Visionary Picks Drawn from the Same DNA as Common Sense: Cult Guide

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

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

Billy simply has no use for mothers-in-law, and when his bride informs him that "mother" is coming for a visit, he digs up an excuse concerning a business trip to 'Frisco. It is only camouflage on Billy's part, for his real reason is to meet a couple of lady buyers who are sportively inclined. And that's where the complications begin. Wifey must see him off on the boat which gets his "goat," since he knows he is in for a healthy bath in swimming back to town. The bride, in the meantime, is entertained at a shady roadhouse by friendly neighbors, and Billy takes his buyers there to drink at the shrine of Bacchus. The upshot of it all is, the place is raided, and Billy finds out that his story of the sinking boat is a figment of his imagination. But mother-in-law arrives in time to restore amicable relations. And Billy finds that his prejudice hasn't a leg to stand on for she proves to be his fair companion - the buxom buyer.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

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: Louis Chaudet

Judge Grant sentences Paul Rogers to jail on circumstantial evidence, Paul's sister Lena swears revenge. A few years later, Judge Grant becomes a corporation attorney for a large firm. In collusion with the owners, Grant embezzles the firm's profits, thus forcing the value of the stock down and creating favorable conditions for a takeover. Lena, on the pretext of making an investment, meets the judge, who falls in love with her. Lena uses his infatuation to discover that the judge himself stole the money. Meanwhile, Lena has fallen in love with Tison Grant, a newspaper reporter and the judge's brother, and after they are married, she informs Tison of his brother's treachery. Tison threatens to give the story to the papers, but before he can, Paul is released from jail, kills the judge, and is wounded in the scuffle. Lena takes the blame for the killing but is freed from suspicion when Paul confesses before he dies.

Dir: William Parke

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

Bruce Wendell, the son of West Virginia coal mine owner James Wendell, graduates from West Point and prepares to lead a fighting unit to the front during World War I. As his father lies dying, however, he convinces Bruce to remain at home and guard the mine. Bruce's fiancée Ann Blair assumes that he is a coward and breaks off their engagement, but her brother Bobbie remains Bruce's loyal friend. Meyer, a German agent, persuades railroad president Parrish to refuse to transport Wendell's coal, but when Bruce adamantly refuses to close the mine, the spy's men decide to blow it up. While Ann is being abducted by Meyer, Bobbie is buried in an explosion at the mine. Bruce rescues Bobbie and then sends a plea to Lieutenant Parrish to rescue Ann. Meyer and his gang are captured and Ann renews her vow of love to Bruce.

Dir: Harley Knoles

Jim McDonald, the foreman of a shipbuilding plant and head of the labor union, strives to combat the anarchistic propaganda being put forth by Klimoff, the leader of a Bolshevik gang whose goal is to disrupt the country with strikes and anarchy. Despite McDonald's efforts, a strike is called, resulting in chaos. McDonald's child is knocked down by runaway horses abandoned by their striking driver, and dies. Mob scenes take place in America, as well as in Russia. Eventually, the unrest is quelled with an armistice called between Capital and Labor for a year, during which time wages are to be increased to reflect the cost of living, and leaders are to work out a common plan for their mutual advantage. The strikers now realize that they have been pawns of the Bolsheviks and call off the strike, agreeing to the plan.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

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

To further his political ends and enrich himself, a political boss lets corruption run rampant in his city. A young couple set out to expose him.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Kid Allen, the daughter of Mate Allen, a drunken ex-sailor, waits every night to take Mate home from a saloon. After Mate beats up saloon owner O'Keefe for trying to kiss Kid, O'Keefe kills Mate. Kid shoots and kills O'Keefe, and then leaves on a pony to get "a education," which her father wanted her to have. When she falls and sprains an ankle, Joe Emory, a sheep herder, nurses her and they fall in love, but she continues her journey. At a university town, cow puncher Nick Horton escorts her to the school, where he fights the president and some students, after being told that Kid is not ready to enter. The president stops Kid and Nick from being arrested, and puts Kid in a boarding school, but after she learns that school will last for seven years, she returns to Joe. As they kiss, they fade into a statue of Cupid embracing Psyche.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

A girl nicknamed "The Weed" lives with her foster parents in their mountain cabin and frequently visits a nearby health resort to sell milk and eggs. On one of her excursions, she befriends a cantankerous old millionaire, George Bassett, who later bequeaths to her his entire estate. Ralph Long's car plunges down an embankment, and he is dragged from the wreckage and looked after by the Weed, who soon captivates him with her charm and ingenuousness. While he is in the hospital, however, the lecherous Kenneth Stewart snaps a photo of the girl swimming in the nude in a mountain pool and hangs an enlargement of it in his club. He once attempts to enter her room but she bolts him out. Through a neighbor, Ralph learns that Stewart is actually the girl's father, whose abandonment of his wife soon after the Weed's birth led to the woman's death. Ralph confronts Stewart, and the latter, deeply ashamed, leaves town. Ralph resolves to keep the truth from the Weed and proposes to her.