Cinematic Discoveries Resonating with the Themes of Die Biene Maja ...

Dir: Francis J. Grandon

A raft carrying a little girl and a dead woman drifts in from a shipwreck to Devil's Island. There, a band of thieves and smugglers name the girl Rose Marie, though she grows up as "nobody's girl." Living in a cave, she learns to read through the kindness of Jason, who is soon killed by the cruel leader, Red Gull. In Red Gull's power, and urged on by Jason's jealous wife, Rose Marie makes her escape in a rowboat, where she is spotted by an aviator flying above the sea. He rescues her, taking her to be cared for at his home where she is well treated. When newspapers report a mysterious shipwreck on Devil's Island, Rose Marie reveals the way in which Red Gull lured ships to their doom there. She guides the authorities to the island, where, after a fierce battle, the thieves are wiped out. Eventually the aviator falls in love with Rose Marie, and "nobody's girl" is somebody's sweetheart at last.

Dir: C.L. Chester

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Horseshoe and Bridal Veil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

Dir: George Beranger

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

Writer Frank Theydon goes undercover to research the criminal activity in New York City's Chinatown.

Dir: Josef Stein

Bela Lugosi plays a lascivious Arab sheikh confronting European travelers in the desert in an adventure story set in the Sahara.

Dir: Harry Garson

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Number 17 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Marta Estevan is ready to leave the convent where she has been reared. Dona Luisa Artega, mother of Rafael and the young girl's guardian, arranges a marriage between the two, because she thinks that Marta's influence will rescue her son from the wild life he is leading and make a man of him. Marta rescues the American Bryton, when he is attacked by Indians, and falls in love with him. Rafael's mother sends Bryton away by telling him that the girl has entered a convent for life, and after telling Marta that Bryton had been killed on the trail she exacts a vow from the girl that she will marry her son. Marta marries Rafael. Bryton comes back after the marriage and after Marta has found out the true character of her husband. The story moves on from this point to a happy ending, but with much action of tense and strenuous nature in between. - Moving Picture World, May 15, 1920.

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: George B. Seitz

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

The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Bertram Millhauser

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.