Rare Cinematic Gems Exploring the Legacy of The Mad Lover: Cult Guide

Dir: Léonce Perret

Valentin Marquis de Sombreiul, alias Monsieur Simon, is known as the great master because he is the leader of a band of Parisian Apaches who mete out their own private justice to individuals who have violated their code in a secret tribunal known as the court of St. Simon. In an effort to cure Eugene, a young American longing for excitement, Valentin induces the young man to witness these horrors with the result that the youth is drawn into the Apache gang and sentenced to prison for one of their crimes. Later, after the master has disbanded his secret society and married Virginia Arlen, a charming girl from an aristocratic family, he discovers to his horror that the boy whose life he has ruined is his wife's brother. When Virginia learns the truth, she refuses to forgive Valentin, but after a period of separation, the two are reconciled by their child.

Dir: Léonce Perret

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Léonce Perret

A French washerwoman becomes a duchess and a friend of Napoleon.

Dir: Léonce Perret

Vania, the daughter of Russian revolutionary Serge Ostowski, escapes to America when her father is blown up by one of his own bombs. There she marries Clifford Howard, a drug-ridden man whom she comes to despise. One night while in a drunken rage, Howard attacks her, and Vania shoots and kills him. Her attorney, Hugh Mason, believing her innocent, falls in love with his client. Vania does not tell him the truth for fear of losing his love. Meanwhile, revolutionaries have pursued Vania to America to obtain her father's papers. In defense, Hugh hires detectives to protect her. One night, a revolutionary breaks into her house and is shot by the detective. Before dying, he confesses that it was he who fired the shot that killed Vania's husband, thus freeing her to accept Hugh's love.

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

Dir: Léonce Perret

Lolette is the painter Rouchard's model and he wants to marry her. But she is not interested in him and falls in love with Pierre Bernier, a penniless painter.

Dir: Léonce Perret

Count Fernand De Keramic plots against his niece in order to acquire her wealth to pay his debts.

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

Dir: Léonce Perret

Young Kitty runs away from home to avoid marrying a man she doesn't love. Her car breaks down on a country road and she meets Robert, a young artist who has just been turned down by a woman he loved madly and is about to commit suicide by lying on the railroad tracks. He sees Kitty in trouble and decides to help her. They get the car running, but it runs out of gas in front of a farmhouse. The farmer, mistakenly believing that the two are married, has them share a bedroom for the night. The next morning Kitty's father shows up looking for her and discovers that she has "spent the night" with a stranger. Complications ensue.

Dir: Léonce Perret

Playwright Harry Bryant while driving in a rural area, happens upon orphaned Kate astride a white horse, he is so charmed that he arranges for her to work at a nearby inn. Unable to tolerate the cruelty of the innkeepers, Kate runs away and seeks out Harry at his house in Story Brook farm. Charmed by her youthful exuberance, Harry falls in love with the uneducated girl and they marry. Harry soon becomes disenchanted with his illiterate wife, however, and seeks solace in his former sweetheart Diana Nelson. When he discovers that Diana is using him to further her social ambitions, Harry returns to Kate, who provokes his jealousy by paying daily visits to a mysterious apartment house. Finding out that Kate's secret rendezvous was with her tutor, Harry's love for his wife is rekindled.

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

Dir: Léonce Perret

At a house party given by Doris Parker, the daughter of a retired sea captain, Doris' friends congregate to receive mail from their "adopted" soldiers in France. When one of them suggests that Doris write to Harry Townsend, who has no family or friends outside of the army, she writes a note and he sends her a friend's photograph since he has none of himself. Harry's letters awaken a love in Doris which causes her to deny the ardent entreaties of Captain Jack Tims. After Harry is wounded and thinks he will die, his farewell note inspires Doris to visit. After Doris convinces Tims to take her aboard his transport ship against naval regulations, a submarine attack results in Tims' death and burial at sea. Finding Harry's face covered with bandages, Doris nurses him to health, and then discovers that he is not the soldier in her photograph, but she realizes she loved him because of his letters. After the armistice they marry.

Dir: Léonce Perret

The young daughter of an army captain missing in action runs away from school and is kidnapped by Parisian lowlifes. When the kidnapper flees to Nice with the child, the kind-hearted employee of one of his accomplices sets off in pursuit.