Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of Kentucky Minstrels: Cult Guide

Dir: Robert Z. Leonard

"The Five O'Clock Girl" was a successful Broadway play starring Mary Eaton and Oscar Shaw. Marion Davies' Cosmopolitan Productions bought the rights for the play and filmed it as a feature talkie. The plot revolves around Pat, a shop girl in a cleaners, and a local plumber named Gerry who she falls in love with. Publicity stills from the film show Marion trying on clothes people have brought in for cleaning and doing impersonations of the clothes' owners.

Dir: David Hand

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Mickey Mouse Classic Shorts perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Hiya, pal. Laugh along with Mickey Mouse and all his friends in these timeless cartoon shorts.

Dir: Louis J. Gasnier

Hajj, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

Gus Van and Joe Schenck sing a few songs with piano accompaniment.

Dir: Anton Gunnarsson

The story begins in a pawnshop owned by a middle-aged woman whose daughter is a cocaine addict. The woman is divorced and has just begun an affair with her sales assistant, a young man with extravagant habits. In the second act, we find the pawnbroker, her husband, daughter and sales assistant in one of the city's dance halls, the Eldorado. Suddenly, the police raid the place, and one of the cocaine addicts is so frightened that he pulls out a gun and shoots himself. In the third act, the whole group is in custody. However, it all ends happily when a decent police officer, who knows the pawnbroker from before, ensures that they are released.

Dir: James A. FitzPatrick

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Van and Schenck 'the Pennant Winning Battery of Songland' perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

An innkeeper's daughter loves a shepherd boy and will not listen to her father's plea that she marry a rich young Londoner. The Londoner pleads with the girl, but she will not hear him. He goes back to London and the girl is happy with her shepherd.

Dir: Arturo Carballo

Film based on variety shows of the 20s 'Arco Iris', 'La feria de las hermosas', and 'Las maravillosas', all of them created by Eulogio Velasco.

Dir: Alan Crosland

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

The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

Dir: Bryan Foy

A police raid on a night club results in the entire cast of the club's floor show being hauled into court, where they must perform their routines for the judge.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.