Masterpiece Selection that Capture the Essence of The Cigarette Gir...

Dir: William Parke

The affluent Carnabys have now dwindled in fortune and family, leaving just Lucy and her brother, Gordon in financial straits. Situations escalate as they struggle to pay their bills and deal with Gordon's gambling debts.

Dir: William Parke

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

As the S. S. Huron returns from her summer trip to Europe laden with many passengers, a mysterious lady in room 7 is never seen, and the whole boat starts to gossip about her. In the meantime, a puzzling telegram arrives for Peter Hale, the passenger in the room across hers, about a sign of the Double Cross and his father's will.

Dir: William Parke

Beam opens a boarding house and many interesting characters are introduced. She spreads her optimism to their lives. Also to her blind father by telling him army stories about her brother when in actuality, he's deserted.

Dir: William Parke

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

To her aunt's dismay, Prudence isn't interested in society life. She'd rather listen to the butler's tall tales of being a pirate. Nixed from a boat trip, she rents a schooner, recruits a crew and raises the jolly roger.

Dir: William Parke

Impressed with Margaret Hill's singing ability, Al Levering takes her from the notorious dive in which she is performing and pays for her musical education. Just as she is about to join an opera company, Levering is arrested for embezzlement and Margaret, out of gratitude, promises to marry him when he is released. Later, Margaret meets and falls in love with nobleman John Ordham. Separated during a shipwreck, the two lose track of each other and five years pass, during which time Margaret has become a famous opera star. Discovering Margaret while attending one of her performances, Ordham breaks his engagement to Mabel Cutting and plans to marry the singer. In the meantime, Levering escapes from prison and arrives at Margaret's house. Anxious to save Ordham from scandal, the singer agrees to go away with Levering. Her sacrifice is averted by Scotland Yard detectives, who shoot Levering, thus freeing Margaret to marry her nobleman.

Dir: William Parke

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

A young woman consents to a bad marriage to an unscrupulous man in order to save her father from ruin. When her marriage is disrupted by a murder, three different people confess to it.

Dir: William Parke

Parisian society girl Cleo de Bromsart is bored with her life and accepts an invitation from Prince Selm to join his yachting party. The cruise ends in disaster, and Cleo is stranded on a desert island with two sailors. One drowns in quicksand, and Cleo kills the other when he tries to rape her. Several weeks later, a derelict named Jack Raft is washed ashore and nurses the ailing woman back to health. Jack then effects their rescue by overpowering a gang of Chinese seal poachers. Upon her return to Paris, France, Cleo must choose between her fiancé, whom her parents approve, and Jack, whom she has grown to respect, and decides not to marry either.

Dir: William Parke

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William Parke

Anna Mirrel, a young Jewish girl in Czarist Russia, is forced to degrade herself in order to visit her father, whom she believes to be ill. She obtains a yellow passport, signifying that she is a prostitute. When she arrives in St. Petersburg, she finds her father has been killed. She encounters a young journalist and tells him of the crimes the state perpetrates against its citizens. But the pair fall into the hands of the secret police when the journalist publishes her remarks. In order to obtain their freedom, Anna must choose whether to submit to the desires of the sinister head of the police, Baron Andrey.

Dir: William Parke

The owner of a resort hotel promotes Tom Gwynne, a college boy working as a waiter, to manager. As a result of his mismanagement the hotel loses several thousand dollars. Tom inherits a million and buys the hotel to continue his experimental management, which is to give the employees time and opportunity for self-expression--to do what they like best to do. With the grounds full of acrobats, musicians, and dancers, the hotel goes bankrupt. The old manager returns, buys the hotel, but retains Tom--now that he has learned his lesson--as manager.