The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of The Brat: Cult Guide

Dir: James A. FitzPatrick

A Scots lass parts regretfully from her lad as he goes to make his mark in the world. The lad meets an old man who warns him against leaving his beloved. He returns to her and they are married. Then the old man, who loves the girl's mother, asks that she be his wife. Thereafter another marriage is arranged.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Louis Mercanton

Comte Georges de Kerlor is convinced his wife has been cheating on him, and little Jean is not his own. He entrusts the boy to a criminal who already has a boy of his own. As he grows up with Claudinet, the two boys become inseparable.

Dir: Louis Mercanton

Miarka, the granddaughter of Romany Kate, according to her grandmother, is to marry a gypsy chief-whereabouts unknown. Romany Kate, Miarka and her tame bear, live upon the estate of an old gentleman who tolerates Kate because of his interest in gypsies, and more particularly because he has a gypsy document which he cannot decipher. A gardener, in love with Miarka, robs the master and sets fire to the home, making it appear that Kate is the guilty one. She is convicted but later Miarka's pet bear kills the gardener and he confesses his crime before he dies. Kate, realizing Miarka is in love with the master's nephew, Ivor, takes her away. Later the master tells Ivor that he is not his nephew but was found at the gate when a babe. The document is deciphered by Kate and it discloses that Ivor is the chief whom Miarka had been destined to marry.

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

Dir: Manuel Noriega

A woman who arrives Madrid fleeing from their abusive stepmother tries to help her cousin, who has an illegitimate child, pretending to be the real mother.

Dir: Louis Mercanton

A man becomes infatuated with who he believes is a pure and honest woman, not knowing she really is a siren that lures men to the gambling tables to lose all their money.

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

Dir: Unknown Director

Gus Van and Joe Schenck sing a few songs with piano accompaniment.

Dir: Frank Urson

A wild jazz-loving and boozing wife Roxie Hart kills her boyfriend in cold blood after he leaves her.

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

Dir: Anton Gunnarsson

The story begins in a pawnshop owned by a middle-aged woman whose daughter is a cocaine addict. The woman is divorced and has just begun an affair with her sales assistant, a young man with extravagant habits. In the second act, we find the pawnbroker, her husband, daughter and sales assistant in one of the city's dance halls, the Eldorado. Suddenly, the police raid the place, and one of the cocaine addicts is so frightened that he pulls out a gun and shoots himself. In the third act, the whole group is in custody. However, it all ends happily when a decent police officer, who knows the pawnbroker from before, ensures that they are released.

Dir: Louis Mercanton

Wealthy English lady, Hermione, travels from Rome to Sicily with her lover, Maurice, where the latter becomes infatuated with Maddalena, a fisherman's daughter. After Maurice seduces her, he is killed by Maddalena's father, Salvatore.