Visionary Picks Drawn from the Same DNA as Kärlekens ögon: Cult Guide

Dir: John W. Brunius

Young Jörgen Steenfeld is the heir of the estate Steensgaard and unable to clear up its finances. He is being looked after by his old friend, "Mästerkatten".

Dir: Sidney Franklin

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

A chorus girl hopes to rise to stardom and thus accepts the advances of a wealthy man. But she becomes fearful of her reputation and safety. In an attempt to escape the rake's attentions, she hides out with a disparate group of men who room in a house called "The Barn." There she learns that there is more to life than that found on the stage.

Dir: John W. Brunius

Synnöve lives with her parents at the farm Solbakken on a sunny hill. Thorbjörn, who lives at Granliden in the shadow of a big mountain, often looks wistfully up to Solbakken. As teenagers they meet and fall in love. Another boy, Knud Nordhaug, is also yearning for Synnöve. Together with some companions he bullies Thorbjörn, who knocks them down. When Knud meets Synnöve's father, he gets him to believe that it is Thorbjörn who is the bully. Synnöve's parents forbid her to meet Thorbjörn henceforth. Some years later Knud proposes to Synnöve, but is turned down. At Midsummer Eve Thorbjörn and Synnöve meet secretly. They renew their love-vows, and Thorbjörn promises to develop a better reputation in the village. When Thorbjörn is driving a loaded cart to the town, the wagon breaks down. As the Nordhaug farm is nearby, he goes there to lend a new wagon. Knud sees Thorbjörn and starts a fight. When Thorbjörn turns away, Knud stabs a knife in his back. For many weeks Thorbjörn hovers between life and death. Ultimately he rises from the bed, but as a changed man, open for reconciliation.

Dir: Raoul Walsh

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

Dave Henderson, an orphan who has become the beneficiary of a rich man's will, falls in with race-track crooks Martin Tydeman and Bokky Sharvan who bilk him out of his $100,000 inheritance. In retaliation, Dave steals the money from Tydeman's safe, but is caught and sentenced to five years in jail. In prison, Dave becomes friendly with Millman, who is about to be released, and reveals the money's hiding place to him, arranging to rendezvous at the end of Dave's term. Once released, Dave is hounded by members of Tydeman's gang as well as the police, who are waiting for him to retrieve his bounty. While taking refuge at the house of Capriano, an old bomb maker, Dave falls in love with the old man's daughter Teresa. However, Capriano sets a trap for Dave, who awakens in a drugged state to find the $100,000 missing. With the help of Millman and Teresa, Dave recovers the money, turns it over to the police and resolves to go straight.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

William Farnum is Drag Harlan, a tough cowboy vigilante. After learning about a gold mine from a dying man, he seeks his daughter (Jackie Saunders) as well as the gold. He falls in love with her, but the same gang that shot the old man is after the gold.

Dir: Harry Southwell

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

The Hopkinses are a family of squatters struggling against the wealthy landowners or "hilltoppers." When Jerry Hopkins is unjustly imprisoned, his young wife and baby die as a result of the shock, but his sister Polly maintains the faith that has been instilled in her by her grandmother. Later, Polly meets hilltopper Robert Robertson and the two fall in love. Their courtship is disrupted when Robert's sister Evelyn is blackmailed by Oscar Bennett, the man to whom she is secretly wed. In her efforts to help Evelyn, Polly falls under unjust suspicion. Meanwhile, MacKenzie, one of the vindictive landowners, arrests Polly's father and sends her brother to an orphanage. Devastated by these events, Polly's grandmother dies of grief and Polly swears revenge. She has Evelyn kidnapped and brought to her cabin, but the memory of her grandmother prevents Polly from harming her tormentor. Polly's nobility inspires Evelyn, who exonerates Polly, thus clearing the path for her marriage to Robert.

Dir: John W. Brunius

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

A divorced woman takes matters into her own hands and destroys her late ex-husband's will, to ensure that their daughter receives her rightful inheritance. Will her efforts be for naught? Based on "Lille Rødhætte" by Henrik Pontoppidan.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.

Dir: Maurice Elvey

A lady marries a horse trainer but withholds herself until her crippled brother is cured.