Top-Tier Alternatives In the Shadow of For France: Cult Guide

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

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

Geoffrey West is smitten by Marion Larned, whom he sees in a London restaurant reading the personal or "agony" column, and places an ad asking her for an introduction. Her response that he must write her a letter each day for a week to prove that his acquaintance would be interesting prompts him to write her a fascinating tale about the murder of an English army captain. When Geoffrey finally confesses to the murder, Marion tries to protect him from the law, but with the sudden outbreak of World War I, her father puts her on the next boat back to the United States. Geoffrey catches the boat and there confesses to Marion that the whole story was a fiction invented to win her love.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

Anthony Campbell threatens to send his daughter, Marie, to China as punishment for her continued extravagance. She welcomes the suggestion because her sweetheart, George Holt, is planning a business trip to the Orient. When they arrive, Marie's Chinese maid, Liu Po-Yat, gives her a tiny vase to keep her from harm. However, the vase was stolen years earlier from the Manchus, China's ruling dynasty, and their pursuit of the lost treasure plunges Marie and George into danger. The young lovers are ultimately sentenced to death, and as they are being led to their execution, Marie awakens, realizes she has had a nightmare, and makes George promise that they will honeymoon anywhere except China.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

American newspaper reporter Jim Crocker's madcap escapades in London earn him notoriety and the nickname "Piccadilly Jim." When he overhears his American cousin-by-marriage, Ann Chester, giving her candid opinion of him, he decides to return to America to try to reform. He meets Ann on the boat, using another name. Unable to find work in New York, he goes to his step-aunt Mrs. Peter Pett's home to be near Ann, then helps her kidnap pampered cousin Ogden Pett, whose overindulgence has created disruption in the household. The plans fail, despite Ogden's consent to the kidnapping in return for half the ransom money, but Jim succeeds in winning Ann's affections.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

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

Always follow what your heart is telling you.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

Muriel Gray causes her father so much trouble that he takes out an insurance policy that will cover him for any damages she causes. The insurance company, irritated at Muriel's reckless driving habits, sends one of its agents to marry her, but she sets out to win a confirmed bachelor. The insurance agent is the best man at their wedding.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

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

Hugh Carver is an athletic star and a freshman at Prescott College. He falls in love with Cynthia Day, a popular girl who loves to go to parties. He finds that it is impossible to please her and still keep up with his studies and his athletic training, and soon the two face some difficult decisions.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

Natalie Storm, a young woman struggling to support her mother and little sister through sweatshop labor, sees her mother die and her sister suffer for want of proper food and surroundings. This forces her to reject the proposal of Tom Chandler, a self-educated mining engineer who then sets out for South America to make his fortune. To save her sister, Natalie becomes the mistress of Wall Street magnate Alvin Dunning, until he publicly humiliates her and she determines to free herself. Meanwhile, Chandler returns after discovering a copper mine in South America. Invited to a party at the Dunning house, he meets Natalie as Dunning's mistress and, heartbroken, abruptly departs. Desperate by now, Natalie obtains a lucky stock tip that enables her to finally break with Dunning. Seeking her out, Dunning attempts to force her to return to him, and in a wild car ride, he is killed and Natalie severely injured. Opening her eyes after the crash, she sees Tom standing over her, and the lovers are reunited.

Dir: Wesley Ruggles

Henry Baird, a young newspaperman with a second-hand car but little money, decides to raffle off the car at a county picnic, so that he can take out his sweetheart, Mabel Darrow, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. However, as soon as Henry gets the money, his tailor demands that he pay off his debt. Also, youngsters set the car on fire before he can give to the winner, Joseph Plant, whose wife Evelyn was formerly Henry's sweetheart. Henry arranges with Joe to work for two weeks at no charge at Joe's house, which is next door to Mabel's. Suspecting that Henry and Evelyn are still secretly fond of each other, Joe gives Henry only menial tasks to perform. Despite complications, including misunderstandings on the part of Mabel's father and the arrival of vamp Dorothy Kind pretending to be Henry's wife and the mother of his four children, Henry maintains his honor, thwarts a rival for Mabel's affections, and wins her hand.