Top-Tier Alternatives In the Shadow of The Only Girl: Cult Guide

Dir: Manuel Noriega

A woman who arrives Madrid fleeing from their abusive stepmother tries to help her cousin, who has an illegitimate child, pretending to be the real mother.

Dir: Alan Crosland

The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

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

Dir: Robert Z. Leonard

"The Five O'Clock Girl" was a successful Broadway play starring Mary Eaton and Oscar Shaw. Marion Davies' Cosmopolitan Productions bought the rights for the play and filmed it as a feature talkie. The plot revolves around Pat, a shop girl in a cleaners, and a local plumber named Gerry who she falls in love with. Publicity stills from the film show Marion trying on clothes people have brought in for cleaning and doing impersonations of the clothes' owners.

Dir: Hanns Schwarz

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Five O'Clock Girl perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Mikhail Fokine

The last moments in the life of a swan.

Dir: Lloyd Bacon

A singing waiter and composer (Al Jolson) loves two women (Betty Bronson, Josephine Dunn), conquers Broadway and holds his dying son, singing "Sonny Boy."

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

Dir: Anton Gunnarsson

The story begins in a pawnshop owned by a middle-aged woman whose daughter is a cocaine addict. The woman is divorced and has just begun an affair with her sales assistant, a young man with extravagant habits. In the second act, we find the pawnbroker, her husband, daughter and sales assistant in one of the city's dance halls, the Eldorado. Suddenly, the police raid the place, and one of the cocaine addicts is so frightened that he pulls out a gun and shoots himself. In the third act, the whole group is in custody. However, it all ends happily when a decent police officer, who knows the pawnbroker from before, ensures that they are released.

Dir: James A. FitzPatrick

An innkeeper's daughter loves a shepherd boy and will not listen to her father's plea that she marry a rich young Londoner. The Londoner pleads with the girl, but she will not hear him. He goes back to London and the girl is happy with her shepherd.

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

Dir: Arturo Carballo

Film based on variety shows of the 20s 'Arco Iris', 'La feria de las hermosas', and 'Las maravillosas', all of them created by Eulogio Velasco.

Dir: James A. FitzPatrick

A Scots lass parts regretfully from her lad as he goes to make his mark in the world. The lad meets an old man who warns him against leaving his beloved. He returns to her and they are married. Then the old man, who loves the girl's mother, asks that she be his wife. Thereafter another marriage is arranged.