Deep Archive Finds in the Vein of Pasquale: Cult Guide

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

A widowed farmer, failing in his efforts to find a woman capable of running his household, decides to marry a young woman he believes can fill the bill. Wat he doesn't know is that she is running away from a brutish and violent husband, whom she has discovered is also a bigamist, and that her angry and vengeful husband is looking for her.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

The infant daughter of a wealthy couple is thought to be lost at sea, but she survives and is raised by a poor family.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

The story of the famous Tennessee frontiersman, soldier, scout, and Congressman who fought and died at the Alamo.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

Edna Coleman's mother has wanted her two daughters to marry rich men, especially now that the money left to her by her dead husband is dwindling. Edna, however, is adamant about marrying for love and not money, and deliberately "disfigures" herself to thwart her mother's plans. Her sister Dorothy, however, has set her sights on a wealthy poet, Marcus Auriel, and married him. Unfortunately, Edna has been in love with Marcus for many years, and manages to get a job as his secretary in order to be near him and expose her mother's and sister's plans to get his money. Complications ensue.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

James Aldrich is a cinch to win the election as United States Senator until his opponent, Tom Ryan offers a big reward to anyone who can find a scandal in Aldrich's past. Newspaper editor Howard Duncan and his star reporter Ruby Sheldon accept the challenge and, after deciding that Aldrich is straight, decide to investigate his wife Agnes. Going back through the files, they discover that Agnes has been accused of murder and threaten the Aldrichs with exposure. Agnes explains her tragic story, and how she escaped from the drunken savage Steve O'Brien, whose life she had to take in order to save her own. The reporters are so moved that they decide to bury Agnes' past and the heart-breaking story only increases the love of Aldrich for his wife.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

A tough preacher comes to the rip-roaring gold town of Panamint in hopes of reforming it. But disaster awaits.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Constance, the beautiful wife of Mark Barr, is in fear of her husband's jealousy. Among the guests at their reception are Myrtle Gale and her fiancé, Billy Craig, to whom Constance was at one time engaged. Mark misinterprets a friendly chat between the two and forbids Billy to visit his house. Myrtle goes to the city, and is to return on an early evening train, on which Constance also expects her husband. Both are delayed and Constance persuades Billy, who has come to meet Myrtle, to take her for a ride in his new car. They lose their way and are out nearly all night. Constance is beset with fear at her husband's anger. Billy takes Constance to an inn for a bite to eat and they discover it is a notorious roadhouse. On their way out of the grounds, lightning strikes a tree which falls in the road as another automobile, driven by Fletcher, cashier of the bank, approaches. Monck, watchman at the bank, learning that Fletcher has gone out, breaks open the safe and takes a large sum of money. As an alibi he takes a watch charm which belongs to Fletcher, to the police, and tells them Fletcher overpowered him and robbed the bank. Fletcher is placed in jail and sends for Billy. Mrs. Fletcher also seeks his aid. Constance goes to Billy's office and hides behind a screen as her husband enters. She sneezes but Billy will not allow Mark to look behind the screen. Constance pictures the difference in size between the watchman and the cashier. Billy places his stenographer behind the screen, sends for Monck and secures his confession. Mark comes in and finds the stenographer behind the screen and Constance's happiness is assured. Fletcher is released and Mrs. Fletcher is made happy, while Billy goes to his sweetheart who is doubly happy in the knowledge that Billy has caused justice to be done.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

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

Stella Benton, a young society girl who has lost her beautiful voice through the death of her father, goes to live with her brother Charles, in the lumber camp. Charles Benton is having a struggle to make both ends meet, and when his cook quits, he makes his sister do the work for the hundred men in the lumber camp. Jack Fyfe, a neighboring lumber man, meets Stella and gradually falls in love with her, but love is not reciprocated. Seeing that she is being overworked, Fyfe offers to marry her, in spite of the fact that she does not love him. A child is born of this loveless marriage, and the couple are reasonably happy, until Walter Monahan, a wealthy lumberman, begins to make love to Stella. She gradually becomes tired of her husband, and when the child dies, decides to leave him. Her voice returns, and she makes a substantial success as a concert singer. Monahan, who has professed love for her, becomes indifferent, but she will not return to Fyfe, in spite of his pleadings. Monahan, jealous of Fyfe's success, sets fire to his holdings and is caught in the act. Friends telephone this fact to Stella, and she immediately returns to the lumber camp, and there, at their home she finds Jack, heartbroken, as his holdings are on fire and there is nothing but a heavy rain which could save them. She comes to him and offers to use her own money to retrieve his lost fortune, and as she goes into his arms, the heavy downpour of rain comes and they are safe.

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Up through the din and murk of the steel works, up by brawn and brain until he took his place behind the superintendent's desk came Jim Warren, but his heart was still with the strugglers in the glare of the furnaces. Here he had time to think and here he conceived the "big idea." The "big idea" required an established political position and he started out to get it. Francques, the henchman of Lewis, the political boss, saw in the young reformer a tool through which he could treacherously ruin his superior. Warren was running for the legislature as well as Lewis, and fortified with incriminating evidence against his opponent supplied by Francques, Warren entered the field as an independent candidate and was elected. Lewis took his defeat calmly and made friendly overtures to the newly elected member. Through the influence of Lewis, Warren was invited to visit the speaker of the House, Mr. Tillinghast. Here he was introduced to the girl of his life; the girl he had first seen, as a curious child visitor at the steel works. Several other times fate brought them together. It had been a secret love and he was astounded when he learned from her own lips that she was engaged to marry Lewis. Lewis's wedding to Edna was to occur as soon as Tillinghast was elected governor of the state. Edna admired Lewis and thought she loved him until one day after a talk with Jim Warren she realized the sordid contrast to which she, her father, and Lewis were parties. She told her father that she would not marry Lewis and remained firm in her decision against every argument that her ambitious parent offered. From that moment Warren battled for two loves, the love of a woman and the love of truth. Lewis, behind a smiling face, plotted Warren's undoing. Bribes came from every source. Marked bills, stocks and bonds were lavished by the clique upon the supposed unsuspecting assemblyman. At last they thought the trap ready to spring. He was arrested. He trembled not but unafraid played the last card of his high hand. He calmly led his captors to the vaults of the National Bank and there neatly docketed each in its separate envelope under seal of the bank were the bribes untouched together with the names of the givers and evidence that sent many of them to prison cells. The newspapers went wild. Jim Warren played the game and he was the man of the hour. Weeks later when the state convention had just gone wild over the nomination of Warren for governor, he and Edna were talking. "I think," said Edna, "that as long as I can't be the daughter of the governor, that I will be far happier as the governor's wife."

Dir: William Desmond Taylor

Gordon, a young war correspondent, after being wounded in the jungles of Africa, is picked up and taken back to England by James Egerton, a wealthy rubber magnate, who has been investigating conditions on his plantation, where there has been a great shortage in the year's yield. On the voyage homeward the correspondent and Egerton's daughter Alice fall in love. In England Gordon, finds in Lord Arbuthton a formidable rival for the hand of the girl he loves. At this time an exploring expedition leaves England to find the Lost River, a stream supposed to exist in the interior of Africa. Gordon views with concern his titled rival's attention to Alice, and at the first opportunity asks her father's consent to their marriage. Egerton answers that he will never allow his daughter to marry a penniless man, but offers his daughter's hand and an interest in the business if he will go to Africa and successfully solve the mystery of the rubber shortage. Gordon leaves, and the farewell between himself and Alice is a promise that, come what may, she will wait for him, and this promise she seals by taking off a locket and chain, which she gives him as a pledge of her love. He arrives in Africa, and after a series of thrilling adventures discovers that the overseer of the plantation has been selling rubber to coast traders and covering his dishonesty by manufacturing false statements about raids by outlaw bands. A fight follows in which the overseer is killed and the plantation settlement destroyed by fire. Gordon is wounded and barely escapes from a burning hut alive. Outside he discovers a weather-stained map upon the body of a dead native showing that the Lost River has been discovered, but not by the exploring party. Gordon struggles through the jungle, is found unconscious by the returning explorers, who have given up the search. When they see the map they hail him as Tracy, the discoverer of the Lost River. Here he learns that his rival has circulated reports that he died in the jungle and that Alice is to become the nobleman's bride. Gordon returns to London in disguise and is applauded by the public as a great explorer, and is about to give up Alice forever when Fate steps in. Lord Arbuthton is killed in an accident. The returned lover hurries to the girl, divulges his identity and reminds her of her pledge. Egerton, true to his promise, makes Gordon a member of the firm, and shortly afterward the bells are ringing for the young people's wedding.