Top-Tier Alternatives Exploring the Legacy of Double Crossed: Cult Guide

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

After their wedding, Richard Vaughan and his wife Courtney take up residence in Richard's ancestral home. Courtney, despised by Nanny, the old housekeeper, and neglected by her husband, who buries himself in his chemical experiments, leads a lonely life. Consequently, when experimental chemist Basil Gallatin pays a lengthy visit to the Vaughan home, Courtney finds herself attracted to him. One day, during Richard's absence, a burglar alarm places Courtney and Gallatin in a compromising situation. Witnessing their embrace, Nanny is struck speechless, but when Richard returns she recovers her speech and gives damning evidence against Courtney. Gallatin flees, and Richard, realizing his culpability, gives his wife a divorce. Having read of the divorce, Gallatin returns and Courtney admonishes Richard to kill them both. Richard frightens Gallatin away with the threat of exploding one of his compounds, but Courtney defies death and remains. A reconciliation between husband and wife then follows.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

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

Dick, who thinks Elsie is a farmer's daughter, and Elsie, who believes Dick to be a hired man, fall in love with each other. While returning from a trip to the city shortly afterwards, Dick accidentally exchanges traveling bags with Spike, a burglar, on his way to rob the Dunbars' summer home. Pinkarter, a detective, witnesses the incident and trails Dick. Late that night, the young man sees Elsie apparently breaking into a cottage. The girl had accidentally been locked out of the farmhouse where she had been stopping, and therefore decided to return to her father's country home nearby. Ignorant of this, Dick believes Elsie a thief and follows her into the house, Spike also gets inside, and the three are presently bagged by Pinkarter and lugged to the village lockup. In his effort to establish his identity, Dick requests the detective to examine his travelling bag. When this is done, a fine collection of burglar's tools is brought to view. Thus Elsie is led to think her lover a thief. Although Dick eventually clears himself, this comes too late; Elsie's identity has been established by her father, who then took her home. Still in ignorance of each other's identity, the heartbroken lovers return to the city. Some time later Dick accompanies a friend to a dinner given at the Dunbar's home. To his intense surprise, the boy finds himself confronting Elsie. Still believing him to be a burglar, Elsie shouts for help. Dunbar is about to hand the luckless youth over to the police when the snarl is untangled, and the course of true love allowed to run smoothly.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

Fifi is seen as Pierrot in a French play that is a failure despite her effort to put ginger into the rest of the cast. Among the few in the last audience was Cartouche, a veteran, who had become an actor when his wounds no longer allowed him to follow Napoleon. Through Cartouche's efforts Fifi is employed at the Imperial theater in Parts. He takes her to his lodging, determined to protect her. Fifi fails to understand how much Cartouche is doing for her, and when he gives her money to buy clothes she purchases a toy dog sailed Toto. The veteran buys a lottery ticket and gives it to Fifi. The ticket bears the winning number and Fifi finds herself in possession of a fortune. Cartouche decides Fifi must be educated. He applies to his old general, who suggests that Fifi be sent to the home of Louis Bourcet, an attorney who lives alone with his mother. Instead of putting her money in the bank Fifi hides it and startles the Bourcet family by her extravagance. They decide she has even more money than they thought and Louis begins to see in the wealthy Fifi a very acceptable wife. He makes love to the girl, and she accepts his proffer. Then she sets about to make him break the engagement by squandering her money, realizing she is in love with Cartouche. Accordingly she buys the most impossible things, scandalizing the Bourcet family into a complete renunciation by giving the remainder of her wealth to a charitable benefit for old soldiers. Ejected from the house by the angry Mme. Bourcet, Fifi returns to the Imperial, where she demands more money for her services because she has been publicly thanked by the General for her donation to charity. She tells Cartouche she loves him, but the old soldier refuses. to permit her to "throw herself away" upon him until Fifi gets an inspiration of her own.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

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

A professional burglar has taught his daughter the tricks of his trade, and she learned well. She's proud of her "career", but one day an unidentified man saves her from drowning, and the close call makes her think about changing her life. However, her father has a big heist he wants her to help him with: stealing a string of valuable pearls that an important politician is going to give to his fiancée. She reluctantly decides to help her father with the burglary, but an unexpected turn of events could result in her going to prison for something she didn't do.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

When rich civil engineer Robert Penfield goes to a small Quaker town in Pennsylvania to supervise a job, he meets Patience, who soon falls in love with him, but Robert is engaged to Edith, who plans to marry him for his money only. To remain close to Robert, Patience returns with him to the city to take a job as his mother's secretary. After Robert and Edith's wedding, and following the birth of their child, Patience takes care of the baby much more enthusiastically than Edith does; in fact, Edith is preoccupied with Paul Dunstan, a former suitor who wasn't rich enough to marry her, but who has since inherited a fortune. Finally, the couple elope, but they both die when Paul's yacht sinks. After the accident, Robert realizes that he loves Patience, and marries her.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Girl Who Came Back perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Amina loves Rudolph and turns the powerful Count Wolfenstein down when he proposes to her. In a jealous rage, Wolfenstein throws Rudolph into a dungeon. Meanwhile, Hertzog, "The Black Crook," has a deal with the devil: he must hand over to Satan one soul each year or find himself banished to Hell. With only 24 hours left before the year ends, Hertzog focuses all of his attention on Amina and Rudolph, believing them to be weakened from despair and therefore easy prey.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

The children of a a novelist, Nicholas, contract scarlet fever. His wife Anne stays in the house to take care of them, but the house is quarantined by the authorities and Nicholas, not being allowed in the house, takes a room in town until the quarantine is lifted. Lonely, he begins to feel attracted to his illustrator, Esmee. They begin an affair, but soon Nicholas finds that Esmee's expensive tastes are driving him to bankruptcy. His wife finds out about the affair, and devises a plan to teach her husband a lesson and get his mistress out of the picture at the same time.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

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

Audrey, an orphan, becomes the ward of a wealthy man, but when he travels to England, she is turned over to an unscrupulous couple who usurp her money and turn her into a slavey.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

At her godmother's place in Paris, Ethel Cartwright meets dashing Stephen Denby but is reluctant to reciprocate her interest in her because he seems to be idle. Denby is actually a jewel smuggler and sells a $200,000 pearl necklace. Upon her arrival in New York, Ethel notices that her necklace is gone and claims her insurance money. The insurance company inspector finds Ethel's sister's behavior very peculiar and has her investigated by customs inspector Taylor; she soon reveals that she is the thief. Taylor tells Ethel he can forget the whole story if she helps him frame Denby. Ethel agrees and does it. As he is about to be taken to jail, Denby offers Taylor $30,000 to release him. Taylor accepts. Denby reveals himself a secret service agent in charge of catching a customs inspector who has been dealing illegally with smugglers for three years: Taylor. Ethel eventually marries Denby.

Dir: Robert G. Vignola

A Russian refugee who masquerades as Zara, niece of Francis Markrute, comes to his home and marries Lord Tancred, a scion of the English nobility, after a long series of misadventures she makes a full confession to her supposed uncle and to her husband regarding her origin and her young son by a former marriage to a Russian prefect of police, whom an infuriated mob murdered for his cruelty. Tancred is stunned, but only for a moment. Overwhelmed with forgiveness he avows his undying love.