Essential Cult Cinema Mirroring the Impact of Meddlers and Moonshiners: Cult Guide

Dir: Larry Semon

The story follows Larry as he attempts to help his sweetheart escape an unwanted wedding to a wealthy but unattractive suitor. The film concludes with a high-speed chase involving a car and a bed.

Dir: Larry Semon

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

A woman and her daughter are throwing a party, and Larry Semon is in the kitchen, joined by some monkeys and jewel thieves. What could go wrong?

Dir: Larry Semon

The waiters of a fancy restaurant go on strike for better wages, threatening harm to any replacements that may be hired. Larry is among scabs hired to replace the striking waiters they must wait on tables and fight off the strikers.

Dir: Larry Semon

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

Larry falls afoul of wanted criminal Gentleman Joe, who runs a saloon full of tough guys and gunslingers.

Dir: Larry Semon

Semon's character, working behind the scenes, creates mayhem during a vaudeville performance.

Dir: Larry Semon

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

Larry suspects that Millionaire Manybucks has some well defined reason for not wanting him to marry his daughter, inasmuch as the staff of the household has met him with uninterrupted violence. After skidding on his nose down the stone steps Larry realizes that no one, save the girl, craves his company. However, he is determined and braves the house again only to suffer ignominious defeat. A brilliant reception is to be held for the daughter. The Lizard, a polished adventurer, with whom most of the household help are in league, aims to attend and win the girl. At the affair, which is a magnificent spectacle, the girl and her father scorn him. Indignant, he orders his aids to destroy the father, A cigar loaded with T.N.T. is given the father, who does not smoke it, tut tosses it out the window where Larry finds it and has it taken away from him by a policeman. The officers smokes it and it completely disrobes the officer. This failing, the biscuits are laden with explosives and with these and the heiress' playful monkey much havoc is wrought. The villains dash through the house to steal the heiress. The momentum hurls them through the upper windows into a fountain in the garden. The police hold a net for the heroine. Before Larry can follow her the net is removed and he is forced to land on his nose. The major-domo follows him in flight and Larry sees his heiress kidnapped by airplane by the Lizard, He leaps aboard a motorcycle, catches a rope ladder dangling from the aircraft and disables the machine a thousand feet above the ground. The heiress and himself drop to earth in parachutes. The air plane makes a nose dive and is wrecked with the villain, Larry takes the propeller and drives his rival into the ground. He wins the heiress with this last bold stroke.

Dir: Larry Semon

Big Ben has the largest store in the town of New Ralgia. His chief clerk is in love with the post mistress. The three of them get involved in a series of mishaps with their customers and with the town ladies' man, whose advances conceal a more sinister purpose.

Dir: Larry Semon

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

A lawman out to get moonshiners runs into a female director filming a movie with a female cast. Chaos ensues.

Dir: Larry Semon

What with pretty women lounging around the lobby, Larry's existence as a secret guardian of a hotel is all roses until a valise filled with jewels is left in his hands for safekeeping. Larry locks it up in the hotel safe, but not before crooks have caught a glimpse of the gems. Thenceforth every art and artifice is employed by them to separate Larry and the hotel from the jewels.

Dir: Larry Semon

Larry is the booby sheriff of a Western town named Beer Bottle Bend, whose lawlessness matched his witlessness. A demure little thing from the East arrives on the same stage with a consignment of $100,000 to the sheriff, and the town proceeds to celebrate. After reforming the champion "elbow-bender" of the community, the demure one inspires the sheriff to action against the lawless element. The $100,000 changes hands in rapid and humorous fashion, and finally comes into the possession of the demure thing who had followed the cash all the way from New York. Larry proceeds to make a few cursory remarks on women.