The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of The Iron Woman: Cult Guide

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

Minnie, the village tomboy, meets a handsome Stranger after playing ball one afternoon. She invites him to see a bridge model her father has designed; but finding her intoxicated father in the act of destroying the model, she swears vengeance on the local bootleggers and joins a newspaper as sportswriter so as to expose their activities. Pike, the station agent, leader of the bootleggers, spreads a scandal about Minnie when she rejects him, but through the help of the Stranger everything is cleared up.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

The film tells the story of a noble but poor woman who arrives at Boston in the 17th century. There she marries an old but quite rich doctor but does not become happy.

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

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

John Montague Smith, a small town bank cashier forced to leave town when he is accused of bad business practices, catches a freight for the West. He rescues Jerry, a tramp, and both apply for work on a railroad construction gang but are refused employment by the foreman, Rand Barlow. John rescues Corona Baldwin from a runaway handcar, and as a result her father gives both men jobs. When John discovers that Barlow and Kinsey are delaying construction work to cause Colonel Baldwin to lose his franchise, he is promoted to foreman; and in spite of obstacles he completes the road. Barlow opens a drawbridge over which John is about to drive the first train, but he is foiled by Jerry. John rescues Kinsey and emerges from the battle victorious with Corona in his arms.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

A reporter is assigned to write an article on a nudist camp.

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

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

Celeste Hardin wants to set up her brother Henry, a confirmed bachelor, with her college friend Henrietta Downs, believing that she wold be a good wife for him. Henry and Henrietta discover Celeste's scheme and decide to play a trick on her--Henrietta will pose as Myra Haynes, an escaped lunatic and pretend to be in love with Henry. However, the real Myra Haynes attends a political rally, at which Henry declares his intention to run for mayor, and she becomes convinced that he is her long-lost lover, also named Henry. Complications ensue.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Elysia (Valley of the Nude) perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

Shirley Reynolds returns home from boarding school to find that her mother, weary of her husband's philandering, has filed for divorce. Hoping to effect a reconciliation, Shirley visits her father's apartment, where she interrupts a riotous party held in honor of his new mistress, Lola Wayne. Shirley prevents Lola's outraged father from killing her own father, but later, Wayne decides to wreak his revenge through Shirley and hires the lecherous Trask to lure her to ruin. On a particular evening, Wayne persuades Shirley to visit Trask's disreputable roadhouse, where Lola has arranged to meet with Reynolds. Suspicious, Shirley's sweetheart, Richard Ormsby, follows her to the inn. Reynolds hears Shirley struggling with Trask behind a locked door but is unable to assist her until Richard arrives. Trask, in his struggle to escape the two men, leaps from a window to his death, after which Wayne takes Lola home. Shirley then convinces her mother to forgive her remorseful husband.

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

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

Jack Spurlock's college escapades, which include a particularly raucous incident involving a bear, finally get him expelled, and his father, John Spurlock, Sr., compels him to go to work in the family's wholesale grocery business. The eager young man inexplicably purchases a huge surplus of onions and then supports the onion workers when they go on strike. After Spurlock, Sr. finally agrees to recognize the Onion Workers' Union, he fires his son and cuts off his allowance. Jack is forced to work as a waiter until his sweetheart, Anita Grey, introduces him to Professor Jackson, who has patented a health tonic made chiefly from onions. The publicity attending the Onion Workers' strike results in a huge demand for Jackson's tonic. In order to produce more of the cure-all, Jack purchases his father's onion surplus, thus redeeming his place in Spurlock, Sr.'s good graces.

Dir: Carl Harbaugh

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.