Hand-Picked Alternatives for Fans of Powder and Petrol: Cult Guide

Dir: Charley Chase

A young married couple volunteer to take charge of several orphans after the asylum has burned down. Of course they find their hands full with their troublesome charges.

Dir: Frank Moser

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

The simple story is about two siblings, little brother Bud and big sister Susie. After they've been reading "Huckleberry Finn" they dream of adventures on the Mississippi River.

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Hal Roach

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

An American book salesman (Lloyd) is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess. The revolution succeeds, and the American is elected president of the new republic.

Dir: Herbert Blaché

After Schuyler Rutherford's divorce from his rich wife Caroline, who was his meal ticket, his sister Kathleen is so humiliated by the fact that her penniless condition was brought to light during the court proceedings that she seeks solace in her sculptor friend Mary Carter, who offers her a job as her secretary. While working, she becomes acquainted with Mary's wealthy cousin Robert Winston when she overhears him denouncing parasitic girls like Kathleen. Vowing revenge, Kathleen assumes a false name and obtains a position as Robert's secretary, determined to make him fall in love with her. Kathleen's plan succeeds, and then, to spite Robert, she announces her engagement to wealthy Murray Van Allan. After a series of incidents, Robert makes Kathleen realize that she really loves him and, after forgiving him, she agrees to be his wife.

Dir: Richard Smith

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of His Royal Slyness 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: Robert Thornby

Mary Willard takes over her father's railroad after his death. Her major competitor is a ruthless crook named Harvey Judson. She arranges for Judson to be kidnapped and taken to an isolated spot deep in the forest and turned loose to fend for himself. She accompanies the kidnappers to the wild and Judson, not knowing who she is, begins to fall in love with her. Complications ensue.

Dir: Maurice Campbell

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

Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.

Dir: Sidney Franklin

A chorus girl hopes to rise to stardom and thus accepts the advances of a wealthy man. But she becomes fearful of her reputation and safety. In an attempt to escape the rake's attentions, she hides out with a disparate group of men who room in a house called "The Barn." There she learns that there is more to life than that found on the stage.

Dir: Malcolm St. Clair

A dancing instructor gets involved with a newly rich family.