Essential Cult Cinema Drawn from the Same DNA as Chip of the Flying...

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Larry Crane, junior partner in the firm of Crane and Son, wholesale fish dealers, will not take his work seriously and arrives at work nearer noon than morning. In his spare time Larry finds much pleasure in the company of Mabel Wyland. The two are only waiting until Larry becomes settled before they marry. Mabel's father has risen from the bottom and is now the proud possessor of a shoe factory. Mrs. Wyland carries the family affairs with a high hand, and her husband is a henpecked individual. Mother has definitely decided that Mabel shall be married to Percy Weatherfield, a fortune-hunter with an attractive title. Mabel, being typically American, prefers the careless, happy-go-lucky young fish merchant. Father, being henpecked, is afraid to voice his own opinions. Larry and his father quarrel and the old man proceeds to give him some advice, the substance of which is that he must display more interest in the business. The Wylands are giving a weekend party in their mountain home to celebrate the Fourth of July, and Mother Wyland has it all arranged so that Lord Percy and Mabel shall have a clear field. Larry, however, securing an invitation to the house party, succeeds in sidetracking Lord Percy. Larry enlists the assistance of young Bobby Wyland, who is persuaded to throw a bunch of small firecrackers beneath the bench on which Lord Percy is sitting, but in addition to the small ones given him by Larry, he puts in several of his own large crackers. The explosion is a great one, and Lord Percy is rendered unfit for duty for some time. Bobby is reprimanded, and laying the blame for his punishment to Larry and Mabel, he determines upon revenge. This opportunity comes while he is scouting about with a camera and is enabled to catch Larry and his sister in a lover-like embrace. This picture is developed and reaches the hands of Mother Wyland. She immediately has a fit, and nothing but an ocean voyage will help her. Clarence Velie is the head clerk in the Cranes' establishment, and unknown to the firm, has been secretly taking money from them. Mabel notifies Larry of their departure and he implores his father for a vacation to accompany them. His father refuses to allow him to leave. There is a sad parting between the two sweethearts, but on the pleasant journey Lord Percy is given every assistance. He and Mother Wyland come to an agreement by which they agree to pay him a dowry of $50,000 in return for marrying the girl. A big consignment of money is received for Crane and Son and Larry is sent to the office to get it. Clarence hears the arrangement and his cupidity is aroused by the large sum. Larry secures the money but reaches the bank too late to deposit it. He is forced to bring the money to the office and put it in their safe. Larry receives a telegram from Mabel telling him that her parents insist that she marry Lord Percy on the third of July, and she begs him to meet her in Honolulu so that she may marry him instead. When Larry brings the money to his father he tells him of this latest development and again pleads to get off. Father refuses again and tells him he can take $5,000 of the money he has as his share in the business and go. Larry thinks the matter over and decides to take his father's offer. He takes $5,000 of the money, leaves a note to his father and places the balance of the money in the safe. He then hurries to catch a boat for Honolulu. The boat doesn't sail until morning and Larry spends the night there in order to be sure to get off. Clarence sees Larry place the money in the safe for the night. He erases the word five and makes it $15,000, taking the additional $10,000 himself. The shortage is discovered next morning and father, believing Larry to blame, decides to give him a lesson. A detective is put on the track, who catches the same boat on which Larry sails. The detective's orders are to make a quiet arrest and bring the prisoner home without publicity, and he decides to wait until they reach Honolulu before acting. Upon their arrival at Honolulu, Larry is arrested. The detective finds the $5,000, but no sign of the additional $10,000. Larry asserts his innocence and claims there is a mistake. He eludes the detective and joins Mabel at their hotel. Father is told of their scheme and agrees to witness the ceremony, and they set out for the church. Detective Boggs pursues, but doesn't succeed in locating them until after the ceremony. He takes Larry in charge. Larry is thrown into the native prison and Mabel and her father, returning to the hotel, break the news to mother. Larry wires his father that there has evidently been a mistake, that he only took the $5,000. Jim Crane orders an investigation. Velie's dishonesty is discovered and the forged check is traced to him. Meanwhile Larry languishes in a Hawaiian prison. The Fourth of July approaches and Larry is taken out with the other prisoners. He refuses to work and fights with the guards. It would not be a holiday without appropriate celebration and Larry decides to have his own: He lights the fuse that is connected with a big store of dynamite and yells for the prisoners to run for their lives. Mabel and her mother have returned to the prison and meet the fleeing prisoners. Just as Larry is about to be taken back, Detective Boggs receives a cable from Larry's father stating that there has been a mistake and Larry, realizing that he is forgiven, makes plans for a happy honeymoon with Mabel.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Rejected by the army because of his petite size, French dress designer Andre Leriche conceives the idea of designing a gown that will aid his country. His employer, Madame Felice, sells the gown to Mrs. Mortimer Reyton, a middle-aged woman who is gradually losing the love of her husband. The gown so transforms her that, in honor of their wedding anniversary, Reyton buys three ambulances for France. Mrs. Reyton then sends the gown to her cousin Natalie. The garment so inspires Englishman Neil Cunningham that, to win Natalie's love, he returns home to enlist. In France, Neil proves himself a hero and, while leading an attack on a German stronghold, saves Andre's father, the mayor of the town, from death. Thus, the gown made a reality of Andre's dream to serve his country.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

When McAndrews was a boy his father took him to Lost Lake for a vacation, and a childish friendship was established between Vaughan and Jude Clark. He now goes to Lost Lake for recreation. Because the hotel accommodations are insufficient, Abner Clark takes Vaughan to his home, where in daily association with Jude the childhood friendship is renewed, and it gradually intensifies. Judge West, sensing the trend of events, charges Vaughan with "trifling" and reminds him that Jude is engaged to marry Dave Bean, a man of her own style. Harrison has induced Jude to pose for him, promising payment of $50 for the service, but the completed picture shows Jude in a pose she had never assumed. When Vaughan sees the picture, the opinion he has formed of the mountain girl suddenly changes. Several of the gossips get a view of the canvas and Harrison says he understood that Jude posed exactly as she was painted. Jude spurned the artist's $50 when she discovered the trick he played upon her, but when her father falls ill and needed hospital attention,, she pockets her pride and calls to get the cash. While she's at Harrison's camp Dave Bean, guided by the village gossips, enters and accuses her of lax morality, punishes the artists, and declares that the mountain girl shall never become Mrs. Bean. When Abner Clark dies, Jude is left without a protector or means of support, but Judge West intercepts her as she is about to leave Lost Lake and installs her at his own camp as full partner with him in his gold prospecting. Vaughan had left Lost Lake heartbroken because he believed ill of Jude. Months later, he writes to Jude that he has reconsidered and asks her to invite him to return. Jude's eager answer is unhappily stowed in Judge West's pocket for an indefinite time, and it is not until they strike gold that the missive is accidentally revealed. Discovery of the letter leads to a speedy understanding.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Annette finds a baby in the snow alongside her dead mother and takes it to Baptiste Dupre and his wife, where the two of them grow up. A corrupt sheriff is infatuated with her, and Jean Rivard (Tom Mix), an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, must rescue her from him.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

In New Mexico, one of the large tungsten mines is owned and operated by William Morton, affectionately known by his associates and employees as Uncle Billy Morton. At the outbreak of the war, he increases his activities as this metal is of great value to the Government for war purposes. Uncle Billy lives near the shaft of the mine with his niece Suzanne. When things at the mine are humming, a man giving his name as Gage arrives in the town. He is in reality an agent of the German government, come with the purpose of instigating a strike among the miners. His accomplice turns out to be the superintendent of the mine. About the same time, Jim Logan comes to town. He shortly wins Suzanne's gratitude and admiration by shooting a Gila monster as it is about to strike at her and then rescuing her from a perilous position on the side of a cliff, where in her nervous fright she fell. Gage is successful in persuading the miners to call a strike, but Logan succeeds in frustrating his plot for the present by breaking up the meeting. To discredit him with Suzanne, Gage circulates stories about his relations in a public place with chorus girl Dolly Dugan. Uncle Billy is beset by four of the plotters and is rescued by Logan. But Gage again plays against him. On a trumped up charge Logan is arrested by the sheriff. Dolly aids in his escape. Gage kidnaps Suzanne and lays plans to blow up the mine. But Logan at last gains the upper hand. He routs the strikers with the assistance of some mule skinners and their animals and captures Gage and Suzanne after a long pursuit. Only then does he disclose the fact that he and Dolly are Secret Service operatives and so, of course, all ends happily. Motion Picture News, September 28, 1918

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Inconsiderate millionaire John Benson, philanthropist Oliver North, courageous Langdon Crane, wealthy idler Robert Curtis, and Lydia Benson are among the passengers on an ocean liner that is sunk by a German submarine. Carried away by the currents to a tropical island, the castaways endure hardships which bring out their true natures. Benson becomes kind and considerate underneath his gruff exterior, North exhibits a meanness and smallness, Crane turns into a coward and slacker when he is confronted by hard work, and Curtis develops into a dynamo of activity whose strength and consideration prompt Lydia to fall in love with him. Finally, they are rescued and all return home, where Lydia and Curtis are married.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Rancher John Stafford hires daredevil cowboy Ned Ferguson to hunt down cattle rustlers. En route to the ranch Ned is bitten by a rattlesnake and nursed by Mary Radford, who is writing a Western novel. Ranch foreman Dave Leviatt is jealous of Mary's interest in Ned and convinces Stafford that Mary's brother Ben is the head of the rustlers. Leviatt shoots Ben in the back, and Ben is convinced that Ned is responsible. Mary will have nothing to do with Ned, even after he rescues her from a cattle stampede. Finally, Leviatt is captured and confesses the truth, and Mary accepts Ned as her real, rather than fictional, hero.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Mr. Logan, U.S.A. perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

With his invalid mother, Chet Wells rents a piece of property from Deacon Todd for the purpose of demonstrating Chet's ideas of "scientific farming." Major Burke and his daughter Emily are near neighbors. Emily is engaged to marry a wealthy young neighbor man. Her neighborly kindness to poorly Mrs. Wells brings her into frequent association with Chet, and the young people become fond of each other without openly expressing their mutual regard. Chet is unable to make the farm pay, and when Deacon Todd demands his rent, the young man cannot pay. During the argument Mrs. Wells arises from her bed and the excited conversation between Todd, the sheriff, and Chet gives her such a shock that she falls to the floor, fatally stricken. Chet swears vengeance upon Deacon Todd whom he blames for hastening his mother's death. Finally compelled to vacate, Chet sells his chattel and goes away to seek his fortune. Deacon Todd moves into the house Chet has vacated and an enmity develops between Major Burke and the miserly old deacon, climaxing when the major sends a charge of shot in Todd's direction because he discovers the deacon letting his cows into the major's corn. Todd disappears the night that Chet returns. Suspicion is directed toward Chet because threats he had made to "get even" with the deacon. Major Burke is conscience-stricken when he sees a flock of buzzards hovering over a nearby swamp and fancies that the dead body of his "victim" is the attraction for the vultures. Taking assiduously to drinking for the purpose of quieting his conscience the major is overcome by the stuff and sleeps. Chet enters the major's house to call upon Emily and hears the major talking in his maudlin slumber, revealing the facts in the shooting of Todd. By the same method of transmission, Emily has learned from her own father's lips that truth of "the deacon's demise." When officers come to Burke's house and accuse Chet of the crime the young man admits that he is guilty and tells the officers to search the swamp for Todd's remains. Chet's heroism in submitting himself as a victim to her own father's action greatly stirs Emily's latent admiration, and forgetful of her obligation to marry another, the girl easily surrenders her heart to Chet and proceeds to help him out of his dilemma. Chet is locked in the rickety neighborhood jail and Emily releases him, giving him opportunity to decamp and begging him to take her along to be married. Thus matters arrive at the conclusion of the film, but the exact manner in which the story ends is not revealed. Suffice it to say that the "surprise finish" changes the whole nature of the story from tense melodrama to boisterous farce, ending in the "biggest laugh" ever produced by a moving picture.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Failing to hear from her brother Jimmy after his departure for the Klondike, Barbara Henderson goes in search of him. Arriving in the frozen North, Barbara learns that her brother has been murdered and vows vengeance. Because the town's small hotel is filled to capacity, Barbara accepts an offer of lodging from old Tully Winkle in return for her keeping house for him and his prospecting partner, Cort Dorian. Barbara and Cort fall in love, but Barbara refuses to marry Cort until she solves the mystery of her brother's death. From various sources she learns that Jimmy's disappearance was preceded by a shoot-out between him and prospector Laberge over Seattle Lou. Barbara then makes the acquaintance of Laberge, who tells her that Cort shot Jimmy. Barbara insists upon fighting a duel with Cort, who fires into the air and is wounded by Barbara's bullet. Just as the shots are fired, Tully appears with the news that Seattle Lou has just arrived in town with her new husband, Jimmy Henderson.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Optimistic in the face of failure, Daniel Webster Opp finally attains success as a traveling salesman for a shoe firm, but just when his prospects are best, he receives word that his stepfather is dead. He leaves at once to meet his brother Ben at Cove Junction, where they settle the estate according to Ben's demands. Ben takes the money, while Mr. Opp is given the homestead and custody of their feeble-minded half-sister Kippy. Sacrificing all to remain with his sister, Mr. Opp founds a newspaper, "The Opp Eagle," and starts to promote the town. His optimistic editorials are read by John Mathews, a wealthy promoter who comes to investigate the possibility of coal in the area. After convincing the townspeople to invest their money, Mathews discovers the mine to be worthless and decides to sell out to the competition, against Mr. Opp's wishes. Next, Mr. Opp loses his sweetheart Guinevere Gusty to Mathew's secretary, Willard Hinton. Throughout, Mr. Opp remains cheerful and is rewarded for his optimism when the townspeople nominate him to be mayor of Cove Junction.