The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of The Great Redeemer: Cult Guide

Dir: Clarence Brown

On shore leave, a young sailor meets and falls in love with a pretty young blonde. But her parents disapprove. She leaves home, determined to live on her own and expects marriage.

Dir: Clarence Brown

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

An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.

Dir: Clarence Brown

Hilary Collier sacrifices her own career to support the musical education of her younger sister, Dora (Butterfly), even giving up the man she loves to her precocious charge. When Dora decides to leave her husband for an eminent musician, Kronski--who is in love with Hilary--bitter conflict ensues; but disaster is averted when an unexpected event reunites Dora with Craig, leaving Hilary free to marry the musician.

Dir: Clarence Brown

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

A young woman reunites with her estranged father and falls in love with a sailor, but struggles to tell them about her dark past.

Dir: Clarence Brown

Three separate stories set in New York about the success or failure of marriage.

Dir: Clarence Brown

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

Poor Bessie MacGregor is struck by the automobile of wealthy Mrs. Templeton Orrin and is taken home to live with her. But Bessie leaves when Mrs. Orrin's brother, J. Warburton Ashe, trifles with her love. Thief Tony Pantelli befriends her in the tenement where she finds a room, tries to obtain money for her care from Ashe, and, failing, steals a goblet that Ashe has brought home from England, thinking it may be the Holy Grail. The goblet, which gives off a glow and is reputed to have healing powers, is recovered, stolen again, again recovered and stolen, and finally lost in a river. Meanwhile, Ashe exonerates Tony in night court, realizes he really loves Bessie, now cured, and is reunited with her.

Dir: Clarence Brown

When a wealthy man is found murdered in his bedroom, one of his two adopted sons is arrested and charged with the killing. However, the verdict at his trial is an acquittal. Since the police don't seem to be particularly interested in finding the real killer, the dead man's daughter-in-law--the wife of the adopted son who wasn't charged--takes it upon herself to solve the crime.

Dir: Clarence Brown

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

Fortune hunters from all over the country rush to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.

Dir: Clarence Brown

Young Harry is in love and wants to marry an actress, much to the displeasure of his family. Harry thinks that Bishop Armstrong knows nothing about love, so Armstrong tells him the story of Rita and himself. Rita was an opera star singing in New York, who was at a party given by Cornelius. Armstrong was a 28-year-old rector. He fell for Rita when he saw her and after six weeks he wanted to marry her. Naive as he was, he thought that all of Rita's "relationships" were in the distant past, but Rita lives for the moment and knows that she can never marry Armstrong.

Dir: Clarence Brown

A famous opera singer lost her voice when her son was born, and has drowned her sorrows in drink. When a murder is committed near her house, she invents a story to get herself back in front of the public again. However, the story she comes up with results in her son being arrested for the murder.