Cinematic Discoveries Following the Footsteps of Hidden Dangers: Cu...

Dir: William Bertram

Mrs. Jasper Reading, an old woman whose concern for wealth has turned her heart to stone, turns her eldest son out of the house for no apparent reason and orders her youngest son Will to assume the management of her estate. Not without trepidation, Will installs his wife and little daughter Marie in his mother's house, but the old woman soon expresses her disapproval of both of them. Just as Mrs. Reading's heart is beginning to soften toward the charming little girl, Luther Parrish, who wishes to gain control of the Reading estate, convinces Will that his wife has betrayed him. Heartbroken, she departs with Marie, but Mrs. Reading soon misses the child and visits her to ask for forgiveness. Meanwhile, Will discovers Luther's dishonesty, and the entire family is reunited.

Dir: William Bertram

When Charles Lind is stricken blind, his brother John takes charge of his business affairs, while his little niece Marie reads his mail to him each day so that he may recite his replies into a Dictaphone. After John confesses that he has lost a great deal of Charles' money on the stock market, the two quarrel, and John nearly strangles his brother. Later, a shot rings out, and John is seen crouching by Charles' lifeless body. Following John's arrest, the detectives guarding Marie's house recognize Briggs, the butler, as a wanted criminal, and when he attempts to escape, they shoot him. Marie, in playing with her uncle's Dictaphone, discovers that his murderer's voice was captured on the recording. Played at the dying butler's bedside, the recording leads to Briggs's confession and John's release from prison.

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

Dir: William Bertram

Dolly lives with her aunt, who is a seamstress. The child is sent home from school because she has been naughty, and finds her aunt in the act of making a Red Cross costume for a huge mechanical doll. The doll can walk and talk and excites Dolly's interest intensely. Some of her playmates come and run away with the doll, which is later smashed by a runaway horse. Dolly then dresses in the Red Cross costume, hides in the big box, and is taken to the rich woman's home. She reveals her secret to the daughter, a little girl who is sick. The fairy story touches thrown in here are very fine and will appeal to the imagination of small observers. Dolly carries out her deception successfully at the Red Cross bazaar, but later is kidnapped by a gang who have been raiding the house of the wealthy woman. Dolly assists in rounding up the gang.

Dir: William Bertram

Blossom Ruggles, the fiercely independent daughter of Arizona cattleman Hank Ruggles, loves neighboring rancher Asa Harris. To pique Asa, however, she flirts with mining engineer Frank Stimpson, who unknown to her, has deceived pretty half-wit Amelia Young. While riding the range, Blossom is attacked by a Mexican bandit, but manages to overpower him, and deliver him to Asa and the cowboys, who throw him from a cliff. Later, the bandit is found unconscious by the sheriff and taken to jail. Learning of the half-wit's plight, Blossom mounts a posse, apprehends Frank, and forces him at gunpoint to marry Amelia. After the ceremony, Asa and Blossom are also wed.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Dolly Does Her Bit perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Bertram

Instilled with the spirit of patriotism after her teacher reads to her the story of Joan of Arc, Marie Yarbell goes home, persuades her father to enlist and then organizes a "military company" comprised of her playmates. Wealthy old Nathan Mulhouser, who is financing the development of a torpedo, is so touched by the children's patriotism that he buys them a flag. Marie's mother rents out a vacant room to Hertz, a stranger, who instructs her to see that no one enters his room because he is working on an important invention for the government. Curious, Marie follows Hertz as he leaves the house carrying a suitcase. He goes to a building that houses Mulhouser's laboratory, tosses in a bomb and runs away. Marie disposes of the bomb in time, but is stunned by the explosion. Mulhouser finds Marie in a state of shock and takes her to his home. Meanwhile, Mr. Yarbell has returned home at his wife's alarm and finds Marie's soldiers holding the spies prisoner. Mulhouser finally ascertains Marie's identity, discovering that she is his granddaughter, and all ends happily.

Dir: William Bertram

Dolly McKenzie's mother fancies herself a gifted painter and goes to the city to live a Bohemian life style. Meanwhile, Dolly's father John, facing an imminent strike in the factory he runs, sends the child, together with her little friend, Ebenezer Eczema Abraham White, and his mother, to his brother Howard's farm. The children soon bring chaos to "Peaceful Acres" with their pranks, but on one of their escapades, they become lost in the woods. Even the striking employees join in the search party, but it is Dolly's mother, coincidentally in the country for a weekend party, who finally finds the frightened children. The negligent mother willingly returns to her family, and John, grateful to his men for their help, promises to settle the labor dispute the next morning.

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

Dir: William Bertram

Sally Lou, the small daughter of village blacksmith Jim Davis, uses her sawdust doll to take the place of a real mother. Her father proposes to Rose Budd, a beauty expert who has been stranded in the town. Rose marries Jim in order to have a home, and shows no love to her new stepdaughter. Jim enlists in the army, thinking Rose will care for Sally Lou, but instead Rose plans to elope with the local druggist Raynor. Sally Lou learns Raynor is really a German spy who plans to wreck the troop train carrying Jim. Sally Lou tells Rose and the two rush to the rescue. Sally Lou sets fire to her sawdust doll and uses it as a torchlight to warn the oncoming train. The train is saved, and Rose resolves to be a good mother to their stepchild.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.

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

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

Dir: George B. Seitz

The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.