Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of Laughing Bill Hyde: Cult Guide

Dir: Hobart Henley

Lorenzo Carilo (Conway Tearle) selects more-or-less menial jobs at which to make a living, other more "select" jobs not paying enough, and then he meets and falls in love with Vivian Forrester (Martha Mansfield) the daughter of a new-rich family. What's a poor boy to do? He might pose as a French Duke.

Dir: Hobart Henley

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

Lily Becker, daughter of middle-class parents in Iowa, has always aspired to be a musician but receives little sympathy from her environment. She is forced into an unhappy marriage with Albert Penny, son of wealthy parents, whose brutality proves unbearable; fleeing to New York, she is saved from starvation by a friendly chorus girl and gives birth to a child, which dies. On the point of suicide, she meets young composer Tom Clemons in Central Park, and their friendship ripens into love. In a restaurant, Lily is discovered by Antonio Marvelli, a vocal instructor, who recognizes her talent and offers to teach her for nothing. After a year of hard work, Lily is fitted for an operatic career and makes her debut in Thaïs. At the same time, she is freed from her husband by his death in a railroad accident and finds happiness and success with Tom.

Dir: Hobart Henley

Susie organizes plays to benefit the Red Cross. She marries her hero, Robert, but finds out he did it to avoid the draft. She begs to be taken in his place and is soon captured by the enemy. Will Robert become the hero she believed he was?

Dir: Hobart Henley

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

A fat man tries to enlist in the Army, but is told he is too large for service. So he joins the YMCA and ultimately proves his heroic mettle anyway.

Dir: Hobart Henley

Jane Ridgeway, the daughter of retired Secret Service man Charles Ridgeway, has inherited her father's knack for solving crimes and puts her talent to work when her sweetheart, Richard Grant, is accused of robbing a bank. Her father, now a bank examiner, works in collusion with two thieves who are acquainted with a master criminal known only as "the Face in the Dark." When the evidence implicates her father in the robbery, Jane confronts him, and although Richard is released from jail, Ridgeway escapes. The two crooks lead him to the Face in the Dark, but as the two men are shaking hands, the place is raided by Secret Service agents who arrest the mysterious criminal and congratulate Ridgeway for his fine detective work. Jane is happily reunited with her sweetheart and her father.

Dir: Hobart Henley

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Too Fat to Fight perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Morris, a hardened criminal, is imprisoned for larceny and has engaged William Newman, a police court lawyer, to defend him. As recompense, Morris gives Newman his vest in which are sewed four valuable diamonds. Newman is attracted by a girl who slaves for the proprietress of his boarding house. Georgianna, who is afraid of Newman, is arrested for the theft of several cheap rings belonging to the proprietress, which have been mislaid. While in prison Newman promises to pay her bail, if she is willing to meet his advances. Newman cuts the diamonds from the vest, as he is determined to get away with all instead of one, according to the agreement. The new hole in the vest is discovered, and Morris is brought before the chief. The two are left alone and Morris hits the chief and disappears through the window. Georgianna's case is dismissed, but she thinks Newman is responsible for her being set free. On arriving at his rooms a fierce struggle ensues. A knock is heard and she is told to hide behind the couch. Morris enters the room and shoots Newman, who falls dead. Georgianna is held for the murder, Morris having escaped into the room adjoining Newman's, in which McHugh, a newspaper reporter, is dressing. Willy, a roustabout in the boarding-house, and an admirer of Georgianna's, becomes suspicious. He stacks furniture and looks through the transom when the furniture falls with a clamor. Morris is terrified and is about to draw his revolver when McHugh hits him with a bottle and then handcuffs him. Leaving Willy to guard the captive, he dashes to the police station and to his office to write up his scoop. Meantime, Bennett, another reporter, arrives and looking over the transom sees Morris still handcuffed and Willy guarding him. He phones for help, and is disappointed because of not being the first to get the story. McHugh feeling sorry for them sends Willy and Georgianna, who has been set free to live with an uncle of his.

Dir: Hobart Henley

The oldest son of a Virginia colonel, Barry Gordon inherits a taste for alcohol, the habit that caused his father's death. His brother, Tom, falls in love with Muriel Beekman, their guardian's daughter. Barry also loves her but feels himself rejected. Three years later, after extended travels, Barry learns that Tom, having been sent to Morocco by Mr. Beekman, has been captured by desert marauders and is being held for ransom. He begins a search for him and in Tangiers encounters the Beekmans and Kitty Van Ness. Barry and Muriel discover their love for each other, but he refuses to commit himself while Tom is still alive. At the bandits' stronghold, he rescues Naomi, a native girl, from the chieftain and is himself captured while effecting Tom's escape. Naomi aids Barry's escape, during which the chieftain is killed and she dies in his arms. Muriel helps Barry conquer his desire for drink and professes her love for him.

Dir: Hobart Henley

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

Two baby boys are born in Owentown. One is the unwanted offspring of an avaricious grasping father. He grows to an evil manhood, and loses his one chance of real happiness to the play-fellow whose parents have met their responsibilities.

Dir: Hobart Henley

Madge Nelson is ordered to move to the countryside for health reasons, but her finances prevent her from making the move from the city, so she answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride for miner Hugo Ennis in Nevada. However, Hugo has been the unwilling victim of a humiliation attempt by a scorned lover, and when Madge arrives in Nevada, she learns that he knows nothing about a bride or wedding plans.

Dir: Hobart Henley

Martin Ross and his East Indian servant Sima poison Mrs. Dean, whose money and pearls are left to her little daughter Elsie. Ross, the executor of the estate, spends all of the money with the willing assistance of seductress Fanette, but manages to retain the priceless pearls. When Elsie reaches the age of 18, she learns that she is penniless and formulates a plan to retrieve the jewels with the aid of her boyfriend William Gavin, Jr. Posing as seer "Madame Rama," Elsie sets Ross against Fanette, who has taken the pearls from their hiding place. When he confronts Fanette, she kills him and frames William for the crime. William is arrested, but "Madame Rama" tricks Fanette into confessing her guilt in the presence of several detectives. With Fanette and Sima behind bars, the pearls are restored to Elsie, who starts a new life with William.