Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of Gambling in Souls...

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Rudolph King becomes engaged to Martha Thorne, the niece of John Chandler, when he and Chandler form a pork-and-bean producing partnership. The two hold a house party for Pell Kingston, who buys pork and beans for the United States Army, to negotiate a contract. To convince Martha of the merits of kissing, the shy Rudolph asks Pell to kiss her in the dark, and when she responds favorably, Rudolph claims the credit. Martha discovers that Pell, to whom she is attracted, actually kissed her, but things become confused when Mrs. Irene Chandler also demonstrates an interest in Pell. After several amatory mix-ups, everything is cleared up, and Pell and Martha leave the party together.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

Eugene Lenoir weds the sister of Major Warfield. The couple dies not many months after the marriage, but there is much animosity between the two families. Gabriel Lenoir inherits his brother's estate, and he makes the nurse, Nance Wilson, swear to kill the baby that was born to Eugene's wife shortly before she died. But the nurse takes the infant to be raised in a New York tenement instead. After the girl is grown, the nurse tells the Major of her existence. Warfield brings her back to Virginia under the name Capitola Black. When the United States declares war on Germany, Herbert Grayson comes to town to ferret out a gang of spies. Capitola decides to help her country, too, and she discovers that Gabriel Lenoir is one of the conspirators. She is almost killed but Grayson rescues her and reveals that Lenoir stole Capitola's fortune when she was a baby, and the villain gets his just rewards for his wrongdoings. The estate is returned to Capitola, who is attacked by one of Lenoir's accomplices that she locks up in the cellar. As Grayson is about to enlist and leave for the front in France, he asks for Capitola's hand in marriage.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

The arrest in America of a foreigner for evading military service in his native land results in his daughter becoming "No. 274" in an orphanage. She is later adopted by a couple who plan to sell her into matrimonial slavery, but she wins the love of a rich young man, who marries her. Later she is reunited with her father through playing a violin, to which she has clung through all her misadventures.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Unknown 274 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Desperate because a wealthy man has reduced her father to thievery, Rhoda agrees to rob the poor box of the church, although she finds the act abhorrent. During the robbery, Rhoda's father is shot and dies in the priests's arms, seeking absolution, while the man who ruined him looks on. Penitent, the man appoints Rhoda as his representative to return the ill-gotten gains to those he has robbed. Rhoda enters the underworld as an angel of mercy, gaining the sobriquet of "The White Moll." After many thrilling escapades, she brings The Dangler, the leader of a gang of crooks, to justice, saves others from death and finally wins The Pug, the man of her choice.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

After her lover, Kale Loomis, has had her husband sent to prison on a false charge, Fay Gonard leaves her little daughter, Dolores May, on the steps of a convent. Reared in an atmosphere of strictness and seclusion, Dolores is possessed with a desire to see the world, and after meeting Lawrence Grant, a politician's son, her curiosity is aroused even more and she escapes from the convent. Found on the road by Kale's friends, Dolores lives in his home for a time, but later, Lawrence takes her under his wing with the intention of marrying her. Although she loves Lawrence, Dolores misses Kale's parties and returns to him, whereupon Kale threatens to publicize her activities unless Lawrence's father agrees to his demands. Lawrence takes a repentant Dolores away from one of Kale's riotous parties, but after Kale is found dead, Lawrence is arrested for murder. Dolores' father, however, confesses to the crime, and following his acquittal, he is reunited with his daughter and Lawrence, now her husband.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Gretchen, an abandoned child, is raised by Frau Van Lom, the nastiest woman in the little Dutch village of Olenburg. As she grows up, Gretcen's few moments of happiness are those she spends with Carl, who is also an abandoned child, but who is raised by a poor family. When Gretchen refuses to marry a wealthy old man in exchange for his paying off Frau von Lom's mortgage, she is framed for theft and jailed. On top of that, Carl is taken away from the village and sent to the palace of the king. Complications ensue.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

Eloise Jackson, the ward of her wealthy uncle, Judge Stafford, spends thousands of dollars on extravagant parties for her friends. Harvey Greyson is a young and penniless writer struggling for recognition. When they meet at a party and fall in love, the judge, certain that Harvey is only enamored of Eloise's fortune, announces that he is bankrupt. Of all her friends, only Harvey sticks by her, offering his manuscripts to the deputy sheriff as security on the family's debts. Through his repeated efforts to secure money and employment for Eloise, Harvey convinces Judge Stafford that his love for the girl is true, and Eloise learns to curb her lavish spending. The judge sends Harvey's works to a publisher, and Harvey and Eloise become engaged.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Card shark Lee Rogers overhears Joselyn Poe crying in her furnished room. She is trying to get a dancing job in New York without any luck. He gets her a job as a taxi dancer through which she meets chorus girl Kitty who introduces her to all sorts of cads. Meanwhile Lee, who realizes he loves her, decides to go straight

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

A village schoolteacher, unaware that Eben, the village carpenter, is in love with her, marries a surveyor and has a son, David. Eben, distraught at losing her, goes away, and he returns years later to find that David, now an orphan, is running away from his cruel foster father, the squire. Eben befriends David, and when the town is destroyed by a storm the two escape harm. An epilog shows David 25 years later as a successful businessman, happily married, helping to rebuild the town. (SILENT)