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

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

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

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: 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.

Dir: James Cruze

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

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 light-hearted romantic adventure.

Dir: James Cruze

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of You're Fired perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A young man infiltrates the underworld by pretending to be a convicted burglar. While undercover, he meets a young woman who turns out to be no more a part of gangland than he, but with similar reasons for disguising herself.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

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

When famous opera singer Elinore Duane undergoes an operation on her throat, she has a series of ether-induced visions. In one, she is transported to ancient Rome where she appears as a much-admired woman in love with Paul, a young heretic, and at odds with Lutor, the high priest. To save her love, she poisons Lutor with her ring. After several other visions which involve variations on this love triangle, Elinore awakens to discover that Lutor is actually her doctor, Sascha Jaccard, and that Paul is the son of a friend who has come to visit the recovering prima donna.

Dir: James Cruze

A young man pursues a young lady with the same energy he applies to his other obsession in life, auto racing.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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