Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of Cleopatra: Cult Guide

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Chimmie is sent to Death Valley, California as part of a railroad scheme. He's to pretend to have discovered gold there, then set a new transcontinental record heading East. It doesn't quite work out that way.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Esra Kincaid takes land by force, and having taken the Espinoza land, he sets his sight on the Castro rancho U.S. Government Agent Kearney holds him off until the cavalry shows up and he can declare his love for Juanita--"The Rose of the Rancho."

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Pregnant tenement dweller Maggie Schultz is being used by burglars and fears that though "I stole to keep my baby from being born in this rat hole... now he's going to be born in jail." But the tenement owner may refuse to prosecute.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Road agent Ramerrez hides out in his girlfriend's store where the Sheriff knows him to be. The Sheriff plays The Girl a game of cards to decide Ramerrez's future. She wins. She later saves him from a hanging. She rides off with him.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

The father of San Francisco waif Meg runs an illegal liquor club and supports "English" Hal in scheme to blackmail a wealthy girl. Meg is put on probation to Benjamin Merton, father of the girl to be blackmailed. When she discovers her father's plan she reveals all, risking expulsion from her new home and the company of its very attractive son Tom.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Ramon loves Catalonian peasant Maria Rosa. He uses a knife belonging to her love Andreas to kill fisherman Pedro, so Andreas goes to jail for ten years. Maria will wait for him, but Ramon convinces her Andreas dies in prison so she agrees to marry him. On their wedding day Ramon is paroled. Maria then stabs Ramon.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Nora is nursemaid to a wealthy family and in love with their chauffeur Nolan. When she hides her mistress' lover in her room, jealous Nolan shoots him and Nora, who refuses to tell about her mistress affair, is dismissed.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

A vision of Joan of Arc inspires an English officer facing a risky mission.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Mary Denby becomes a seamstress after her husband Steve wastes their money on booze. Her employer provides her as an escort to accompany millionaire Roger Manning. Her husband tries blackmailing Manning and is later killed by the police, leaving Mary free to wed the millionaire.