Cinematic Discoveries Resonating with the Themes of His Naughty Wife: Cult Guide

Dir: Victor Heerman

A European royal couple come to New York to sell some of the royal family's crown jewels. A gang of international jewel thieves plans to steal the gems, so a private detective is assigned to guard them. Unfortunately, the private eye turns out to be a bumbling, inept fool--or so everyone thinks.

Dir: Victor Heerman

Anthony Churchill, about to marry Helen Griggs, is on six months' probation imposed upon him by Helen's father, who knows Anthony has been wild in his earlier days. Marion, a forgotten flame, turns up with incriminating love letters which Anthony has written and threatens a breach of promise suit. Anthony represents himself as already married, using the janitor's wife and some hired children as his supposed family. Marion seems convinced, but Helen is heartbroken when she discovers what she considers the proof of Anthony's perfidy. Anthony and his chum try to steal the incriminating love letters from Marion's room and are caught in the act. At the psychological moment Marion and her attorneys are identified as a couple of blackmailers engaging in a plan to mulct Anthony and the Griggs family of some of their money.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Love Is an Awful Thing perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Victor Heerman

Upon being released from prison, Lawrence Hilliard takes the name of John Smith and looks for work, and falls in love with Irene Mason, a social secretary, but is reluctant to tell her about his past.

Dir: Victor Heerman

A young man's aunt refuses to give him his inheritance until he marries, so he passes off the wife of his friend as his new bride. His ruse is threatened when his aunt takes a liking to his new "bride" and whisks her off on a retreat when she thinks that she (the bride) is becoming too attentive to her "husband"'s friend (her real husband.) Now it's up to the young man to tell the truth and straighten up all the misunderstandings.

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

Dir: Victor Heerman

Tom Clark, the part owner of a luckless gas station in New York, returns to his place of birth for Old Home Week, posing as the millionaire president of the Amalgamated Oil Co. He is chosen as the orator for the homecoming banquet and given complete financial control over an oil well drilled in the town by Coleman and Barton, a pair of oily swindlers. Tom discovers that the well is a fake and has it connected secretly with the local reservoir. A wire from Tom's partner is intercepted, and Tom is exposed as a fraud. Coleman and Barton are about to leave town when Tom fakes a gusher and quickly sells the well back to the swindlers at a profit. The swindlers realize that they have been outsmarted, and their anger convinces the townspeople that Tom has acted in the best interests of the community. Tom is again the toast of the town, feted by its inhabitants and rewarded with the kisses of his sweetheart.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In seventeenth-century England, Barbara Winslow helps her rebellious brother, Rupert, to escape the King's forces. Barbara is captured while disguised as Rupert, but Captain Prothero becomes enamored with her and sets her free. Later, when Barbara and the captain are imprisoned, they discover a secret passage that enables them and their fellow captives to escape. Barbara then secures a pardon for herself and the captain by revealing a plot against the king. Prothero is exiled from England, and Barbara goes with him.

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

Dir: Victor Heerman

Neglectful husband Hugh Varley learns that his wife, Denise, is infatuated with philanderer Frank Despard. She enters Frank's apartment to recover some incriminating letters and makes a quick exit, unaware that the occupant is subsequently murdered. Denise seeks refuge in the apartment of Cort Maitland, who knows of her affair with Frank. Hugh later comes to his wife's defense when Cort attempts burglary and assault. In the struggle, Cort accidentally shoots himself and confesses to murdering Frank before he dies.

Dir: Victor Heerman

"Eve and Joe are engaged, but Joe cannot help contrasting the drabness of her attire with the dressy clothes of their friends. She overhears him talking of this and breaks with him. Then, with the help of her friend, Mazie, she metamorphoses into a ravishing beauty. Joe is remorseful, but the situation is made more complex when he suspects Eve of questionable relations with her boss. In the end, he discovers she is innocent and that she still loves him." ( Moving Picture World, 1927).

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

Dir: Victor Heerman

Rudolf Rassendyll returns to Ruritania, to play the King once more.

Dir: Victor Heerman

The night of the Policeman's Benefit is at hand and all the coppers with their wives are in the audience. On the stage is a magician. Everything goes well until he asks for the officers' watches. Presumably he will turn them into eggs or something. He has a charming confederate and both enter compartments. When they don't reappear, the curtains are lifted and the fakirs are absent. They escaped through a trap in the stage. Then the chase is on.