The Essential Watchlist Similar Cinematic Experiences to The Blue Bonnet: Cult Guide

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Barr Messenger escapes to Mexico after a frame-up. He is in love with Betty Brownlee, who disappears after $10,000 is stolen from the firm she works for. It is thought she took the money. In Mexico, In Mexico, Barr finds Betty working in a saloon for "Red" McGee, the chief henchman of "Bull" Keeler's (the Kingfish) Kingfisher gang. Betty's sister is also involved.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

A young ranch hand who is suspected by his boss of stealing cattle leaves the ranch determined to capture the real offenders. While away he meets a girl with whom he falls in love. For a time the girl's brother is suspected, and later the cowboy is more strongly suspected than he was previously. But matters are straightened out, and the ranch hand and the girl decide to travel double.

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

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Kid Allen, the daughter of Mate Allen, a drunken ex-sailor, waits every night to take Mate home from a saloon. After Mate beats up saloon owner O'Keefe for trying to kiss Kid, O'Keefe kills Mate. Kid shoots and kills O'Keefe, and then leaves on a pony to get "a education," which her father wanted her to have. When she falls and sprains an ankle, Joe Emory, a sheep herder, nurses her and they fall in love, but she continues her journey. At a university town, cow puncher Nick Horton escorts her to the school, where he fights the president and some students, after being told that Kid is not ready to enter. The president stops Kid and Nick from being arrested, and puts Kid in a boarding school, but after she learns that school will last for seven years, she returns to Joe. As they kiss, they fade into a statue of Cupid embracing Psyche.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Nancy Glenn is a pupil in Pop Hogland's school for crooks. When, attired as a boy named "Spider," Nancy fails at her lessons as a pickpocket, Pop decides to pair her with Pliny Drew, a graduate thief and swindler. Nancy rebels at her proposed partnership with Pliny, and after she is involved in an auto accident and rescued by wealthy young Ralph Harding who takes her to his home to recover, Nancy pretends to have lost her memory. Gradually, Ralph falls in love with the girl, and his mother accepts her as one of the family. However, when Pliny attempts to involve Ralph in a mining swindle, Nancy sacrifices her security and exposes the plan, thus saving her benefactor. Learning of the conditions which drove her into life at the edge of the law, Ralph forgives Nancy and they face a happy life together.

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

Dir: Louis Chaudet

To further his political ends and enrich himself, a political boss lets corruption run rampant in his city. A young couple set out to expose him.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Billy simply has no use for mothers-in-law, and when his bride informs him that "mother" is coming for a visit, he digs up an excuse concerning a business trip to 'Frisco. It is only camouflage on Billy's part, for his real reason is to meet a couple of lady buyers who are sportively inclined. And that's where the complications begin. Wifey must see him off on the boat which gets his "goat," since he knows he is in for a healthy bath in swimming back to town. The bride, in the meantime, is entertained at a shady roadhouse by friendly neighbors, and Billy takes his buyers there to drink at the shrine of Bacchus. The upshot of it all is, the place is raided, and Billy finds out that his story of the sinking boat is a figment of his imagination. But mother-in-law arrives in time to restore amicable relations. And Billy finds that his prejudice hasn't a leg to stand on for she proves to be his fair companion - the buxom buyer.

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

Dir: Louis Chaudet

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Judge Grant sentences Paul Rogers to jail on circumstantial evidence, Paul's sister Lena swears revenge. A few years later, Judge Grant becomes a corporation attorney for a large firm. In collusion with the owners, Grant embezzles the firm's profits, thus forcing the value of the stock down and creating favorable conditions for a takeover. Lena, on the pretext of making an investment, meets the judge, who falls in love with her. Lena uses his infatuation to discover that the judge himself stole the money. Meanwhile, Lena has fallen in love with Tison Grant, a newspaper reporter and the judge's brother, and after they are married, she informs Tison of his brother's treachery. Tison threatens to give the story to the papers, but before he can, Paul is released from jail, kills the judge, and is wounded in the scuffle. Lena takes the blame for the killing but is freed from suspicion when Paul confesses before he dies.

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

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Hoop-La, the beautiful star of Minor's Mammoth Circus, a one-ring affair which tours county fairs and small towns, delights crowds with her bare-back riding, trapeze acts, and clowning. Reared in the confines of the circus by Old Toodles the clown, in accordance with her father's dying request, Hoop-La naively accepts the attentions of good-looking Joe McGee, a cheap horseman, after winning a race for him as a jockey. Tony Barrows, the foppish scion of a wealthy family, falls in love with Hoop-La, but she resents his snobbery and makes faces at him. When Hoop-La learns that her father was wealthy, she secretly marries McGee to save herself from a dull society life, but when she discovers McGee's true character, she promises to keep him supplied with money if he leaves. After Hoop-La goes to live in her own luxurious home, McGee plans to make the marriage known and live with her, but he dies in a tent fire caused by his own drunken debauchery. Hoop-La marries Tony, who has matured and come back from the war.

Dir: Louis Chaudet

Ted Winters was a famous fullback, but has hit hard times. He takes a job at a military academy in hopes of landing a scholarship. He also hopes to win the commandant's beautiful niece Betty. Cadet Major Snodgrass is also after Betty, and this causes problems for Ted and Betty.