Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of Smiles: Cult Guide

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

Lee and Fred are the best of pals. Their wives are the best of comrades. The two families live in the same rooms, the same house, and share fifty-fifty on all the furniture. One day they have a quarrel, at least the wives do, and the two families split. One-half of the house belongs to one family, and one to the other. This continues for some time, even going as far as cutting the Ford in half. One fine day after the two husbands get all smashed up they go to their homes, and they find their wives embracing each other. This is too much, and they leave for Reno.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

After making all the mischief that she can, Baby Peggy runs away from home. All this because of jealousy. A new baby brother has made his appearance in her home and is taking away a good deal of attention from her. Out in the cruel world she is captured by a junk dealer and set to work. She manages to fill her wagon with junk by going into the yards at night and meowing like a cat. Windows are thrown open and all kinds of things are thrown at her. At the end she escapes and returns home.

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

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

Baby Peggy as the mischievous child of doting and fussy parents.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

After a busy day of playing pranks on their father's servants and guests, Harry Williams' daughters Jane and Katherine tumble into bed and fall asleep. Having seen a film depicting World War I fighting in Europe, little Jane dreams that two armies, consisting entirely of mechanical dolls, are advancing against each other in battle. While Trik leads the German troops, who are guilty of committing a score of atrocities, Trak heads the Allied army, which ultimately wins the war. In the end, Jane awakens with a start to find that it has all been a dream.

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

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Tell It to the Marines perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

Andrew Sheldon is so busy perfecting a new explosive for the United States' effort in the Great War that he fails to realize that his butler, cook, housekeeper, and chauffeur are all German spies. However, his two mischievous daughters Katherine and Jane make life difficult for the spies by throwing pies at the Kaiser's picture and clipping the butler's long, Prussian-style mustache while he sleeps. When Andrew's wife announces that she is pregnant, he tells the girls that he has written a letter requesting a baby brother for them, whereupon they decide to steal the letter, convinced that two children are enough for their family. Breaking into Andrew's laboratory, they take the "letter," actually the secret formula, but after Andrew reveals that his plans are missing, the butler enters the laboratory and seizes the invention itself. Following an automobile chase and then a battle staged in rowboats on the Hudson River, the butler is apprehended by U.S. agents. Although he is the proud father of a new baby boy, Andrew gratefully blesses the impish little girls who saved his formula.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

There is a domestic squabble between two families living in the same house. The wives have a disagreement and the husbands take it up, finally coming to blows. In the midst of the fight they are flabbergasted to find that the wives are again the best of friends.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Betty's Green-Eyed Monster perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

Brownie plays the part of a literal rum-hound, and assisted by a remarkably small boy and several adults, depicts the sleuthing, pursuit and capture of a band of bootleggers who dispense their wares through the medium of a piano hitched on a wagon, which emits liquid notes when given keys are struck. Brownie "soaks up the evidence" by rolling in it, but is captured by the bootleggers and thrown into a lake. He manages to keep his tail above water, and the liquor still upon it is drained off and used as evidence.

Dir: Arvid E. Gillstrom

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.