The Essential Watchlist that Capture the Essence of Happiness Ahead: Cult Guide

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.

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

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William A. Seiter

A young couple quarrel and make-up and quarrel again and it is here where they determine to save the scandal of divorce by placing a white tape through the house to divide it into two parts, each section of which will be exclusively sacred to the other. In the meantime, an almost invisible Cupid hovers about trying to placate them and a little Mephisto with a pitchfork tries to prod the couple along to more troubles.

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

Dir: William A. Seiter

Jack wants to spend their vacation in the mountains and Daisy wants to spend it at the beach in Santa Barbara.

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

When famous opera singer Elinore Duane undergoes an operation on her throat, she has a series of ether-induced visions. In one, she is transported to ancient Rome where she appears as a much-admired woman in love with Paul, a young heretic, and at odds with Lutor, the high priest. To save her love, she poisons Lutor with her ring. After several other visions which involve variations on this love triangle, Elinore awakens to discover that Lutor is actually her doctor, Sascha Jaccard, and that Paul is the son of a friend who has come to visit the recovering prima donna.

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

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William A. Seiter

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.