Essential Cult Cinema Drawn from the Same DNA as Desert Love: Cult Guide

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

Unaware of the weakness of Bob Graham's character, Bess Dawson decides to marry him instead of the other cowboy who loves her, Cheyenne Harry. Before the wedding, however, some crooks induce Bob to take part in a hold-up. Then when Harry hears that a posse has been dispatched to catch Bob, he rides out to him and helps him escape. Determined to spare Bess from marrying a convicted criminal, Harry then lets the posse think that he himself, and not Bob, was involved in the robbery. Bess is horrified that Bob has let Harry take the blame and finally realizes that she picked the wrong cowboy. As a result, after Bob is killed in a gunfight and Harry has been cleared of the robbery charge, she quickly accepts his marriage proposal.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

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

Irresponsible Billy Thorpe is sent to South America by his fiancée Claire's father, "rubber king" George Vincent, to reform. Upon arriving, Billy goes to work for the plantation foreman, Vincent's son-in-law James Ellison, who is having an affair with native girl Koree. When the Vincent yacht unexpectedly arrives, bringing Vincent, Claire, and Ellison's wife Mary, Billy induces Ellison to behave respectably, and the two go on board. That evening, Koree swims to the yacht, and Ellison allows the party to suspect that she is Billy's sweetheart. Billy keeps silent for Mary's sake, but after a fight with Santos Cordero, Koree's former lover, he becomes so disgusted with Ellison's treachery and the others' suspicions that he swims ashore, wounded, and is nursed by Koree. Claire follows and, after learning the truth from Koree, is reconciled with Billy while Ellison is sent home to rehabilitate himself.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

This serial told the story of the diamond heir loom of the Stanley family.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

This opens with election day scenes at Sunset City and goes on to picture the exciting manner in which Eddie helps to clean up a nest of bandits.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

Douglas MacLeod of the Royal North West Mounted Police is in love with Suzanne Foucharde, who has adopted an abandoned Indian baby, the illegitimate child of Louis La Rocque and Na Fa Kowa. When La Rocque insinuates that the baby is Suzanne's, her brother Henry defends his sister's honor and kills the villain. In spite of his love for Suzanne, it is Douglas' duty to arrest Henry. He does so, but later allows him to escape, taking the bullet himself that was fired after Henry by Constable Burke. Meanwhile, the dead body of Na Fa Kowa is found, accompanied by a note proving that the Indian was the baby's mother. In the spring, when Douglas recovers from his wounds, he and Suzanne are married.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

A daredevil flyer delivers the night mail despite threats from weather and robbers.