Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of The Awakening of Bess Morton: Cult Guide

Dir: Otis Thayer

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Mystery of No. 47 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Otis Thayer

When James Trevlyn's father, a financier battling profiteers who are trying to corner the wheat market, is murdered by his enemies, James leaves his mines in the West and comes to Wall Street to assume his father's struggle. The profiteers foment a Bolshevist strike at Trevlyn's mines in his absence, but Eleanor, Trevlyn's sweetheart, finds his double in a mission house, and Trevlyn hurries to the mines while his double takes his place on Wall Street. In the West, Trevlyn is kidnapped by thugs, while his double is bribed by the profiteers and changes sides. Mistaken for a wanted murderer, Trevlyn is saved by Eleanor, who establishes his identity. The battle on Wall Street ends with Trevlyn eight million dollars richer.

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

Dir: Otis Thayer

Irwin Molyneux, a collector of china, is regarded by his friends and neighbors as a model citizen until the night his cook resigns and his wife elects to do the cooking herself to entertain their guest, the Bishop of Bedford. Attempting to hide the fact that his wife is actually doing her own cooking, Molyneux alibis that she is away visiting. This arouses the bishop's suspicions, and soon after, Molyneux finds himself accused of murdering his wife and cook and sought after by Scotland Yard. He finally unravels the mystery when, under an assumed name, he is hired by a London newspaper to find himself. Molyneux then produces his wife, alive and well and discovers that his cook is actually the sweetheart of Lord Francis Phillamore, and hence the concern over her disappearance.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Awakening of Bess Morton perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Otis Thayer

Miss Arizona Farnley (Gertrude Bondhill), tomboy of the West, avenges the death of her father, who was killed by Bob Evans during a bar fight at The Oasis.