The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of Dead Shot Baker: Cult Guide

Dir: William Duncan

A group of ranchers band together to construct a railroad through a western valley but are met with opposition by a rival railroad's owner and his henchmen who raid and destroy their efforts. The ranchers hire construction engineer, Bruce Boyd (William Duncan) to finish their project but he has only limited time and money to work with.

Dir: William Duncan

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William Duncan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William Duncan

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

In a prologue, Jim Gorson, a handsome woodcutter, persuades the wife of Richard Stratton to elope with him. Twenty years later, Dick Stratton, Richard's son, a Northwest Mounted Policeman, is ordered to capture Bill and Doug Gorson. Circumstantial evidence points to the Gorsons as murderers of Dick's father, but the Gorsons escape, leaving behind their father wounded by the Mounties. Elizabeth Stratton, who has adopted two orphan children, Anne and Ethel, is abducted by Bill and "Sledge" Morton, a czar of the river district. Meanwhile Dick tracks down Doug Gorson, but he releases him on his pledge to aid in rescuing Ethel and Anne. Following an extended fight with Morton and Bill Gorson, the Gorsons explain that the elder Stratton died of heart failure; the 20-year-feud is ended, and after the death of Elizabeth, Dick and Doug return to civilization with the girls.

Dir: William Duncan

Ethel Kendall arrives at a mining town in search of her husband and is rescued from "Butch" Dorgan's disreputable cabaret by Frank Worthing, a declared woman-hater, and delivered to a respectable lodging. Worthing promises to see Ethel to her destination safely and makes an enemy of Dorgan. In a neighboring town, Ethel and Frank visit an engineer friend, and while examining a mine shaft they are trapped by a slide instigated by Dorgan's men. With death before them, Ethel and Frank confess their love; then, believing her husband to be dead, she marries him after they are saved. Dorgan and Colter, the latter an alias for Ethel's first husband, are killed in a gun battle, and all ends happily.

Dir: William Duncan

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

To escape the pain of a failed love affair, Jim goes to Wolfville, a rough Western town populated by gamblers and Indians. Shortly after he meets Cynthia, a sweet-natured local girl, Ellen, his former lover, arrives from the East and flirts with an Indian to make him jealous. The Indian, who takes Ellen's attentions seriously, sends her some ponies, which she accepts unwittingly as a gift. When she discovers that by Indian custom her acceptance amounts to a marriage agreement, she turns to Jim, promising to marry him in exchange for a way out. Jim kills the Indian in a duel, but Ellen reneges on the deal and jilts him once again. In the gambling saloon, "Smiling Jack" Douglas plots to kill Jim, but Cynthia intercedes by replacing his gun's bullets with blanks. To "Smiling Jack's" surprise, Jim resists his shots and charges him, eventually driving him from the town. His courage proven, the tenderfoot wins the heart and hand of Cynthia.

Dir: William Duncan

When sawmill owner Helen Cole is kidnapped by bandits, it falls on lumberjack Dan Stevens to rescue her, but "Wirenail" Hedges is not willing to give up without a fight.

Dir: William Duncan

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William Duncan

Mrs. Austin is a penniless society matron whose only hope is in a wealthy marriage for her daughter, Ethel, who favors engineer John Manning while the mother prefers wealthy lawyer Frederick Apthorpe. Manning, determining to secure his position, leaves with Milton Hulst, a crooked lawyer, in search of gold in the North, secretly marrying Ethel before departing. Manning, Hulst, and a third partner, MacRoberts, strike it rich, but Hulst steals the gold and murders MacRoberts with Manning's revolver. Manning is arrested but escapes the police and is cared for by an Indian. Meanwhile Ethel marries Apthorpe, who has become district attorney; when Hulst tries to blackmail her with evidence of her previous marriage, Manning intervenes and Hulst is killed by Ethel. Manning confesses to the crime, is prosecuted by Apthorpe, and is sentenced to be hanged. When Apthorpe is elected governor, he refuses to keep his promise to pardon Manning until Ethel threatens to expose Apthorpe and kill herself. When Manning is freed, Ethel and Apthorpe separate and she is reunited with Manning.

Dir: William Duncan

The adventures of fur trappers in the Pacific Northwest, as they fight Indians, the elements and each other.