Editor's Top Picks Following the Footsteps of The Famous Mrs. Fair:...

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

A young wife slaves for her cad of a husband. When she learns that he has been "stepping out" with his secretary, she gets revenge by going after the attentions of her husband's employer.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Edgar Jones

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Eva, wo bist du? 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

A girl tries to save her brother from prosecution after he steals some money from his employer. She goes to work for the employer, who tries to take advantage of her. He is murdered, and the girl is suspected of the crime.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Millicent Lee is a young bride whose faith in her husband is tested when she finds a book in his possession entitled "How to Be Happy, Though Married", along with a photograph of a beautiful young woman.

Dir: Fred Niblo

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

Because Amy Fortesque's dying grandfather advises her to get all the joys out of life, she marries Dick Gaylord because he is funny, rather than Walter Melrose, a staid young lawyer who loves her. Gaylord turns out to be a heavy drinker who treats his wife poorly. He tricks Melrose into a meeting in Amy's room, and in a drunken state he shoots him. Amy seizes the gun and kills Gaylord, but she eventually is found innocent of the crime and seeks happiness with Melrose.

Dir: Fred Niblo

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Agnes Cuyler, a cabaret singer in New York who loathes her work, is fired for slapping Grant Haywood, a customer from the West who tries to kiss her. Haywood begs forgiveness and after glorifying the clean Western life, proposes. To escape her circumstances, Agnes accepts, but soon learns that Haywood is a brutal drunkard. In the Arizona desert, when she tries to stop him from drinking while driving, Haywood hurls her out of the car. Hassayampa Hardy, an old desert rat, finds Agnes and revives her. She becomes a waitress and helps Arthur Gould, a penniless Easterner who is out West because of ill health. Agnes, Arthur and Hardy form a partnership and strike ore. After Haywood finds Agnes and convinces her to return, he steals her partners' claim notice and drains their water supply. While heading for town, Arthur collapses in the desert. When Agnes learns of Haywood's duplicity, he tries to kill her, but Hardy arrives and pursues Haywood to the desert where he shoots holes in Haywood's gas tank and canteen. Agnes rescues Arthur and they fall in love.