Deep Archive Finds in the Vein of The Devil Dancer: Cult Guide

Dir: Wilfred Lucas

Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

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

When famous opera singer Elinore Duane undergoes an operation on her throat, she has a series of ether-induced visions. In one, she is transported to ancient Rome where she appears as a much-admired woman in love with Paul, a young heretic, and at odds with Lutor, the high priest. To save her love, she poisons Lutor with her ring. After several other visions which involve variations on this love triangle, Elinore awakens to discover that Lutor is actually her doctor, Sascha Jaccard, and that Paul is the son of a friend who has come to visit the recovering prima donna.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Impersonating Little Eva in a third-rate travelling production of Uncle Tom's Cabin fails to earn Nora enough for a square daily meal, and to make thing worse, her stage career comes to a sudden end when the sheriff arrives with a writ of seizure. Nora hops a passing freight but is frightened by a tramp, jumps off, and literally rolls into the town of Wattelville. After being arrested as a suspicious character, Nora is adopted by the kindly Ma Forbes, whose son James works in the local bank. "Pug" Hennessy and "Soup" McCool, two crooks, inveigle the scrupulously honest James into a poker game and, as a result, he is forced to steal $300 from the bank to cover his losses. Impersonating expert safe-cracker Velvet Mary, Nora helps the crooks to break into the bank, but upon opening the safe, she sounds the alarm, and the crooks are arrested. Having learned his lesson, James proposes to Nora, who never again is forced to go hungry.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of When Do We Eat? perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

An uneducated young girl becomes suddenly wealthy and hires the disinherited son of an upper-class family to tutor her in the ways of society.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Anne Mertons (Enid Bennett) is the unhappy wife of Hugo Mertons (Robert McKim), an unscrupulous brute. When the two struggle over a gun, Hugo is shot. Thinking he's dead, Anne flees to Hawaii, where she falls in love with Rodney Heathe (Jack Holt), who owns a sugar plantation. Hugo re-enters the picture and forces Anne to live as his prisoner in a hut. She overhears his plan to burn a sugar plantation. She is able to escape and saves the plantation, while Hugo is burned to death. Anne is now free to marry Rodney.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

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

Dir: Fred Niblo

Idealistic young American falls under the influence of Communist agitators.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A broadway actress uses her sex appeal to ruin a marriage only to dump her lover for a richer prospect.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.