Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of The Enemy: Cult G...

Dir: Paul Scardon

Jerry Rufus, a river pirate, loves Claire Dawson, an actress, but because she has so many wealthy suitors, he incorrectly believes she plans to marry for money. Jerry learns that a large gold shipment secretly stored in nail kegs is to be delivered to a certain dock, and by substituting kegs of sand for the ones containing gold, he succeeds in obtaining the treasure and sinking it near the shore. When he proposes to Claire, he is astonished to learn that she has always loved him, and the two marry. Soon, however, Detective Ryan, who has been trailing Jerry for some time, convinces Claire to badger her husband for money. Anxious to please her, Jerry digs up the kegs, and as he is about to open one, Ryan appears. Ryan is discouraged and Jerry relieved to find that the barrel contains only sand, the pirate having stolen the wrong kegs.

Dir: Paul Scardon

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

Bob Deering on his way to business meets his sweetheart, Molly Sherman. He arrives at Milliken and Co., stockbrokers, his place of employment, just in time to save Herman, Zalmon Pinsker's 14-year-old son, from a very rough engagement with the other messengers in the office. For this act Herman takes him to his father's shop and obtains a suit at wholesale, and it is here that Bob meets Ike Mandell, who is in love with Dora, the daughter of Pinsker. Previous to this meeting Pinsker re-engaged Mandell after having hired and fired him at least ten times, and also just previous to Bob's arrival with Herman, Moses Hecht and Israel Classman had an argument with Mandell, who, trying to look after Pinsker's business, tried to force them to pay certain notes which had been endorsed by Pinsker. Mrs. Pinsker and Dora arrive and realize that if Pinsker keeps up this pace of unorganized charity they will have little if any chance of obtaining the new dresses for which they came. Later the stock market closes on account of the war, and both Herman and Bob are out of a job. Bob calls upon Molly, who is a telephone operator in a hotel. There he meets "Red" Dorgan, who interests him in war orders. Clothing, sweaters, and shirts are needed for the allied armies, so Bob goes to Pinsker and agrees to get him a contract that will at once make him a rich man. Pinsker is overjoyed. Bob returns to Dorgan, and it is arranged that the manufacturer shall meet the commission. Ike Mandell has a cousin, Abie Lefkowitz, another clothing manufacturer, and he feels that if he can give Pinsker the double cross and get the business for Lefkowitz he will be able to marry Dora. Ike arranges with Dorgan to switch the order to Lefkowitz, who has to give Ike an advance commission of $8,000 for his work. Bob apprises Molly of what he has done for Pinsker, but she has her misgivings about Dorgan. The contestants for the big war order is requested by the commission, which has quarters in the hotel in which Molly is a telephone operator, to have samples of their goods at the commission's offices. The different clothing manufacturers comply, and when each at different times receives most encouraging reply concerning their samples each refuses domestic orders so that all time possible may be devoted to the commission's order. The hotel detective becomes suspicious and after a short conversation with a Scotland Yard man who has been on Dorgan's trail for months, they, with Bob, examine the commission's quarters. They are now firmly convinced that the scheme is a fake, and Bob conveys this information to Pinsker. He is greatly discomfited over the revelation, but Bob gets an idea which will net Pinsker a considerable sum. All the other clothing manufacturers are refusing domestic orders pending advices from the commission, so Bob helps Pinsker to corner the home market. This scheme is successfully executed. Ike Mandell, jealous, is busy instituting a strike among the employees, but his plan is soon frustrated by Bob. Lefkowitz scenting that something is wrong, goes to the hotel, where he is told of the fake affair. The crooks are captured. It is then that Lefkowitz tells of a $6,000 check and that it was made out to Bob. The police now go with Lefkowitz to the shop of Pinsker, where they try to fasten the check upon Bob, but he has given it to Dorgan, and Pinsker agrees that if his is the only signature on it, he, Pinsker, will make good for Bob. Molly goes to Pinsker, who introduces her to his new partner, Bob Deering, and assures her that she need not "hello" any more if she will marry this live businessman. Molly is pleased, and is further glad to know that Mandell has lost out with Dora, who is going to marry Glassman, who is now making his fortune through Bob's methods of wide-awake business.

Dir: Paul Scardon

The actress is on her way to visit the Prince in his castle when she is stranded on a lonely road by an accident to her motor car. The Hillman happens along and takes her to Peak Hall. He is still young and handsome, but marked by the stern fanatical belief of his family that no member of it ever should leave the hills. In an exchange of confidence, the Hillman warns the actress not to visit the dissolute Prince, and she in turn tells him that for once he should try the broader life of the cities. Both heed the other's advice. She returns to the city, and he, in a brief period, follows. The Prince, still pursuing the actress, seeks to entangle the Hillman by throwing a notorious dancer in his path, but fails. Strangeway, the Hillman, proposes to Louise, the actress, but she withholds her answer. His brother comes from the hills to reclaim him, but his mission is vain. Again the Hillman proposes to Louise, who is always in the company of the Prince, and this time is accepted. Angered at his apparent loss of the actress, the Prince makes a scandalous remark about her at his club, which is resented with blows by the Hillman, whose love is all but crushed, when hurrying to Louise she admits what the Prince said is true. The Hillman returns to Peak Hill where a few months later as he is reading in a paper of the engagement of the actress and the Prince, she arrives at his home. She assures him that she is good, not bad, and that she did make the promise to the Prince when she believed he loved her, and both the Hillman and his brother receive her as one of them.

Dir: Paul Scardon

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

After landing a big "haul," Dave Darcey, a crook, decides to spend part of his booty by holding a dance for his followers. Paddy Burns, leader of a rival faction, decides to settle an old score with Dave by breaking up the affair. On the night of the dance he goes at the head of his gang with the avowed intention to "get" Dave. In the struggle, Dave shoots Paddy and makes good his escape. He is seen by Phillip Brenton, the son of the owner of the steel works, who thinks he is there to rob the house and demands an explanation, Dave explains the whole affair to him, and Phillip gives him a chance to make good by giving him a job in the steel plant. Phillip's father is not so sure of Dave's reformation, and tests him by leaving a large roll of bills exposed. Dave sees the money and a struggle with his other self follows. The new Dave comes out the winner and he returns the money. The Baroness Von Ehrenstein, a secret agent for a foreign government, learns that the Benton Steel Works have accepted a huge war order for a nation hostile to her own. She gets permission from Phillip to visit the plant on the pretext of getting local color for a novel she is writing. Phillip personally guides her and her accomplices through the plant and they make a thorough study of the place. Phillip has become greatly interested in the Baroness and is neglecting his fiancée, Grace. The latter notices his continued absence and asks Dave the cause. The latter, in order to protect Phillip, tells her that it is business. Dave, suspicious of the Baroness, warns Phillip of her and his young employer resents his interference and discharges him. While Phillip is in a drunken stupor, the Baroness steals his office keys from him and gives them to her confederates who hasten to the steel works. Suspicious of their actions, Dave follows them and sees them plant bombs in the factory. He tries to foil them and a fight follows. Dave is finally subdued and is left, bound hand and foot, by the burning bombs. He rolls himself over to a saw and works frantically till he severs his bonds. He then starts to stamp out the fuses of the bombs, but one of them explodes and he is caught in the wreckage. The watchman, having seen part of the struggle, follows the conspirators. The police arrive at the scene and are closely followed by Phillip and his father. The latter accuses Dave of attempting to destroy his plant, and also charges him with the murder of Paddy Burns. The watchman returns with the real culprits and tells the true story, thus clearing Dave of guilt. One of the policemen then tell Dave that he need not fear of trial for murder, as Paddy is still alive, having been only slightly injured by the shot. Dave is acquitted of the charge of assault which he had to answer to for the shooting and returns to a better job with the Benton Steel Works. Phillip and Grace are reunited.

Dir: Paul Scardon

Young Hugh Jordan, the nephew of the man who robbed the Winthrop children, is earning his living out west when he comes into the millions of his thieving old uncle. Hugh goes east and settles down to a life of ease and enjoyment. He is entertaining a stag party at his home when the butler announces the arrival of the Misses Winthrop. A letter left by their father told them to go to Hugh Jordon, as he held a mining claim in trust for them. Penelope, the oldest girl, shows the letter to Hugh and he invites the orphans to remain until he has investigated the matter. It is all plain sailing after that, and Hugh marries Penelope and the fortune is kept in the family. There is a slight underplot involving a handsome widow, who tries to capture Hugh, and a most despicable specimen of the wealthy class who tries to ruin Penelope.

Dir: Paul Scardon

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Redemption of Dave Darcey perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Mr. Curtis returns to his Alma mater and regales students with stories about the Civil War, which ended fifty years before. He tells them about his college friends, Dick Randolph and Watkins, who were at first rivals for Marian - who far preferred Dick - and then rivals on the battlefield. Watkins, a Union officer, captured Dick, a Confederate, but Marian helped her sweetheart escape. Watkins and Dick were then wounded in the same battle and died in each other's arms after asserting their friendship and forgetting their past differences. Back in the present, an aged Marian joins the group. She dies while listening to Mr. Curtis, and fifty years after she and Dick had been lovers in the flesh, her spirit goes to join his.

Dir: Paul Scardon

Lawler, a dishonest promoter, has Winton in his power, the latter believing that he has killed Yawkey, Lawler's partner. For his silence, Lawler demands the hand of Winton's daughter Josephine. Meanwhile, Billy Mountain, a man whom Lawler has swindled, arrives and, disguised by a heavy beard, interests his old enemy in a proposition. He invites Lawler on his yacht and makes him a prisoner. Josephine, fearing that Lawler will expose her father, accompanies them when they sail for a South American country involved in a revolution. When they land, Josephine frees Lawler, who joins the forces of the government. Billy and his partner, allied with the revolutionaries, plan an attack on the president and his forces. In the battle, Billy is captured and sentenced to death, but when the tide turns in favor of the revolutionaries, he escapes. With the appearance of Yawkey, Josephine is freed from Lawler's power and begins life anew with Billy.

Dir: Paul Scardon

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

Polly Biggs helps care for her younger brother and sisters, while her widowed mother works hard as a seamstress to earn a living. Mayor Hoadley, Mrs. Biggs' brother, a crooked politician, calls to sympathize with her on the death of her husband, and Polly takes a dislike to him. Within a short time Mrs. Biggs dies and for the sake of appearances, Hoadley and his wife take the children to live with them. Oxmore, a reform candidate, opposes Hoadley's re-election. His son John, an artist, meets Polly and calls on her at the Hoadley mansion, where he saves her from the advances of Hawkins, a ward boss who "has something" on Hoadley. Hawkins threatens to "get" John for his interference, and the threat is heard by Hoadley. Polly and the children are treated so badly that they run away to the poorhouse, which later burns; Polly saves the children, and they wander to a bungalow in the woods, John, who owns the bungalow, finds them there, and permits them to stay all night. During the night Hoadley visits Hawkins and kills him in self-defense, using a cane that John has inadvertently left at his house, when John goes to town he is arrested. Polly and the children are his only alibi, and he cannot tell of Polly's presence. The evidence is strong against him, and if he is convicted his father will lose the election. Polly, who has been sent away by Hoadley, returns in time to straighten matters.

Dir: Paul Scardon

Eileen Meredith receives word from an "unknown friend" to call at the house of her fiancé, Robert Grell, where she will discover something of great importance. Unable to go, Eileen sends her sister Helen in her place. Helen enters the library where she finds a dead body resembling Grell. The real Grell then enters and, seeing Helen holding the dagger, mistakes her for Eileen and flees, hoping to cast suspicion on himself. Criminologist Heldon Foye takes the case. Foyle is in love with Helen, and when he finds her prints on the dagger, finds himself in a struggle between love and duty. Meanwhile, Grell locates the real murderer, a woman who clears up the mystery by explaining that the murdered man was Harry Goldenberg, her husband and Grell's dissolute brother who had come to blackmail him. In a struggle, she had stabbed Goldenberg, but because she had worn gloves, no fingerprints were visible on the dagger. The mystery thus resolved, Grell marries Eileen while Helen forgives Foyle for misjudging her.

Dir: Paul Scardon

John Olsen, the foreman in an iron foundry, is persuaded by two of the workmen to rob the company safe, an operation so successful that the three decide to embark on a career of safe cracking. While pulling a job, John breaks his leg and is forced to take refuge in the home of Belle Foliot, whose husband is serving a life sentence. As she tends John's injured leg, Belle falls in love with him and decides to join the gang, and when she becomes trapped during a robbery, John remains at the scene of the crime so that she can escape. Following his five year prison term, John declares that he is going straight, whereupon Belle leaves him. John marries and buys a farm, but one day his arresting officer, Lieut. Reilly, appears and reveals his past to his wife and the townspeople. As a result, the farmers shun him and his wife divorces him. He is about to break into the bank when Belle and Reilly arrive. Promising to go straight, Belle accompanies John out West to a new life.