Top-Tier Alternatives Exploring the Legacy of Sininen varjo: Cult G...

Dir: George D. Baker

A prison inmate obtains his release from prison in order to rescue his daughter from the clutches of her unscrupulous mother's plot to implicate the girl in a blackmail scheme.

Dir: George Archainbaud

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

Upon leaving prison, an ex con vows to go straight, but circumstances force him to return to crime. Meanwhile, a gang of crooks kidnaps a visiting British aristocrat, but the ex-con has an incredible likeness to the Englishman, and his intended hosts take him home to their mansion.

Dir: Joseph Henabery

When respectable Lloyd Norwood becomes infatuated with moll Goldie Lewis, he falls into a life of debasement that results in his being accused of the murder of gangland henchman Joe the Swell. Norwood's wife Mary, convinced of her husband's innocence, determines to clear his name. Disguising herself as a vamp and infiltrating the underworld, Mary extracts a confession from the real murderer, Pussyfoot Connor, whom she dupes into believing that he sees the ghost of the murdered man. Later, to have witnesses to the story, Mary takes a midnight dinner with gang leader Jack Frost, arousing the jealousy of Connor, who enters and accuses Frost of instigating the murder. The police, alerted to the scheme, rush in and arrest the criminals. Finally, a phone call to the prison warden results in Norwood's release as a wiser man.

Dir: George Beranger

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

Writer Frank Theydon goes undercover to research the criminal activity in New York City's Chinatown.

Dir: Charles Raymond

A magician helps outwit a Chinaman's gang.

Dir: Jack Conway

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Number 17 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Lucy Hegan, the proprietor of a settlement house for the poor, is engaged to Hugh Gordon, the head of a large pharmaceutical and chemical firm who, unknown to Lucy, is also the ringleader of a powerful drug and white slave operation in the Chinese quarter. While conducting an investigation into illicit drug traffic for his paper, newspaper reporter Allan Martin meets Lucy and falls in love with her. In the course of her work, Lucy has befriended reformed crook Monk Mullen and his mother, and when Monk learns that she is to marry Gordon, the ex-crook provides Allan with proof of Gordon's underworld drug trafficking. Armed with his information, Allan leads a raid on Gordon's headquarters, and in the ensuing battle, the drug king is killed by his henchman, Ling Choo Fang, thus freeing Lucy to marry her young reporter.

Dir: Ewald André Dupont

Fred Hopkins, a jeweler's assistant, replaces the pearl necklace Lord Reading bought as a wedding present with a worthless imitation. A hunt begins, which the flower seller Rahel and the jumping jack dealer David are able to end by finding the jewelry. Hopkins, who is convicted, then commits suicide for fear of being punished with poison.

Dir: Chester M. De Vonde

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

Eileen O'Hara lives as a member of a cult in a remote retreat in the Adirondacks with her father, an embittered man since his wife's infidelity years earlier. One day, Peyster Sproul, the man responsible for her transgression, appears, and as president of the millionaire Sagamore Club, attempts to buy O'Hara's land for a summer resort. O'Hara recognizes him and a quarrel ensues, which results in the old man's death. Sproul then secures an illegitimate hold on the land by bribing Amasa Munn, the dishonest leader of the cult, with a small sum of money while pocketing the balance of the purchase funds. Upon receiving orders to produce the deed, Sproul attempts to steal the document from Eileen. His plan is thwarted, however, by Dr. Lansing, a young man who has fallen in love with Eileen. When Sproul's fraudulence is discovered, he is dishonorably dismissed from the club. Eileen retains her land and marries Lansing.

Dir: Emil Justitz

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Paul Powell

Laura, a blind girl, has been cared for since infancy by Mike, Whitey, and Sal, three crooks who have kept her ignorant of her true surroundings. After an operation restores her sight, Laura is disillusioned and embittered by the sordidness of her environment. She falls under the evil influence of the gang's leader, Dennis Sullivan, who teaches her the art of safecracking. Just as Laura is about to perform her first job, her three benefactors are released from jail because of insufficient evidence and rush to the scene of the robbery to prevent Laura's corruption. The owner of the safe gives the four a ranch in reward for thwarting the robbery, and they all start a new life in the West.