The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of Manslaughter: Cult Guide

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

With her brother killed Sonya is given Turkish captive Mahmud to do the hard work on the farm. After they become fond of each other he strikes a Turkish officer. When peace arrives, his blow costs him his noble lands. She is burned out of her house. They meet again on the road with nothing but each other.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

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

A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

A good-natured but chivalrous cowboy romances the local schoolmarm and leads the posse that brings a gang of rustlers, which includes his best friend, to justice.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

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

Pregnant tenement dweller Maggie Schultz is being used by burglars and fears that though "I stole to keep my baby from being born in this rat hole... now he's going to be born in jail." But the tenement owner may refuse to prosecute.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Nora is nursemaid to a wealthy family and in love with their chauffeur Nolan. When she hides her mistress' lover in her room, jealous Nolan shoots him and Nora, who refuses to tell about her mistress affair, is dismissed.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

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

Opera singer Renee Dupree is in love with struggling composer Julian who falls very seriously ill. She goes to impresario Mueller for the money Julian needs but is saved from sacrificing her virtue when a jealous lover kills Mueller.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

In order to help her smuggler kinsmen, a sultry gypsy seduces and corrupts an officer of the Civil Guard turning him into a traitor and murderer.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

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

Esra Kincaid takes land by force, and having taken the Espinoza land, he sets his sight on the Castro rancho U.S. Government Agent Kearney holds him off until the cavalry shows up and he can declare his love for Juanita--"The Rose of the Rancho."

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Chimmie is sent to Death Valley, California as part of a railroad scheme. He's to pretend to have discovered gold there, then set a new transcontinental record heading East. It doesn't quite work out that way.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

As the Civil War begins Ned Burton leaves his Southern love Agatha Warren and joins the Union army. He is later protected and saved from death by Agatha in spite of her loyalty to the South.