Rare Cinematic Gems Exploring the Legacy of The Joy Girl: Cult Guide

Dir: Allan Dwan

Neighboring ranchers John Ashby and Allene Houston are in love, but their fathers' violent feud over the route of the new X. Y. Z. Railroad eventually drives them apart. Colonel Houston and the elder Ashby are both killed in a fight, leaving John and Allene to continue the feud, John accepting a position with the railroad company and Allene swearing that it will never cross her property. Allene is aided in her battle by the foreman of the Houston ranch, Harry Marshall, an ambitious man who hopes to make Allene his wife. After an intense struggle, one of Allene's men shoots John, but even as she is winning the fight, Allene realizes that she still loves John. In the end, Allene herself lays the last tie just in time to save the company's franchise rights.

Dir: Allan Dwan

Known as "Wildflower," Letty Roberts meets Arnold Boyd, a wealthy man who is weary of life in the city. Arnold thinks that Letty is merely a charming child, however, his playboy brother Gerald is attracted to her and charms her into eloping with him. Arnold catches up with the couple just after their wedding, and after a fight with Gerald, takes Letty away to the Boyd family home in New York. He introduces her as his own wife because, he says, he wants to save her reputation. Even Letty's parents do not know to which brother she is married. Letty's stay in the mansion opens her eyes to the world outside of her rural environment and eventually she realizes that while Arnold appears to be hard and uncaring, it is really he, not Gerald, whose feelings for her are the deepest. When she realizes Gerald's true character, Letty decides that she will be happier with Arnold.

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

Dir: Allan Dwan

When Colonel Archer, the military post commanding officer, refuses to loan money to his second-in-command, Captain Waring, Waring gets the money from Brent Lindsay of the nearby mining town, in exchange for his note. Both Waring and Lindsay court Floyd Bingham, the daughter of a retired colonel, but Floyd learns that Lindsay is involved with Queen, a dance hall girl. Following the urging of her father, Floyd marries Archer, who has two children left to him by his dying sister, whom Floyd loves. When Lindsay continues his attentions to Floyd, Archer quarrels with her and leaves to go hunting. Floyd goes walking in the woods with Lindsay and his kiss is photographed by Waring, who attempts to blackmail Lindsay. When Lindsay is found dead and Archer, who suspects Floyd, is arrested, the men from the mining town almost lynch Archer, but Queen, who witnessed the murder, clears him.

Dir: Allan Dwan

Naomi, a girl of the studios in New York's artist quarter, is possessed of a superabundance of vitality and a desire for continuous frolic and adventure. One night, at a gay party, Naomi's effervescent spirits deceive one of the men into thinking that she is far more unconventional than she herself has any idea of being. His companions tell him that she is not the sort of girl he thinks she is, but he insists that he can prove that she is; he even makes a wager to that effect. He tricks Naomi, who is really quite unsophisticated, accompanying him to a hotel of questionable repute, where the two, innocent of any wrongdoing, are captured in a police raid, and Naomi has an unpleasant experience in the night court. Friends come to her aid and she is released. Not long after this, Frederic Harmon, a broker, comes into her life. The two fall in love and are married; the birth of a baby completes Naomi's character and she cares only for her child, her husband, and her home. The husband, however, does not settle down to home life. He is still much inclined to the gaieties of the set in which he had become acquainted with Naomi, and when she refuses to take further part in the revels of the Bohemian crowd, he goes forth by himself and soon meets Helen Carew, a woman with a past and without a conscience, who fascinates him partly for her amusement and partly for mercenary reasons. Eventually Harmon's infatuation for the other woman becomes known to Naomi. She is heartbroken, particularly when Harmon asks her to divorce him so he can marry Helen. This she refuses to do. Helen, anxious to get the man entirely into her clutches, enters into a plot with a crooked detective whereby Naomi is to be caught in a compromising situation, thus giving her husband grounds for divorce from her. The detective picks up a convict just out of Sing Sing and by means of a decoy message Naomi is induced to go to a hotel room where the man from Sing Sing is waiting for her. Once the two are in the room together it is raided by newspaper reporters and a photographer, and a flashlight of Naomi in the arms of the convict is obtained. The husband brings suit for divorce, offering as evidence the stories of the witnesses at the raid and the flashlight photograph. He also asks custody of the child. Naomi startles the judge and spectators when she declares that she should be allowed to keep the child, because Harmon is not its father. The judge, however, suspects that Naomi is sacrificing her reputation in order to keep her baby, and calling her into his private office, he gets the truth from her. Meantime there has been an unexpected development in the affairs of Helen. The man from Sing Sing had been her lover before he went to prison, and she is unpleasantly surprised when the detective's use of him brings him again into her life. The ex-convict is in Helen's rooms, trying to renew their old association when Harmon comes to see her. Helen hastily hides the jailbird, but while she is talking to Harmon the convict comes out and tells Harmon of the woman's past and his connection with it. Horrified at the revelation of Helen's true character, Harmon goes out of her life at once and forever, but in the course of time succeeds in winning his way back into his home.

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

Dir: Allan Dwan

After the death of her father, Betty Lockwood goes to Graystone Gables, the estate where he had been the caretaker, to spend some time alone there. She meets David Chandler, Graystone's owner, who is attracted to her and tells her to come back whenever she wants to. Betty's mother soon remarries, but her new stepfather is not the same kind of man that her father was; she finds herself the subject of some vicious gossip begun by her mother's new husband when he spots her at the estate with David. Complications ensue.

Dir: Allan Dwan

The story of David Harum, a small-town banker, and how what he does and who he is affects the lives of everyone in his town, whether they--or he--realize it.

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

Dir: Allan Dwan

With the opening of the story Richelieu pardons the Duke of Orleans and all his followers in the Languedoc revolt, save one. The exception is Adrien de Mauprat, because he seized a French town without his leader's orders. Richelieu advises him to lead his troops against the Spaniards and seek honorable death in battle. Julie, Richelieu's ward, loves de Mauprat, but notwithstanding her entreaties, the Cardinal is relentless; de Mauprat courts death on the battlefield. But now that he seeks death, it shuns him; instead of a soldier's grave, he wins glory. Julie has another admirer, Haradas, the King's favorite. Aware of de Mauprat's place in Julie's affections, he sets himself to bring discredit upon his rival. Later, Julie, at the King's request, attends court. She makes a deep impression upon the weak-minded, fickle monarch. A year after the departure of de Mauprat, Baradas and his followers conspire to murder Richelieu and seize the throne of France. At this critical time de Mauprat returns, famous in battle, sad of heart and loathing Richelieu. Thus he becomes a ready member of the conspirators. However, Richelieu hears of his arrival and of the conspiracy and has him arrested. In the meantime, Julie has returned from court and again appeals for de Mauprat's life. Thus, when de Mauprat is ushered into the Cardinal's presence, instead of hearing his death sentence, he is informed that he will marry Julie the following day. Hearing of this the King is violently angry: Julie is summoned to appear at court. Once there she is virtually held prisoner and her marriage is declared invalid. The false Barad is convinces de Mauprat that he has been tricked by Richelieu. De Mauprat swears vengeance and again joins the conspirators, all of whom sign a scroll addressed to the Spaniards offering to deliver France into their hands. From here the story develops with plot and counterplot. How de Mauprat discovers his tragic mistake in thinking the Cardinal has double-crossed him, how he manages, through a heroic effort, to save the old man's life, how de Mauprat falls into the hands of the King and is only saved by a master stroke of diplomacy on Richelieu's part, the death of the scheming Baradas and the final achievement of happiness for the young lovers, Julie and de Mauprat, makes up the essential points of the story.

Dir: Allan Dwan

An outlaw calling himself Passin' Through halts his evil ways long enough to help out some children in difficulty.

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

Dir: Allan Dwan

Drusilla Ives, a young Quaker girl living on an isolated island, leaves to become the servant of the spendthrift Duke of Guisenberry in London, who is the Lord of her village. She finds that she is attracted to the bustling city's night life, and when the duke discovers that she is a fine dancer, he helps her turn professional. In short order she becomes known as Diana Valrose, the city's favorite dancer. Unfortunately, her strict father and her Quaker fiancee, John Christison, back on the island find out about her newfound fame and career and strongly disapprove--her father places a curse on her and her boyfriend marries her sister Faith. Complications ensue.

Dir: Allan Dwan

Sunny Wiggins is regarded as worthless by the other members of his family, who have risen to the social station where they are snubbed by the best people. The morning of the day the play begins his sister is preparing to entertain a party of butterflies, among whom is the mentally lacking beanpole she intends to marry. Sunny is in bed with as queer a lot of associates as could be collected. He has recruited his following from the bread line; two of them are in bed with him while the others are sleeping on the carpet, and one has even gone to rest in the bathtub. Not too willingly do all hands go to the shower, but it is a wash or no breakfast. Downstairs goes the motley array and into the dining room. Sunny thinks it fine that such a spread has been prepared for his guests and there is little left when sister enters with her guests. Of course, Sis at once tells father and Sunny is called to book. Dismissing his own guests, he finds that he has only one friend in the place, one of his sister's guests, and he doesn't know her name. She thinks Sunny is splendid and when his father has sent him out to try his sociological theories along the Bowery, she wishes him luck. There in a cheap lodging house Sunny teaches the derelicts to laugh, and with such success that an eminent specialist drafts him to cure a millionaire grouch of dyspepsia. In the rich home of the dyspeptic he finds that the girl is the millionaire's daughter. She enters heartily into his plans but an aged 'cellist, whose favorite music is Chopin's "Funeral March," exerts more influence in the household than he. But when father has discovered his daughter and the supposed physician in fond embrace there is a fight, which ends with father a prisoner in his room, to be cured by starvation. Meanwhile a broker, whose offer of marriage has been refused by the daughter, is plotting to ruin her father in Wall Street. How Sunny thwarts the attempt, cures the grouch, becomes his son-in-law and partner and thereby is reinstated in the good graces of his own family, is the story this comedy tells.