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

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

Having endangered his life by foolishly gambling away funds entrusted to him by the Carbonari, an Italian secret society, London banker Bernard Huddlestone appeals to Northmour, an adventurer, for protection. Northmour takes Huddlestone and his daughter Clara to his castle in Scotland, offering them safety in return for Clara's hand in marriage. There Clara encounters Frank Cassilis, an old adversary of Northmour's, and falls in love. Trouble brews between the two men, but when the Carbonari discovers Huddlestone's hiding place and storms the castle, the fugitives band together to fight the avengers. Coming to the realization that only his sacrifice will appease the attackers, Huddlestone steps out and meets his death. Northmour, deciding that married life would prove too monotonous, gives up his claim on Clara to Cassilis.

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.

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

Dir: George Beranger

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

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: George B. Seitz

The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.

Dir: George Beranger

John Fenton visits a fortune-teller to gain insight into his parentage. While there, a police raid occurs, and he climbs the fire escape to the apartment above. There he finds a girl standing over the body of a young man who has just shot himself. The girl, Belle Charmion, explains that her half brother, Gordon Brewster, had stolen some jewels from their uncle and, fearing that the police would capture him, had attempted suicide. Fenton conceals the brother in another room and impersonates him when the police arrive. Later, he and Belle take Brewster to his uncle's home. In the excitement, the jewels have been forgotten, and Fenton returns to search for them. By this time, the family butler, who is a member of an underworld gang, has tipped off his friends, who then steal the Fenton jewels. At the butler's home, a scuffle ensues; Fenton recovers the jewels and learns that he is actually a distant relative of the Charmions, having been kidnapped in infancy by a crook. With both mysteries thus resolved, Belle and Fenton become engaged.

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

Dir: Cecil M. Hepworth

A soldier's tunic button, made from Aladdin's lamp, grants his wishes.

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Velvet Fingers 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: Charles Swickard

A young Egyptian goes to the rescue of his employers, a wealthy European family, when they are menaced by a local strongman and his gang.