The Recommended Vault Parallel to the Artistry of Faith: Cult Guide

Dir: James Kirkwood

Suffering from aphasia after being conked on the head, a man is coerced into robbing his fiancée's home.

Dir: James Kirkwood

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Eagle's Mate perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A young girl, Anemone (Mary Pickford), who lives with her Aunt (Ida Waterman) is abducted by a crude family of Virginia mountain moonshiners. A fight between two of the young male relatives decides who will marry the girl. Lancer (James Kirkwood) is the winner and marries Anemone against her will. She is reunited some time later with her Aunt, but when she learns Lancer is in dire trouble she returns and stays by his side, realizing she had always been in love with him.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Though mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella is able to attend the royal ball through the help of a fairy godmother.

Dir: James Kirkwood

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

"Little Pal" is the daughter of a saloon keeper in a rough Alaskan gold rush town. During a game of dice, he loses his daughter to the brutal "Black Brand". A fight ensues and her father is killed, Little Pal flees and seeks refuge with John, an Easterner who has come to Alaska to mine. When he falls ill, the lovestruck Little Pal nurses him back to health with the help of her loyal friend, Cultus. Little Pal is heartbroken with the arrival of John's wife, and when she learns he will die if he remains in the harsh climate, Little Pal and Cultus steal gold dust from a rival claim in order to provide John with money. Meanwhile, Black Brand who is suspected of the crime is shot. As John and his wife leave Alaska, a despondent Little Pal finds comfort in Cultus' love.

Dir: James Kirkwood

During a jewelry-store holdup, 6-year-old Millicent Hawthorne, the neglected daughter of a wealthy socialite, falls on her head and is carried home to be reared by Mother Gumpf, the leader of the thieves. The fall cost Millicent her memory, but at night she dreams of her former high-society existence, while during the day she works for Gumpf as a pickpocket and later becomes a cabaret dancer. A friend of the Hawthornes sees Millicent perform, recognizes her, and reports back to Mrs. Hawthorne, who has vowed to be a devoted mother should she ever find her daughter. Finally, after the Hawthornes rescue Millicent from Kraft, the lecherous cabaret manager, an operation restores her memory, and she delights in the love of her long-lost mother.

Dir: James Kirkwood

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

Montgomery Jackson, a man who possesses a deep fear of bloodshed, refuses to enlist in the American army during World War I, ignoring the appeals and insults of his friends and colleagues. Even when his fiancée, Bettie Adams, threatens to leave him, he refuses to fight, but after she volunteers to serve as a Red Cross nurse in France, he relents and joins the American forces. At the front, he proves his courage by fighting bravely and saving the lives of Bettie's father, Colonel Adams, and of the man to whom she had become engaged after accusing Montgomery of cowardice. Finally Montgomery is wounded, but through Bettie's care he recovers, and after his rival, realizing that Bettie still loves Montgomery, gives Bettie her freedom, she and Montgomery happily renew their engagement.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Even though he had saved her father from a financial crisis, Jennifer Hale refuses to marry wealthy Stephen Weldon, who tries to ruin the Hales. They leave for their summer home in the woods where Jennifer falls in love with wealthy James Murray, a lumber camp foreman. After Weldon finds them and threatens Hale with exposure unless Jennifer marries him, Murray marries Jennifer. Weldon then convinces him that Jennifer and he had a secret romance, and that she married Murray for his money. Murray's sister Agnes becomes Weldon's lover, and when he prepares to leave, she kills him. After Jennifer takes the blame to save Murray from learning of Agnes' disgrace, Murray, although he now hates her, takes Jennifer to the mountains to escape the law. Just as the posse overtakes them, a man rides up with the news that Agnes fell over a cliff and confessed before she died. Their love renewed love, the couple are now reunited.

Dir: James Kirkwood

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of A Dream or Two Ago perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dulcie's once-aristocratic Southern family has fallen upon hard times, so her Aunt Netta decides to take her to California in search of a millionaire husband. While Dulcie pines for Harry, her sweetheart back home, Netta triumphantly arranges an engagement with a wealthy suitor. On her wedding day, preparing to sacrifice herself for her family, Dulcie discovers that her fiance's millions actually belong to other people when he is arrested at the altar on a bank robbing charge. Meanwhile, Harry, who has come West to get Dulcie back, arrives at the wedding just as the police interrupt it. He volunteers to take the arrested fiance's place, and Dulcie accepts his offer instantly.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Young Dolly Lane has committed herself to becoming a star on the stage, but when she meets handsome and wealthy farmer Steve Hunter, she falls in love and marries him. Unfortunately, Steve soon loses his fortune and the couple is forced to move in with a friend, Teddy Harrington. Not long afterwards Steve's rich uncle dies, leaving him wealthy, but on that same day Dolly is asked to take the place of a stage star who has taken ill. She does and becomes the toast of Broadway, but now Steve wants her to return with him to the West and become a farmer's wife. She relents, but soon becomes bored with that role and longs to return to the stage.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Mary Pickford plays "Rags," a pretty but wild girl who defends her alcoholic father a disgraced bank cashier, no matter how he mistreats her.