The Cult Collection Comparable to the Style of Sahara: Cult Guide

Dir: Arthur Rosson

Trix Ulner, who deals stud poker at Frank's small-town gambling resort, rescues Bernice Arnold from drowning, and her subsequent acquaintance with him causes scandal and annoys her sweetheart, Johnny Fletcher. When her brother, Jimmy, steals money from his father and loses it in a game with Trix and Frank, Bernice attempts to convince her father that he has mislaid the money and begs Frank for its return, but nevertheless the father tries to have Jimmy arrested. Bernice hides him in the home of Vida Brown, and when it burns they all find shelter in the Arnold house. Bert, Jimmy, and Trix rob Frank's house to retrieve the money, and in the process Frank shoots and kills Jimmy. When Trix threatens him, Frank swears that the boy died while trying to capture some burglars. Bernice weds Fletcher.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

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

Millionaire spendthrift Sam Morgan marries Constance Winwood, who tries to break Sam's spending habits by convincing Downer, the trustee of Sam's inheritance, to pretend to abscond with Sam's money. During their honeymoon, Sam spends his $10.30 pocket money, then discovers that his checks are bouncing. Unable to pay an increasingly-large taxi fare, Sam and Constance keep the cab and its sleepy driver engaged after they are thrown out of a hotel. After a friendly thief gets Sam a job in a herring refinery, Sam uses his rudimentary knowledge of Spanish to buy a shipload of herring from a South American dealer and sell it to the refinery's directors, who know no Spanish, thus making enough profit to pay his now-exorbitant taxi bill. Constance confesses her scheme, and although it seems that Downer really has absconded, he finally returns. Wealthy again, Sam and Constance adorn their bedroom with taxi meters and headlights.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

Cassidy, a derelict suffering from tubercular lungs, who is stranded in San Francisco, realizes that death is imminent and desperately seeks to return to his home town of New York. Determining to rob a house in order to procure the funds to complete his journey, Cassidy breaks into District Attorney Grant's home but is caught by Grant. After hearing the boy's story, Grant is so touched that he gives Cassidy money to return home. Cassidy is able to repay his debt that very night when the district attorney's daughter is kidnapped by his political enemies. Learning the girl's whereabouts from his friend, the bartender, Cassidy rescues her and takes her home. Then, badly wounded, he makes his way to the railroad station where he dies.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

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

John Drake, a college athlete, starts for South America, where he has been promised a good job on the strength of his knowledge of the construction of safes and vaults. Aboard ship, he falls in love with Dolores Darcy, the daughter of a leading Latin American banker. Arriving in South America, John discovers that he has been made the dupe of criminals, who want him to open the vault in Señor Darcy's bank. John refuses, and his passport and wallet are stolen. In desperation, he signs up to fight an exhibition bout with Dynamite Díaz, the South American boxing champion. Isaac Belding, the leader of the criminals, has John kidnapped, forcing him to open the Darcy vault. John locks the gang in the vault, telling the police of his actions on the way to the bout. John beats Díaz and then captures Pierce, the banker's secretary, who is in league with Belding. John becomes the hero of the town, and Dolores declares her love for him.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

A professional boxer known as "Smiling Bill Flannigan" accidentally kills an opponent in the ring. He gives up the sport and heads west. He gets a job on a ranch as a cook, and before he knows it he finds himself involved in a war between ranchers and sheepherders.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

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

John Carleton, a wild eastern youth, is sent west by his father in an effort to make a man of him. The cowhands at first mock John because of his foppish golf suit, but when he rides a mean bucking bronco he wins their friendship and respect. John falls in love with Beryl King, the daughter of a longtime enemy of his father, and is strictly forbidden to visit her. John defies this prohibition and rides to the King ranch, fighting off a number of unkindly disposed ranch hands; he later dances with Beryl at a village party and persuades her to run away with him and be married. On the way to the wedding, John stops at the King spread long enough to invite Beryl's irate father to see his daughter married. Carleton, Senior, turns up later, and the old enemies are finally reconciled.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

The Hopkinses are a family of squatters struggling against the wealthy landowners or "hilltoppers." When Jerry Hopkins is unjustly imprisoned, his young wife and baby die as a result of the shock, but his sister Polly maintains the faith that has been instilled in her by her grandmother. Later, Polly meets hilltopper Robert Robertson and the two fall in love. Their courtship is disrupted when Robert's sister Evelyn is blackmailed by Oscar Bennett, the man to whom she is secretly wed. In her efforts to help Evelyn, Polly falls under unjust suspicion. Meanwhile, MacKenzie, one of the vindictive landowners, arrests Polly's father and sends her brother to an orphanage. Devastated by these events, Polly's grandmother dies of grief and Polly swears revenge. She has Evelyn kidnapped and brought to her cabin, but the memory of her grandmother prevents Polly from harming her tormentor. Polly's nobility inspires Evelyn, who exonerates Polly, thus clearing the path for her marriage to Robert.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

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

Sky Parker, an Arizona cowboy, inherits a fortune from his eccentric uncle in San Francisco; under the terms of the will, however, he must live in his uncle's mansion for a year before claiming the bequest. Sky arrives in San Francisco accompanied by five cowboys, who immediately begin to raise western hell, stealing two Clydesdale horses from a brewery and shooting the gargoyles from the mansion roof. Sky's cousin, Miller, persuades a beautiful young girl, Maize, to help him prevent Sky from obtaining the inheritance, but she soon falls in love with the rugged ramrod and refuses to continue with their attempted fraud. Sky, not knowing of her duplicity, asks Maize to marry him; filled with shame, she runs away instead and boards a fast train. Trying to stop her, Sky chases the train in a car, which crashes; he then steals a cop's motorcycle, boarding the speeding train from that precarious perch. On the train, Maize confesses her guilt, Sky forgives her, and they declare their love for each other. When they return to his mansion, Sky punches Miller and throws him out of the house.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

When District Attorney Johnson is seemingly unable to defeat a gang of drug smugglers, his assistant, Richard Jones, sets out on his own to investigate the lawbreakers. Richard soon learns that Bob Madison, the brother of the girl he loves, is a drug addict under the control of the gang. Bob joins the investigation, which leads them to an opium den in Chinatown owned by Mr. Greer, who is a rival for Bob's sister, Constance. Richard rescues her from one of Greer's drug dens, then discovers that the district attorney is taking bribes from the narcotics ring. As a reward for his outstanding work, Richard is appointed the new district attorney.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

Overcoming his addiction to drink, John Fairmeadow leaves the Bowery for a western logging camp posing as a minister. His fistic ability and his gentle manner reform the town drinkers and put the saloon out of business. Meanwhile, John also protects pretty orphan Pattie Batch from the attentions of Jack Flack; Flack is killed by saloon keeper Pale Peter after the body of his wife, Clare, who was betrayed by Flack, is discovered in the river; and John is united to Pattie.