Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of The Dictator: Cult Guide

Dir: Alexander Butler

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

Dir: James Cruze

A young man pursues a young lady with the same energy he applies to his other obsession in life, auto racing.

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

Dir: Unknown Director

The Judge needs a present for his wife's birthday, so Harry suggests a new corset. They go to the shop, but he's so embarrassed to ask the saleslady he hides in a phone booth.Harry goes in, but finds a GUY wearing one, and runs out.They both dress as women to get back in, but Mrs. Rummy gets there and chases him out.

Dir: James Cruze

Walsingham Van Dorn, a rather unsuccessful book agent, is stunned to learn that he has inherited forty million dollars from his two uncles. Van Dorn asks his attorney Wilkins to handle the responsibilities entailed in managing the fortune and then retires to his mansion. One evening, however, he is awakened by a young woman named Desiree Lane, who refuses to leave until the two million dollars that his uncles swindled away from her father is restored. Van Dorn tries to return the money but discovers that Wilkins has stolen it and fled. Van Dorn and Desiree set out to find him, but when the hotel in which they have stopped for the night burns down, they are left standing in the street clad only in pajamas. To avoid a scandal, they marry and happily settle down. Two years later, Wilkins, unable to handle the fortune, returns it, but the young couple wonders whether they will continue to be happy as millionaires.

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

Dir: Edward LeSaint

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: James Cruze

Young Jack Wright offers his hand in marriage to the winner of a lottery, but after committing to the winner falls in love with another woman.

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

Dir: James Cruze

An inventor travels to the South Seas, where there is buried treasure belonging to a girl. The girl's father is being held captive by cannibals until she returns a pearl that belongs to one of their idols.

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

Dir: Richard Smith

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.