The Cult Collection Inspired by the Vision of Her Greatest Love: Cu...

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Du Barry attracts the attention of the King of France as he rides through the streets. A meeting follows, she losing her garter and the King his heart. Installed at court, Du Barry holds the King's favor in spite of her love for a soldier. The King dies and Du Barry plans to wed her soldier sweetheart, but she falls a victim of the Revolution.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

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

A young Frenchman kills his best friend in a drunken fight. He vows to never touch another drop of liquor, but he goes back to the bottle when he hooks up with seductive Blanche Le Noir, and is soon an alcoholic. Blanche, however, prefers the sinister Lantier, and tries to use Lantier's daughter to get to him. However, the daughter is saved by the efforts of young American RIchard Lee, who marries her. Unfortunately, Lee's sister is seduced by Lantier. Complications ensue.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

When Herodias divorces her husband and marries his brother Herod Antipas, governor of Judea, the prophet John the Baptist protests and is imprisoned. Salome, daughter of Herodias and both niece and stepdaughter to Herod, dances seductively and wins the prize of anything she asks of Herod. The prize she asks is the head of John the Baptist.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

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

Maria Valverde, a young Spanish woman whose father has settled in the Philippines, arrives home from the convent where she received her education and is soon approached by Diablo Ramirez, a local plantation overseer who hopes to win her heart. Having met the handsome American army captain, Paul Winter, in Manila, Maria scorns Diablo's advances, and later, he is forcefully escorted from the house. Furious, Diablo organizes a group of rebels, who kill Maria's father and hold her a prisoner in her own home. When Captain Winter hears of the revolt, he rushes to Maria's aid but is himself captured. Reinforcements soon arrive from the American army post, and in the fighting, the house is set ablaze. Diablo is about to grab Maria when Captain Winter enters and shoots the rebel down. The Americans finally emerge victorious, and Maria wins her dashing captain.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

After the death of Princess Arbassoff, Lisza Tapenko, a governess in the household of Prince Arbassoff, fills her place in everything but name. When the prince refuses to marry her because of the difference in their social positions, Lisza's former lover, Vassya, urges her to join the cause of the revolution. Smarting under the prince's refusal, she does so and leaves for Switzerland, the headquarters of the revolutionaries. The prince eventually yields to his son's pleas for Lisza's return and agrees to make her his wife. As Princess Arbassoff, Lisza still continues her activities with the revolutionaries, assassinating government officials and leaving a red rose on each of her victims. Torn between her love for the prince and her love of Russia when the revolutionaries order her to slay her husband, Lisza's devotion to the cause triumphs and she dynamites her house, meeting her death along with the prince's.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

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

Francesca Brabaut, who married an artist against her father's advice, regrets her decision when her husband Antoine, in debt, sends her to his misanthropic uncle to plead for money. After Francesca refuses the uncle's offer to change his will if she will have sex with him, the uncle, declaring that he has misjudged women, decides to leave money to provide for Francesca and her child but dies of heart failure first. Antoine inherits a castle and title and deserts Francesca. Later, while posing in Florence for an American artist, Francesca meets the artist's sweetheart, American heiress Cecily Blaine, whose mother wants her to marry someone with a title. When Francesca learns that Antoine plans to marry Cecily, she threatens to expose him, but he convinces Cecily that Francesca and the artist are married. Cecily then consents to marry Antoine. After Francesca and the artist are sent to the galleys unjustly for theft, Antoine is exposed. When he tries to kidnap their child, Francesca shoots him, whereupon Cecily marries the artist.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Bara is unusually cast as a nearly virginal nurse and actress. She does manage to get one man to blow his brains out before she reforms and marries an Episcopal priest.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

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

Shakespeare's classic tale of ill-fated lovers whose deaths bring peace to their warring families.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Elsie Drummond, the "Vixen," a spoiled nymphomaniac, takes pleasure in wreaking havoc on her sweet sister Helen. When Helen becomes enamored of Martin Stevens, a Wall Street businessman, Elsie turns on her considerable charms and woos him away. After Charlie Drummond, Elsie's shiftless brother, steals from Stevens and causes a scandal, Stevens is ruined financially and Elsie promptly leaves him. Through deliberate manipulation, Elsie then steals Knowles Murray, a young statesman, from Helen and succeeds in marrying him. Elsie and Murray move to Paris, forcing Helen to care for their alcoholic father. Six years later, Murray is called to Washington, D.C. and Elsie, now the mother of two children, renews her acquaintance with Martin Stevens, who has regained his wealth and position. As Murray is about to catch Elsie in Stevens' arms, Helen, to protect the children, supplies Elsie with an escape and an alibi. While Elsie continues in her deceptive ways, Stevens, finally wise to the Vixen, marries Helen.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

The story of Cleopatra, the fabulous queen of Egypt, and the epic romances between her and the greatest men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Antony.