Must-Watch List in the Vein of Salomy Jane: Cult Guide

Dir: George Melford

A young man joins the French Foreign Legion and is sent to Algieria, where he becomes a target for hatred by his commander. However, the commander has a change of heart when he realizes who the young man is.

Dir: George Melford

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

A young New York society man makes a bet that he can rob a house and get away without being caught by the police. Shortly after making this wager, he overpowers a professional burglar in his own house, and instead of giving the man up, decides to use him in winning the bet. However, the house that he attempts to rob is the home of the Deputy Police Commissioner, with whose daughter he is in love. The succeeding complications, which arise out of this altogether original situation, are due to the Commissioner's willingness to accept graft and the professional burglar's inability to restrain himself when tempted to steal a valuable necklace. The final result is a happy conclusion to the very troubled love-story.

Dir: George Melford

Anna Granger's husband commits a fraud at the bank where he works and is condemned to pay the penalty of a jail sentence. In the hope of proving his innocence she goes to work, under an assumed name, for the President of the closed bank. This man is now indicted himself, though unjustly, and employs detectives who finally unearth a letter positively establishing the guilt of Granger. In spite of everything, Anna remains faithful until she learns that the theft her husband committed was to get money for another woman. Then comes a sudden climax which puts an end to a situation which she could not possibly endure.

Dir: George Melford

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

Lady Jocelyn, a favorite in the court of England's King James, escapes a forced marriage to the hated Lord Carnal by fleeing to American colonies. There she meets and marries Captain Ralph Percy. Pursued by Lord Carnal, Lady Jocelyn and her new husband eventually find themselves shipwrecked on a desert island with Lord Carnal. A band of pirates finds them there, and Captain Percy convinces them that he is himself a notorious pirate chief. But Lord Carnal casts them all into danger by revealing Percy's true identity.

Dir: George Melford

Sue Wells husband Tom works as a shepherd, is sick of being poor, living in the shadow of Mr. and Mrs. James Peabody's opulent estate. When the Peabodys leave for a vacation, Sue and Tom carry out a check fraud scheme and take advantage of a loophole in the Peabody's lease, resulting in their becoming the owners of the estate. However, living in the mansion does little to make Sue happy, and when James returns and discovers what she and her husband have done, he kills Tom. He is about to murder Sue, too, when she wakes up, and realizes that her life as a wealthy landowner has been only a dream. James then enters, and announces that he has made Tom the estate manager, which forever ends Sue's financial worries.

Dir: George Melford

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of To Have and to Hold perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Two people working in the same department store pretend to be aristocracy at a fancy resort, intending to pull a wealthy spouse, but end up falling in love with each other instead.

Dir: George Melford

Despite her love for penniless Dirck Mead, Lorraine marries wealthy Aaron Roth to save her family from financial ruin. Roth is a swindler and when trying to escape the wrath of the law, he jumps from a ship and is declared dead. Mead, now a diamond magnate, finds Lorraine in New York, marries her and takes her to live in South Africa, where, as it happens, Roth, who survived his leap from the ship, is currently conducting his shady business. Roth discovers Lorraine's situation and threatens her with exposure, and Lorraine is about to leave Mead when she learns of Roth's plan to steal a valuable diamond that Mead is escorting to the city. Summoning help, Lorraine reaches Mead in time to thwart the robbery. Roth is killed in the fight, and Lorraine is spared the task of resolving her marital status.

Dir: George Melford

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

Helen Scott has been left the sole owner of the Scott Canneries by her father's death, but being too busy with social duties, she leaves the handling of the industry's business to her hard-fisted uncle and only calls upon him when she needs money. Harvey Brooks, manager of the canneries' Tampa branch, is a hard-working young man with new ideas of social welfare. He has hundreds of people in his employ working under most unfavorable conditions for starvation wages. He has pleaded with Helen Scott and her uncle to better the working conditions but has always been ignored. During the height of the social season, Helen goes to Palm Beach, Florida with a party of friends for the yacht races. While sailing her sloop one foggy night, it is run down and sunk by a large schooner, a fruit carrier for the Scott canneries. Helen is rescued from the sea by the captain of the schooner. The heiress is stunned by a blow on the head, received at the time her sloop was struck. When she recovers she is unable to remember her name or her identity. The schooner captain takes Helen to his home, and when she has recovered, his daughter, who works in the cannery, secures Helen a position beside her at the cutting table. Brooks, hearing of Helen's accident and loss of identity, takes an interest in her and she is attracted by his kind manner. Labor leaders are urging the cannery workers to strike and place the blame for the conditions upon young Brooks. One night Brooks is slugged and bound to a chair in his frame office building and the plant is set on fire by the excited workers. Helen rushes through the flames to his aid and as she unbinds him she is overcome by smoke and falls unconscious by his chair. Brooks carries her to safety through the burning buildings and returns her to the schooner captain's home. While they are both recovering from their burns a detective, employed by the uncle, locates Helen. The shock of the fire and the burns has slightly restored Helen's memory and the clever detective finally brings her to realize who she really is. Helen is in love with Brooks and he with her, believing that she is a poor factory girl. The heiress realizes that Brooks hates the real Helen Scott for her indifference to the workers. When he has recovered she meets him alone, tells him she is Helen Scott, and breaks down his wall of hatred and together they go to help their coworkers.

Dir: George Melford

Major Dean's developed mental powers have enabled him to give demonstrations in thought-suggestion. Interested in character types, the major, who is an army surgeon, visits a notorious dance hall owned by Lorenzo. The surgeon is struck by the beauty of Mabel, one of the dance hall girls. Mabel lives in deadly fear of Lorenzo. Due to the interest he takes in her Major Dean again demonstrates his wonderful power of mental suggestion by causing the girl to lay down the glass she raised to her lips. Later, a fight is started in the dance hall. All lights are shot out. Mabel is stunned by a bullet. Seizing her in his arms, Major Dean takes her to his home. The following morning finds the girl still unconscious. Major Dean's diagnosis leads him to believe that due to the wound caused by the bullet, a pressure on certain brain cells has wiped all memory of the past from Mabel's mind. Realizing that despite her condition, the girl's subconscious mind is capable o£ registering impressions, the surgeon forces upon Mabel's mind the thought she is, and always has been, his daughter. The girl is possessed of this belief when she recovers. She later accompanies Major Dean to the western army post to which he has been assigned. Sergeant Whitney, an old soldier, is stationed at the post. The man is struck by the wonderful resemblance which Mabel bears to his daughter who, several years previous, had been enticed from her home by a gambler. Although Whitney has never seen the man, he has vowed to find and kill him. Meanwhile, Lorenzo learns what has become of his former victim. Resolved to regain her, he leaves for the west. Arriving at the army post, Lorenzo demands that Dean surrender Mabel. Knowing the girl will not recognize the man, the surgeon allows her to comfort him. Mabel shrinks from Lorenzo in repulsion. Suspecting the truth, Lorenzo later waylays his former victim while she is out riding and endeavors to revive in her mind the memory of her life with him. At the same instant, Major Dean is obsessed by a sense of impending danger. The surgeon gazes out of the window through a pair of field glasses. He discovers Lorenzo talking to Mabel. Aware of the man's nefarious scheme, Major Dean concentrates his powerful will in an effort to so influence Mabel's mind as to enable her to withstand Lorenzo's hypnotic influence. The girl, who had been wavering, receives the message emanating from the major's mind. It causes her to shrink from her former master with the assertion she has no recollection of the incidents he has mentioned. The opportune arrival of Sergeant Whitney prevents Lorenzo from seizing Mabel and carrying her away. That night, Lieutenant Sibley, a young army officer who has fallen in love with Mabel, asks the major for her hand. Feeling it to be his duty, Dean informs Sibley of the girl's past. The surgeon declares it is his belief that Mabel is the daughter of Sergeant Whitney, and that Lorenzo is the man who enticed her from home. So great is his love, that Sibley vows to marry Mabel in spite of what has happened. Unknown to the two, Whitney has overheard the story. Mad with hate, he seeks Lorenzo. Unaware of his impending doom, Lorenzo resolves to make one supreme effort to regain Mabel. Seated by his window, the man fixes his mind upon Mabel with every ounce of power he possesses. Although fast asleep, the girl's mind receives the command sent forth by her former master. As though in a trance, she dons her clothes. Again the sense of danger overcomes Major Dean. He hastens towards Mabel's room. Just at this instant, Whitney enters Lorenzo's room. The rage-maddened father engages the gambler in a death struggle. While this combat rages, Mabel stands as though petrified. Securing possession of Whitney's revolver, Lorenzo shoots, wounding the old soldier mortally. Although he has received his death wound, Whitney's consuming hatred gives him strength to continue the struggle. A sudden twist, and the sergeant secures a vise-like grip on Lorenzo's throat. He forces the man back towards the bed. Mabel awakens with a start. In answer to Major Dean's anxious query, she replies that a bad dream had caused her to walk in her sleep. In Lorenzo's room, Whitney draws back from the silent form on the bed. The soldier attempts to reach the door, but his strength fails. The man staggers and crumples to the floor.

Dir: George Melford

At the opening of the story Daniel Slade is working in a mine and, though not positively in need, he and his wife live in comparative poverty. Slade is a man filled with ambition, but his wife is contented and absorbed in her love for her husband. By a fortunate accident he discovers a gold mine, and with his newly acquired wealth, immediately sets out to make a position of influence for himself in the world. His aggressive personality and ability at once attract attention, these qualities being combined with wealth, and the possibilities of a political career are pointed out to him by Senator Strickland. Slade has no sooner established himself in his new surroundings than he comes to feel that his wife does not know how to take advantage of their altered circumstances. She is still the same simple, home-loving person. In the course of time he becomes attracted to the Senator's daughter, who, like himself, is of ambitious temperament. In fact, though she does not love him, she agrees to marry him if he obtains a divorce from his wife. The concluding episodes of the story show how the wife rescues her husband from his unpardonable folly, and how, much chastened, he finally persuades her to come back to him. He has now become the chief executive of the State and Mary at last takes her place as the Governor's Lady.