The Cult Collection Inspired by the Vision of The Heart of Romance:...

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Bonnie is the object of a brutish bully who likes to spend his time at her foster father's saloon. Arthur, a playwright has come to town after the woman he loves, has married another man for his money. Arthur marries Bonnie to protect her from the bully, meanwhile, the other woman has become a widow and now wants Arthur back. She arranges to put Bonnie in a compromising position with another man; her plan almost succeeds, but Arthur and Bonnie's strong bond of love cannot be broken.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

A marital misunderstanding between iron manufacturer Perry Risdon and his wife Olive occurs when her extravagant spending forces him to devote all of his time to business, which she interprets as neglect. Millionaire Ned Beckwith, Olive's former suitor, sees the developing breech and attempts to use it to his advantage by secretly forcing a bank to make Perry repay an $80,000 loan within 24 hours. When Beckwith agrees to Perry's loan request on the condition that he divorce Olive, Perry knocks him down. Olive, vacationing alone in Pasadena, gets word of her husband's straits and sells her jewelry to raise $30,000. Beckwith replies to her request for the rest by inviting her to his apartment that night. Deeply troubled, Olive goes and is saved from Beckwith's seduction when Beckwith's mistress, Marta Holmes, calls Perry, who arrives and fights Beckwith. Marta then kills Beckwith and drowns herself, while the Risdons are reconciled.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Lieut. Ralph Harrison is in love with Major Marston's wife, who pretends to love him. Harrison's mother implores Capt. Jim Craig to intervene to save her son from dishonor. When Craig visits Mrs. Marston, Harrison appears, precipitating a quarrel during which Harrison is wounded in the shoulder. Craig then leaves, and the major discovers Harrison. The major kills Harrison, and places the blame on Craig. To avoid a scandal, Craig runs away. Madge Summers of the Secret Service tracks him down and the two fall in love, but Craig is arrested and taken back to the army post. Further evidence of his wife's infidelity causes the major to go mad. He murders his wife and confesses to Harrison's murderer. Cleared of dishonor, Craig finds happiness with Madge.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

After her lover, Kale Loomis, has had her husband sent to prison on a false charge, Fay Gonard leaves her little daughter, Dolores May, on the steps of a convent. Reared in an atmosphere of strictness and seclusion, Dolores is possessed with a desire to see the world, and after meeting Lawrence Grant, a politician's son, her curiosity is aroused even more and she escapes from the convent. Found on the road by Kale's friends, Dolores lives in his home for a time, but later, Lawrence takes her under his wing with the intention of marrying her. Although she loves Lawrence, Dolores misses Kale's parties and returns to him, whereupon Kale threatens to publicize her activities unless Lawrence's father agrees to his demands. Lawrence takes a repentant Dolores away from one of Kale's riotous parties, but after Kale is found dead, Lawrence is arrested for murder. Dolores' father, however, confesses to the crime, and following his acquittal, he is reunited with his daughter and Lawrence, now her husband.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

The arrest in America of a foreigner for evading military service in his native land results in his daughter becoming "No. 274" in an orphanage. She is later adopted by a couple who plan to sell her into matrimonial slavery, but she wins the love of a rich young man, who marries her. Later she is reunited with her father through playing a violin, to which she has clung through all her misadventures.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

Card shark Lee Rogers overhears Joselyn Poe crying in her furnished room. She is trying to get a dancing job in New York without any luck. He gets her a job as a taxi dancer through which she meets chorus girl Kitty who introduces her to all sorts of cads. Meanwhile Lee, who realizes he loves her, decides to go straight

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Mark Sabre hires young Effie Bright to keep his snobbish, cold-hearted wife Mabel company while he goes off to war. When he returns home from the front wounded, he finds that Mabel has fired Effie, who shows up at Mark's door with her baby, having no place to go. Mark takes her in, but Mabel leaves him when the town shuns him for what they believe is going on with Mark and Effie. Matters are further complicated when Effie, driven to desperation, commits an unspeakable act that results in Mark having a nervous breakdown--and then things get worse.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Unknown 274 perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Desperate because a wealthy man has reduced her father to thievery, Rhoda agrees to rob the poor box of the church, although she finds the act abhorrent. During the robbery, Rhoda's father is shot and dies in the priests's arms, seeking absolution, while the man who ruined him looks on. Penitent, the man appoints Rhoda as his representative to return the ill-gotten gains to those he has robbed. Rhoda enters the underworld as an angel of mercy, gaining the sobriquet of "The White Moll." After many thrilling escapades, she brings The Dangler, the leader of a gang of crooks, to justice, saves others from death and finally wins The Pug, the man of her choice.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Gretchen, an abandoned child, is raised by Frau Van Lom, the nastiest woman in the little Dutch village of Olenburg. As she grows up, Gretcen's few moments of happiness are those she spends with Carl, who is also an abandoned child, but who is raised by a poor family. When Gretchen refuses to marry a wealthy old man in exchange for his paying off Frau von Lom's mortgage, she is framed for theft and jailed. On top of that, Carl is taken away from the village and sent to the palace of the king. Complications ensue.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

When her son has married beneath the family, Mrs. Van Twiller Du Bois disowns him and decides to leave her fortune to her nephew, Cecil Harrington. She does, however, agree to educate her granddaughter Mary, who comes to live with Mrs. Du Bois in hopes of reconciling her father and the old woman. Cecil, actually a local robber whose identity has just been discovered by the police, plans to rob his aunt and leave town. Just as he is emptying the safe, Mary enters the room, and when Mrs. Du Bois comes in, Cecil tries to blame Mary for the robbery. The police soon arrive to clear Mary's name and arrest Cecil, and Mrs. Du Bois is reconciled to her family.