The Definitive Guide Deeply Connected to Muggsy: Cult Guide

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

A rich man's son is forced to find a job, and he finds one at a night club after getting his predecessor sacked. He makes mistakes and causes accidents. When a valuable garter is lost by the star of the floor show, he scams customers with some fakes, leading to a chase that spills out onto the streets.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

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

Erma Desmond gets a job as a companion to high society's Bertie Stanley, to whom she bears a striking resemblance. While her husband Hugo has been in Europe, Bertie has fallen in love with another man, so she makes plans to go to Reno for a divorce. She urges Erma to stay in the Stanley mansion and assume her identity while she is gone, so that no one will be aware of her absence. An obedient Erma agrees and the masquerade works perfectly until Hugo returns unexpectedly from Europe and Erma must fool the man who knows Bertie best. After some initial problems, Hugo gets along better with Erma than he ever did with Bertie, and as a result, when word comes that Bertie has a fresh divorce and a new husband, Hugo first determines the identity of the woman living with him, and then marries her.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

On his deathbed Steele Weir's father tells his son of a band of criminals who framed him for murder and robbed him of valuable land in the West. Under contract to build a dam, Steele goes to the headquarters of the gang; and becoming aware of his identity, they plot against him with the services of lawyer Martinez. He, however, proves to be Steele's friend and obtains evidence against the gang. When Ed Sorenson, the leader's son, steals the evidence, Steele's sweetheart, Janet, outwits the enemies, and after many adventures the bandits are convicted and Steele wins the girl.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

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

Betty, the pretty daughter of Jonathan Brownlee, a retired capitalist, is impulsive and mischievous, delighting in pranks that keep her father and the servants of the household in perpetual apprehension. Brownlee's stock phrase is "Betty Be Good," constant, though rather futile, appeal on his part to the high-spirited girl, who tells her friends she is weary of being lectured on her tomboy achievements. Peter Madison, mayor of the city, is at enmity with Millionaire Brownlee over political matters. He has a son, Jimmy Madison, who is masquerading as a uniformed policeman in order to detect grafters on the force. Brownlee secures what he believes to be evidence of political crookedness on the part of the mayor. The documents are lost when Betty, in one of her escapades, drives off with the car in which her father has left them. Jimmy arrests Betty for stealing the car and papers, being unaware of her identity. Betty and Jimmy fall in love, and the denouement does not come until Millionaire Brownlee's suspicions against Mayor Madison are proved unfounded and the two men shake hands. Jimmy reveals himself to Betty in his true character and the drama ends happily.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

The Red Circle is a birthmark, on the hand of the heroine, noticeable only in times of stress and excitement, which forces her to steal, leading to no end of complications and intrigue.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

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

Having lost his fortune through poor speculation, stockbroker John Porter goes West with his wife and young daughter Bab. After ten years on the ranch, Bab develops into the real cowgirl and falls in love with neighboring ranch owner Richard Sterling, a former clerk who, through shrewd maneuvering, struck it rich. Bab's mother, who has social ambitions, frowns upon the affair, and when oil is discovered on their ranch, she seizes the opportunity to send her daughter back East to finishing school. Returning home for vacation, Bab discovers that her mother and father have separated. Bab then decides to fix everything up, beginning with her parents' marriage and ending with her own wedding to Sterling.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

Little Dot Jarvis is tolerated, but not loved, by her ambitious parents, who send her to boarding school so they can move into a fashionable apartment building that does not allow children. At school, Dot is treated so cruelly that she runs away, but a kind farmer takes her to the police station and she is returned to her parents. When Dot's father becomes involved in a scheme to smuggle arms into Mexico, Dot's photograph prevents newspaper owner Robert Chase from exposing him. Repentant, Dot's parents finally give her the love she had so sorely missed.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

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

Alice, a little newsgirl known as "Sticks", spends her time fighting for her territory against a lot of tough kids. When Sticks witnesses an attack upon her favorite customer, the wealthy young James Morgan, she tries to defend him and, as a result, they are both knocked unconscious by the thugs and thrown on a baggage car. Awakening in a small town, they decide to stay. Morgan finds a job with the railroad and they take up house in a small cottage until Morgan's father and his sweetheart Ruth Borden discover his hiding place. Overhearing their conversation, Sticks thinks that Morgan is staying just for her and so she leaves him and later is adopted by a wealthy man. Morgan loses all sight of his little pal until years later when he chances to visit her adoptive father's house on business and finds her. Discovering that their strong attachment has endured through the years, the two decide to marry.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

Bethesda Carewe is the spoiled daughter of wealthy indulgent parents. When Mr. Carewe loses his fortune, he plans to replenish his bank accounts by marrying his daughter to the rich Mortimer Hunt. Bethesda refuses to cooperate however, and when Hunt calls at the house, she does everything in her power to repulse him. This only excites Hunt into wanting her more, so he plots with Mr. Carewe to kidnap Bethesda. She is taken into the mountains and held in a cabin until she is willing to admit that she loves the man she is unwilling to love. Hunt then arranges for a gang of desperadoes to lynch him, and to save the man she unwillingly loves, Bethesda declares her love for Hunt and proclaims that she will marry him immediately.

Dir: Sherwood MacDonald

Little Nan Griffing whiles away the hours on her parents' farm with Simple Simon Magee, an adult with the mind of a child. While rummaging through the attic one day, Nan discovers a costume that was worn by her mother Ethel when she was on the stage and begs to be taught to dance. Ethel complies, but the lessons are soon interrupted by several horrified members of the local church society. Next, Nan, accompanied by Simple Simon, visits her grandmother Anna and Aunt Grace in the city. Hidden in the orchard, Simon frightens the servants, who mistake him for a ghost. Nan becomes infatuated with Grace's fiancé, Morgan Thornton, and proposes, but when she steals away to his house intending to elope, Morgan summons her aunt and grandmother. Nan demands that he choose between her and Grace, and when he picks the latter, she decides to forsake city life and return to her parents.