The Recommended Vault Deeply Connected to The Gates of Gladness: Cu...

Dir: Harley Knoles

Madge Evans, World Film Corp. juvenile star, is sent to her Quaker grandparents, Timothy and Tabitha Mendenhall, when her father and mother go to serve in World War I. After bidding farewell to the World stars, Madge goes to her grandparent's home where she experiences stern discipline. Jonathan Mendenhall, her uncle, is anxious to enlist, but is forbidden by his father, whose religion opposes fighting. Madge creeps into the old Quaker's heart by degrees, but he maintains unrelenting discipline in the household. Jonathan comes of age, enlists despite his father's opposition, and is disowned. When Madge's latest picture comes to town, the child implores her grandfather to take her to see it, but he refuses. Timothy secretly visits the theater, however, and is completely won over by Madge's acting. A change takes place in the old Quaker's nature as he praises Madge, forgives his son and writes to Madge's mother, whom he had cast out when she married against his will, to be sure and bring her husband back safe.

Dir: Harley Knoles

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Bought and Paid For perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A social-climbing young woman marries Robert, a rich alcoholic, for his money. Although basically a good man, when drunk Robert treats her as if she's just one more thing he owns, and not his wife. Realizing her mistake, she leaves him. Her brother-in-law believes that the two of them actually do love each other, and sets out to bring them back together.

Dir: Harley Knoles

Agatha, called "Miss Petticoats," is daughter of a French nobleman and an American woman, lives with her grandfather, Captain Joel Stewart, since the death of her mother years before. Knowing nothing of her royal heritage, Agatha gladly takes a job as secretary to the wealthy Sarah Copeland, whose nephew, Guy Hamilton, immediately begins pursuing the new employee. Jealous of Agatha, one of Guy's former sweethearts, Mrs. Worth Courtleigh, starts spreading rumors about her, and when Joel hears a particularly scandalous one, he dies of shock. Taking Agatha away from all the gossip, Sarah sails with her to Europe, where Agatha finally learns about her bloodline, and also discovers that she is the heiress to a fortune. Then, when she and Sarah return home, Agatha forgives all the people who believed the rumors, and marries the Reverend Ralph Harding, who was always certain of her innocence.

Dir: Harley Knoles

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

Divorcée Adrienne Van Couver visited clairvoyant Mme. Melvina, who tells her that a tall dark man, Robert Warren, is excited over a letter he has just received from her, telling him she does not love him. The fortuneteller bids her beware of him, then tells her that Henry Armstrong, the man she loves, will never love her. The clairvoyant then tells Adrienne of a young girl, Lorraine, whose eyes are dim with the tears that she has caused in another part of the city, Lorraine greets her fiancé, Henry Armstrong, with ill-concealed dejection and he tells her he fears she still loves John Dean, but she dispels his suspicions. John Dean shares the secret of his silent love for Lorraine with his mother. Robert Warren goes out into the night; it is then he meets John. In the other's haggard face, John Dean sees traces of his own sorrow and trying to make it easier for this man who has been his friend for five years, he tells Robert Warren his story. Eight years ago he and Adrienne were married. For two years they lived on the money inherited from his father. It was then the baby came and the father found happiness in the touch of baby hands, but to his wife it made no difference. Then the baby became ill, and while its mother was away dancing, the little life slipped away. Six months later Adrienne was given a divorce. Then he and his mother came to New York and a few years later he met and loved Lorraine Barkley. Although Henry Armstrong was a dangerous rival, Lorraine loved him and he did not fear until the day when the Barkleys gave a reception. It was then he met Adrienne again and she taunted him with his love for the young girl. When she demanded money, he gave it to her. Lorraine sees this and misconstrues the situation. It is then her engagement to Henry Armstrong is announced. John finishes his story and Robert is maddened by the destruction of the halo he had built around the woman he loved. Robert makes his way to Adrienne, who has been nervous and ill at ease ever since she returned from the fortune teller. Robert's haggard appearance frightens her and she telephones Henry, but her call for help is only half-uttered when Robert forcibly takes the instrument from her. Alarmed, Henry starts off at once to help her. Meanwhile, John, fearful for Adrienne's safety, goes to warn her. He arrives just after Robert has made his escape after murdering Adrienne. When Henry arrives with two policemen, he finds John bending over the dead woman. He is arrested. Lorraine is brokenhearted when she hears of the arrest and pleads with Henry, who is a lawyer, to take Dean's case. Detectives search Robert's apartment and find here a coat with buttons similar to one found in the dead woman's hand, and one is missing. They trace Robert to the hotel and after a terrible fight he is taken into custody. Happiness came with the morning, for Henry took Lorraine's hand and told her she was released from her promise to marry him. Then she called up John Dean and told him that she was ready to marry him.

Dir: Harley Knoles

James Rallston has married a rich widow who is an invalid with a daughter, Jean. Being in financial difficulties, he plans to get control of his wife's fortune. A woman doctor, Miss Lane, attends Mrs. Rallston and by drugging her reduces her to such a condition of physical impotency that no difficulty is found, by the aid of an unscrupulous keeper of a sanitarium. Dr. Garside, to secure an order for commitment and deprive her of liberty. Fifteen years pass. Rallston lives in magnificent style on his wife's money. He believes her to be dying. Miss Lane hopes to marry Rallston when Mrs. Rallston dies, but instead of dying, she recovers her health and is perfectly sane. Meanwhile, Rallston speculates heavily and loses his daughter's fortune. He tries to persuade the girl to marry an old friend Bigelow, to whom he appeals for help in recovering his fortune. Bigelow suspects Rallston of deception, as well as dishonesty, and is unwilling to believe that Mrs. Rallston is either dead or insane. Bigelow forces up the price of a stock and recovers Jean's fortune for her. Then he disguises himself and, obtaining admission to the sanitarium, rescues Mrs. Rallston. The keeper of the sanitarium, Dr. Garside, takes to flight, and Rallston is killed in an automobile accident. Miss Lane confesses her crime. Mother and daughter are reunited and the girl marries the man of her choice.

Dir: Harley Knoles

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

On her son David's second birthday, Madge Black witnesses her best chum Nan Westland, kissing her husband Jeffrey Arnold Black, a successful lawyer, and orders Nan from the house. Angered, Jeffrey does not explain that it is his money that maintains their home--not her father's, as she believes. Jeffrey leaves his wife and son. On board a westbound train, Jeffrey meets Nan. She explains that she has been compromised, and that she is going away to hide. Touched by her apparent sorrow, Jeffrey tells her that, though he doesn't love her, he will try to protect her. In love with him, Nan is willing to accept him on any terms. A year later a son is born to Nan and Jeffrey. She pleads with him to divorce Madge and marry her for the sake of their son William's name, but he will not hear of it. Ben Richardson, Jeffrey's client, is a frequent visitor at their home. Richardson's sincerity eventually wins Nan; goaded by Jeffrey's indifference, she leaves him and their son to become Richardson's wife. Twenty years later David Black has developed into a splendid specimen of manhood, while his half-brother William has become the leader of a lawless band. David goes West to take charge of a mining plant. Happily married, Ben Richardson and Nan have become owners of Chanceland, a gambling-house in Colorado. "Rodeo," as William Arnold is known, goes to Chanceland to try his luck, but he loses all his money. He sees Nan in the music room adjoining, and eager to make an impression on her, he saunters in. When Nan asks his name, he says they call him "Rodeo the bandit." His real name, William Arnold, son of Jeffrey Arnold, from whom he had run away at 14. Never knew his mother; he guesses he'd better be going or he'd get sentimental. Not revealing her identity, Nan presses a ring into his hand, and tells him to come to her if he should be in trouble. Believing that he has surely "caught" the Queen, he strolls out. In the same town, his half-brother, David Black, is working on his mining schemes. In the doorway of Chanceland, "Rodeo" passes David Black, and both are struck by their remarkable resemblance to each other. David receives a telegram from his fiancée Kathleen May, asking him to meet her at the train which is to arrive the next morning. That night Rodeo and his men hold up the train. While Rodeo is relieving the passengers of their valuables, the conductor leaps on him, and the bandanna which concealed the bandit's features, is torn away, revealing him to Kathleen, who believes that he is David. The bandit effects a getaway. When David comes for Kathleen the next day, she snubs him and walks past him. Ben Richardson's servant sees Rodeo and his men dividing the plunder and reports to Richardson. The latter intimates to Nan that the young fellow she was interested in is suspected of a number of crimes. She realizes that her son is in danger. Disconsolate, David tries to find solace in Chanceland, where he is arrested on the charge of robbing the mails and holding up the train. Deciding on a bold stroke, Rodeo goes to see Nan. She discloses herself as his mother and pleads with him to be careful, for as soon as the prisoner proves an alibi, the sheriff will be after Rodeo. Hearing Richardson, she pushes her son into her bedroom. Richardson, suspecting that Nan is hiding her lover, dashes into the room and fires at Rodeo, who is taken to court where David is being tried for the bandit's crimes. Nan confesses to Richardson that Rodeo is her son, and hastens to court. Also in the courtroom are Kathleen and Madge, David's mother. The presiding judge is Jeffrey Arnold Black, father of the prisoner. When Rodeo is brought in, a dramatic scene ensues, during which the two half-brothers face each other. Nan embraces her wayward son, while he bewails the fact that he had found his mother only to lose her, and draws his last breath after vindicating David. A tender reconciliation follows among Madge, Jeffrey, and their son David. Richardson seeks and obtains Nan's forgiveness for his suspicions of her. David and Kathleen embrace, then discuss their hopes of a little cottage for two.

Dir: Harley Knoles

Evelyn Carmichael, a poor widow aware that she is about to die, writes to her wealthy father-in-law Lord Carmichael, who had disowned his son years earlier, pleading that he rescue his granddaughter Geraldine, known as Jerry, from a life in the slums. Lord Carmichael, an avowed woman-hater since his wife disappeared years earlier with his brother, expects Jerry to be a boy and is appalled to find otherwise. However, the lord is won over by Jerry's sweetness, and when Jim Dawson, a neighbor of Jerry's from the tenements, arrives at Carnimore Castle with his daughter Sophia, whom he is trying to pass off as Jerry, the lord exposes them as impostors and then expels them from his castle. Meanwhile, Jerry has also won over the hearts of the servants, whom she is drilling into a play army. One day, while on an excursion into an unused tower of the castle, they discover a locked room in which reside two skeletons. A note near one of the skeletons explains that Lord Carmichael's wife and his brother had been exploring the tower when the lock sprung and trapped them, causing their deaths. Lord Carmichael, realizing that his wife didn't betray him, has his faith in women restored and makes Jerry mistress of the castle.

Dir: Harley Knoles

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

Alan Winthrop, the younger son of an English family, accepts the blame for his older brother's loss of five thousand pounds at cards, and is turned out of the house. This gives the young man the opportunity he desired, travel. In America, Ralph Cornwell, an unscrupulous young millionaire, asks Edward Strong, a bankrupt financier, for his daughter's hand in marriage, in exchange for which Cornwell will clear all of Strong's liabilities. His need for money determines Strong to influence his daughter. Edith tells Cornwell that it is to be a marriage of convenience. At the wedding supper Cornwell becomes intoxicated, and after the guests have departed Edith struggles to free herself from his embraces. She eludes him and leaves the house. Cornwell finds her note saying that she cannot live with him. Alan Winthrop, now in America, gets a position as caretaker of Cornwell's mountain lodge, and is told to engage a woman to help him. Cornwell impresses on Alan's mind that in the mountains he is known as "Colonel Page." Unable to get work Edith applies for a theatrical position. When the manager intimates that he will give her a position if she is "nice" to him, she tells him she would rather die. That night, while Alan is making his way to the railroad station, preparatory to leaving for Sylvia Lodge, he sees her jump off a pier. He rescues her. She tells him that she has nothing to live for, and he engages her to help him in the care of Sylvia Lodge. Cornwell has an "intimate friend" in Laura Le Moyle, who left her husband to go with him. At a dinner given by Cornwell, he pays marked attention to Kathleen Lorraine, thereby Incurring the jealousy of Mrs. Le Moyle. Alan and Edith reach the lodge, and Jaeger warns them that the lodge is haunted. Saul Potter, the half-crazed ex-caretaker of Sylvia Lodge, sees them coming, and realizes that Colonel Page must be coming back. He tells Jaeger that the chance to kill Page has now arrived. He stares through the window into Alan's cottage, and Edith is frightened. When Edith communicates her fears to Alan he gives her a revolver, telling her to use it in case of need. Going through the lodge to prepare it for Page's arrival, Alan comes across a boudoir, beautifully furnished. On a dressing table he sees a framed photograph of Edith. Page arrives with his guests, among whom is Mrs. Le Moyle and Kathleen Lorraine. He again neglects Mrs. Le Moyle and she warns him not to goad her too far. He calms her, tells her to go to her room. Kathleen Lorraine has no maid, and while Alan is locking up the lodge Page tells him to send someone to help Miss Lorraine. Mrs. Le Moyle hears Page tell Miss Lorraine that he will come back to her later. Edith comes to help Miss Lorraine, while Pages goes to pacify Mrs. Le Moyle. Returning to Miss Lorraine's room there is a mutual recognition between Edith and her husband. Edith rushes from the lodge, goes to her cottage, and taking the revolver with her for protection leaves. Page leaves the lodge to follow his wife, and then Mrs. Le Moyle is seen pointing a revolver out of her room at the same time that Saul Potter is seen pointing his rifle. Both fire, and Mrs. Le Moyle throws her revolver out of the window. Page falls in the snow, where his guests come down in time to see him die. Edith meets Saul Potter and seeks his aid in getting away. Alan finds her and the revolver gone and sets out to look for her. He learns that Edith must leave at once, although she offers no explanation. There being no train until the morning, she is forced to stay at Saul's shack overnight. At the coroner's inquest the guests give their testimony and then Edith is summoned. She says she is the deceased man's wife. Fearing that Edith is guilty, and wishing to spare her, Alan says that it was he who killed Page, giving as a motive the fact that he found Edith's photo in a secret bedroom, and knew that Page was a villain. Then Saul Potter tells his story: A year ago he was caretaker at Sylvia Lodge. Page sent him on a trip to get him out of the way, and then he seduced his young wife, keeping her imprisoned in his secret bedroom. When his wife died he swore to have vengeance. He waited for Page to return and then killed him. At this point one of the guests brings a revolver which he found under Mrs. Le Moyle's bedroom window, and the coroner announces that the bullet which killed Page was of the same caliber as the ones used in this revolver. Unobserved, Mrs. Le Movie takes poison. After telling that she left her husband and sacrificed everything, only to be thrown off like an old glove by Page, she dies. Later that evening Alan receives a cable from his father saying that he knew the truth about the rambling episode, and bidding him return to his home at once. Alan tells Edith ho will go on one condition, that she accompany him as his wife. She agrees.

Dir: Harley Knoles

Helene, who dances in a Greenwich Village cabaret accompanied on the violin by her grandfather, loses her job after his death. She then is hired as a portrait model by four artists--Jaffrey Darrel, Ned Lorrimer, Dick Turner and Stanley Sargent--all of whom become fascinated with her. Helene leaves the Village when Ned's jealousy disrupts the camaraderie of the quartet and becomes a stage star. Meanwhile, all of the artists have attained success except Jaffrey, who refuses to taint his art with commercialism. Helene, learning of Jaffrey's failure, visits him in the Village and accepts his marriage proposal.

Dir: Harley Knoles

David Clifton is blinded while rescuing Katharine Lambert, the girl he loves, from a fire. Caring nothing for David, Katharine pursues her pleasures while Joan Merrifeld, who loves David, takes her place by his bedside. Believing that Joan is Katharine, David marries her and it is through her support and cooperation that he becomes a noted author. Upon regaining his sight, David is more than surprised to learn the identity of his wife. He is content, however, until Katharine reappears, bored with her husband Brooks. David's old love for Katharine returns and Joan, crushed, offers little resistance until Brooks, in anger, vows to kill Katharine if he discovers her unfaithful. It is only through Joan, who enters into a battle of wits with Brooks, that a catastrophe is averted. Then David at last realizes that he loves Joan, but at her command, leaves her for a year's time.