Must-Watch List in the Vein of Captain Swift: Cult Guide

Dir: Edgar Lewis

Murice Brachard, a dock laborer, rises to be a "Samson" of finance with terrific power and a primordial ferocity, which he needs when his wife spurns his devotion, and people he trusts try to pull down the structure of wealth he has erected.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

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

Stephen Browning, a minister in a small city, is unable to cope with the strong opposition in his parish, which is fostered and led by Raphael Creeke, his rival for the love of Irene Manton. Meanwhile, James, Stephen's brother, is released from prison after serving a term for borrowing money to lend to a friend's sick wife and child, and upon hearing of his brother's tribulations decides to act as the minister's substitute. After Stephen goes to a neighboring farm to recuperate from a nervous breakdown, James assumes his brother's identity, inspires the confidence of the congregation, discovers Creeke's conniving and wins Irene's love. With the help of a blackmailer, Creeke attempts to expose James's record, but his scheme backfires when the minister wins the support of his congregation by admitting his true identity. Stephen is murdered by Jacob Dreener, one of Creeke's accomplices, who mistakes the minister for his brother. James is then left to occupy his brother's shoes permanently, bringing Creeke to justice and winning Irene for his wife.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

Karl "Curly" Casterline, a wrongfully discharged New York City policeman, finds work on the Midwestern farm of Adolf Bauerle to help the war effort. Curly is attracted to his boss's niece, Mina, but also realizes that Adolf and his cohort, Kurz, plan to blow up a troop train. Curly kills the two saboteurs and saves the train, but he is jailed by the abusive Sheriff Herman Lindig. Although Mina praises Curly for saving the soldiers' lives, he is sentenced to death and is denied a pardon from the governor. After the case attracts national attention, the governor explains that he prolonged Curly's incarceration to draw attention to the danger of German propaganda. Curly marries Mina and is later pardoned by the governor, who enlists him as an officer to protect the state from its enemies. Sheriff Lindig and his German conspirators are convicted and escorted to federal prison by Curly.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

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

Captain Gray, of the United States Army, detailed to quell the Indian uprising, is wounded. A courier is dispatched to Gray's home with the news. Mrs. Gray, about to become a mother, receives a violent shock at the recital of the details of her husband's injury by the courier. The child born at this inopportune time is Wallace Gray. The prenatal influence exercised over the child at the time of his mother being informed of her husband's injury marks him as a coward. The report of a shot or the sound of an explosion throws the lad into spasms of fear. He is sent to college and there forms a strong comradeship with Swiftwind, an Indian, sent by his tribe to be educated. Wallace also forms a strong attachment for Florence Dunbar, a ward of his father, who is now Colonel Gray. Swiftwind is made acquainted with the moral defect inherent in Wallace and pities and protects him whenever the lad is made the subject of the jeers of his friends because of his born defect. Swiftwind becomes a graduate physician and receives a commission as assistant army surgeon, detailed to Fort Terry, in command of Colonel Gray. His immediate superior is Dr. Sherwood, an unscrupulous man. Florence Dunbar and Wallace Gray, traveling in a stagecoach to Fort Terry, are attacked by Indians. Wallace, with a cringing fear, deserts his companion, who is saved only by the timely arrival of Dr. Sherwood and troops. Sherwood marries Florence, nothing more being heard of Wallace, who, however, enlists in another regiment under General Crook, deserts under fire, and ultimately surrenders himself to his father, in the hope that he will be condemned to death. The boy, however, is sentenced to the "pyramids." While working under "ball and chain" he hears that his father and a small band of Americans are hemmed in a canyon by Indians with no hope of relief. The latter, having observed the Northern Lights in the heavens, follow their belief that the "Lights" foretell victory in battle and start on a massacre. General Crook calls for a volunteer to pass through the Indian lines to deliver a message to Colonel Gray. Swiftwind volunteers, but being weak from exhaustion and privation, falls as he is about to commence his ride. Wallace begs for the opportunity to redeem himself, and mounting his horse, arrives with the message to the besieged band just as they are about to recognize a false flag of truce of the Indians. Sherwood attempts to kill his wife by substituting cholera germs in a bottle labeled morphine. He is injured, however, and Swiftwind, intending to alleviate Dr. Sherwood's suffering with morphine, inoculates him with the cholera germs, unwittingly putting an end to him. Wallace's redemption restores him to the affection of Florence, whom he marries.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

Rosa is looked upon as an outcast, and is always in the shadow of her spoiled younger sister Rita.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

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

Stephen Orry is an Icelandic vagabond. Rachel, the daughter of the governor of the province, is attracted to him. Her father, who is against the relationship, drives her from home, and she marries Orry. But she cannot make a man out of Orry, who runs off to sea. Rachel supports herself and her son Jason, while Orry begins a new life on the Isle of Man. He marries Liza Killey and they have a son named Sunlocks. When Liza mistreats Sunlocks, Orry takes him away to the governor of the Isle for safekeeping. After Rachel dies, Jason sets out for revenge against his father. His half-brother Sunlocks sets out for Iceland to find Rachel and Jason to make reparations, while Jason comes to the Isle of Man. While there, Jason saves his father from drowning, and after his father dies from a natural death, he turns his desire for revenge against Sunlocks. But when Sunlocks becomes a political prisoner, Jason forgoes his revenge and dies in place of Sunlocks.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

The scene is set in the Pennsylvania petroleum region. Oil worker William Brett has used his scanty hoard of savings to send his daughter Jane to the city to secure a higher education. Completing her course as a trained nurse, Jane visits her old home. Amid the settlement's corroding influence, her brother becomes a thief. Jane's sister Annie falls a prey to the blandishments of a tempter from the city. Fired with indignation against the injustice of affairs, Jane devotes herself to the double mission of avenging and of righting the wrongs of which her family and the community in general have been subjected. Her father is seriously hurt in an accident at work, and his pay is stopped. Jane hastens to the city, determined to make an effort to awaken William Jameson, the millionaire owner of the oil field, to a realization of the wrongs imposed upon the workers. She arrives at a time when the millionaire's son John Jameson, who glimpsed the light of uplift, is vainly pleading with his father to listen to his plans for the betterment of the workers' conditions. Jane is compelled to force her way into the Jameson mansion during the progress of a bal masque given in aid of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She accosts William Jameson in his study, and wild with anger and further maddened by the millionaire's gibes, she tries to kill him and is arrested by detectives. Although she and young Jameson have not met, the latter is instrumental in obtaining her release. Jane goes back to the workers and a secret strike is formed, Jane being the ring-leader. They determine to fire the wells to teach Jameson a lesson. It is at this time that John Jameson comes to the oil wells to investigate conditions. His identity is not known by anyone except the superintendent. Morgan, the ringleader of the workers, is in love with Jane, and on the eve of the firing of the wells he learns of Jameson's identity by breaking into his cottage. The same evening, to save the property, young Jameson goes to Jane, confesses his identity, and pleads with her to help him save the property. Jane is in a quandary. She has fallen in love with the man, whom she believed to be a workman, and he with her. Finally, when she goes to the meeting place of the strikers and pleads with them to hold off, Morgan, who has just broken into Jameson's hut, rushes in, and accuses her of being a traitor. There is a fight. They trample over Jane and rush to the wells. Jane, realizing that they will turn to her unsuspecting lover and try to kill him, drags herself to him and just in time throws herself in front of him as the strikers rush to kill him. However, John Jameson bares himself to the strikers, asks them to listen to him, and proves to them that he is there on their behalf. He then goes to his father and forces him to give in to the strikers, and all ends happily.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

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

Stolen when a baby by a mulatto woman, who becomes a half-crazed witch, and raises her to beautiful womanhood with the belief that she is her own daughter, Belle cannot bring herself to mix with her race and accept the attentions of a noble character in the person of Ben Swift, in whose veins the blood of the red, white and black races are mixed. A handsome white stranger. Page Warren, from the North, who believes her a white girl, falls in love with her. She returns his love while at the same time hiding the fact that she is the negro witch, Lindy's, daughter. Page incurs the hatred of the bad element among the blacks, while failing to appreciate that there is also a good element among whom are men and women as noble as any of his white companions. He incurs the hatred of Ben Swift, who misinterpreted his attentions to Belle, and resents the mixing of the races, not knowing that Belle has not disclosed her identity to Page. The attacking of Page by a gang of bad blacks, following his fight with one of their leaders, his rescue by Ben Swift, who has learned of Belle's love for the white man. the discovery by Page that Belle is a mulatto, the sensational disclosure of the fact that she is the last daughter of a prominent Southern family, the death of Ben Swift while defending Page and Belle from an enraged mob and the beautiful handling of the subject of the spiritual equality of men makes "The Bar Sinister" an intensely interesting drama with a powerful appeal to all classes.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

Herbert Carey discharges the Dudley brothers, Joe and Jim, from their positions as overseers on his plantation and thereby incurs their enmity. War is declared and Carey, after bidding his wife and daughter Virgie farewell, joins the Southern forces, the Dudleys joining the Northern. The spring of '61 finds Carey the most dangerous and daring of Confederate scouts. The Dudleys are under the command of Colonel Morrison, a dashing, chivalrous young Northern officer. Grant closes in on Richmond and orders Morrison to capture Carey. Morrison takes a small detachment of troops, including Jim Dudley, and going to the Carey homestead, searches it. Dudley, seeing a chance for revenge, sets fire to the house, but in endeavoring to escape is shot and killed by Morrison, who has discovered his treachery. Penniless and with the house in ruins, Mrs. Carey and Virgie finally seek shelter in their former overseers' deserted cabin. Mrs. Carey sinks down and finally dies. Carey, hearing of this, gets to the cottage and assists Uncle Billy to bury her. Carey, wishing to remove Virgie to Richmond, receives a pass from Lee permitting Virgie and an escort to go through the Confederate lines. As he goes to the cottage to deliver the pass to Uncle Billy he is discovered and captured in it by Morrison. Carey tells him why he had come and Morrison's heart, being touched, he also gives Carey a pass through the Northern lines, telling him to take Virgie into Richmond himself. Joe Dudley discovers this and informs the Northern officer that Morrison has given a pass to Carey, the notorious scout, to pass through the Northern lines. Carey and Morrison are captured, court-martialed and sentenced to be shot. Little Virgie, hearing of this, goes to Grant and pleads with him to save her "Daddy." Carey is called before Grant and tells his story. Grant's heart is touched and he releases Carey telling him that though he cannot honor Morrison's pass, he can honor that of General Lee. Morrison is released also, and Carey and The Littlest Rebel. Virgie, are once more reunited. After the war finds Morrison, his wife and child, meeting Carey and Virgie over his wife's grave; the North and South join hands. The Confederate flag is seen meeting the Stars and Stripes; they flutter for a moment, then slowly intertwine and the picture fades away.

Dir: Edgar Lewis

Philip Morrow grows to manhood in the belief that the blood in his veins is the most aristocratic in the South. "Clif" Noyes, a distiller of whiskey of the fiery brand manufactured for consumption, persuades Morrow to run for Governor. Upon his election to the Governorship he decides to sign a Prohibition Bill which means the ruin of Noyes' business. Noyes visits Morrow. He has found papers proving that Morrow has blood in him. Morrow, undaunted, makes the Prohibition Bill a law, and resigns his office and sacrifices his love to devote his life to the uplift of the Negro.