The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of The Dollar-a-Year Man: Cul...

Dir: James Cruze

When the brokerage firm of Blatch, Markham and Driggs dissolves, Markham steals company records and the option of a valuable mine. Meanwhile, Blatch, who wants the option to expire so he can then purchase it at a low price, hires attorney Burley Hadden to convince Driggs that he is trying to recover it. Hadden sees John Craig, a bungling construction contractor who needs $800 for his payroll, running nervously from the pop of a paper bag, and offers the supposed "dub" $1,000 to retrieve the papers, thinking he will fail. After Markham tries to dupe John, he meets Enid Drayton, Markham's ward, who is being held a virtual prisoner in Markham's mansion. With the help of a friendly burglar, they retrieve the option and other papers which prove that Markham and Blatch had been cheating Driggs for years. After Driggs rewards John and informs Enid that she owns a million dollar estate, she and John embrace.

Dir: Lloyd Ingraham

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Mary's Ankle perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: James Cruze

Department-store clerk Larry Young is determined to marry a rich girl. He falls for Elaine Debaux, whom he believes to be the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder. However, when war breaks out Larry is drafted into the army. Before he is taken in, though, he and Elaine are rescued from gangsters by an ex-con named Mike Moran. It turns out that Moran wants to join the army but they won't take him because of his record. Larry, who doesn't want to go into the army because it will interfere with his plans to marry Elaine, comes up with an idea he thinks will work out for all concerned. Complications ensue.

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 Alias Mike Moran perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Hal Roach

An American book salesman (Lloyd) is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess. The revolution succeeds, and the American is elected president of the new republic.

Dir: James Cruze

A young man infiltrates the underworld by pretending to be a convicted burglar. While undercover, he meets a young woman who turns out to be no more a part of gangland than he, but with similar reasons for disguising herself.

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

Dir: Charley Chase

A young married couple volunteer to take charge of several orphans after the asylum has burned down. Of course they find their hands full with their troublesome charges.

Dir: James Cruze

A light-hearted romantic adventure.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of His Royal Slyness perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Jerome Storm

Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook. Meanwhile, Homer returns to New York, convinces his employers of the merits of his plan and comes home triumphant, with a proposal for both the new plant and for Rachel's hand in marriage.

Dir: Maurice Campbell

Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.