Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of Dance, Girl, Dance: Cult Guide

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

Norma Bennett (Dorothy Revier), after her younger sister Janet (Barbara Luddy) is deserted by her husband and dies in childbirth, vows to make all men suffer. Which she does for several men, until she meets a fine young man called Dr. Phil (Cullen Landis).

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

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

To avoid being arrested for speeding,an unmarried couple, Eleanor Carter "Helene Chadwick" and BillTayor "Harry Myers", tell police officer "Hardboiled" Hogan "Pat Harmon", they are hurrying to see their "sick baby". Hogan tells them he is going to come to their apartment to see their sick baby. The couple hires an adult midget, Mr. Buppo "Midget Gustav" to impersonate the baby. They aren't aware that Mr. Buppo likes to smoke cigars. Complication arise.

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

James, a young English lord, takes a job as the chauffeur of the wealthy Burgess family in order to be near Mary Burgess, a girl with whom he is in love. The romance scandalizes Mary's relatives; and James, in order to gain their consent to marry Mary, resorts to blackmail: he arranges for one of his friends to romance innocently Mary's aunt and then, if her aunt will not give her consent, threaten to expose this harmless but humiliating intrigue to the world. A real blackmailer turns up, but Jimmy soon has him on the run. Jimmy's high birth becomes public knowledge, and he and Mary are wed with the proud blessing of the entire Burgess clan.

Dir: Alan Crosland

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

The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

When an industrious cigar manufacturer, Sam Weinberg "Max Davidson", falls into bad health, his daughter Ruth "Virginia Brown Faire", uses up her dowry to keep him in the to which he become accustomed. The money is retrieved after a horse race during which the winning horse is coaxed by his jockey in Yiddish.

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

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

Mistaken identity and female impersonation take place when indigents Billy Winthrop (George K. Arthur) and Ethel Winthrop (Dorothy Reviere) rent a fashionable apartment for a few days in order to impress rich uncle Hiram (Tom Ricketts.) Complications and misunderstanding arise.

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

Jim Belmont, believing that his wife has committed adultery with Gordon Daniels, takes his small daughter, Cuddles, and heads for the Canadian wilderness. Daniels then pays Murdock to murder Jim; after Jim's death, Shep, Jim's faithful dog, assumes responsibility for the child, going to Poleon Dufresne, a trapper, for help. Poleon takes in the dog and the little girl and sends for Agnes Belmont, who quickly hurries to her child's side. Daniels follows Agnes (who, in fact, has been faithful to both the person and the memory of her husband) and attempts to kill her. Shep saves her life and drives Daniels off a cliff to his death. Agnes and Dufresne wed, providing a happy home for Shep and Cuddles.

Dir: Frank R. Strayer

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

Cousins Wally and Ray seek their Scotch granddad's fortune. They get involved with the U. S. flying corps and soar over enemy lines in a balloon. They end up as heroes of the enemy, and sent back as spies. Hijinx ensue.

Dir: Anton Gunnarsson

The story begins in a pawnshop owned by a middle-aged woman whose daughter is a cocaine addict. The woman is divorced and has just begun an affair with her sales assistant, a young man with extravagant habits. In the second act, we find the pawnbroker, her husband, daughter and sales assistant in one of the city's dance halls, the Eldorado. Suddenly, the police raid the place, and one of the cocaine addicts is so frightened that he pulls out a gun and shoots himself. In the third act, the whole group is in custody. However, it all ends happily when a decent police officer, who knows the pawnbroker from before, ensures that they are released.

Dir: James A. FitzPatrick

A Scots lass parts regretfully from her lad as he goes to make his mark in the world. The lad meets an old man who warns him against leaving his beloved. He returns to her and they are married. Then the old man, who loves the girl's mother, asks that she be his wife. Thereafter another marriage is arranged.