Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of I Cover the Waterfront: Cult Guide

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.

Dir: James Cruze

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

Young Jack Wright offers his hand in marriage to the winner of a lottery, but after committing to the winner falls in love with another woman.

Dir: James Cruze

Department-store clerk Larry Young is determined to marry a rich girl. He falls for Elaine Debaux, whom he believes to be the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder. However, when war breaks out Larry is drafted into the army. Before he is taken in, though, he and Elaine are rescued from gangsters by an ex-con named Mike Moran. It turns out that Moran wants to join the army but they won't take him because of his record. Larry, who doesn't want to go into the army because it will interfere with his plans to marry Elaine, comes up with an idea he thinks will work out for all concerned. Complications ensue.

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

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

In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.

Dir: James Cruze

An inventor travels to the South Seas, where there is buried treasure belonging to a girl. The girl's father is being held captive by cannibals until she returns a pearl that belongs to one of their idols.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: James Cruze

Railroad magnate Gordon Rogers agrees to allow his daughter, Helen, to marry wealthy idler Billy Deering, Jr., but only if the latter can hold the same job for one month. Billy is hired for an array of jobs, including office clerk and xylophone player, but always quits just before being fired. He then finds work in a restaurant where he is required to dress as a knight in armor and pose as a statue. On one occasion, Gordon, Helen, and Billy's romantic rival, Tom, enter the restaurant, and Billy is nearly fired when Helen recognizes him. Meanwhile, Gordon plans to merge one of his railroads with a company that is in a dispute with Tom's uncle, an unprincipled financier. Acting on the promise of a generous cash reward, Tom is determined to steal documents relating to the merger. Billy manages to stay at his job for thirty days, and in the process, exposes Tom's scheme, winning Gordon's consent to marry Helen.

Dir: James Cruze

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

When the brokerage firm of Blatch, Markham and Driggs dissolves, Markham steals company records and the option of a valuable mine. Meanwhile, Blatch, who wants the option to expire so he can then purchase it at a low price, hires attorney Burley Hadden to convince Driggs that he is trying to recover it. Hadden sees John Craig, a bungling construction contractor who needs $800 for his payroll, running nervously from the pop of a paper bag, and offers the supposed "dub" $1,000 to retrieve the papers, thinking he will fail. After Markham tries to dupe John, he meets Enid Drayton, Markham's ward, who is being held a virtual prisoner in Markham's mansion. With the help of a friendly burglar, they retrieve the option and other papers which prove that Markham and Blatch had been cheating Driggs for years. After Driggs rewards John and informs Enid that she owns a million dollar estate, she and John embrace.

Dir: James Cruze

Rival logging companies battle for the Valley of the Giants (redwood trees) when a young engineer returns home to help his father by building a new rail line to transport the logs to the sawmill. A romance between the engineer and the rival's niece complicates the situations.

Dir: Wilfred Lucas

Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.