Must-Watch List in the Vein of Hairpins: Cult Guide

Dir: Wilfred Lucas

Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

An uneducated young girl becomes suddenly wealthy and hires the disinherited son of an upper-class family to tutor her in the ways of society.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A girl tries to save her brother from prosecution after he steals some money from his employer. She goes to work for the employer, who tries to take advantage of her. He is murdered, and the girl is suspected of the crime.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

A sculptress is taken under the wing of an art patron, who is murdered.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

Idealistic young American falls under the influence of Communist agitators.

Dir: Alexander Butler

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Journalist Betsy Thorne travels from New York to Virginia to cover a story about the disappearance of Daniel Arnold at a supposedly haunted estate. In order to get into the house, she pretends to be a maid. In the household she meets Daniel's sister Dolores, the neighbor Dr. James Dunwoody who loves Dolores, and his son Roland, who is under suspicion. Betsy pretends to be tough, but when she sees a ghost emerge from the chapel, she screams. The result is that Dolores locks her in at night. The following night, Betsy climbs out of her window and sees the ghost again, this time in the graveyard. After some intrepid investigating, she finds that playing certain chords on the chapel organ cause a door to open, leading into a passage to a tomb. Betsy bravely pursues the ghost who turns out to be Daniel, though he has become deranged. Further, she discovers that he is actually desired by the law as an international forger.