Underground Favorites Parallel to the Artistry of Friend Husband: Cult Guide

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Honest Arizona rancher Sam Gardner, goes with his motherless son Billy to the city, where he is cheated out of ten thousand dollars by a band of crooks. Taking up residence in a boardinghouse where he meets Jane Ingraham, Sam decides that the only way to regain his losses is by gambling. To achieve this, he makes friends with gambler Kittie Hinch who takes him to Jack Bloom's gambling house. When Bloom begins flirting with Hinch's wife Florry, the injured husband kills his rival and the evidence points to Sam as the killer. Jane tries to provide him with an alibi, but fails. Just as things look grim for the rancher, a wire arrives from Hinch, now in Mexico, confessing to the crime. His faith in mankind thus rewarded, Sam is free to marry Jane.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

Jim Fenton helps rescue a falsely imprisoned inventor and assists him in avenging himself on the man who robbed him of his invention and of his freedom.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A young lady designs a wonderfully received bathing suit and saves her employer from financial disaster. In the course of this, she falls in love with her employer's son, who is in danger of ruin from a romantic scandal.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

A young woman reads tales of a gallant White Knight and imagines that such a knight might come to rescue her from her dull existence. Although she is wooed by a wealthy industrialist, she rejects his suit in hopes that her romantic ideal might come. One day a young writer comes to her village, and it seems as if he might be the hoped-for White Knight.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Slaving to perfect an invention, Noah Vale tries to keep two orphans--Rip and Patch--and himself by peddling books and is helped by Scallops, a girl who occasionally brings them food. He appeals to Fay, a wealthy relative, for help in marketing his invention and arouses the interest of Fay's pretty daughter. Sterrett, Fay's partner, steals the model but returns it when he discovers it to be worthless. Johnny Smith, Fay's secretary, is fired when he proposes to the boss's daughter; and visiting Vale's attic, he is comforted by his epigrams. Johnny takes them to a newspaper editor, and they are so successful that both Smith and Vale are hired. Vale decides to give up inventing for writing, and Johnny marries Miss Fay despite her father's opposition.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

Alec Lloyd is a cowboy who has successfully managed to arrange romances for other lovesick cowhands, but has a lot more trouble managing his own love life.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Young Victor Jones of America is discovered to be an exact lookalike for England's Earl of Rochester, a circumstance which results in Jones deciding to replace the Earl after an unfortunate accident.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

Ort Hutchins is a confirmed loafer who spends all of his time fishing while his wife toils over the washtub. One day, while digging for worms, Hutch uncovers a box containing $100,000 in bills, the loot of a bank robbed in the next town. Realizing that he cannot spend the money without arousing suspicion, Hutch resigns himself to taking a job for cover. Accepting an offer from banker Hiram Joy to work his abandoned farm in exchange for a share of the land, Hutch finds himself successful and the farm prospering. Returning to retrieve his treasure, Hutch is sickened when he finds the box gone and in its place a note from the robber. However, Hutch makes an abrupt recovery when he is offered $10,000 for his share of the farm, an offer that forces him to realize that he has become a self-made man.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A naive young Swede is repeatedly victimized by predatory women. When he finally meets a young woman who seems sincere and true, he wonders if he can trust her.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Coarse country girl Sis Hopkins and general store clerk Ridy Scarboro are so engrossed in their dalliance that a basket is overturned and a large can of oil spills into a pool, creating a slow leak. Wealthy villager Vibert thus becomes convinced that Sis's farm is located on a pocket of oil, and he schemes to gain control of the property by marrying Sis. Vibert sends her to a young woman's seminary for refinement. Sis creates chaos in the school and is a problem for principal Miss Peckover. Vibert eventually realizes Sis will never measure up to his standards for a wife. Ridy, who has been jealous, is overjoyed when Sis returns home. Vibert entices Pa Hopkins into selling the property for a small amount, but Sis shrewdly succeeds in tripling the price. Finally Vibert discovers the can in which he has invested so heavily.