The Definitive Watchlist Seeking the Same Brilliance as Kalyan Khaj...

Dir: John W. Brunius

Historical drama which features Gösta Ekman as the dashing rogue who steals the heart of the ethereal Mary Johnson.

Dir: Harry Garson

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

Marta Estevan is ready to leave the convent where she has been reared. Dona Luisa Artega, mother of Rafael and the young girl's guardian, arranges a marriage between the two, because she thinks that Marta's influence will rescue her son from the wild life he is leading and make a man of him. Marta rescues the American Bryton, when he is attacked by Indians, and falls in love with him. Rafael's mother sends Bryton away by telling him that the girl has entered a convent for life, and after telling Marta that Bryton had been killed on the trail she exacts a vow from the girl that she will marry her son. Marta marries Rafael. Bryton comes back after the marriage and after Marta has found out the true character of her husband. The story moves on from this point to a happy ending, but with much action of tense and strenuous nature in between. - Moving Picture World, May 15, 1920.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Don Caesar de Bazan, a reckless nobleman, falls for Maritana, a gypsy dancing girl. When Maritana is insulted by a drunk, Don Caesar wins her love by coming to her rescue. The two go to Madrid, where the girl is summoned to dance before the Queen. Maritana also attracts the attention of King Charles. Don Jose, the prime minister, who secretly loves the Queen, plots to get Maritana for the King. To do this, he schemes to have Maritana marry a nobleman so she can enter the King's court. Don Jose chooses Don Caesar, who has been imprisoned and sentenced to death for dueling during Holy Week. Don Caesar agrees to marry the woman selected by Don Jose. After the ceremony, his wife believes he has been pardoned, but Don Caesar is sent to a firing squad. He is saved by a youth who has removed the bullets from the rifles. Eventually, Don Caesar wins the King's approval, and he is made prime minister.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

A public procession with the body of the Unknown Soldier, as registered by the operators of the Italian Film Federation and the Cinema Phototechnical Union. A symbolic tribute on the fallen Italian soldiers killed during World WWI who were buried without identification or in unknown places.

Dir: Franklin B. Coates

Shows James' joining of the Quantrill's raiders, a guerrilla force which fought against union sympathizers during the Civil War. James takes allegiance to the Black Flag, the raiders' banner. After the war he receives kind treatment from a judge concerning his acts of crime and later meets and falls in love with Zee, with whom he wishes to live a peaceful life.

Dir: Paul Scardon

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Gloria: Apoteosi del soldato ignoto perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

1860 ushers in the era of iron ships, Richard Sibley, a builder of wooden ships, stubbornly resists the change, which leads him to forbid the marriage of his daughter Rose to John Rhead, a proponent of the new method. This injustice outrages John's sister Gertrude so much that she breaks off her engagement to Sibley's son Sam. Meanwhile, John and Rose elope. Twenty-five years later, John has grown rich and conservative and has a daughter named Emily. Gertrude, still single, tries to help her niece Emily marry the man she loves, Arthur Preece, rather than her father's choice, old Lord Monkhurst, but Gertrude fails. Twenty-five more years pass, and John again attempts to interfere by opposing the marriage of his granddaughter Muriel to Richard Sibley, Jr., an engineer. This time, however, Muriel's independence wins and she marries the man of her choice, and after the death of Monkhurst, Emily and Preece are finally together.

Dir: Maurice Elvey

A Royalist and his unknown son seek vengeance on his murdered wife's brothers.

Dir: Frederic Zelnik

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Jesse James Under the Black Flag perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Hanns Kobe

John, a young man raised by his aunt, is in love with Anna, a servant girl who is going to have his baby. He is willing to marry her but his stern aunt wants him to marry a rich girl. To separate the lovers, she arranges for her nephew to be enrolled at a university in a distant town. She then has Anna sent away to live with Torgus the coffinmaker and his mother where she will be secluded until the birth of the child. Torgus, a golemesque sort of fellow, is immediately charmed by the beautiful girl and takes pity on her. Meanwhile, Anna anxiously awaits John's return . . .

Dir: Franklin B. Coates

Depicts Jesse James' return home to Missouri after the Civil War hoping to live a life of peace, but is falsely accused of robbing a bank. He is forced to take up a life of crime by being branded an outlaw. Crimes are commited and blamed on him, his family is maimed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, but all the while James is able to perform charitable acts to citizens. James is finally assasinated by Bob Ford. All told in a flashback style by Jesse James Jr. to a eastern baeu asking for his daughters' hand in marrage.