The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of Once a Gentleman: Cult Guide

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

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

In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.

Dir: James Cruze

A young man pursues a young lady with the same energy he applies to his other obsession in life, auto racing.

Dir: Richard Smith

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

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: James Cruze

Young Jack Wright offers his hand in marriage to the winner of a lottery, but after committing to the winner falls in love with another woman.

Dir: Lloyd Ingraham

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

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

Dir: James Cruze

Rival logging companies battle for the Valley of the Giants (redwood trees) when a young engineer returns home to help his father by building a new rail line to transport the logs to the sawmill. A romance between the engineer and the rival's niece complicates the situations.

Dir: James Cruze

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

Railroad magnate Gordon Rogers agrees to allow his daughter, Helen, to marry wealthy idler Billy Deering, Jr., but only if the latter can hold the same job for one month. Billy is hired for an array of jobs, including office clerk and xylophone player, but always quits just before being fired. He then finds work in a restaurant where he is required to dress as a knight in armor and pose as a statue. On one occasion, Gordon, Helen, and Billy's romantic rival, Tom, enter the restaurant, and Billy is nearly fired when Helen recognizes him. Meanwhile, Gordon plans to merge one of his railroads with a company that is in a dispute with Tom's uncle, an unprincipled financier. Acting on the promise of a generous cash reward, Tom is determined to steal documents relating to the merger. Billy manages to stay at his job for thirty days, and in the process, exposes Tom's scheme, winning Gordon's consent to marry Helen.

Dir: James Cruze

When Captain Dieppe, an American agent of French descent, refuses to divulge confidential information he gathered for a small Italian principality until they pay him, he is pursued by secret service agent Guilamo Sevier to Fieramondi in Northern Italy. Dieppe agrees to help the lonely Count Fieramondi convince his wife to return from her isolated wing of their castle. The countess, after convincing her cousin Lucia to take her place in the castle, goes to Rome to raise money to pay Paul Sharpe, who is blackmailing her because of her gambling debts. Dieppe falls in love with Lucia, whom he thinks is the countess, and after he fights Sharpe and steals the evidence of the debts, he sacrifices his own love by preparing a reconciliation between the count and the countess. After Dieppe obtains his money from Sevier, the real identities are revealed. Finally the count and countess are reunited, while Dieppe and Lucia maintain their romance.

Dir: Henry Edwards

A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.