Deep Archive Finds in the Vein of The Perfect Woman: Cult Guide

Dir: Maurice Elvey

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

Dir: David Kirkland

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

A rich producer of a new theatrical version of Cinderella declares that he will give a role to the woman who can fit into a tiny slipper. Many women fail, but a poor little girl who has always dreamed of a romantic life manages to put on the shoe and then, to fulfill her fantasy, she and the producer fall in love. Meanwhile, a former lover of the show's prima donna returns. In a quarrel she had cut his hand, ending his career as a musician, and he has vowed revenge. He tries to shoot her, but the little girl deflects the bullet. She recovers, however, and the prima donna and her former sweetheart finally realize that they are still in love.

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.

Dir: F. Martin Thornton

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

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: 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: Lloyd Ingraham

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

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

Dir: David Kirkland

Capricious Billie Billings determines to marry bashful bachelor Senator Newton of Nevada and succeeds. She discovers on her honeymoon that her husband's secretary "Smith" is actually a woman. When the senator refuses to heed his wife's demands to fire Smith, Billie flirts with a French count and runs away with him to a country inn. The count gets drunk and Billie insists on separate rooms. Billie's friend Dr. Wise arrives at the inn with Smith, her husband and twin children, and Senator Newton. Smith assuages Billie's jealousy and then leaves the senator and his wife alone. The reunited couple depart for a second honeymoon.

Dir: Richard Smith

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

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: David Kirkland

A charming, attractive woman inadvertently causes a great disruption when she takes a job at a busy office by stealing the attention of all of her male co-workers--except the one she fancies.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.