The Global Archive Complementing the Tone of The Phantom Fortune: C...

Dir: Robert F. Hill

Octavia Lowden (La Plante) is the mainstay of a family consisting of Aunt Minnie (Titus), firmly convinced that she is "not long for this world," Eloise (Ricksen), a younger sister with a twisted disposition, Uncle Eph (Barrows), who fought with General Grant at Appomattox, Bob (Messinger), a kid brother with a sleep-and-mischief complex, and Grandma (Lee), the only regular sport in the outfit, but tied to her chair. Octavia is a photographer in Pritchett Spence's (Barnes) gallery and much, but hopelessly admired by Spence. With a family of sick people Octavia cannot give Spence a moment's attention. Finally he ventures to her house one Sunday afternoon, with such results that he is driven to a desperate trick. To get her away from her bloodsucking relatives, he sends her on an out-of-town assignment and then has a doctor friend quarantine the house. Detectives keep Octavia and the other inmates of the house within, and of course Octavia worries over her family, all of them probably starving or dying. As a matter of fact, they are all - but Grandma - at work, facing a realization that they either work or starve. Meanwhile, Spence and Dr. Hiram Smith sit back and chuckle - until Grandma gets sick. Then Spence goes to the country place to bring Octavia home, and has to whip the very detectives he put around the house because they do not know him. But a skunk releases the "prisoners" and in a short time Octavia finds herself at home - and a strange home it is, with Bob in overalls and Eloise and Aunt Minnie in aprons. And then Spence seeks forgiveness for his "trick" and receives punishment extraordinary - a life sentence with Octavia.

Dir: Robert F. Hill

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Robert F. Hill

This serial deals with the attempt of a master detective, a man of science, to overcome an equally brilliant inventor who is a criminal and whose warped mind caused him to seek to overthrow society, his genius making him the leader of a band of anarchists. The action hinges on the fight of these two for the possession of a secret invention by which radio messages may be recalled from the air. The success of the criminal right at the start succeeds in nearly electrocuting the detective so that he has only a few months to live.

Dir: Robert F. Hill

Jim Crosby has shifted for himself since his early childhood. He has become a gangster, feared by all his companions because of his strength. In a fight, which he enters for his sister's sake, he is arrested and sent to jail for a term of months. In the meantime Ann Payton, a society girl, has rented a saloon which she has turned into a mission. She is engaged to be married to Temple Vaughn, her father's young secretary, but decides to wait a year before marrying. The day that Jim is released from prison he gets mixed up in a brawl, and knowing that the police are just waiting a chance to arrest him again, he seeks refuge in the old saloon, a former hangout. Ann takes him in and shelters him from the police. Vaughn has been leading a fast life and has become involved with a woman by the name of Costello and a gambler called Johnson. He loses heavily, and to pay the debt forges a check. Jim, who has been given a position in the bank, recognizes Johnson when he comes to cash the check. He discovers that Vaughn is not able to meet the check, and in lieu of settlement Johnson forces Vaughn to invite a number of his wealthy friends to his house for a game of cards. Jim overhears the two planning the card party and, knowing Ann's love for Vaughn, he decides to get the check and so prevent any further blackmail. At the party Vaughn stands seeing his friends fleeced as long as he can and then accuses Johnson of cheating. Then a figure appears at the door, holding a pistol. He rifles all their pockets, taking the money on the table and the forged check. But in robbing Vaughn, Jim slips in his pocket the forged check. Jim is caught while trying to make his escape and is sentenced to a term in prison. Some time later Vaughn finds in his pocket the forged check and realizes that Jim has committed the crime only to save him. He offers to take all the blame, but Jim will not listen. After his marriage Vaughn again gets connected with Johnson and his mistress. There is a quarrel and Johnson is arrested for running a gambling house. In prison he meets Jim and tells him that the first thing he does upon his release from prison will be to kill Vaughn. Later they are both released on the same day. Jim goes at once to warn Vaughn who arrives a few moments after and who accuses Jim of paying attention to his wife. Jim tries to warn him, but Johnson steps out from behind a screen and shoots him through the heart. In the last scene Jim and Ann are seen together, establishing another mission in the Bowery. It is left to the spectator whether or not Jim will ever succeed in overcoming the great social gap which lies between them.

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

Dir: Robert F. Hill

Kerry Reynolds' friends pull off a prank by tricking him into thinking he has discovered a damsel in distress. After becoming involved in a sticky predicament involving a diamond necklace he marries the girl, and a happy ending prevails for all.

Dir: Robert F. Hill

When Sheldon Polk's father, a banker, makes a loan to businessman Frank Farnsworth, Sheldon is sent to deliver the money. However, he is attacked and robbed before he can deliver the funds. Circumstantial evidence leads the police to arrest Sheldon for the robbery, he is convicted and sent to prison. He escapes in order to clear his name and discover who framed him for the robbery and then murdered his father.

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

Dir: Robert F. Hill

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Robert F. Hill

A young man who believes, because everyone else believes, that he is a half-breed Indian, meets and falls in love with a circus woman who is heiress to a fortune but does not know it. The man's love is reciprocated, but he is restrained by the supposed barrier of blood. His greatest enemy is his own half brother, who also is a suitor for the hand of the circus performer. The hero avoids all the traps his enemy lays for him, and when his and his sweetheart's identities are cleared up the two are married.

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

Dir: Robert F. Hill

Criminals steal a death ray that concentrates the rays of the sun. The inventor's daughter and a government agent try to retrieve it.

Dir: Robert F. Hill

Reluctant to arrest Billy Carson, a crook who once befriended him, Officer Quinn forces him and Dan, his confederate, to spend a year in a small town. There, Carson falls in love, reforms, and saves his future father-in-law's business. Dan also settles down and marries.