Top-Tier Alternatives In the Shadow of Sky-Eye: Cult Guide

Dir: William F. Adler

A travelogue/documentary including explorations of the fauna and people of Siam, New Guinea, and Java, with interpolations of an apparently fictitious encounter between the filmmakers and cannibalistic natives of Frederick Henry Island in the South Pacific.

Dir: George B. Seitz

The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.

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

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Bertram Millhauser

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Francis J. Grandon

A raft carrying a little girl and a dead woman drifts in from a shipwreck to Devil's Island. There, a band of thieves and smugglers name the girl Rose Marie, though she grows up as "nobody's girl." Living in a cave, she learns to read through the kindness of Jason, who is soon killed by the cruel leader, Red Gull. In Red Gull's power, and urged on by Jason's jealous wife, Rose Marie makes her escape in a rowboat, where she is spotted by an aviator flying above the sea. He rescues her, taking her to be cared for at his home where she is well treated. When newspapers report a mysterious shipwreck on Devil's Island, Rose Marie reveals the way in which Red Gull lured ships to their doom there. She guides the authorities to the island, where, after a fierce battle, the thieves are wiped out. Eventually the aviator falls in love with Rose Marie, and "nobody's girl" is somebody's sweetheart at last.

Dir: Maurice Elvey

A Royalist and his unknown son seek vengeance on his murdered wife's brothers.

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

Dir: Aubrey M. Kennedy

Episode 1: "The Higher Power" This episode tells of the fanatical ambition of a mysterious Mongolian, Ali Singh, who is a scientist, and a thinker of depth and originality. He develops into a brutal fanatic who stops short of no means to exalt the Yellow Race at the expense of the White. That Ali Singh is recognized as a powerful leader among the Mongolian race is shown in the first episode, when, by the majesty of his presence, he quells a Chinese riot which all but annihilates the White colonists in Hung Kai. Later Ali Singh goes to America to lead his followers in their efforts to overcome the supremacy of the White race. By the sheer determination of his personality, he has a multitude of Mongolian men at his beck and call, who stop at nothing to carry out his commands. At the time Ali Singh arrives, Mr. Bronson, a banker of international importance, is backing an Anti-Alien law which aims to exclude all yellow men from this country. Determined to leave nothing undone that will further his cause, Ali Singh delivers secretly to Mr. Bronson a mysterious note hurled through a window at the point of a knife threatening Mr. Bronson with death if he does not withdraw his support from the Anti-Alien bill. Mr. Bronson enlists the aid of the police and secret service departments, which immediately take up the fight against Ali Singh. The struggles which ensue between the Government agencies and Ali Singh form the substance of the remaining fifteen episodes.

Dir: Aubrey M. Kennedy

This surprisingly violent 15-episode serial takes place on the border between Texas and Mexico. When warned by Captain Jack of the Texas Rangers of impending trouble, elderly rancher Bill Burrel swears that Mexican cattle rustler Pancho won't do any riding or shooting in the area again. Pancho's lieutenant Santas, (who desires his boss's daughter Juanita's hand, and has been refused), overhears Burrel and decides to make things rough on Pancho by stirring up trouble for both sides. Pancho and his raiders, sworn to drive the settlers off the border country, attack the Burrel ranch and shoot Burrel dead, and his son Harry swears to make Pancho pay for his night's work. In the conflict that follows Pancho is knocked unconscious and his hands crushed in a press by masked men, apparently Texas Rangers. Though the torture is actually performed by the traitorous Santas and his cohort Rodriguez, Pancho blames the Rangers for the injury, swears revenge, and the two factions resolve to destroy each other. In succeeding chapters, Pancho and his ruthless gang menace Harry, his sweetheart Ruth and abduct Harry's younger sister Blanche, inflicting fiendish and deliberate tortures upon them. Pancho's demands are carried to his sworn enemies by the black-garbed "emissary of evil" the Masked Rider, who rides onto the scene without warning to kidnap, assault, or fire upon the Texas Rangers, their relatives, and even their horses. Pancho's daughter Juanita, frequently harassed by his men, is shocked by her father's cruelty and takes surreptitious action to prevent his murdering innocent captives when she can. She also falls in love with Captain Jack of the Rangers, which complicates matters even further. Rugged and outspoken "Ma Chadwick," Ruth's mother, helps the Rangers when Blanche and then Ruth are both kidnapped. Interesting shooting locations include a hacienda complex in Sabinas, Mexico, an ancient mission in San Antonio, the gigantic Medina Dam, at which a terrific action sequence was apparently almost thoroughly improvised (the scene does not appear in the original shooting script), and the "hole in the wall," a labyrinthine passage through the border mountains.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Miss Nobody perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Don Caesar de Bazan, a reckless nobleman, falls for Maritana, a gypsy dancing girl. When Maritana is insulted by a drunk, Don Caesar wins her love by coming to her rescue. The two go to Madrid, where the girl is summoned to dance before the Queen. Maritana also attracts the attention of King Charles. Don Jose, the prime minister, who secretly loves the Queen, plots to get Maritana for the King. To do this, he schemes to have Maritana marry a nobleman so she can enter the King's court. Don Jose chooses Don Caesar, who has been imprisoned and sentenced to death for dueling during Holy Week. Don Caesar agrees to marry the woman selected by Don Jose. After the ceremony, his wife believes he has been pardoned, but Don Caesar is sent to a firing squad. He is saved by a youth who has removed the bullets from the rifles. Eventually, Don Caesar wins the King's approval, and he is made prime minister.

Dir: Josef Stein

Bela Lugosi plays a lascivious Arab sheikh confronting European travelers in the desert in an adventure story set in the Sahara.