that he has mistakenly taken his new wife's suitcase, he returns to his apartment, where he finds Phyllis. Anita and Roger arrive and confess their devotion to each other, and when John and Phyllis realize that they, too, are in love, the divorce plans are abandoned.