The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of The Barnyard: Cult Guide

Dir: Charley Chase

A young married couple volunteer to take charge of several orphans after the asylum has burned down. Of course they find their hands full with their troublesome charges.

Dir: Lloyd Ingraham

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

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

Dir: Larry Semon

A lawman out to get moonshiners runs into a female director filming a movie with a female cast. Chaos ensues.

Dir: Larry Semon

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Dew Drop Inn perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A woman and her daughter are throwing a party, and Larry Semon is in the kitchen, joined by some monkeys and jewel thieves. What could go wrong?

Dir: Larry Semon

Such plot as there may be concerns the endeavors of the local, sheriff and his merry men to arrest the elusive Larry for speeding. The sheriff is the devil and Larry's farmer employer is the deep sea. between the two, poor Larry has a rough time, but he finishes, as he deserves, in the arms of the farmer's lovely daughter, to whom he is married amidst the debris of a shattered motor-car, in which the entire wedding party have just leaped over a cliff.

Dir: Larry Semon

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of His Home Sweet Home perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Semon's character, working behind the scenes, creates mayhem during a vaudeville performance.

Dir: Larry Semon

The story follows Larry as he attempts to help his sweetheart escape an unwanted wedding to a wealthy but unattractive suitor. The film concludes with a high-speed chase involving a car and a bed.

Dir: Larry Semon

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

Larry's absurdly plush life of ease as a convict comes to an end when his sentence is up. Tossed out, he tries several ways, including a stickup to get back in the comfortable jail. Exchanging clothes with a lookalike escaped prisoner, he goes back, only to find he's to be hung. Now desperate to leave again, he joins other cons in a jailbreak.

Dir: Larry Semon

The waiters of a fancy restaurant go on strike for better wages, threatening harm to any replacements that may be hired. Larry is among scabs hired to replace the striking waiters they must wait on tables and fight off the strikers.

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.