Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of The Beloved Rogue: Cult Guide

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

Dir: Alexander Butler

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

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.

Dir: Alan Crosland

In Scotland in 1751, young David Balfour is shanghaied aboard a ship where he meets Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart with whom he escapes to the Scottish Highlands, dodging the redcoats.

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

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

A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.

Dir: Alan Crosland

Chris, a student, ambitious in his own way but resisting tutors, was always in trouble until, at an auction sale, he purchased an old Oriental lamp because of its odd design, not dreaming that it was possessed of magical powers which he discovered when he began polishing it. A huge slave appeared, told him the lamp was his master and that he was prepared to obey any command that its owner, Chris, might give. As a test Chris bade the slave to transform himself into another Chris. He then sent the double of himself to school, where he was made to take the thrashings intended for Chris and to serve as the butt of many jokes and experiences meant for the real Chris. When the genie finally decides that he does not relish serving as Chris' double, the real trouble and fun begins, involving Chris' father and mother, teachers, family doctor, and farcical mix-ups develop with great rapidity. The doings of "Chris and the Wonderful Lamp" in the days of the Twentieth Century rival the best of Arabian Night tales.

Dir: Alan Crosland

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

Charlotte Marlin was raised on a Connecticut farm in the shadow of Micah's apple tree, whose fruit, according to legend, changed from pale green to spotted red after a peddler was killed and buried at its base. Orphaned, Charlotte goes to live with her aunt and pretty cousin Margaret. She meets Neil Kennedy, a poor boy who is working his way through college, and they become friends. Margaret, who is engaged to wealthy Willis Hayland, teases Charlotte, who considers herself to be plain-looking. At high school graduation Charlotte's academic achievements are obscured by Margaret's leading role in the school play. Jealous of Margaret, Charlotte resolves to make everybody like her, to be famous, and to marry a millionaire. She learns that to make everybody like her, she must be friendly to everyone. To become famous, she becomes a golfer and wins the world's championship tournament. She nurses millionaire Perry Graham after hitting him in the head with a golf ball, supposedly an accident, but when Perry falls in love with her, Charlotte realizes that she loves Neil, who has become a promising physician.

Dir: Alan Crosland

Wanting to impress the beautiful Bella Cavallo, whose stepfather Ferris forces her to act as a decoy in his Tenderloin gambling establishment, Richard Brettner commits a minor robbery. Judge Reverton pardons the love-struck young man but regrets his decision when Richard is arrested for murder. Through his physician, Dr. Comyns, the judge meets Bella and soon makes her his wife. The doctor, however, tells Reverton about Bella's profession, thereby causing him to distrust his new wife. Reverton returns home to find Bella planning a night meeting with Arthur Hallam, the murdered man's nephew. Expecting the worst, the judge soon realizes that Bella plotted only to beguile Arthur into a confession that he, and not Richard, committed the murder. Richard is released and the married couple is reunited.

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Chris and His Wonderful Lamp perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.

Dir: Alan Crosland

A wealthy young American, bred to class distinction and racial intolerance, enters First World War. In the course of his experiences in the trenches and being wounded, he comes to a recognition of the equality and brotherhood of men.

Dir: Alan Crosland

Nancy Price, who manages her own farm in Ohio, follows her cousin Eleanor Howitt to New York to check on her after the latter inherits a fortune and is persuaded by her father to live with him and his second wife Maude. Nancy is treated inhospitably by Maude and her social set when she discovers that they are encouraging Eleanor to spend money on jewelry and fancy clothes for all of them. One member of the group, George Tewksbury Reynolds, III, after trading insults with Nancy, becomes attracted to her, but she rejects him. After uncouth Archie Gore gets Eleanor intoxicated during a party and Nancy covers up for her, sacrificing her own reputation to protect Eleanor's, Eleanor is convinced to return home, and she resumes a romance with her reliable hometown beau, Sammy Wilson. Reynolds goes to Ohio to learn to be a farmer and is rewarded by Nancy's love.