Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of The Floor Below: ...

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Slaving to perfect an invention, Noah Vale tries to keep two orphans--Rip and Patch--and himself by peddling books and is helped by Scallops, a girl who occasionally brings them food. He appeals to Fay, a wealthy relative, for help in marketing his invention and arouses the interest of Fay's pretty daughter. Sterrett, Fay's partner, steals the model but returns it when he discovers it to be worthless. Johnny Smith, Fay's secretary, is fired when he proposes to the boss's daughter; and visiting Vale's attic, he is comforted by his epigrams. Johnny takes them to a newspaper editor, and they are so successful that both Smith and Vale are hired. Vale decides to give up inventing for writing, and Johnny marries Miss Fay despite her father's opposition.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Man Who Lost Himself perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Young Victor Jones of America is discovered to be an exact lookalike for England's Earl of Rochester, a circumstance which results in Jones deciding to replace the Earl after an unfortunate accident.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

An easy-going tramp with a love of food and an aversion to work suddenly gets deeply involved in the life of a farmer and his daughter.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

Whistling Dick, a hobo known for whistling classical tunes, arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana, to discover that fellow hoboes plan to rob the Lovejoy plantation on Christmas night. Their accomplice is Richmond, a guest and suitor of young Nadine Lovejoy, who loves the overseer, Hunter. On the road, Dick encounters Nadine, Hunter, and Richmond, who offer him a ride and give him a package, which they believe to be a new smoking pipe. After arriving on the plantation, Dick opens the package to find a pair of women's stockings. Richmond's gang of robbers fear that Dick will reveal their plot to the Lovejoys and abduct him. Dick warns his hosts by wrapping a message around a rock, placing it in one of the stockings, and throwing it through a window. It lands on the dining room table during a Christmas dinner party and the plot is thwarted. Dick is welcomed as a guest, given new clothes, and offered a job; but the next morning he resumes his wandering.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Jimmy Betts angrily remonstrates with his wife for a letter she has written to Count Henri Duval, while she bristles at the attention that Jimmy has lavished on Mrs. Ella Rice, an aging but nonetheless charming widow. Exasperated, Ruth decides to accept the count's invitation to dine on his yacht, but on her way, she overturns her rowboat and loses consciousness. In her delirium, Ruth dreams of the happy days of her marriage, before Jimmy went away to handle Mrs. Rice's business affairs. Because she missed him so much, Ruth finally left her Aunt Sophronia to be with Jimmy, whom the love struck Mrs. Rice hoped to win for herself. In order to drive the young people apart, Mrs. Rice then introduced Ruth to Count Duval, who soon professed his love for her. Aware of Mrs. Rice's schemes, Ruth frightened the widow from her bedroom late one night so that Jimmy could see her for the "painted interloper" that she really was. Ruth then wrote her letter to the count. Jimmy rescues Ruth and carries her aboard the yacht, where she finally awakens from her dream and happily kisses her husband.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of An Unwilling Hero perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Rosie Mendelsohn, the daughter of a kindly Jewish tailor in New York City's East Side ghetto, ends her romance with struggling author George Howard at the behest of her father, who prohibits her marriage to a gentile. George disappears from her life, and Rosie attempts to find him by becoming a private secretary to publisher Joseph Rayberg. She persuades Rayberg to host a contest in which authors submit endings to an unfinished manuscript she claims to have discovered. Rayberg, intent on seducing Rosie, agrees to publish the manuscript only after Rosie promises to have sex him when the contest is over. In reality, the manuscript is a portion of George's novel, a humorous story based on Rosie's life. After receiving George's ending to the story, Rayberg locks Rosie in his office, but she escapes into George's arms. Her father relents and blesses their union.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

An English nobleman falls for and marries a beautiful young chorus girl. When he brings her home to the castle to meet his family, she is horrified to learn that she is niece, aunt, and/or cousin of all twenty-three of the staff of servants.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

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

A young woman reads tales of a gallant White Knight and imagines that such a knight might come to rescue her from her dull existence. Although she is wooed by a wealthy industrialist, she rejects his suit in hopes that her romantic ideal might come. One day a young writer comes to her village, and it seems as if he might be the hoped-for White Knight.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Coarse country girl Sis Hopkins and general store clerk Ridy Scarboro are so engrossed in their dalliance that a basket is overturned and a large can of oil spills into a pool, creating a slow leak. Wealthy villager Vibert thus becomes convinced that Sis's farm is located on a pocket of oil, and he schemes to gain control of the property by marrying Sis. Vibert sends her to a young woman's seminary for refinement. Sis creates chaos in the school and is a problem for principal Miss Peckover. Vibert eventually realizes Sis will never measure up to his standards for a wife. Ridy, who has been jealous, is overjoyed when Sis returns home. Vibert entices Pa Hopkins into selling the property for a small amount, but Sis shrewdly succeeds in tripling the price. Finally Vibert discovers the can in which he has invested so heavily.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

A naive young Swede is repeatedly victimized by predatory women. When he finally meets a young woman who seems sincere and true, he wonders if he can trust her.