Cinematic Discoveries Resonating with the Themes of Jack and Jill: ...

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Tom, the rambunctious member of the Sawyer clan, takes it upon himself to teach the goody-goody boy of Hannibal, Missouri a lesson and, as Huckleberry Finn, his free-spirited best friend watches, pummels his foe to defeat. At school clever Tom makes mischief a regular practice, but as long as the punishment lands him next to his beloved Becky Thatcher, he remains carefree. After he is unfairly accused of his brother Sid's misdeed, Tom runs away with Huck and Joe Harper. Disguised as pirates, the trio builds a raft and sails down the Mississippi to a deserted island. Back at home, Tom's frantic Aunt Polly calls for a search, and cannons are fired into the river. When the search yields nothing, the boys are declared dead and a funeral is planned. At first tempted to reveal himself, Tom decides later to partake in his own memorial service, and as the townspeople mourn, he and his friends appear in the back of the church. Overcome with relief, Becky and Aunt Polly embrace Tom, forgetting to scold him for his mischief.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

Gordon, a young war correspondent, after being wounded in the jungles of Africa, is picked up and taken back to England by James Egerton, a wealthy rubber magnate, who has been investigating conditions on his plantation, where there has been a great shortage in the year's yield. On the voyage homeward the correspondent and Egerton's daughter Alice fall in love. In England Gordon, finds in Lord Arbuthton a formidable rival for the hand of the girl he loves. At this time an exploring expedition leaves England to find the Lost River, a stream supposed to exist in the interior of Africa. Gordon views with concern his titled rival's attention to Alice, and at the first opportunity asks her father's consent to their marriage. Egerton answers that he will never allow his daughter to marry a penniless man, but offers his daughter's hand and an interest in the business if he will go to Africa and successfully solve the mystery of the rubber shortage. Gordon leaves, and the farewell between himself and Alice is a promise that, come what may, she will wait for him, and this promise she seals by taking off a locket and chain, which she gives him as a pledge of her love. He arrives in Africa, and after a series of thrilling adventures discovers that the overseer of the plantation has been selling rubber to coast traders and covering his dishonesty by manufacturing false statements about raids by outlaw bands. A fight follows in which the overseer is killed and the plantation settlement destroyed by fire. Gordon is wounded and barely escapes from a burning hut alive. Outside he discovers a weather-stained map upon the body of a dead native showing that the Lost River has been discovered, but not by the exploring party. Gordon struggles through the jungle, is found unconscious by the returning explorers, who have given up the search. When they see the map they hail him as Tracy, the discoverer of the Lost River. Here he learns that his rival has circulated reports that he died in the jungle and that Alice is to become the nobleman's bride. Gordon returns to London in disguise and is applauded by the public as a great explorer, and is about to give up Alice forever when Fate steps in. Lord Arbuthton is killed in an accident. The returned lover hurries to the girl, divulges his identity and reminds her of her pledge. Egerton, true to his promise, makes Gordon a member of the firm, and shortly afterward the bells are ringing for the young people's wedding.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

The adventures of Pasquale, an Italian immigrant to New York who runs a little grocery store.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

James Aldrich is a cinch to win the election as United States Senator until his opponent, Tom Ryan offers a big reward to anyone who can find a scandal in Aldrich's past. Newspaper editor Howard Duncan and his star reporter Ruby Sheldon accept the challenge and, after deciding that Aldrich is straight, decide to investigate his wife Agnes. Going back through the files, they discover that Agnes has been accused of murder and threaten the Aldrichs with exposure. Agnes explains her tragic story, and how she escaped from the drunken savage Steve O'Brien, whose life she had to take in order to save her own. The reporters are so moved that they decide to bury Agnes' past and the heart-breaking story only increases the love of Aldrich for his wife.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Stella Benton, a young society girl who has lost her beautiful voice through the death of her father, goes to live with her brother Charles, in the lumber camp. Charles Benton is having a struggle to make both ends meet, and when his cook quits, he makes his sister do the work for the hundred men in the lumber camp. Jack Fyfe, a neighboring lumber man, meets Stella and gradually falls in love with her, but love is not reciprocated. Seeing that she is being overworked, Fyfe offers to marry her, in spite of the fact that she does not love him. A child is born of this loveless marriage, and the couple are reasonably happy, until Walter Monahan, a wealthy lumberman, begins to make love to Stella. She gradually becomes tired of her husband, and when the child dies, decides to leave him. Her voice returns, and she makes a substantial success as a concert singer. Monahan, who has professed love for her, becomes indifferent, but she will not return to Fyfe, in spite of his pleadings. Monahan, jealous of Fyfe's success, sets fire to his holdings and is caught in the act. Friends telephone this fact to Stella, and she immediately returns to the lumber camp, and there, at their home she finds Jack, heartbroken, as his holdings are on fire and there is nothing but a heavy rain which could save them. She comes to him and offers to use her own money to retrieve his lost fortune, and as she goes into his arms, the heavy downpour of rain comes and they are safe.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

The infant daughter of a wealthy couple is thought to be lost at sea, but she survives and is raised by a poor family.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Edna Coleman's mother has wanted her two daughters to marry rich men, especially now that the money left to her by her dead husband is dwindling. Edna, however, is adamant about marrying for love and not money, and deliberately "disfigures" herself to thwart her mother's plans. Her sister Dorothy, however, has set her sights on a wealthy poet, Marcus Auriel, and married him. Unfortunately, Edna has been in love with Marcus for many years, and manages to get a job as his secretary in order to be near him and expose her mother's and sister's plans to get his money. Complications ensue.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

When a young woman deserts her rancher husband and, with her son Ben, goes to live with the drunken Tom Blair. Blair raises Ben as his son, but kills Ben's mother, causing the boy to return to his natural father. There, Ben falls in love with Florence Winthrop. Later, Ben gains revenge for his mother's death by killing Tom, but he loses Florence, who decides to live in the East. When Ben learns that Florence has become engaged, he goes after her and issues an ultimatum: if she does not take him back, he will kill her fiancé. After first resenting Ben for his demand, Florence realizes that she loves him and returns West with him.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Naomi Sterling and John Bancroft are lovers. The girl loves frivolous things and Bancroft, a divinity student, finally estranges himself from her by his continual efforts to preach to her. Attracted by Hugh Wiley, a gambler, from a nearby city, Naomi finally elopes with him and eventually becomes known as the gambling queen. The girl's one ambition in life is to hoard up her wealth against the day when she shall lose her beauty and her popularity. Bancroft has plunged into religious work. He has become famous as an evangelist and has been trusted with the combination to the vault of the great tabernacle over which he presides. Learning this fact, Wiley inflames the mind of Naomi against Bancroft on the false ground that he has spurned her because of her life. He plans to have Naomi lure Bancroft to her gambling palace on a pretense, to overpower the minister while he is in there, steal the combination and loot the tabernacle. Furthermore, Wiley arranges to have the executive board of the tabernacle informed when the minister is in the gambling den, and to have the place raided by the police while he and his pal, McCarthy, rob the tabernacle. But the minister is too strong to succumb to the temptations of Naomi when he reaches her apartment, and his spiritual power wins the repentance of his temptress. Wiley, realizing that he is losing, springs upon Bancroft from behind and gets the combination away from him while his confederate alarms the police and the executive board according to the plan. But Naomi spirits the minister away through a secret passage, rushes to the tabernacle too late to prevent the robbery, and makes the great sacrifice of replacing the stolen money by her own ill-gotten hoard before the bewildered police and board officials arrive at the vault. In the final great moment of spiritual exaltation, Naomi has realized the greatness of Bancroft's love and of his power. Meanwhile Wiley, in an attempt to steal the loot from McCarthy, has wrecked the automobile in which they are fleeing and is killed.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

A young girl, stifling on her father's backwoods farm, is reinvigorated by the arrival of an army regiment, come to train in the area.