Deep Archive Finds in the Vein of Circumstantial Evidence: Cult Guide

Dir: David Wall

John Bromley Jr., an inveterate gambler, becomes so overwhelmed with debt that he is forced to steal from his wealthy father's safe. The night of the robbery he breaks into his father's house with Harvey Knowles, the gambler to whom he is indebted. The next morning, Bromley Sr. is found murdered and Tex, a noted criminologist, is brought in to solve the crime. At first, John Jr. is accused, then the guilt shifts to Bromley's other son Bruce, who had just been fired by his father. Also under suspicion is Frances Belmore, a woman of ill repute who had attempted to ensnare Bromley. Finally, all three are cleared when Tex discovers that the butler did it while attempting to abscond with the contents of the safe.

Dir: Tom Collins

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

When the body of Wall Street broker Norman Temple is found dead in his office, the police arrest contractor James Borden for the crime on the testimony of Temple's secretary that Borden had threatened her employer over an unpaid note. Also under suspicion is Temple's Japanese valet, who quarreled with his employer the day before the murder. Tex, a detective, enters the case, following his own leads which prove the valet innocent. Tex finally deduces that Minkin, one of Temple's clerks, shot his employer when he interrupted the clerk robbing his safe. With Tex's revelation, Minkin's room is searched, the stolen bonds found and Borden is freed.

Dir: Charles Raymond

A magician helps outwit a Chinaman's gang.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

The story is that of two clever crooks who are operating at a fashionable seaside resort, with the help of a highly trained and uncannily intelligent chimpanzee. Valuable jewels are constantly disappearing and the detectives are unable to obtain a clue. Finally, after an especially daring robbery, a clue is found that leads to the discovery of the thieves. The simian leads the detectives a chase that calls for some acrobatic stunts on the part of the chasers. The end of this is the capture of the chimpanzee, recovery of the jewels and the arrest of the crooks.

Dir: Thomas R. Mills

Returning from the war front, Captain Phoebe Plunkett accepts an assignment to apprehend jewel smugglers in pursuit of the Sultana diamond. On his mission, he meets Patricia Melton, who introduces herself as a French Secret Service agent also in search of the diamond. Plunkett is in love with Olga Karakoff, daughter of a wealthy jeweler, and he soon comes to suspect that Olga's father is in league with the smugglers. However, Patricia is the true impostor, and after she discovers that the jewel is encased in a locket worn around Olga's neck, she captures Olga and the diamond. Plunkett comes to the rescue and wins both Olga and a large reward for recovering the jewel.

Dir: William C. Dowlan

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

At a party thrown at the Metcalf estate, the Marquise D'Irancy's Sultana diamond disappears when the lights go out during a power failure. Suspected of the crime is William Kirkland, the wastrel son of the wealthy Kirkland family, but William's sister Diana comes to his defense. Aiding her in the investigation is Clamp, a wandering peddler. After several misadventures, Clamp reveals that he is a secret service agent on the trail of the international criminals, the de Vallignacs, who are summering at the resort. After proving that the de Vallignacs have stolen the diamond, Clamp arrests his prey, clears William and marries Diana.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Harry L. Franklin

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

Audacious Jeanne works in a book bindery, is given a diary written by one Thomas Dodd to bind. The diary portrays Dodd as a scoundrel who fathered a girl by a woman he never married, and Dodd's family as a nest of vipers. Jeanne decides it is her duty to save this corrupt family and presents herself to Dodd as his illegitimate daughter. In fact, Dodd is a meek old man whose scandalous diary was pure fantasy, and the only hostile member of the family is Dodd's greedy brother Jerry, who was the only sympathetic character in Dodd's diary. Jeanne falls in love with Dodd's nephew Kent, though she dutifully urges him to marry Hazel Jenkins, a woman whom Jeanne believes Kent has wronged. Finally Sarah Ross, the alleged mother of Dodd's child, ends Jeanne's suspicions by denying that she had ever had a daughter. After foiling Jerry's plan to usurp the family fortune, Jeanne confesses her charade and accepts Kent's love. Dodd likewise admits that his diary is a fake and proposes to Sarah.

Dir: George Irving

When thief Frederick Thurston returns from abroad with a stolen blue pearl, he sells the jewel to Holland Webb, a gigolo living off the funds of his wealthy wife Laura. Holland then presents the pearl to his mistress Sybil Trent, who wears it to a reception hosted by the Webbs. Thurston is also in attendance and is planning to reclaim the pearl. During the course of the party, the lights are extinguished, and when the electricity is restored, Sybil discovers that her gem is missing. When Police Commissioner Richard Drake is called in to solve the crime, Laura, who is aware of her husband's infidelity, confesses to him that she stole the jewel as evidence in a divorce suit against her husband. Laura and Webb are divorced, and she falls in love with Drake.

Dir: George Beranger

John Fenton visits a fortune-teller to gain insight into his parentage. While there, a police raid occurs, and he climbs the fire escape to the apartment above. There he finds a girl standing over the body of a young man who has just shot himself. The girl, Belle Charmion, explains that her half brother, Gordon Brewster, had stolen some jewels from their uncle and, fearing that the police would capture him, had attempted suicide. Fenton conceals the brother in another room and impersonates him when the police arrive. Later, he and Belle take Brewster to his uncle's home. In the excitement, the jewels have been forgotten, and Fenton returns to search for them. By this time, the family butler, who is a member of an underworld gang, has tipped off his friends, who then steal the Fenton jewels. At the butler's home, a scuffle ensues; Fenton recovers the jewels and learns that he is actually a distant relative of the Charmions, having been kidnapped in infancy by a crook. With both mysteries thus resolved, Belle and Fenton become engaged.