Visionary Picks In Alignment with the style of Lost in Transit: Cul...

Dir: Donald Crisp

Posing as a nobleman, Allan Harrowby takes out a policy with Lloyd's to insure that his upcoming marriage will occur, Dick Minot, Lloyd's assistant manager in the U. S., travels to San Marcos, Florida to handle anything that threatens to disrupt the wedding. On the train, Dick falls in love with Cynthia Meyrick, then discovers she is Harrowby's bride-to-be, he subdues his feelings. After a blackmailing valet claims to be Harrowby's older brother, the real brother and heir, George Harrowby, arrives and accuses the valet of stealing his yacht. Cynthia's father forbids the marriage until George, who says his children in Chicago would laugh at him if he called himself "Lord," resigns his title in favor of Allan. Cynthia, however, indignant when she learns of the insurance policy, calls off the wedding and spurns Dick for his part in it. Later, Dick once again meets Cynthia on a train, and love blossoms without trouble.

Dir: Donald Crisp

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Johnny Get Your Gun perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

While Bill Burnham is jailed for drunkenly shooting up the town, he receives a letter saying that his father has died, his sister Janet is about to marry a worthless count, and the family fortune is in danger. Unable to leave, he convinces his friend, Johnny Wiggins, a motion picture cowboy, to go to his home in Palm Beach, which Bill left as a boy, and impersonate him. Although Johnny's Western manner irritates Janet and her aunt, they put up with him because Bill's sanction for Janet's marriage is needed for her to receive her inheritance. When the count discovers that Johnny is not Bill, he tries to elope with Janet, but is prevented when Johnny lassoes him from his moving automobile. After Johnny forces crooked broker Milton C. Milton, at gunpoint, to make restitution for the losses Janet suffered through Milton's bad stock investments, Johnny marries Ruth, the maid, and leaves, promising that when Bill returns, things will get livelier.

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 Poor Boob perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Lewis Vickers accidentally kills a man and goes to Central America. Here he meets Robert Lee, who bears a remarkable resemblance to him. Lee is a worthless young chap whose father is anxious to have him return to the United States. On his death bed Lee turns his papers over to Vickers and begs him to assume his name. Arriving in New York, Vickers goes to the Lee home as Robert Lee, and discovers that the dead man has willed him a badly blotted past that includes a wife and two children and a large collection of debts. He also finds a beautiful adopted daughter in the Lee household and promptly falls in love with her. The only way he can stand any chance of winning the girl is by telling the truth about himself. The arrival of his undesirable family and several of its friends and connections helps to bring out the truth, and the picture ends with a runaway marriage between Vickers and the adopted daughter.

Dir: Donald Crisp

Jules Lemaire, a happy-go-lucky French-Canadian lumberman, arrives at the Nemo lumber camp carrying a baby. His love for the child wins him the respect of Joy Farnsworth, the daughter of the camp's foreman, but this arouses the jealousy of Big Jim Burgess, the camp bully. Burgess incites the men to strike when the delivery of their paychecks is delayed because of a storm, whereupon Jules offers to cross the river and retrieve the payroll. Burgess volunteers to accompany Jules, but after their departure, he ties the lumberman up and attempts to torture him into giving up the order of delivery for the money. In the meantime, a stranger appears at the camp and tells Joy that Jules had been caring for his child while he was in England. Joy and the stranger rescue Jules and turn Burgess over to the foreman, after which Joy proposes to the French-Canadian.

Dir: Donald Crisp

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Less Than Kin 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

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

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Jules of the Strong Heart 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

Marcellini, a successful wine dealer, has a sudden heart attack and dies. His will leaves his entire fortune to his only kin, a husband and wife who operate a small farm. Guido, the husband, agrees against his better judgment to move on to the Marcellino estate. Before he knows it he is up to his neck in marriage troubles, people trying to swindle him out of his inheritance and blackmail.

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.