Visionary Picks In Alignment with the style of Partners Again: Cult Guide

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Chief of the German secret service in Paris, Prince Kondemarck has been ordered to secure for his government the service of the most clever and beautiful woman obtainable. Liane Dore, widow of the late Sebastian Dore, who was killed mysteriously, agrees to serve on the prince's promise to reveal in one year the name of the man who killed her husband, against whom she has sworn vengeance. Unknown to Liane, the prince himself accidentally killed Dore who, posing as a bachelor, betrayed the prince's sister. In the course of their association as spies, Liane and the prince fall in love. When war comes, Liane throws her home open to wounded Frenchmen, and Baron Arnorld von Pollnitz, a German spy seeking revenge on the prince, denounces Liane as a spy. Arrested and sentenced to death, she is saved by the prince. After learning that her rescuer was her husband's killer, Liane is on the verge of betraying him when he produces letters which prove her husband's duplicity, and together they flee on board the prince's yacht.

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

Just after Bob's fiancée breaks off their engagement, he meets young Mary, whose mother has just died, and the two of them comfort each other.

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Clutching a dagger, a woman enters a room through velvet portieres and murders Nathan Standish, the scion of a distinguished family. Nathan's sister Sylvia hides the knife, and when the butler Bobbins--whose hatred of Nathan was well-known--is arrested, Sylvia remains silent. To please her father, Sylvia marries the prosecuting attorney Paul Wagner. When she secretly tries to help free Bobbins, detective Bull Ziegler, who believes that Bobbins is innocent, suspects Sylvia. After Sylvia's hysterical speech during sleep leads Wagner to suspect her, she becomes insane. Wagner and her father take her to a mountain retreat where she recovers her sanity without regaining her memory. Just as Ziegler is about to have Sylvia arrested, a telegram arrives informing them that Sylvia's cousin committed suicide and left a note stating that she killed Nathan in revenge for being betrayed by him. Sylvia, who tried to protect the family name, recovers her memory when she learns of the suicide.

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A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Bride's Silence perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Gregory Thorne and Marta Milbanke are engaged. Their fathers are millionaire ship owners. Gregory's efforts to inject a little excitement into their engagement life are fruitless, but when Mr. Milbanke receives an anonymous letter which threatens disaster to his home and fortune if he permits a shipload of supplies for the Allies to leave the docks the young man sees an opportunity for creating what he longs for and tells Mr. Milbanke that he knows who has written the letter but that he will not divulge the man's identity. Gregory, who suspects Count Hilgar Eckstrom, is told that he must terminate his engagement with Marta. But this is what Gregory wants, so he plans to abduct his sweetheart. Gregory's men clash with Eckstrom's gang, who has also come to kidnap Marta, and the disturbance results in the arrival of the police. Marta by mistake, allows herself to be carried off by Eckstrom's men and is taken a prisoner. Gregory, following, is also made a captive, and the young people are held as hostages. How Gregory outwits Eckstrom and places him and his gang in the hands of the law brings about a startling climax.

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Richard Chester, a bachelor who has lost everything in a poker game, blunders into the apartment of Nora Ellis, who has just inherited a fortune under the stipulation that she marry immediately. Assuming the name Chester Dick, Richard marries Nora and leaves. Unaware of this marriage of convenience, Charles Renalls, Nora's suitor, later assumes that her wealth is the only impediment to their union and conspires to ruin her on the market. Upon learning of his scheme, Richard ruins Charles. Nora falls in love with Richard, not recognizing her benefactor as her husband of an evening. Hoping to spoil Richard's chances with Nora, Charles tells her that Richard is already married and that he carries his wife's picture in his pocket. To her surprise and delight, Nora discovers that the incriminating picture is her own photograph and that Richard is already her husband.

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

The only remaining members of New Orleans' proud but poor Creole family are Lucie De Montrand, her brother François and their aunt, Tante Jeanne. Two men are in love with Lucie: James Morgan, a wealthy plantation owner whom her aunt wishes her to marry, and the impoverished Robert Orme, whose love Lucie returns. Desperate to win the favor of the town vampire, François gives her the jewels that Gaspar La Roche, an old antique dealer, had earlier given to Lucie. Then, when Lucie fails to wear them as the queen of the Knights of Consus Ball, Gaspar refuses to believe that she is ignorant of their whereabouts. If she marries him, he suggests, she may keep the jewels, but otherwise, she must return them immediately. Lucie learns from Corinne, the cook, that François has taken the gems, whereupon she visits his sweetheart and demands their return. As she walks home, Gaspar insults her, but she is defended by François and Robert. In the confusion, the gun that Gaspar had pointed at François is discharged and the antique dealer is killed. Repentant, François abandons the vampire and assumes his position as the head of the family, while Lucie, through the mediation of Father Moret, finally is allowed to marry Robert.

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Roberta Lee, who is concerned with reforming ex-convicts, convinces her wealthy father to hire ex-robber "Slippery" Bill Dorgan as a gardener in their home. Bill tries at first to reform himself, but soon yields to temptation and steals Roberta's jewels. To avoid publicity, Roberta takes a trip to the country, where she meets Richard Van Stone who, under an assumed identity, is conducting business for her father. Taken with Roberta, Richard unwittingly buys Roberta's own brooch from Slippery Bill, presents it to her, and is arrested for the robbery. When Roberta is kidnapped, Bill rescues her and returns the jewels, after which she drops the robbery charges and marries Richard.

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A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of All the World to Nothing perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Iris Lee is reared in the small town of Dalton by her deceased mother's friend, Martha Kane; when she reaches adulthood, Martha's son Jim falls in love with her. When she fails to return his affections, Mrs. Kane treats her so coldly that Iris decides to leave the stuffy little village for the metropolis. On her journey, she accepts a ride with Jack Andrews, but after he attempts to kiss her, she leaps from the car and walks the rest of the way. While singing in the choir of a large metropolitan church, she is discovered by Jack's wealthy father Peter, who recommends her as a soloist. Light-opera star Helen Manning, who has helped Iris to cultivate her voice, quarrels with her theatrical manager, and Iris is offered her position. On opening night, Jack bursts into her dressing room and drunkenly offers to take her home. Distressed, Iris returns to the village, but Jack, who remorsefully has given up drinking for a job in his father's firm, follows her to Dalton. Finally convinced of his love, Iris agrees to marry him.

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Old Captain Ward, who hates society, lives in the hulk of his ship with his granddaughter Sally, whom he prevents from meeting people. Because Sally's mother died in childbirth without revealing the name of Sally's father, the captain continually vows to avenge her death. When Sally finds Teddy, a lame dog, she smuggles it aboard, but it runs away, and she follows it to a beautiful house belonging to the famous Judge Gordon. Hugh Schuyler, the judge's young friend, and Sally fall in love. After the captain chases Hugh away, Sally attends the judge's party, dressed in fine clothes which the judge bought, but the captain finds her and takes her away. When the judge visits the captain and confirms his suspicion that Sally is his daughter, the captain attempts to kill him. Sally intercepts a blow, and awakens to find that the judge has proven that he secretly was married to her mother, but because of illness, had lost contact with her. Sally accepts Hugh's proposal, and they sail away with the judge, the captain, and Teddy and his family.

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Harry Mason is called home by wire, but when he arrives, he finds that his wife Ruth has just died in childbirth. Thoroughly shaken, Harry refuses to look at the baby, and after locking the door to the room that Ruth had prepared as the nursery, he departs for Europe, leaving little Martha in the care of her grandfather, Colonel Mason. In an attempt to escape his grief, Harry travels throughout the world, but the spirit of his wife continually distracts him, and he finally decides to return home. Unaware of her father's identity, Martha, now a charming and spirited little girl, befriends Harry and soon convinces him to unlock the nursery door. On the bureau, he finds the letter his wife had left him years earlier, requesting that he care for their child in the event of her death. Realizing his blindness, Harry takes Martha to his heart.