Underground Favorites Parallel to the Artistry of The Old Homestead...

Dir: James Kirkwood

When a young girl who has grown up as a music hall entertainer is brought to live in a stodgy New England town, the quiet town life is changed forever.

Dir: James Kirkwood

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

Young Dolly Lane has committed herself to becoming a star on the stage, but when she meets handsome and wealthy farmer Steve Hunter, she falls in love and marries him. Unfortunately, Steve soon loses his fortune and the couple is forced to move in with a friend, Teddy Harrington. Not long afterwards Steve's rich uncle dies, leaving him wealthy, but on that same day Dolly is asked to take the place of a stage star who has taken ill. She does and becomes the toast of Broadway, but now Steve wants her to return with him to the West and become a farmer's wife. She relents, but soon becomes bored with that role and longs to return to the stage.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Though mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella is able to attend the royal ball through the help of a fairy godmother.

Dir: James Kirkwood

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

A young girl, Anemone (Mary Pickford), who lives with her Aunt (Ida Waterman) is abducted by a crude family of Virginia mountain moonshiners. A fight between two of the young male relatives decides who will marry the girl. Lancer (James Kirkwood) is the winner and marries Anemone against her will. She is reunited some time later with her Aunt, but when she learns Lancer is in dire trouble she returns and stays by his side, realizing she had always been in love with him.

Dir: James Kirkwood

During a jewelry-store holdup, 6-year-old Millicent Hawthorne, the neglected daughter of a wealthy socialite, falls on her head and is carried home to be reared by Mother Gumpf, the leader of the thieves. The fall cost Millicent her memory, but at night she dreams of her former high-society existence, while during the day she works for Gumpf as a pickpocket and later becomes a cabaret dancer. A friend of the Hawthornes sees Millicent perform, recognizes her, and reports back to Mrs. Hawthorne, who has vowed to be a devoted mother should she ever find her daughter. Finally, after the Hawthornes rescue Millicent from Kraft, the lecherous cabaret manager, an operation restores her memory, and she delights in the love of her long-lost mother.

Dir: James Kirkwood

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

"Little Pal" is the daughter of a saloon keeper in a rough Alaskan gold rush town. During a game of dice, he loses his daughter to the brutal "Black Brand". A fight ensues and her father is killed, Little Pal flees and seeks refuge with John, an Easterner who has come to Alaska to mine. When he falls ill, the lovestruck Little Pal nurses him back to health with the help of her loyal friend, Cultus. Little Pal is heartbroken with the arrival of John's wife, and when she learns he will die if he remains in the harsh climate, Little Pal and Cultus steal gold dust from a rival claim in order to provide John with money. Meanwhile, Black Brand who is suspected of the crime is shot. As John and his wife leave Alaska, a despondent Little Pal finds comfort in Cultus' love.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Suffering from aphasia after being conked on the head, a man is coerced into robbing his fiancée's home.

Dir: James Kirkwood

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of A Dream or Two Ago perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dulcie's once-aristocratic Southern family has fallen upon hard times, so her Aunt Netta decides to take her to California in search of a millionaire husband. While Dulcie pines for Harry, her sweetheart back home, Netta triumphantly arranges an engagement with a wealthy suitor. On her wedding day, preparing to sacrifice herself for her family, Dulcie discovers that her fiance's millions actually belong to other people when he is arrested at the altar on a bank robbing charge. Meanwhile, Harry, who has come West to get Dulcie back, arrives at the wedding just as the police interrupt it. He volunteers to take the arrested fiance's place, and Dulcie accepts his offer instantly.

Dir: James Kirkwood

Even though he had saved her father from a financial crisis, Jennifer Hale refuses to marry wealthy Stephen Weldon, who tries to ruin the Hales. They leave for their summer home in the woods where Jennifer falls in love with wealthy James Murray, a lumber camp foreman. After Weldon finds them and threatens Hale with exposure unless Jennifer marries him, Murray marries Jennifer. Weldon then convinces him that Jennifer and he had a secret romance, and that she married Murray for his money. Murray's sister Agnes becomes Weldon's lover, and when he prepares to leave, she kills him. After Jennifer takes the blame to save Murray from learning of Agnes' disgrace, Murray, although he now hates her, takes Jennifer to the mountains to escape the law. Just as the posse overtakes them, a man rides up with the news that Agnes fell over a cliff and confessed before she died. Their love renewed love, the couple are now reunited.

Dir: James Kirkwood

In the Tennessee hills, the feuding Allison and Watts families pay no heed to the preachings and sacrifices of Jethro Stark, a self-styled evangelist whose motherless daughter Melissa dispels quarrels among children of the feuding families, takes care of her father, and invents money-making schemes to relieve their poverty. While struggling young lawyer Tom Williams and Melissa are in love, she is loved by miserly octogenarian Cyrus Kimball, whose crabbiness Melissa dissipates. When Melissa reads in the newspaper that society lady Mrs. Sanders has offered to give clothes to a deserving girl, she writes a letter requesting a party dress for herself and a new coat for Jethro for the annual revival meeting. Mrs. Sanders visits and her husband recognizes Jethro as a fugitive wanted for murder. When deputy sheriff Sam Allison goes to arrest Jethro, Melissa gets help from the Watts faction, and a battle ensues. After Jethro is killed trying to stop the fighting, his innocence is confirmed, and the feuding families reconcile. Melissa thanks God that Jethro never knew that he was under suspicion.