Rare Cinematic Gems Exploring the Legacy of Miyaa Biwi: Cult Guide

Dir: Walt Disney

Mother is making donuts: She throws up a circle of dough, and a cat shoots a hole in it. Later, he fishes them out of the oil with a fishing line; he eats one, and loses all nine lives. Mother puts together a basket for Red to take to Granny. Red uses her cart, which is pushed by her little dog; the cart gets a flat tire, and she inflates a donut to replace it. A wolf (a human lothario) drives by in a flivver, and dashes off to Grandma's house, where he finds a note saying she's gone to the movies. He shrinks his car and stashes it in his pocket, then waits for Red, who stopped to watch a dancing flower. Red arrives, and they go into the house, where he attempts to have his way with her. The dog rushes off and gets help from an airplane pilot, who uses a skyhook to remove the house and, ultimately, lift the wolf in his car and drop him in the lake.

Dir: Winsor McCay

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

Fragment from an unreleased film that was presumably produced between 1918 and 1921. In it, Gertie the dinosaur encounters the modern era. She has an encounter with a cable car and tells her dinosaur friends about it.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Cardinal Richelieu, engaged in intrigue at the court of Louis XIII, attempts to rule by threatening the queen, who is secretly in love with the Duke of Buckingham. From Gascony comes D'Artagnan to join the King's Musketeers in his quest for adventure. He wins the right to membership by proving his prowess with the sword and forms an eternal alliance with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, the Three Musketeers. After many adventures, he embarks on a dangerous mission to England to recover a diamond brooch, a gift of the king, which the queen has given to Buckingham as a token of affection. He recovers it and returns in time to save the queen from the wrath of Louis, defeat the cardinal's intrigue, and win Constance, the queen's seamstress.

Dir: Charles Chaplin

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

The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.

Dir: Edward F. Cline

Buster and his family go on a voyage on his homemade boat that proves to be one disaster after another.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

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

When Flash's master, Clark Moran, goes out of town on business, Flash, who is part wolf, is falsely accused of sheepicide and sentenced to death by local ranchers. Escaping into the mountains, Flash finds a mate but has to leave his new companion to rescue his master's love, Betty, who has been kidnapped by the real sheep killer, Luther Nash.

Dir: Dave Fleischer

The Clown causes trouble for the Cartoonist, and a sculptor using the studio, when he escapes from his backdrop and hides in the wet clay of a bust.

Dir: Robert F. McGowan

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

The Mystic J.J.J.'s challenge Ernie's bravery; he spins a tale of saving a rich young girl from kidnappers and of creating a utopia called Freetown.

Dir: Paul Terry

Farmer Al Falfa is a patrolman rollerskating through the park. A day of misadventures climaxes with a monkey stealing his clothes.

Dir: Wilhelm Prager

Fairy tale about a tailor with three sons: the fat one, the tall one and the idiot one. The three decide to go on a journey to try their luck.