The Recommended Vault Deeply Connected to The False Trail: Cult Guide

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

Dir: Lambert Hillyer

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

Tough outlaw 'Sierra' Bill falls in love with traveling violinist Nelly Gray and forces her to marry him. They have a child, but their cozy family life is interrupted by gambler Ringo, who not only persuades Nelly to leave her husband but also ruins Sierra at the gaming table. With thoughts of vengeance, the angry Sierra breaks out of jail and goes after Ringo.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Unknown Director

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

The village youths are rivals for the hand of the local belle. Their battles lead them to the village store, where chaos soon reigns, terminating in the place being blown up, leaving Bobby a happy victor.

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.

Dir: Harris Gordon

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

A man named Chandler, claiming to be a novelist in search of local color, arrives at a town near the Mexican border, where he makes advances toward Jo, a girl living a solitary life on a desert ranch. Manning, a cowboy, suspects Chandler's motives, and his suspicions are strengthened when Chandler is caught cheating at cards. Following a gang of Mexicans to their mountain retreat, Manning learns that Chandler and the Mexicans are smuggling opium across the border. Two gang members are killed in the ensuing fight, but Chandler, wounded by Manning after a chase on the cliffs, escapes to Jo's home, where he denounces Manning as a smuggler. Manning arrives and dispels Jo's misgivings about him by revealing that he is a Texas Ranger, sworn to secrecy. Chandler is allowed to escape, and Manning and Joe are united.

Dir: Edward Sloman

When Wid Gardner, a friend of the "Sagebrusher" Sim Gage in Montana, advertises for a wife for Sim, he finds Mary Warren. Mary, who has recently lost her shop job in Cleveland, goes West under the impression that she is to be a housekeeper. By the time she arrives, she has become blind and cannot see the ugliness of the poor but honest Sim, who realizes that Mary is too refined for him. After some complications involving Frederick Waldhorn, who recognizes Mary as the girl whose legacy he has stolen, and Big Aleck, Mary and Sim are married. The young, handsome Dr. Barnes, who is working to restore Mary's sight, has also fallen in love with her. Eventually, Sim gives his life in rescuing Mary from a flood. Mary's sight then is restored and she confesses her love for Dr. Barnes. Finally, Mary's friend, Annie Squires, who accompanied her from Cleveland, becomes engaged to Wid.

Dir: Charley Chase

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Lunatics in Politics perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

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: Vernon Stallings

Krazy Kat is held in jail and Ignatz finally bails him out after encountering "guilt".

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

William Farnum is Drag Harlan, a tough cowboy vigilante. After learning about a gold mine from a dying man, he seeks his daughter (Jackie Saunders) as well as the gold. He falls in love with her, but the same gang that shot the old man is after the gold.