Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of Horse Tears: Cult Guide

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Smith

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.

Dir: Fred Hibbard

We'll call the lady Milt for short because she impersonates a young sailor lad. Milt's captain was a baseball fiend and had to have his ball games on board. For a target he used an ebony head, but the target was held in place by the first mate who had a whip in hand. Milt was a regular jazz baby. He shimmied and jazzed and played his ukulele all day long. Landing Day arrives and Milt is as signed to tie up the ship at the dock. The captain, as all sailors do, had a sweetheart in every town. In this particular town, Edith Roberts was his sweety. But she had more than one suitor. There were three, four and five hanging around her door at all times, and dad kept his shotgun busy chasing them. She falls in love with a dude and they elope; but little do they know they escape on an enemy's ship. Her sweetheart's rival was no one else but the captain and when he discovers who is on board, the fun begins. The sweetheart is thrown into prison, and the girl is put on K. P. Milt was the chief chef and Edith was made his assistant. While Milt has his back turned, Edith puts some gun-powder in the cake dough, and blows poor Milt to smithereens. She helps her lover to escape and they both jump overboard. They are picked up by a cruiser and the guns are trained on the pirate ship. The boat sinks with all the bad men, but Milt manages to escape in a rowboat. He takes off his civvy clothes and swears never to leave the jungle again.

Dir: Ralph Ince

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Charley Chase

A young married couple volunteer to take charge of several orphans after the asylum has burned down. Of course they find their hands full with their troublesome charges.

Dir: Unknown Director

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Good Ship Rock 'n' Rye perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The Judge needs a present for his wife's birthday, so Harry suggests a new corset. They go to the shop, but he's so embarrassed to ask the saleslady he hides in a phone booth.Harry goes in, but finds a GUY wearing one, and runs out.They both dress as women to get back in, but Mrs. Rummy gets there and chases him out.

Dir: Fred Hibbard

Sheriff Jim is an overgrown mother's boy who eats enormous meals and loves a girl named Susan.

Dir: Jerome Storm

Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook. Meanwhile, Homer returns to New York, convinces his employers of the merits of his plan and comes home triumphant, with a proposal for both the new plant and for Rachel's hand in marriage.