Rare Cinematic Gems Exploring the Legacy of The Lost World: Cult Guide

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

Dir: Harry O. Hoyt

Steel magnate Rodney Graham divorces his wife, Alice, after she suffers an injury that renders her unable to give him an heir. He pursues debutante Katherine Dale, whose fiancé, Dick Allen, died on the eve of their wedding. With the help of Katherine's ambitious mother, Rodney persuades her to marry him. Katherine dies after giving birth to Rodney, Jr., and the elder Graham's stepbrother, Arthur Haynes, angrily predicts the magnate's sad demise. Rodney devotes himself to raising his son, who later falls in love with Arthur's' daughter, Ruth. Although he objects to the match, Rodney is persuaded by Alice to allow it. Upon discovering that his son was actually Dick Allen's child, Rodney plans to disinherit the boy, but is paralyzed by a stroke before he can change his will. He attends the wedding in a wheelchair and dies soon after.

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

Dir: Roy Clements

A man agrees to marry the daughter of a deceased friend - who is, in fact, being impersonated by the servant girl of the daughter, who has also already died.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

The Hopkinses are a family of squatters struggling against the wealthy landowners or "hilltoppers." When Jerry Hopkins is unjustly imprisoned, his young wife and baby die as a result of the shock, but his sister Polly maintains the faith that has been instilled in her by her grandmother. Later, Polly meets hilltopper Robert Robertson and the two fall in love. Their courtship is disrupted when Robert's sister Evelyn is blackmailed by Oscar Bennett, the man to whom she is secretly wed. In her efforts to help Evelyn, Polly falls under unjust suspicion. Meanwhile, MacKenzie, one of the vindictive landowners, arrests Polly's father and sends her brother to an orphanage. Devastated by these events, Polly's grandmother dies of grief and Polly swears revenge. She has Evelyn kidnapped and brought to her cabin, but the memory of her grandmother prevents Polly from harming her tormentor. Polly's nobility inspires Evelyn, who exonerates Polly, thus clearing the path for her marriage to Robert.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Tiger's Coat perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.

Dir: Jacques Jaccard

Douglas MacLeod of the Royal North West Mounted Police is in love with Suzanne Foucharde, who has adopted an abandoned Indian baby, the illegitimate child of Louis La Rocque and Na Fa Kowa. When La Rocque insinuates that the baby is Suzanne's, her brother Henry defends his sister's honor and kills the villain. In spite of his love for Suzanne, it is Douglas' duty to arrest Henry. He does so, but later allows him to escape, taking the bullet himself that was fired after Henry by Constable Burke. Meanwhile, the dead body of Na Fa Kowa is found, accompanied by a note proving that the Indian was the baby's mother. In the spring, when Douglas recovers from his wounds, he and Suzanne are married.

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

Dir: Harry O. Hoyt

Quiet Dick Vernon, who lives in a cheap New York City boardinghouse, spends his vacation at his Uncle Galt's home in the small town of Boonsburg. Dressed in city fashions, Ben is harassed by gossips and chased by young women while he searches for the kind of simple country girl he has seen in the movies. Dick believes Mazie Chateaux is such a girl, unaware that she performs with a burlesque company that is briefly stranded in Boonsburg. When Uncle Galt unexpectedly inherits a million dollars, he gives Dick a large sum on the condition that the young man enjoys the high life when he returns to the city. However, Dick retreats to his quiet existence until his uncle visits, expecting to have a good time. During an all-night party, Dick has another encounter with Mazie. In the morning, Uncle Galt finds her in the apartment innocently preparing breakfast, and insists that she and Dick marry, which they do.

Dir: Charles Swickard

A young Egyptian goes to the rescue of his employers, a wealthy European family, when they are menaced by a local strongman and his gang.

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

Dir: Raoul Walsh

Dave Henderson, an orphan who has become the beneficiary of a rich man's will, falls in with race-track crooks Martin Tydeman and Bokky Sharvan who bilk him out of his $100,000 inheritance. In retaliation, Dave steals the money from Tydeman's safe, but is caught and sentenced to five years in jail. In prison, Dave becomes friendly with Millman, who is about to be released, and reveals the money's hiding place to him, arranging to rendezvous at the end of Dave's term. Once released, Dave is hounded by members of Tydeman's gang as well as the police, who are waiting for him to retrieve his bounty. While taking refuge at the house of Capriano, an old bomb maker, Dave falls in love with the old man's daughter Teresa. However, Capriano sets a trap for Dave, who awakens in a drugged state to find the $100,000 missing. With the help of Millman and Teresa, Dave recovers the money, turns it over to the police and resolves to go straight.

Dir: Maurice Elvey

A lady marries a horse trainer but withholds herself until her crippled brother is cured.