Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of Less Than Kin: Cult Guide

Dir: Donald Crisp

On the estate of Senora Moreno in Southern California, the senora's adopted daughter Ramona lives. She falls in love with Alessandro, an Indian of noble heritage. When her adoptive mother forbids their marriage, Ramona Alessandro elope, only to find bigotry, misfortune, and finally tragedy wherever they turn.

Dir: Donald Crisp

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

Wealthy young bachelor Stanley Jordan attends a Red Cross Benefit at the country club, where he meets and falls in love with Betty Lovering and unwittingly offends social leader Mrs. Vandergraft. Discovering that the Vandergrafts have initiated a campaign to ostracize him from the club, Jordan, incensed, decides to get even: he disguises himself as a Russian Countess and returns to the club, where he is wined and dined. As a member of society, he is welcomed into the homes of the rich, where he proceeds to steal their valuables and donate them to the Red Cross Fund. The series of thefts alarms the neighborhood, and a detective is hired. Just as the detective is closing in on the Countess, it is announced that the Russian has been a victim of assault and is lying on her deathbed. Betty, concerned, calls on the Countess, only to discover that she is none other than Stanley Jordan, the man she loves.

Dir: Donald Crisp

George MacFarland, a wealthy young man who loves adventure, bets his friends Thornton Brown and Arthur Sole $20,000 that he can commit a crime and elude the police for a year. After he forges a check, George heads West and does escape arrest for nearly a year, despite the proliferation of police circulars bearing his name and his favorite expression, "Believe me, Xantippe." In a Colorado hunting lodge, he meets Sheriff Kamman's pretty daughter Dolly, who recognizes and tries to arrest him. According to the terms of the bet, however, he must be captured by a genuine officer of the law, which Dolly is not. With the stroke of midnight, the year elapses and George wins the bet as well as the sheriff's daughter.

Dir: Donald Crisp

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Believe Me, Xantippe perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Giuseppe Franchini lives with his little daughter Francesca and pet bear Bruno on the Italian coast. One day, Giuseppe sees a shipwrecked man offshore and swims to his rescue, but in doing so, he is carried out to sea. Upon his return, he finds that his wife has died of shock at the news of his drowning, and the stranger has taken away the little girl. Years later, Giuseppe travels to America with Bruno where they are arrested for invading an apiary on the Vandergrift estate. Giuseppe is befriended by Vandergrift's daughter Adelaide, but Bruno is sent to jail for his crimes. To pay Bruno's fine, Giuseppe takes a job in a roadhouse owned by John Slade. Here, he learns of Slade's plans to smear Adelaide's fiancé, Craig Winton, the reform candidate for mayor. Giuseppe presents proof of Slade's corruption to Adelaide, who turns it over to her father. When Giuseppe meets Vandergrift, he recognizes him as the man he rescued, but, realizing that Adelaide is happy in her life, he leaves town without letting her know that he is her real father.

Dir: Donald Crisp

The most popular man in the lumber camp near Quebec is Jean, the cook, whose flapjacks are celebrated for their delectability. Jean's compassionate nature is aroused when a dejected stranger known as Silent Jack comes to the camp. Discovering Jack crying one day, Jean learns that his wife has left him. To reunite the couple, Jean pretends that he too is married and induces Jack to write an affectionate letter from him which he then presents to Mrs. Jack. The ruse reconciles the couple, but distresses Jean's sweetheart Marie when she learns that Jean already has a wife. Jean finally explains everything satisfactorily to Marie, and after the two are married, they leave for the city to open a flapjack palace financed by the grateful Jack.

Dir: Donald Crisp

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

Buddy McNair is so enchanted by the newspaper photos of New York society beauty Mrs. Pat Dyvenot that he decides to leave Colorado with his newly inherited fortune, travel to New York, and win her heart. On the train, some gamblers, apparently aided by a pretty girl named Martha, cheat Buddy out of a large sum, and in New York, his lack of eastern polish makes him appear foolish.

Dir: Donald Crisp

Self-effacing Simpson Hightower leaves his small village after he loses his father's canning factory to Stephen Douglas, who also wins Simpson's plump girlfriend Tiny. Simpson then goes to work in a New York provisions office along with stenographer Hope and office boy Jimmy. Hope and Jimmy scheme to introduce Simpson as a silent partner when the Danish consul proposes a large contract. After a series of errors, Simpson is discharged and persuaded by his friends to return to his home town posing as a successful businessman accompanied by his secretary "Pep" and valet Jimmy. With their help, Simpson manages to get the Danish contract and buy his factory back. He also outgrows his love for Tiny, who has gained even more weight, and recognizes his love for "Pep."

Dir: Donald Crisp

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

Chuck McCarthy, an intrepid young ironworker, longs to become an actor, despite the protests of his girl, Molly O'Connors, and his family. In dashing up the frame of a building to catch actress Bijou Lamour's runaway pet monkey, he attracts the attention of the studio managers, who make him a stuntman. For a time Charles is happy executing life-risking feats and strutting around in new clothes, although the company laughs at him behind his back. When leading man Marmaduke X. Caruthers refuses to perform a particularly dangerous stunt in a war film, Chuck doubles for him and is seriously injured. The studio manager, who recognizes in the incident an opportunity to promote his star, quickly wraps Marmaduke in bandages and sends him to the hospital, while Chuck is secretly removed through the back door. The next day, the Filmcraft Company sends Chuck a check for $1,000 to keep quiet about the accident. He and Molly use the money on their honeymoon to Niagara Falls.

Dir: Donald Crisp

The Firefly of France, a famed Allied airman in the First World War, is lost while transporting valuable plans, and it is feared that he and the plans are now in the hands of the Germans. A member of the Lafayette Escadrille endeavors to find the Firefly and the plans, but encounters a mysterious girl and several German spies who want the same thing.

Dir: Donald Crisp

Newspaper publisher Temple Trask, who answers the "Letters to the Lovelorn" column under the nom-de-plume "Mrs. Carfax," becomes the hit of his college reunion when he revives his female impersonation act. Returning home, Temple meets Billy Wise, another college friend, who wagers one hundred dollars that Temple will not go into a restaurant dressed as a woman. He takes the dare, then sees Helen Scott in the restaurant and, although he is a cynic who does not like women because he knows too much about them, he falls in love. When he notices that Adrian Graw, a crook whom Temple knew when he was a cub reporter, is after Helen's fortune, Temple, impersonating Mrs. Carfax, accompanies Helen and her grandmother, Mrs. Keyes, aboard a steamer to protect them. On the voyage, Helen becomes good friends with Mrs. Carfax and falls in love with Temple. After Mrs. Carfax punches Graw during a struggle for Mrs. Keyes bonds, the police arrest Graw and his accomplice, Rena Varsey. Helen, astonished when Temple removes his wig, falls joyfully into his arms.