Must-Watch List in the Vein of The Little 'Fraid Lady: Cult Guide

Dir: John G. Adolfi

Unbekownst to each other, Charles Macklin and his widowed father Arthur are having an affair with an exotic dancer called The Sphinx. When both come to see her at the same time, Charles gets upset, denounces the Sphinx, and is knocked out by Arthur. Arthur then decides to marry the Sphinx, while Charles then resumes his affair with Frances, to whom he was engaged before he met the Sphinx.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

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

Joyce's mother keeps her younger daughter in the background so that Polly, the elder daughter, can monopolize all the eligible young men, especially Tom. Although Tom is Polly's choice, she decides to pique his interest by flirting with Harry. Joyce, who likes Tom herself, decides to defeat her sister's plan by having Tom pretend that he likes her. Soon, the pretense turns to love and Tom proposes to Joyce. To test his sincerity, Joyce jumps into shark-infested waters and almost loses her life. Tom visits her constantly in the hospital and finds that his operation on her heart was quite successful.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

An English aristocrat visiting Norway falls in love with Thelma, daughter of a Viking-like Norse landowner, and this first part is an idyllic story. He marries her and takes her to England. Society women, one of whom has been infatuated with the young man, are disappointed, because Thelma is not only beautiful but has pretty manners and is popular. There is a very melodramatic conspiracy to break her heart by making her suspect her husband. It works and she runs away back to her Norway home. Her husband follows and the happy ending unites the two in the old Norse homestead.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

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

Stephen Field, a Jewish financier, takes great pleasure in philanthropic work at a community service center in the U.S. His daughter Esther devotes her time to entertaining returning soldiers in a canteen. When he reads in a newspaper about massacres of Jews and Armenians in Europe, and the suffering and starvation among other peoples there, Stephen remembers having lost his own wife and young son in a massacre years earlier. At the canteen, Esther meets Robert Graham, who suffers from fainting spells, the result of a war wound. Graham falls in love with Esther, much to the chagrin of his anti-Semitic father. Esther is also courted by the brilliant Jewish surgeon, William Morris. Esther's affection for Morris leads the jealous Graham to lash out at his rival with anti-Semitic invective even though Esther gently refuses Morris' marriage proposal. Graham loses control of his high-powered car due to a fainting spell, and the car goes over a precipice and turns over on top of him. Morris is the only person who can save his life, but the surgeon hesitates, fearing that failure would be interpreted as jealousy and thus compromise his professional integrity. Esther pleads with Morris to perform the operation, and he finally consents, sacrificing his own happiness for the woman he loves. The operation is proclaimed a surgical miracle, and Esther chooses to marry the man who performed that miracle.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

A teacher begins a school in the Tennessee mountains. His prize student is a charming but uneducated young woman named June. Their relationship turns to love, but a bullying, jealous rival tries to break them up by telling her that the teacher's sister and niece are actually his wife and daughter.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Who's Your Brother? perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Wealthy playboy Jack Edmunds spends some time in a small mountain town, where he makes the acquaintance of local girl Caprtice Talbert and invites her to his apartment. When Caprice's father finds out about it--although nothing happened--he forces the two to marry, and the newlyweds move to Jack's home in the city. Tensions arise between the two as Jack is still resentful over the "shotgun wedding" and Caprice finds that she can't bear living in the big city and wants to return home.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

Elaine Brooks marries Robert Ames, a member of the United States Department of Justice. The Germans, who are anxious to secure some papers that Robert possesses, employ Viola Durand to get to Robert through Elaine. Viola tricks Elaine into giving her the papers and also procures a letter that seems to establish Elaine as the traitor. George Blair, an official at the Department of Justice, finally tricks Viola into confessing her guilt, thus clearing Elaine's name.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

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

The true story of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who served with the underground in Belgium during the First World War.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

Mary Ann, an orphan leading a life of drudgery, falls in love with a promising but equally penniless composer, John Lonsdale.

Dir: John G. Adolfi

After running away from an orphanage, young Alicia Jones disguises herself as a boy and gets a job on a farm. She falls in love with Harry Deigan, a farmhand who knows her secret, but when the farm's owner finds out, he fires her. Alicia is forced to return to the city, where she meets a wealthy man who adopts her. He turns out to be Thomas Deigan, the half-brother of Alicia's love Harry Deigan. Harry finds out that Thomas is his half-brother, but also finds out something that could change his, Thomas', and Alicia's lives forever.