Top-Tier Alternatives In the Shadow of Durand of the Bad Lands: Cul...

Dir: Richard Stanton

Edward Campbell, known as Checkers, is a racetrack tout. Determined to reform himself, he foreswears gambling, but must take it up once more in order to save someone he loves from disaster.

Dir: Richard Stanton

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

Brilliant but besotted attorney, David Harmon, wins a big case but ends the day in a dingy waterfront flophouse. His fiancée puts him on a sailing ship in an attempt to get him to dry out, but once at sea a storm wrecks the ship and strands Harmon on a tropical island. He rescues the daughter of a native chieftain from being sacrificed to the lava gods and together they live an idyllic life for a time. Harmon is drawn back to civilization though and he returns to his former city only to find that his fiancée has wed his best friend. Another bout of drink finally brings Harmon back to realize that his true life is back on the island so he returns to once again find his beloved about to be sacrificed, this time with their son in her arms.

Dir: Richard Stanton

John Dowling, a greedy factory owner, cuts his employees' pay while raising their food prices at the company store. The employees strike but to no avail. Mary Garvin visits Dowling to plead the laborers' cause, but because her mother had once refused his marriage proposal, he attacks Mary out of revenge. In the struggle, Dowling is shot, and Mary is tried and convicted of murder. Before the execution, foreman "Bull" Thompson boasts that his bullet killed Dowling during Mary and the factory owner's struggle, and Dowling's son Chester, who has attempted to introduce reforms into the factory, races to the governor's train to secure a pardon for Mary. After Mary's release, she and Chester are married.

Dir: Richard Stanton

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Stanton

Dick Mason is arrested for defending a girl's honor in a Chicago restaurant brawl, and his father sends him to Lithuania where his family owns a share in a cattle concession. By chance, the girl from the restaurant is also bound for the Balkans. While on board, Dick undertakes to renew his acquaintance with this attractive foreigner, but encounters considerable resistance. In Lithuania, Dick meets with Count Vortsky, the Minister of Finance, who presses him to sell his cattle concession, hoping to clinch a coup attempt he is planning with the Bulgarian Ambassador. Somewhat suspicious, Dick agrees to announce his decision only in the presence of Princess Alexia, who turns out to be the girl from the restaurant. When she advises him not to sell, the love-bitten Dick refuses the count. The count nevertheless instigates a revolution, but with the help of his Chicago assistants, Dick squelches the uprising and wins the princess' heart.

Dir: Richard Stanton

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Bride 13 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

After four men have proposed to Adele Moore, a beautiful young woman whose father wishes her to marry for financial reasons, she is undecided as to the one she prefers and decides to consult a fortune teller. Gazing into the crystal ball, Adele witnesses an enactment of the life she would lead with each one of them and is shocked to find every marriage ending in heartache. The lawyer proves faithless, the banker steals money, the doctor neglects her, and the poor clerk suggests that she sacrifice her honor to his threatening employer. Dismissing all of them, Adele moves to Vermont and opens a store. Business is slow until a passing salesman assumes management of the store and transforms it into a booming success. Happy at last, Adele agrees to marry him.

Dir: Richard Stanton

Gambling-house proprietor Lionel Jamieson, whose brutality has caused his wife's paralysis, removes his stepdaughter Betty from a convent to use her as a lure for customers. Lionel's young employee Tommy is a good friend to Mrs. Jamieson and soon falls in love with Betty. With the assistance of stable hand Gunga Din, Tommy trains his horse, Thunderclap, for a racing event. At the gambling house, a customer is cheated out of $40,000 and threatens to kill Lionel unless he repays the money within 24 hours. Lionel's friend Foster agrees to help, provided that his horse wins against Thunderclap. Upon learning that Tommy will need to cross a bridge while transporting his horse to the racetrack, Lionel plots to blow it up, killing both Thunderclap and his owner. However, Gunga Din suspects foul play and ensures their safe arrival. Tommy then rescues Betty from kidnapper Wah Leong, returns to the track, and rides Thunderclap to victory. Lionel is killed by the man he cheated, and the shock restores Mrs. Jamieson's mobility.

Dir: Richard Stanton

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

In New York, Bill Stratton saves a friend's marriage, but Bill's fiancée, Evelyn, misinterprets the situation and believes Bill to be unfaithful to her. She breaks her engagement, and Bill, in remorse, goes to Alaska. In the town of Yellow Gulch, Bill meets "Silver" Jack Belmont, the man responsible for nearly ruining the marriage of Bill's friend. Bill also learns that an old miner named "Lucky" Matthew Durant is Evelyn's father. Durant has been lying to his daughter, claiming he is rich. Bill tells Evelyn the truth about her father, but she does not believe him. Instead, she believes Belmont when he says he will take her to her father's mine. Eventually, Bill and Belmont confront each other and Bill defeats Belmont in a fight. Bill then reconciles Evelyn and her father.

Dir: Richard Stanton

Based on an international scandal that hit prewar France, when the editor of the Paris daily LE FIGARO, Gaston Calmette was shot to death by Madame Caillaux, wife of the Minister of Finance for his exposè of her husband's traitorous activities on behalf of Germany. A sensational trial afterward revealed the extent of the Caillaux spy ring's infiltration of the French government.

Dir: Richard Stanton

Finding his partner, Joe Brooks, murdered in the snow, "Roaring" Bill Wagstaff's troubles begin. A ray of sunshine enters his life soon after though, with the arrival of Hazel Weir who has come West to teach, but finds herself lost in the woods outside the town of Cariboo Meadows. Bill discovers her and under the guise of leading her to town, takes her to his cabin where he declares his love. Hazel, who is smarting from unfair accusations of scandal, rejects Bill's offer and leaves for Cariboo Meadows. Later, Bill learns of Hazel's problems and rushes to town to confirm his faith in her. En route, he stops at a saloon where he sees his dead partner's snowshoes leaning against a wall. At the point of a gun, he extracts the name of Joe's killer from the saloon keeper and then sets out after the man, Nig Geroux. After avenging his partner's death, Bill finds Hazel, who accepts his love.