The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of The Man Who Found Himself: Cult Guide

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The story relates how a valuable diamond is stolen by an Englishman from the eye of an Indian idol. The Englishman, on his return to London, is pursued by three Indian priests in disguise whose object is to secure "The Moonstone" at all costs, as failing its recovery, the priests will lose caste. The Englishman, Hearncastle, is found drowned, presumably having been killed by the Indians. The diamond passes into possession of Franklin Blake, his friend. Blake is followed by a band of Indian magicians. He presents the diamond to his fiancée from whom it is stolen. A detective is called in. Another girl in love with Blake commits suicide and suspicion attaches to her, as she leaves a mysterious note for Blake. Subsequently, Blake finds the diamond in the possession of a money-lender. His fiancée, learning of the dead woman's attachment for Blake, quarrels with him. A doctor discovers that Blake walked in his sleep and took the diamond himself while in that state. The diamond was stolen from Blake while he was asleep and never recovered. The thief confessed and died, and Blake and his fiancée were reunited.

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During World War I, Dick Randall says goodbye to his mother and joins the troops in battle overseas. Dazed by the explosion of a shell, he wanders over the German lines and is hiding in a haystack when French peasant girl Corinne Frenaud discovers him. Convalescing in her mother's cottage, Dick falls in love with Corinne, and she proves her love by accompanying him across the American lines after a shell destroys the cottage. Corinne quickly becomes the favorite of Dick's regiment, but he is distracted from his jealousy by the idea of showering Berlin with pamphlets featuring a photo of Kaiser Wilhelm and the inscription "Wanted for Murder." With help from a pilot, Dick flies over Berlin and drops the photos, but the plane is shot on its way back to France. Corinne again rescues him just as the truce is declared, and later, Dick takes the brave woman to America as his bride.

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

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Scandalous European temptress Lila Despard, travels to America to escape her lover, criminal Jack Firthenbras. On the ship, she meets Andrew Livingston, a United States Navy planner, and Senator and Mrs. Gales. Her new friends host a party for Lila in Washington, D.C., where a spy named Dromiroff threatens to expose her past unless she steals Andrew's secret naval plans. In order to secure the papers, Lila makes love to Andrew, but the plan backfires when she falls in love with him. Eventually, Lila agrees to marry Andrew, but during their honeymoon, Dromiroff abducts her from the bridal suite. At headquarters, Lila is shot while destroying the documents, and before dying, she telephones Andrew to confess her misdeeds. The conspirators are killed when their car plunges from a cliff.

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Mrs. Helen Courtland passes a fake check for $25,000 from a millionaire named Woodruffe Clay, who is in love with her daughter Anita. To save the family from a scandal in court, Anita marries Woodruffe, even though she loves Captain Hugh Shannon of the Foreign Legion. During an argument on their wedding night, Woodruffe falls and is seriously injured, and during his recovery, he makes her life miserable. Anita suffers from sleepwalking, and after one episode she dreams of poisoning her husband, she awakens to find him dead. Believing that she killed Woodruffe, Anita travels to Europe with Sarah Harden, her nurse, and there renews her affair with Hugh. When the evidence points overwhelmingly to Anita, however, she decides to return to America, but before she can confess her guilt, Sarah admits that it was she who killed Woodruffe in order to free her mistress from an unhappy marriage.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of As in a Looking Glass perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

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Police inspector Jim Garth, investigates the murder of Joe Kridel, another inspector, who had been tracking the Hennions, a gang of thieves plotting to steal the formula for a dangerous explosive from an old inventor. As Jim uncovers the Hennions' plans to procure the formula and sell it to an agent of an unfriendly foreign power, he encounters Nora, the former lover of Joe, who has sworn revenge for the killing and has ingratiated herself with the Hennions in order to discover the identity of the murderer. Although he assumes Nora is one of the thieves, Jim falls in love with her anyway, but she firmly rejects his advances. Disguised in a gray mask similar to the one worn by one of the gang members, Jim infiltrates the organization and foils the plot. With Joe's murderer in jail, a grateful Nora finally accepts Jim's affection.

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George Castleman, an engineer, succeeds in securing the supervision of a big railroad in the west. He hurries home to tell the good news to Mildred, his wife. As usual she is at the Bridge Club, or other place of amusement, but being so full of his good luck he phones her to come home at once. However, she continues to play her game of bridge for another hour. An hour later she enters with excuses to George, who allows her kisses to make it all right. He eagerly tells her the news and she is delighted, but when he talks of her going with him, she says: "Surely you do not expect me to go with you?" He laughingly explains that it is not tor a few months, but for years; that it is a big railroad. But she persists in her refusal to go with him. He makes arrangements for the trip, and goes off alone to face the wilderness, with Mildred's words ringing in his ears, "When you want to see me, you can easily come home." George reaches the west and the building of the road begins in earnest, but it is slow work in the mountainous country. One day Dan Holden, while sitting in front of his hut in the mountains, with his little grandchild Zell, sees in the distance the railroad crew breaking through the forest. As they draw nearer and nearer, day by day, both are fascinated by the work, never before having seen cars, tracks or steam shovels. Zell is attracted to George and he somewhat to her. However, he explains to her that he is married but she persists in seeing him, if only to cheer him up. One day, while returning from watching the men at work, old Mr. Holden falls and seriously injures himself. George carries him to his hut but the injury is too much for the aged man to survive and he dies two days later. Lonesome, Zell shares her lonesomeness with that of the engineer. Months later, strange are the happenings in the little mountain hut and also in the beautiful home in the city. Zell is a real little mother, being called the little mother of the hills, and George is bending over, looking at their new born babe with true love and happiness. On the other hand, Mildred has met a man named Morgan, a flirtatious society man, who has designs upon her and urges her to bring divorce proceedings against her husband. Leaving the city to get evidence against George, Morgan and Mildred arrive at the little village, leaving in a coach for George's hut. The driver, a half-witted chap, driving carelessly around a curve, drove his wagon and occupants over the edge of a cliff, losing his life as well as killing both passengers. The news was a terrible shock to George, but after directing his men to give the three unfortunates as decent burial as the little mountain place could afford, he was at liberty to consider Zell's love for him in a different light with the result that after marrying the little mother of the hills, he continues his work content at last that his wife and babe are worthy of his sacrifice.

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

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A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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Ruined by a powerful financial ring, Farrington commits suicide, after which his daughter Paula vows to take vengeance in her own hands and hunt the man behind the ring. At a house party, Paula meets Dr. Smith, who falls in love with her, but a misunderstanding separates them. Unsuccessful in locating the man, but knowing that papers in the house of Van Brunt, one of the ring members, will identify the leader, Paula secures the papers with the aid of Old Bill Fitch, a reformed burglar. To her horror, she discovers that the man is Dr. Smith's father. Paula relinquishes vengeance for love, and Dr. Smith's father, realizing the error of his ways, agrees to make reparations.

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

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Margaret Ellis marries archaeologist Philip Bellamy to please her father, a trustee of Calder College where Philip teaches, and Philip's mother, who convinces Margaret that Philip will not succeed in finding ancient Greek ruins in North Africa, unless she is his wife. Bob Harding, who loves Margaret, joins them on their expedition as Philip's business manager. When Margaret contracts desert fever, Bob cares for her, but the alcoholic Philip takes the last bottle of brandy which Margaret needs. Hassan, a guide who hates Philip, sees the caving in of the ruins of a half-buried relic while Philip explores it, and announces Philip's death. Back home, after a tablet honoring Philip is unveiled, he returns drunk and smelling with hashish to overhear Margaret and Bob confess that they love each other. Philip accuses them of plotting his death, but when Hassan, who is now the servant of Margaret's doctor, sees Philip threaten Margaret, he stabs Philip to death. Margaret now accepts Bob's love.

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While developing a powerful explosive, naval officer Paul Towne introduces his friend Richard Tracy to Judith Corbin, his friend since childhood. For years, Paul had assumed that he would marry Judith, but when Richard proposes, Judith, tired of waiting for Paul, accepts. Soon after the marriage, Richard becomes more interested in the new explosive than in his new wife, and to pay off gambling debts, he agrees to steal the formula and sell it to a foreign government. While spying at close range on a test of the explosive, however, Richard is killed, after which Judith, who has long since realized her mistake in becoming Richard's wife, accepts Paul's marriage proposal.