The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of His Darker Self: Cult Guide

Dir: John W. Noble

A rich libertine leaves all his money to a college girl who had refused his advances. The ensuing scandal makes her retire to a small town, where she meets the dead man's son.

Dir: John W. Noble

While touring India, noted English criminologist Richard Duvall saves the life of a Buddhist priest who rewards him with the presentation of a wonderful crystal globe. By gazing in it the priest demonstrates that Duvall can fall into a cataleptic state and his astral body is released and is free to roam at will. Leaving the temple, Duvall collides with Grace Ellicott, who is touring the Far East with her aunt, the Countess D'Este and the Count. A mutual admiration between Grace and Duvall results from the accidental meeting. Later, in England, the mistress of Count D'Este makes financial demands which he cannot meet. With his housekeeper, Mrs. Cooke, he plans to put his wife out of the way and thus obtain her fortune. Poison is put in candy which the Countess eats. Her sudden death arouses the suspicion of her niece. On his return to England, Duvall experiments with the magic globe. He is surprised and pleased to see the face of the girl he met in India. Further experiments, while in the cataleptic state, discloses part of the plot that resulted in the death of Grace's aunt, which has cheated her out of the fortune. Duvall seeks out Grace to explain his strange experiments. She tells him that previous to the death of the Countess she had seen her will and that the entire fortune, which included one million dollars in cash, was to be left to her. But after the suspicious death of the Countess, Grace is puzzled when the Count produces a new will in which he is named the sole beneficiary. Duvall succeeds in having his East Indian servant, Purtab Gar, secure a position in the Count's home. Then he proceeds to unravel the mystery and at the same time recover the one million dollars for Grace. Count D'Este is driven to distraction by finding, everywhere he turns in his home, cards that read: "I want One Million Dollars. Victor Gerard." Disguised as "Victor Gerard," Duvall pays a visit to the Count. He insists that the one million dollars be ready for him at midnight, when he will call again. D'Este notifies the police and the chief calls in Duvall to assist in solving the mystery and apprehending "Gerard." Duval outlines a plan in which the Count is directed to have the money ready as demanded. He assures him the premises will be well protected and that "Gerard" cannot escape. "Gerard" arrives at the appointed time and mysteriously disappears, together with the money, as the police close in. Duvall walks out of a room where they think they have "Gerard" trapped. Count D'Este accuses Grace of stealing the money and attempts to strangle her when Purtab Gar saves her. Duvall succeeds in obtaining a confession of the murder from the housekeeper, when he traps her as she is attempting to poison Grace. Duvall explains everything to the mystified police. D'Este is carried off under arrest and Grace and Duvall are left happily together.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

Rhy MacGhesney and her two brothers, Clem and Sonnie, live with their father and their servant Maggie in a small boom mining town in Colorado. The boom has passed to the camps further on, leaving their little camp practically deserted. Rhy still has faith in the claim her father worked up to the time he was killed, some five years before, but her brother hates the life of the camp, and wants to sell for what they can get and go back to New York, where he feels he can have a chance to make something of himself. Their neighbor across the street is Lewis Beresford, whose obvious mission in the camp is one of pleasure, but who is in reality a mining expert, connected with big mining interests. He has ingratiated himself into the affection of the people of this little camp, and shows a great liking for Rhy and her brothers. Steve Towney, the former mine superintendent for "The Three of Us," is in love with Rhy and is jealous of Beresford, as he has been accepted as suitor for Rhy's hand, up to the time of Beresford's coming. Mr. and Mrs. Bix, Rhy's closest friends in the camp, give a Hallowe'en dinner, which is to be the biggest event of the year. On the day that the dinner is to be given, Steven strikes, by accident, mineral. This assures the success of the mine on which he holds an option, and which adjoins "The Three of Us." Overjoyed, he rushes to Rhy to tell the good news, informing her that it will be impossible for him to attend the Bix dinner, as his option expires the next day at noon. Rhy confesses her love for him, and asks him to wait until next morning. She will then go with him. He consents, giving her the option and samples of ore. Clem overhears the conversation. He is bribed by Beresford to reveal it. The latter thus has an opportunity to make an attempt to gain possession of the mine. He is at the recording office waiting to establish a claim the moment that the option to Towney's mine expires. But Rhy saves the mine and proves her loyalty to Steve by a thrilling ride over the mountains. This is shown in a series of exciting pictures. A great explosion for the breaking of ground for a smelter for the two successful mines ends the picture.

Dir: John W. Noble

Herbert Grayson has timber holdings in a Southern state. One of his mills is burned, and he accuses Len Mathis, a young mountaineer. In trying to avoid arrest Len is killed, and old John Mathis, his father, swears to shoot Grayson or any member of his family on sight. His young daughter, Renie, makes the same vow. Grayson is anxious to gain control of lands owned by Mathis, Grayson's nephew, Eric Southard, volunteers to effect the purchase. On his arrival, he telegraphs his uncle, disclosing his identity to the station-agent, who loses no time in telling the bystanders. Eric starts for the home of Peets, his uncle's foreman, in the village "jitney," as Renie, rifle in hand, is walking across the hills to Hibbitsville to get cartridges. One of the tires of the automobile bursts, and Renie, thinking the noise that of a gun, creeps behind Eric and the chauffeur, who are mending the tire, and makes them throw up their hands. When they explain that the tires contain wind, she shoots one in order to prove it, and while the chauffeur is repairing the damage she and Eric sit by the roadside. She learns in the village that Eric is Grayson's nephew, and goes to Peets' cabin to avenge her brother. Trying to shoot through the window, she misses Eric, who returns her fire, and slightly wounds her. He carries Renie home, and she tells her father she has been wounded by dropping her own gun. Eric and Renie fall in love. John Mathis has promised Renie's hand in marriage to Bud Weaver, as soon as he earns the necessary $100 with which to set up housekeeping. Eric writes to his uncle, refusing to further his schemes in the mountains. Eric is summoned to the Mexican border with the National Guard. He promises Renie to return for her. Bud Weaver demands his bride, and old John, true to his promise, sets a date for the wedding. Eric, stricken with typhoid fever, has been sent back to New York to recuperate, but Renie, unable to read or write, cannot communicate with him. The night before the wedding Renie tries to run away, and discovered by her father, has to tell him the reason. Old John gives her her rifle and shows her the door. Renie goes to Peets' cabin to try to learn news of Eric, and Peets takes advantage of her loneliness. In the ensuing struggle, Renie's gun is fired, and Peets is killed. Some men who are passing break into the cabin and Renie is arrested charged with murder. In a New York hospital Eric is convalescent. He learns that Renie has shot Peets and that her trial will be held in a few days. Eric hurries to Hibbitsville and plans her defense. At the trial, the feud between the Grayson and the Mathis factions is brought out, making the case against Renie look serious, but Eric appeals to the sympathies of the mountaineers in her behalf, and the jury returns a verdict of "not guilty." Eric and Renie are married, and Grayson, having come to a realization of the needs of the mountaineers, begins a new regime of helpfulness among the hills.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

Philip and Miles Quaintance quarrel over the love of Ellen Sheridan; Miles is rejected, while Philip is successful. Philip dies soon after his son is born, and Miles proposes to the widow. When she refuses him, he uses every means to make her unhappy. She leaves the Southland where they live, taking her infant son Stephen. When Stephen has grown to manhood, his mother dies, first telling him the story of Miles' persecution. He is so embittered against his uncle that he avoids meeting him, and he leaves for South Africa. Miles Quaintance amasses a fortune, and in his declining years he hopes to meet Stephen to make restitution for the wrongs he had done his parents. Miles has a ward, Dagmar Lorraine, whom he sends to Paris to study singing. There she meets Etienne, the Duke de Reves, who has an unsavory reputation. He makes violent love to Dagmar and obtains her consent to marry him. After the ceremony a woman enters the church carrying a baby whom she claims is the Duke's son. Horrified, Dagmar flees from the church and returns to America. In a whimsical mood, and partly to atone for the wrongs he had done in his past, Miles makes a will leaving his $10 million fortune to Dagmar and Stephen, provided that they marry and that the wedding takes place before midnight of the following May 31. Miles does not know of Dagmar's wedding and dies before she arrives in America. Stephen is notified of the contents of the strange will at a trading station in Africa. He decides he will take no assistance from his uncle, and with Timothy O'Farrell, a companion, he plans a way out of it. They find the body of a white man floating in the river, and Stephen puts all his papers and trinkets in the pockets of the dead man. Mark Seager, a gunrunner, finds the body and conceives the idea of impersonating the dead man, marrying Dagmar, and claiming the legacy. He sets off for America immediately. Stephen and O'Farrell also leave for America. They are in a restaurant, where they see a man abusing a young girl and using threatening language. It is the valet of the Duke, who has met Dagmar and is trying to blackmail her for his silence. Stephen drives the valet out of the place, and is charmed by the appearance and manner of the girl. She leaves before he can question her. While driving her automobile home that night, Dagmar has trouble with the engine. When she stops to fix it Seager, who does not know her, observes her predicament and attempts to take advantage of it. She frightens him away with a revolver. The next day, Stephen sees an automobile offered for sale, and noticing that it corresponds with the one driven by the girl he met the day before, he answers the advertisement. Dagmar sells the car to him as she is low in funds. That night the valet and the Duke come to her home and she flees, taking passage the next morning on a steamship bound for Paris, where she has left some money in a bank. Seager learns that she has gone, and he follows. Likewise do the Duke and Stephen and O'Farrell. Stephen, taking the name of A. Newman. Seagar finds Dagmar in Paris and tells her he has come to marry her. One look at him and she leaves. The Duke finds her and persuades her to come to him, saying he will lead a better life, and introduce her to his own society. On the night of the reception she is kidnapped by Seager, who takes her to a deserted house where he has arranged for a rascally advocate to come and marry them. The Duke follows to the house and is killed in a fight with Seager. Stephen and O'Farrell have followed the Duke's valet and arrive there just as Seager is forcing Dagmar into a marriage. It is just 10 minutes to midnight, the time assigned for the $10 million wedding. Seager is driven from the place and Stephen and Dagmar tell each other of their love. Both agree not to touch a penny of Miles' fortune, and after the clock strikes twelve they are married.

Dir: John W. Noble

Faro Black, the chief of the Gypsies, finds out that his son Faro and his girlfriend Egypt have gotten married. Infuriated, he tells that their marriage isn't valid, since Egypt is actually the daughter of wealthy Gordon Lindsay, who is on his way to the gypsy camp to claim her. The two promise to remain faithful to each other, but as time passes and she never hears from him, her love turns to bitterness. What she doesn't know is that Faro is being held prisoner by his father who, on his deathbed, tells him a secret that changes everything.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

In the poorest section of the city lives Nell, who spends her days at her grandfather's bird store, finding constant delight in the companionship of her feathered friends. One day Nell's grandfather is run over by a car driven by Mr. Morris, a millionaire, who offers to purchase a bullfinch at a large price in order to forestall a damage suit. When Nell's grandfather refuses to sell because the bird is his granddaughter's pet, the Morris' son Ned, impressed with Nell's charm, tells her to call if she is ever in need of assistance. It soon becomes evident that her grandfather is in need of expensive medical care, so Nell calls Ned and offers to sell the bird. Later the finch becomes ill and Nell is summoned to treat it. While she is at the house, Nell and Ned fall in love. Nell's happiness is clouded, however, when her misguided brother Carlo attempts to rob the Morris house. All ends happily, however, when through Nell's and Ned's devotion, Carlo is reformed and the grandfather receives the care he needs.

Dir: John W. Noble

The allegory which begins the story represents the world before the creation of man. Out of the elements is born Conscience. Conscience is then present at the fall of the first parents, and drives them from the garden. Conscience is again present when Moses breaks the tablets of stone in his anger at the Israelites for their idolatry on Sinai. At last Conscience sustains the Christ when He stands on trial before the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Then begins the story. A child is born, bearing the name of John Conscience. The figure of the allegory is seen to touch the newborn babe, and it is fore-ordained that he is to be a creature of Conscience. The child grows to manhood. He holds the chair in economics in a great university, and is delivering an exhortation to the graduating class. He tells the young men of some of the shameful conditions the wealthy employer class is imposing upon the poor and helpless class. He bids them go forth with conscience to guide their careers, and that they will be successful in the real sense. The wealthy men, trustees of the university, etc., who are in audience, disagree with John Conscience's principles to such an extent that they demand his resignation, as the result of the speech. One of them, however, Stephen Might, whose son Stephen Might. Jr., is among the students, feels that John Conscience will be a great success in some business where the question of conscience will not be raised, and tells him that he will have a position for him whenever be may want it. John Conscience, sustained by the encouragement of his mother, tries in various fields, without success. He happens to see a girl who is about to end her efforts to succeed and still remain good, by plunging into the river. He dissuades her and takes her to his mother. She tells her story, how she had left her father's roof to earn her living and be useful in the world, and the mother advises her to go back to her father. John is inspired with new hope after his good deed, goes to Stephen Might, obtains a position for himself, and also one for the girl. He rises in position with this concern, and a love affair develops between them, but Stephen Might, Jr., also falls in love with the girl. At a time when a rival company is trying to bribe John Conscience to divulge secrets which will mean the undoing of Might and Company, John Conscience comes upon Mary Knowles, the girl, in the arms of Stephen, and thinks she has accepted him. His mistake causes him to throw off conscience, and begin a grinding, resolute, uncompromising drive for wealth. In Chicago John Conscience takes the name of John Power. He comes to the control of great interests, owns factories, and rules over all these interests with a hand of iron. His employees are but mechanical parts of his structure, and he has no soul, no heart. When the girl realizes what he had meant to her, she denounces Might, Jr., and her father, who had helped about the situation, and runs away. At the time Power's success is at its zenith she us a stenographer in one of his factories. At this time also, in his determination to avenge himself upon Stephen Might, Jr. he is using unfair business methods to drive the Might concern to the wall. Young Might learns that it is the Power firm which is oppressing them and goes to see Power, not knowing who he is. He arrives, and as John is about to drive home his revenge, Stephen tells h him of a mistake, that he thought Mary was with him, as she ran away the same night he had disappeared. John has been harassed by the public safety committees about the unsanitary conditions and lark of safety in his factories, and has been obdurate and unresponsive. Now, he sees that he was wrong, experiences a faint hope, and tells Might he will let him know the next day what can be done. He goes home, and sits by the fireplace in his library to think. Conscience appears to him again, and shows him, by a series of contrasts, the difference between the power he has achieved over the financial world and that which Conscience wields over the souls of men. He is receptive, and Conscience again enters his soul. He calls for architects and builders to reconstruct his factories, for the safety of his employees, and before they can begin work a great fire breaks out in one of his factories, and Mary is caught in an upper story. John rides to the scene, and sees her at a window. He rescues her and their romance finds its proper conclusion.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

Philip Nolan III refuses to fight for the cause of democracy. His father, Philip Nolan II, who has failed in his efforts to convince his son of the fallacy of arguments, then lays bare all the details of the shameful treason of his own ancestor, the first Philip Nolan, "The Man Without a Country." The father's story shows how the first Philip Nolan played into the hands of Aaron Burr; how Thomas Jefferson was elected president over Burr; how Alexander Hamilton prevented the conscienceless Burr becoming governor of New York; the duel between Hamilton and Burr; how Philip Nolan was later arrested on his wedding night for aiding Burr, who had conspired to start a rival government in the south to wage war against the United States, and how he was later banished from the United States for saying "Damn the United States! I wish I might never hear its name again," and how Philip Nolan died kissing the flag of the country he had execrated. Deeply moved, Philip Nolan III loses no time in joining the boys in khaki.

Dir: John W. Noble

In a prologue, the relationship between capital and labor throughout history is shown in caveman days, Biblical times, and the feudal period. In the main story John Stoddard, a construction chief building a gigantic bridge for capitalist Courtlandt Van Nest, sympathizes with the workers' dissatisfaction with low salaries and subsistence conditions. When his attempts to negotiate with Van Nest fail, the workers, led by agitator Lavinsky, prepare to strike. Van Nest's daughter Janet, who is engaged to a militia captain, visits the site and is appalled by the squalor. Despite their differences, Janet and Stoddard fall in love. When the strike breaks, Van Nest sends in the militia. As they prepare to fire, Stoddard sees Lavinsky about to throw dynamite, and wrestles it away. He then agrees to Van Nest's demand for settling the strike that he refrain from seeing Janet. After Janet leaves home to help poor families, Van Nest looks for her at Stoddard's house where Stoddard demonstrates that because of their similar ancestry, he and Van Nest are not very different. When Stoddard's sister Edith allows Van Nest to witness the surprise reunion of a worker and his wife from Europe, to whom Janet had sent transportation money, Van Nest softens and agrees to Janet's marriage to Stoddard. An epilogue follows showing blindfolded Justice saying to fat Capital and burly Labor, "Why quarrel? You are worthless without the other."