Essential Cult Cinema Mirroring the Impact of Her Code of Honor: Cu...

Dir: John M. Stahl

Elliot Worthington falls in love with Myra, the maid in his sister's household. Myra is dismissed; Elliot finds her, proposes marriage, and returns home with his new bride. She is snubbed by his relatives and shocked by the hypocrisy of his wealthy friends. Disillusioned, she runs away: Elliot follows and saves her from being hit by a train when her foot gets caught in a switch.

Dir: John M. Stahl

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

Hilda, a fisherman's daughter, and Philip Emerson, a noted physician, fall in love and marry, but the doctor soon becomes increasingly involved in his medical work, neglecting Hilda and their young son Philip, Jr. He then leaves her in the company of his friends, kind Peter and philandering Robert. When an epidemic of infantile paralysis breaks out, taking up even more of the doctor's time, his own son contracts the disease, and by all appearances dies from it. Heartbroken, Hilda collapses. However, the doctor discovers that the boy is in fact alive, although paralyzed. Believing that Hilda would be even more disturbed to know this, he hides the boy in his laboratory and works on trying to cure him, but cannot. Peter finally reunites Hilda with her son, and her presence and the miracle of motherly love succeed where science has failed: the boy is cured and walks toward his mother.

Dir: John M. Stahl

When Rosamond, a convent girl, discovers that her mother is Baby Brabant, a notorious queen of Petworth's gambling house, her ideals are shattered and she denounces her mother's life. Following her daughter's departure, Baby leaves the gambler and resorts to opium in her remorse. Rosamond becomes a successful actress and falls in love with Ned, the foster son of a wealthy man, Brabazon, who advises Ned to treat her as a plaything, but he refuses to drop her. Brabazon then learns that Baby Brabant is his former wife and that Rosamond is his own daughter. Ned and Rosamond are united after her mother dies.

Dir: John M. Stahl

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

A bitter outcast named Garnett runs a road house of low character called "The Owl" in backwoods Alabama, his only friend is Dr. Hamilton, and he keeps the secret from his old blind mother who believes he had a noble death. One night, the Doctor intervenes when the KKK tries to hang Garnett. Hamilton tells his patient turned girlfriend, Faith, that he must find Garnett's wife before his rampant illness kills him. He finds that Faith is in fact the missing wife, and he has betrayed his old friend.

Dir: John M. Stahl

Faced with deciding between two suitors, James Brunton and Bob Standing, Grace chooses James. Aristocratic Mr. Brunton gives his son James a sumptuous wedding at home, which is interrupted when the father is suddenly shot through a window. Before he dies, Mr. Brunton speaks with James, making him promise not to apprehend the murderer. Later, the marriage is troubled when Grace is led to believe that James is involved with another woman, Helen, and is giving her money. Crushed, Grace leaves home and has a miscarriage after settling in another town. Meanwhile, James believes that she has run off with Bob. One day, James has a car accident and is taken to Grace's house nearby, where she cares for him. The mystery is solved with the arrivals of Helen and Bob, when it is revealed that Helen is actually James's sister, and that Mr. Brunton had abandoned Helen's mother Alice years before. Mr. Brunton knew that it was Alice who had shot him, and he wanted James to try to make up for his neglect of the mother and daughter. Bob then becomes interested in Helen, and James and Grace are reconciled.

Dir: John M. Stahl

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of One Clear Call perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

On the day of her wedding to Jimmie, Mary finds she has not lost her affection for another sweetheart, Joe. A confrontation arises when Jimmie discovers that Joe has come along on their honeymoon.

Dir: John M. Stahl

Young José lives with his guardian, Don Julian, a middle-aged diplomat recently married to young Felicia. Society gossips in Madrid find the situation increasingly scandalous.

Dir: John M. Stahl

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Greater Than Love perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Young Brierly struggles to save his father, Major Brierly, from the clutches of alcohol after the Great War. At the same time, he prepares Major Brierly's horse, which served bravely with the Major at the front, for the Kentucky Derby.

Dir: John M. Stahl

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: John M. Stahl

After a foreword introduces the question of whether women are temperamentally suited for jury duty, young shipping clerk Jim O'Neil is found holding a revolver over his dead employer, Edward Knox. Celebrated novelist Grace Norton, selected to be on the jury at Jim's trial, becomes New York's first female juror. Although Jim pleads innocence, he refuses to elaborate until his sweetheart Helen testifies that Knox raped her when she pleaded for Jim, who was fired unjustly, to be reinstated. Jim testifies that he intended to kill Knox but found him dead already. During an angry all-night deliberation, the jury remains deadlocked 11-to-1, with Grace voting against a guilty verdict. In the morning, when she learns that her sister Edith has died, Grace confesses to killing Knox for seducing Edith and failing to honor his promise of marriage. After the foreman reminds the jury of their oath to keep their proceedings secret, they agree not to reveal Grace's story, and vote to acquit Jim.