The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of Don't Get Personal: Cult G...

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Jimmy Betts angrily remonstrates with his wife for a letter she has written to Count Henri Duval, while she bristles at the attention that Jimmy has lavished on Mrs. Ella Rice, an aging but nonetheless charming widow. Exasperated, Ruth decides to accept the count's invitation to dine on his yacht, but on her way, she overturns her rowboat and loses consciousness. In her delirium, Ruth dreams of the happy days of her marriage, before Jimmy went away to handle Mrs. Rice's business affairs. Because she missed him so much, Ruth finally left her Aunt Sophronia to be with Jimmy, whom the love struck Mrs. Rice hoped to win for herself. In order to drive the young people apart, Mrs. Rice then introduced Ruth to Count Duval, who soon professed his love for her. Aware of Mrs. Rice's schemes, Ruth frightened the widow from her bedroom late one night so that Jimmy could see her for the "painted interloper" that she really was. Ruth then wrote her letter to the count. Jimmy rescues Ruth and carries her aboard the yacht, where she finally awakens from her dream and happily kisses her husband.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

Dorothy Dean, a wealthy young woman with modern ideas, abhors the institution of marriage but discovers that she must be wed in order to receive a wealthy relative's inheritance. Through Judge Roan, the family lawyer, Dorothy meets Don Morton, who agrees to accept a $10,000 check to marry her and then leave her in peace. After the ceremony, however, Dorothy's new husband takes her to a lonely island retreat where he tries unsuccessfully to win her love. Defeated, he leaves the island. In his absence, she is attacked by thieves and is fighting for her life when Don returns and rescues her. Dorothy now realizes that she is happy to have a husband, and the two embark on a real honeymoon.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A young woman goes to visit friends but mistakenly rings at the wrong address. She is greeted and taken in out of the storm by a handsome young man to whom she is immediately attracted. What she does not know, however, is that this young man has been fleeced by her father and has sworn vengeance against him.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Through the Wrong Door 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: Clarence G. Badger

A cub reporter (Normand) is sent undercover to get a story, but falls for the man she is investigating.

Dir: Alexander Butler

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

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A burlesque dancer overcomes the puritanism of a repressed small town.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

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

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Jim Fenton helps rescue a falsely imprisoned inventor and assists him in avenging himself on the man who robbed him of his invention and of his freedom.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

An easy-going tramp with a love of food and an aversion to work suddenly gets deeply involved in the life of a farmer and his daughter.