Essential Cult Cinema Drawn from the Same DNA as Dreams of Youth: Cult Guide

Dir: Jerome Storm

Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook. Meanwhile, Homer returns to New York, convinces his employers of the merits of his plan and comes home triumphant, with a proposal for both the new plant and for Rachel's hand in marriage.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

The village youths are rivals for the hand of the local belle. Their battles lead them to the village store, where chaos soon reigns, terminating in the place being blown up, leaving Bobby a happy victor.

Dir: Joseph Franz

John Whalen is ordained into the priesthood and assumes the leadership of a small-town New Jersey parish. His dying mother's last wish is for young doctor Edward Welsh and his sweetheart to be married. Rev. Whalen devotes much time and effort to overcoming the obstacles to the union, managing along the way to solve the problems of other townspeople.

Dir: Reggie Morris

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Henry Edwards

A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.

Dir: Alfred J. Goulding

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

Two tramps wrest a pistol from a hold up man, then try to pull a stick up of their own, unfortunately for them, a cop appears and takes the money back and then chases them through a park with a lake. One steals canoe and the chase continues when a mob of cops go after him in more boats.

Dir: Robert Thornby

Mary Willard takes over her father's railroad after his death. Her major competitor is a ruthless crook named Harvey Judson. She arranges for Judson to be kidnapped and taken to an isolated spot deep in the forest and turned loose to fend for himself. She accompanies the kidnappers to the wild and Judson, not knowing who she is, begins to fall in love with her. Complications ensue.

Dir: Mason N. Litson

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Amazing Quest of Mr. Ernest Bliss perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Edgar and his chum try to amass a fortune in one day by cornering the fan market on a hot afternoon when the circus comes to the small town where they are spending their vacation.

Dir: Richard Smith

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: Maurice Campbell

Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.