Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of The Ace of Spades: Cult Guide

Dir: Frank Beal

During a raging Montana snowstorm, Doctor Jim Barnes collapses at Esther Anderson's cabin door. Esther offers Jim refuge, but when he discovers that their food supplies are running dangerously low, he braves the journey into town in order to replenish them. On the way, he is overcome with exhaustion and fails to return. Esther, unaware of Jim's condition and abused by her stepfather, joins a theatrical troop and leaves home. Time passes and Jim finally finds Esther, but a vindictive member of her troupe accuses her of having an affair with the manager and Jim believes the accusation. He leaves and Esther goes to New York City where she becomes engaged to a jealous artist, although she still loves Jim. Sam Tuttle, a long time friend, is aware of Esther's continuing love, and so brings Jim to New York City in time to save Esther from an unhappy marriage.

Dir: Henry MacRae

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

During a rebellion in Mexico, Nina Garcia, a diplomat's daughter, is forced to become a spy for the revolutionaries. She works as a nurse in a military hospital and steals papers for the rebels, but officials finally discover her involvement in enemy espionage. Just as soldiers arrest her, she performs an experiment on herself, hoping to prove the worth of Dr. Ralph Hamlin's serum for gangrene. Unimpressed by her bravery and unmoved by Ralph's pleas for a pardon, the government orders her shot after her recovery from the injection. Finally, United States troops arrive and save Nina from execution.

Dir: William Parke

Bruce Wendell, the son of West Virginia coal mine owner James Wendell, graduates from West Point and prepares to lead a fighting unit to the front during World War I. As his father lies dying, however, he convinces Bruce to remain at home and guard the mine. Bruce's fiancée Ann Blair assumes that he is a coward and breaks off their engagement, but her brother Bobbie remains Bruce's loyal friend. Meyer, a German agent, persuades railroad president Parrish to refuse to transport Wendell's coal, but when Bruce adamantly refuses to close the mine, the spy's men decide to blow it up. While Ann is being abducted by Meyer, Bobbie is buried in an explosion at the mine. Bruce rescues Bobbie and then sends a plea to Lieutenant Parrish to rescue Ann. Meyer and his gang are captured and Ann renews her vow of love to Bruce.

Dir: Charles Horan

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

While working as a flower girl in Devlin Maddox's nightclub, Nellie Vaughan meets wealthy young Pelton Van Teel and falls in love. Maddox, desirous of using Nellie to blackmail Van Teel, spreads a rumor that she is his mistress. This makes Nellie uncomfortable, and she demands that Van Teel marry her immediately, to which he agrees. Meanwhile, Van Teel has been losing money gambling to Maddox, who threatens to break up the marriage by producing a worthless check that the young husband has written. Venturing to Maddox's apartment for a showdown, Nellie pulls a gun and demands the check, accidentally shooting Maddox when he throws a lamp at her. Maddox plans to charge Nellie with assault, but when the police arrive, his butler, actually a detective employed by the elder Van Teel, exposes Maddox, who is then arrested, clearing the path for the couple's happiness.

Dir: Henry MacRae

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Henry MacRae

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Man's Plaything perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A white fur-trapper, Harvey Ogden (Frank Mayo) takes an Indian maiden, A-Che-Chee (Claire McDowell), as his bride, a union that meets with much disapproval when they return to civilization. But their child, a boy (Frankie Lee) helps bring about many adjustments to the attitudes of the civilized people.

Dir: Edgar Jones

A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.

Dir: Henry MacRae

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

During the great drought on the South African veldt, bitterness erupts between the von Haagen and Townsend families when they quarrel over a cattle spring. Nevertheless, a romance grows between Gretel von Haagan and Ned Townsend, who, to escape their families' opposition, marry and leave for the interior. Three years later, Gretel's father Carl, unable to overcome his feelings of remorse, seeks his daughter out and discovers that he is now a grandfather. He arrives in the interior just as his grandson wanders off into the jungle. After several harrowing incidents, the infant is rescued by an elephant and returned to his home where the families are joyously reconciled.

Dir: Henry MacRae

Bank president, George Fuller, uses his own fortune to cover the losses, when the bank is on the verge of collapse. Unknown to Fuller, however, Monroe Simmons, his vice-president, is undermining the bank for his own purposes. Then Tom Williams, who is in love with Fuller's daughter Ethel, asks his uncle, famous detective "Whispering Smith," to investigate the case. Smith successfully uncovers Simmons' conspiracy and apprehends him and his fellow conspirators, thus saving the bank.

Dir: Eduardo Notari

A crime drama in the Gennariello-series. The police detective in Naples that is confronted with modern gangsters and crime events.