The Cult Collection Inspired by the Vision of My Lady's Slipper: Cult Guide

Dir: Ralph Ince

Two women crave the love of the same man; one is pretty, proud, spirited, and poor; she offers him love. The other is equally pretty, proud, and spirited, but rich; she offers him everything money can buy. The rich one wins. This was not really the beginning of the rivalry of Madeleine and Jeanette; they had had petty differences in their home town when Madeleine, the poor girl, had refused to bend the knee to the other. But with this victory in love is born a new hatred, which Jeanette proceeds to intensify by having the other girl's father discharged from his position, thus forcing her to leave school and work for sustenance. Madeleine goes on the stage, and years later she is a popular actress. Jeanette, meanwhile, has discarded Paul, in favor of Henry Mortimer, a rising young lawyer to whom she has become attached. Mortimer becomes enamored of Madeleine, who considers him just another of her army of admirers and leads him on as is her custom. Jeanette sees that her rival is trifling with the affections of the man she loves. She goes to Madeleine and beseeches her to send him away or she will ruin two lives. Madeleine consents to her request, but then comes recognition all the old hatred returns. She retracts her promise and determines to marry Henry, though she does not love him, to strike at the heart of the woman who had caused her so much pain. After the marriage she is cold to the affection he showers upon her. Then her path crosses Paul's once more and her old love for him is rekindled. Henry learns of their association and orders Paul never to enter his house again. A new love is born in Madeleine's breast, the love for her husband. But there is a wide breach between them now caused by her associations with Paul and her gambling habits of which Henry disapproves. He refuses to pay her debts. When Paul calls on Madeleine for a loan, she refuses him and he rifles Henry's safe. That night, Henry notices the deficit and thinking his wife has taken the money to pay her debts, he accuses her of theft and leaves her. Rumors come to his ears that Paul is with his wife, and placing a revolver in his pocket, he starts for the house, intent on settling the affair. Paul, meanwhile, is trying, with small success, to regain Madeleine's love. When his attentions begin to get offensive, she threatens him with a revolver to keep his distance. Under the influence of liquor, Paul advances toward her, and stumbles over a chair, bruising his head. Madeleine rushes out to the kitchen to get some water, and, while there she hears a shot and returns to find Paul dead and Henry standing over the body. Each believes the other guilty and takes the responsibility for the crime. Henry is taken into custody; Madeleine's story is not believed. At the trial Henry is saved from dying for another's crime when Jeanette breaks down and confesses that she had been hiding in Madeleine's room on the day of the murder, and when the latter had gone for water she had grasped the opportunity to shoot Paul who, she said, had been planning to tell the truth in regard to the robbery. Knowing that this would bring about a reconciliation between Henry and his wife and that she would never be able to win his love, she had shot Paul and is now willing to suffer for her crime. Out of sorrow and suffering, come faith and love forged anew for Henry and Madeleine.

Dir: Ralph Ince

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

Lucille Caruthers travels from her home in the South to New York, hoping for a career on the stage. She is aided in her dream by the theatre star Serge Ratakin, and she becomes a star in her own right. But Ratakin is jealous and possessive and attempts to sabotage her. After a violent conflict with Ratakin, Lucille believes she has killed him. But has she?

Dir: Ralph Ince

Mrs. Fleming, in secret financial distress, counts upon a brilliant match for her daughter as a way out of her difficulty. Muriel, however, in ignorance of her mother's plight, is attached to Grayson Burton, but when they tell Mrs. Fleming of their love she becomes infuriated and refuses her consent on account of his poverty. Nevertheless, Burton and Muriel secretly marry and he leaves to seek his fortune in the gold fields of the Northwest. He has two partners, Slade, a renegade lawyer from New York, and Rollins, an Englishman. The men strike it rich and Graydon writes Muriel that he is coming to claim her. Slade attempts to rob his partners during the night and is surprised by Rollins, whom Slade kills with Burton's gun. Slade escapes, but returns with police, who arrest Burton on Slade's charge. Seeing that everything is against him in court, Burton escapes and seeks refuge in the wilderness of the mountains, where he becomes a hunted outlaw. Meanwhile the train on which Graydon was supposed to leave is wrecked, and Graydon is reported to be among the dead. Muriel is grief-stricken and decides to keep her secret. Later Philip Lewis, a wealthy lawyer, becomes infatuated with her, and her mother practically coerces the girl into marrying him because of his wealth, finally telling her of their predicament. Soon after her marriage her mother dies. Graydon meanwhile grows desperate and eventually escapes. He starts for New York to claim his wife. Muriel's husband has been appointed district attorney. While Muriel is attending an opera her spying maid steals her secret marriage certificate and sells it to Slade, who has returned to New York and resumed his blackmailing law practice. He writes Muriel a threatening letter and asks her to come to his home to see him that evening. Graydon arrives in New York and sees Slade. He plans to go to his home the same evening and force him to confess to the crime of which he is believed guilty. As he stands outside the French window he is amazed to see his wife there and Slade threatening her. Stepping into the room suddenly, he surprises both, and Slade confesses his guilt. While Muriel talks to Graydon, telling him of her life, Slade seizes a gun. In a fight that follows Muriel kills Slade, fearing her husband's life is in danger and intending only to frighten him by the shot. She escapes and Graydon assumes the blame. Lewis, her husband, prosecutes the case and determines to get a trace of the mysterious veiled woman who ran from the house the night of the murder. He gets a clue to his own wife and grills her until she confesses. Angered and jealous, he prosecutes Graydon knowing he is innocent. Muriel, conscious-stricken, starts for the courtroom to confess, but arrives there after he has been convicted. Lewis promises to pardon the man when made Governor if she will keep her silence. He is elected but refuses to keep his promise. At the last moment when Muriel is determined to kill herself, he weakens and issues the pardon. She then rejoins her true husband.

Dir: Ralph Ince

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

Marie Messereau, with her sister Helene and brother Paul, emigrates from France to America, the land of promise, accompanied by Helene's German fiancé, Hans Grossman. The four find employment, and all goes well until Paul and Hans are called back to Europe to fight in World War I. Robert Vorhis falls in love with Marie, but because a rejected suitor tells him that Marie's reputation is stained, he accompanies his parents to California to forget her. Helene contracts tuberculosis, and when Marie, in seeking the location of a hospital for consumptives, asks several men their address, she is arrested for street walking. Robert's father, Judge Vorhis, acquits her, but upon returning home, she discovers that Paul and Hans have been killed in battle and that her sister has committed suicide. Broken, Marie decides to return to France and is about to sail when Robert, who has been unable to forget her, rushes up the gangplank and takes her in his arms.

Dir: Ralph Ince

The story is that of the mysterious murder of John Argyle, a multi-millionaire, in the library of his home. Circumstances point toward Argyle's adopted daughter Mary, who is the beneficiary under his will, Argyle having quarreled with his son Bruce. Just as the case begins to look black for Mary, Asche Kayton, a great private detective, is called in by Bruce and takes hold of the investigation. His methods are scientific and swift and the trail leads to a den of counterfeiters, where, by use of the dictograph and other modern devices, the real murderer is run to his lair. Kayton falls in love with Mary, who is finally vindicated. Kayton's reward is the girl.

Dir: Ralph Ince

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

Mary Ellen McKay, a country girl, comes to New York to become a singer. She stops at a furnished room house, and expends her savings on useless lessons, for her voice is only mediocre. Harry Weatherby is a disappointment of his millionaire father, who hopes to make him a captain of industry. Instead, Harry is a ne'er-do-well. While visiting Dr. Cameron, a friend of the family, he sees Mary Ellen across the way, and a flirtation starts. It eventually results in marriage. Harry is afraid to break the news to his stern father; his mother does, and he does. Enraged, Weatherby visits Mary and tries to buy her off. But she spurns his money, and he changes his tactics. He tells her he likes her, that he will give a party in honor of the marriage. He enlists the aid of Silk Harrington, who brings along a number of his smart tenderloin friends who pass themselves off as society. They influence her to drink, and soon she is acting very foolish. Harry arrives, sees her condition, and denounces her, thinking this is her true self. Harry's father leaves her a check for $10,000 before he goes, if she will promise never to see Harry again. She crumples the check in her hand, when the truth dawns upon her, and it is later picked up by Silk Harrington, who plans to use it. Mary goes home, thoroughly crushed and humiliated. She tries to commit suicide, but a friend. Kate Weld, a trained nurse, who lives across the hall, and Dr. Cameron save her life. Learning she is a stranger in New York, Dr. Cameron takes her to his country home to recuperate. Harry plunges into business to forget, and his father is happy. Mary recovers her health, but her faith is shattered. She wants to go out into the world now and have a good time. Dr. Cameron argues in vain. He decides to take her sightseeing. First he takes her to Cherry's, then to the Haymarket, where she sees the broken-down men and women. He tells her that is the price that must be paid. Lastly he takes her to his mission on the East Side. Here he tells her a story. He, too, was in love and lost. He tried everything in his pursuit of forgetfulness, and finally discovered solace for his sorrow in brightening the lives of others. Mary tells him she, too, wants to do this work. Meanwhile Harrington tries to pass the check. Harry is summoned to the bank and learns the truth through Harrington. He goes home and a big scene follows between him and his father. He eventually locates Mary. At first she does not want to forgive him, but she finally capitulates.

Dir: Ralph Ince

This silent film presents drama to prevent a train from falling from a damaged railroad bridge.

Dir: Ralph Ince

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

When Bob Stokes, a wealthy New York clubman, loses his fortune, he is jilted by his fiancée Marcia Fontaine. He then wanders to an upstate lumber camp where he impresses the owner, Henry Willard, with his leadership and fighting abilities. After Stokes quells a strike engineered by the previous foreman, Robert Brummon, who is really a Bolshevik agitator, to prevent shipments of lumber for government contracts, Brummon, seeking revenge, sets the forest on fire, but Stokes controls it. Willard then sends for Stokes to oversee his New York shipyards where a government "mystery ship" is under construction. After Stokes and Willard's daughter Helen fall in love, Brummon gets Marcia to attempt to seduce Stokes. Marcia lures Stokes to her apartment, where Brummon plans to kill him, but he escapes when he learns that a time bomb is set to destroy the ship. Stokes finds the bomb just before it explodes and throws it into the water. The saboteurs are captured, and together, Stokes and Helen watch the ship launch.

Dir: Ralph Ince

Following his wife's death, John Sparhawk takes his daughter Patience out West to a small mining town, where he meets and marries a dance hall girl. Patience's stepmother attempts to force the beautiful young woman to work in the dance hall, but on the advice of visiting criminal lawyer Garon Bourke, Patience refuses and returns to the East. Eventually she marries Beverly Peale, and when he is found poisoned, Patience is arrested for murder and sentenced to die. Through Garon's efforts, however, Patience ultimately escapes the electric chair.

Dir: Ralph Ince

Mrs. Emma McChesney is a determined and successful traveling saleswoman for T. A. Buck's Featherbloom Petticoat Company. When Buck dies and his son, T. A. Buck, Jr., takes charge, the company suffers and Emma nearly accepts a job offer from Buck's rival, Abel Fromkin. On her last sales trip, however, she learns that her son Jack has married chorus girl Vera Sherwood, and because Buck demonstrates such concern for the boy, Emma decides to remain with him. Distraught that Jack has married so young, Emma sends the bride away to boarding school while Jack takes a job with the company. Later Emma discovers that the firm is approaching bankruptcy, so she invents a new skirt which, as modeled by Vera and promoted by Jack, rocks the fashion world and saves Buck's company. Having fallen in love with Emma, Buck proposes and she accepts.