Curated Recommendations Seeking the Same Brilliance as Prunella: Cu...

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

After robbing a bank, a criminal is wrongfully pardoned from prison.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

Arriving with her husband in Arabia, Katherine Wyvrne is ready for romantic times in the exotic Middle East, but her aristocratic husband prefers to be out hunting "Barbara sheep" than fulfilling his wife's desires. She soon meets up with the dashing Arab chief Benchaalai and falls for his charms, but he has a much more sinister goal in mind for her than romance.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

When he is ruined by speculating in the stock market by bogus tips given to him by Charles Wainwright, George Garrison commits suicide, but before his death he begs his son Henry to avenge him. Henry goes West and makes a fortune prospecting, then returns to New York and assumes the name of Henry Thompson. He becomes Wainwright's protege and falls in love with his daughter Dallas, then is elected mayor of New York, backed by Wainwright's friend, political boss Richard Horrigan. In return for Wainwright's support, he is supposed to sign a franchise binding the city to the financier's railway. Henry refuses, so Wainwright and his flunkies attempt to discredit him by dredging up an old murder charge, but the charge is proved false when the supposed victim, Henry's partner Joe Standing shows up. Finally, Henry confronts Wainwright, accuses him of causing his father's death and of attempting to defraud the city. Despite his denunciation of her father, Dallas proclaims her love for Henry. In an epilogue, the hands of the victims of political boss Horrigan clutch at him from the grave.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

Editor of the Louisville Gazette sends happy-go-lucky cub reporter Steve Oldham to cover a feud in the hills that began when Jim Renlow's pig was caught eating Bill White's turnips. Although Steve tries to remain impartial, he falls in love with schoolteacher Alice Renlow. At a "Truce Dance" given to raise money for Alice's salary, Steve drinks too much and innocently kisses Peggy White, who then tells her relatives that they are engaged. Later, when Steve is seen kissing Alice's hand, the Whites take Steve captive and plan to shoot him at sunrise. Alice pleads with Tilden White, who loves her, to allow Steve to escape, but he agrees only if Steve will leave alone. When Steve refuses, Alice confesses her love. They fight until the house which they are occupying is destroyed and the cavalry, notified by Steve's newspaper, arrives. The two sides are now reconciled as Steve and Alice prepare to marry.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

In order to save her mother from disgrace, Margaret marries Richard Harding even though she really loves Geoffrey Morton. Five years later, the Hardings have a little son, and Margaret's life has been made almost unbearable by her husband; she lives for nothing but her son. Morton, returning after an absence of two years, learns that Harding has made some false accusations against him and goes to his home to demand a retraction. While there, he witnesses an exhibition of Harding's cruelty as he whips his little son. After Morton leaves, Harding threatens to beat the boy again, and Margaret tells him that she will shoot him if he does. Harding defies Margaret's plea, and she carries out her threat. Together, Harding's secretary and Margaret place the revolver so that it will appear to be a suicide, but the police are not deceived. After a desperate defense by her lawyers, however, the death is ruled accidental and Margaret is free to begin life anew.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

A resourceful young girl struggles to free herself from slum life.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

The story of the training of a racehorse, the Whip, of the amnesiac nobleman who loves the horse, and of the villains who attempt to keep it from racing.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

Vincento Perez, the governor of the Portuguese colony of Exile, is an unscrupulous and brutal man who is hated by the natives. Furthering his schemes, Perez tries to force silk dealers out of business, and reveals his plans to government engineer Richmond Harvey in a letter appealing for the American's help. The engineer threatens to expose the plot and Perez, facing ruin and death, sends his wife Claudia to Harvey to offer herself in exchange for the letter. In Harvey's bungalow, Claudia confesses her love for the American who, refusing to take advantage of the situation, offers her the letter. She returns to her husband, only to meet with humiliation. After much abuse, the natives finally rebel against the governor who is lynched by the mob. Claudia is rescued by Harvey and the two face a happy future together.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

A hypnotic Svengali controls the singing voice of a young starlet, but he cannot control her heart.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

Richard Duvall is a young American detective in the employ of the French Secret Police. While in Paris he meets Grace Ellicot, also an American, with whom he falls in love. He marries her and is about to start on his honeymoon when he is called on by Mons. Lefevre, chief of the secret police. The French Ambassador to England, Monsieur De Grissac, has lost an ivory snuff box which must be found. They depart for London to interview the Ambassador. In London they go to the Embassy. There the Ambassador tells them that he was robbed of the snuff box while he was dressing and suspecting his valet, Noel, he locked him in his room. When Duvall goes to interview the valet, he finds that he has been murdered. Meanwhile, in Paris, Lefevre has broken the news to Duvall's wife of his departure to London. She, wishing to follow Duvall, asks Lefevre where she can find him. Lefevre tells her that if she will help in the recovery of the snuff box she will find Duvall. She consents, and Lefevre tells her to go to Brussels and try to place herself in the sanitarium run by Dr. Hartmann. who is supposed to be a German spy and whom Lefevre believes to be instrumental in the theft of the snuff box, which box, Lefevre hints, is of diplomatic importance. Richard Duvall, aboard the boat for Antwerp, finds the man whom he is following, asleep in a saloon, and during the night he opens the stranger's suitcase. He finds the package given the stranger in the barber shop, and on opening it, discovers the contents to be rice powder. By this time Duvall has learned that Grace is in the sanitarium, and that she furnished the news to Lefevre's agents. He feels that Grace should leave the sanitarium as soon as possible. He goes to Mr. Phelps, the American Ambassador, and has him invite Grace to dinner, planning to escape after dinner. During dinner that night, Dr. Hartmann, who is beginning to suspect Grace and Duvall, turns up at Mr. Phelps' house as an unexpected guest. When Richard and Grace leave on the pretext of Duvall's escorting Grace back to the sanitarium, Hartmann asks if he might ride with them. Because of no plausible reason, Duvall is forced to consent. On arriving at the sanitarium, Duvall is taken prisoner by two of Dr. Hartmann's attendants. His failure to discover the snuff box angers Dr. Hartmann. He knows that Duvall must have it with him, as his luggage has been searched and his friends imprisoned on various trumped-up charges. He gives Duvall until the next evening to confess the whereabouts of the box. The time allotted him is up, and Duvall refuses to confess. Hartmann resorts to torture. Finally Richard, at night, finds his opera hat behind a packing case and secures the box from the hat. Experimenting with several ornaments on the top of the box, he discovers that it has a double top. Inside the box is a piece of tissue paper, on which a series of numbers are written. Duvall substitutes another set of numbers, and conceals the set found in the box. In order to make Grace confess where the box is, as Dr. Hartmann believes she knows, he lets her see Duvall being tortured. She is almost crazed by watching his pain, so gets the box and delivers it to Hartmann. They are at once released, and proceed to Paris. They are not able to deliver the box to Lefevre, but they give him the series of numbers. Duvall and Grace at last start on their delayed honeymoon.