Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of Hitting the Trail: Cult Guide

Dir: Dell Henderson

A young man doubles as a butler and an amateur detective.

Dir: Dell Henderson

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

Lucille Vale is in love with struggling architect Paul Arden, but her mother believes that Allen Granat is a more suitable match. Lucille's mother prevails, and Lucille leaves Paul a note in their secret hiding place saying that she is going to marry Allen. Paul is injured when thrown from a horse and does not receive the note. He is nursed back to health in the home of entomologist Thomas Wiggan, whose son Johnnie is in love with Marion Vale, Lucille's younger sister. Two years later, Lucille and Allen return to the estate, very much in love, and engage Paul's services. The note is found, still waiting in the secret hiding place. After many complications, and with the help of her friend Suzanne Russell, Lucille recovers the possibly incriminating note.

Dir: Dell Henderson

Shark Rawley is a sailor aboard the tramp steamer Aurora , presided over by a brutal captain named Sanchez. While ashore one night, Shark and Sanchez encounter society girl Doris Selby and her friends on a slumming expedition at a dockside bar called the Wine Room. Entrapped by some of the predatory characters that infest the place, Doris escapes through a cellar only to abducted by Sanchez who then takes her to the Aurora . Arriving at the pier just as the ship is leaving, the Shark catches the vessel and, once aboard, battles the captain and crew for possession of Doris. In the ensuing fight, the Aurora catches fire and all hands are forced to abandon ship. The Shark saves Doris, and when the rescue ship finally reaches them, the pair have fallen in love.

Dir: Dell Henderson

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

Traveling under the name "Charles Conant," the son of an American mine owner tries to enter England in 1916 after masquerading as a muleteer, but the captain of his ship, suspicious when he sees him looking through a spyglass, plans to take him back to the United States. Charles escapes and visits his relative, Lady Dartridge, and falls in love with her daughter, Lady Joan Templar, who is loved by her cousin, chief constable George Templar who, suspicious of Charles' manner and unexplainable meetings and activities, wants to arrest him as a spy. After Charles handcuffs two German agents, he reveals that he is a secret-service man. Earlier, he mistakenly sold titanium from his father's mine to a German agent. His successful mission recovered the titanium before it went to Germany aboard a U-boat. Promising to wed Lady Joan, Charles leaves to join the Lafayette Squadron in France.

Dir: Dell Henderson

Although a feud between the Harlan and Boone families has been raging for years, Mollie Powell, the Harlan's stepdaughter, is secretly in love with Clay Boone. When a young member of the Boone clan is killed during one of the battles, Clay vows that he will never touch a gun again. Branded a coward by the other mountaineers, Clay keeps his oath until Buck Gomery, one of the moonshiners, attacks Julia Weston, the daughter of another moonshiner. Clay comes to Julia's defense, and during the fight the Harlans are arrested and jailed, thus freeing Clay and Mollie to live their lives together in peace.

Dir: Dell Henderson

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

Pampered Frederic "Freddy" Pritchard, warned by his father that he must work or be disinherited, learns how to crack safes to help his girlfriend Gloria Nevins, whose villainous uncle holds security for the family jewels, as well as the right to vote on the disposition of the Nevins Motor Works. After Freddy steals the papers with the aid of his valet Smithson, Gloria's uncle locks him in a warehouse to prevent him from attending a crucial stockholders' meeting. Freddy escapes and saves the factory for Mrs. Nevins, who gives him power of proxy. Pritchard, Sr., pleased with his son, consents to Freddy's marriage to Gloria.

Dir: Dell Henderson

Helene De Travillac, a sweat little French girl, loves her handsome cousin, Andre D'Eguzon, but a scheming aunt has engaged her to Valentin LeBarroyer, a methodical, statistic-loving "stick," but wealthy. On the wedding morning Andre suddenly appears on the scene and pleads with Helene. She hesitates, a little, tears off her veil and flees with her lover to her old home in the country. There her grandmother makes the natural mistake of thinking Andre is the husband. The resulting complications are amusing. Finally arrives the discarded Valentin, hunting for his bride. When he dins her he proves himself a man, and "The Beautiful Adventure" ends happily for the lovers.

Dir: Dell Henderson

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

Stubborn Emily Delmar sneaks out of the house to go to a nightclub, and when she discovers that she has left her house keys at home, decides to spend the evening at the apartment of Richard Trotter, a young man who is pursuing her. Trotter comes home to find her there, and proceeds to take her to the house of her Aunt Geraldine. On the way there they stop at a beachfront hotel for dinner, and Emily, not ready to go to her aunt's house just yet, hatches a scheme to stay overnight and have a swim. Unfortunately, her Aunt Geraldine and Herbert Threadgold, a rival for Emily's affections, arrive at the hotel, see Richard and Emily there and assume "the worst". Complications ensue.

Dir: Dell Henderson

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Dell Henderson

Nell Gordon is unfortunate in her ancestry; her father is a crook, but she possesses qualities of resourcefulness and loyalty. Though she loves her father, she detests his associates, particularly one, Bill Whipple, who is her constant suitor, Joe Dunham, who does the scouting for the trio, finds a likely bank in the town of Wheaton, the fact that a new bookkeeper is needed there opening a way for the gang to get into the bank, as Nell is an expert. Working on her love for her father, who is a very sick man, Whipple and Dunham persuade Nell to go to Wheaton and take the position. Boarding with the Rev. Dr. Singleton, Nell wins the confidence of Jim Brooks, the cashier of the bank, and of Tom Hoadley, his best friend and sheriff of the county. What the girl is working for, of course, is the combination of the safe, but before she has a chance to get it, she begins to realize that she is in love with the cashier. On the very day that she learns the combination and copies it. Jim proposes to her, and, after a mental struggle, she decides that her love for him is greater than her loyalty to the gang, and she surrenders, concealing her identity, she had come to the town under an assumed name. Becoming suspicious of Nell's delay in forwarding word to them, Whipple and Dunham attempt to force her father to write a note ordering her to act quickly, but the old man refuses and is shot. The crooks go to Wheaton and try to force Nell to rob the bank. She has undergone complete reformation and has even confessed her identity to Jim's friend and is planning to leave Wheaton rather than bring disgrace upon the man she loves. She discovers that her father has been murdered by the crooks and decides to be revenged. Apparently consenting to their demands, she gets them into the bank, but not until she has warned the sheriff. Nell is wounded in the fight which follows, and when she awakens finds herself in the arms of the man from whom she attempted to escape because she loved him.