Masterpiece Selection Resonating with the Themes of The Rail Rider: Cult Guide

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

The story of the training of a racehorse, the Whip, of the amnesiac nobleman who loves the horse, and of the villains who attempt to keep it from racing.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

Peggy Admaston and her husband are socialites whose happy marriage quickly deteriorates as Admaston neglects his young wife for business matters, and is unaware of her loneliness and vulnerability. When Peggy is wooed by Admaston's friend Collingwood, who acts on his feelings without regard to consequences, she grows fond of him, but remains faithful to Admaston. After socialite Lady Attwill causes Admaston to doubt his wife's fidelity, his suspicions are furthered when a fire erupts one evening at the theater, and Admaston returns home unexpectedly to find that Peggy, who refused to accompany him because she said that she did not feel well, entertained a male visitor that evening. Admaston arranges to trap Peggy and Collingwood together at a country roadhouse, and begins divorce proceedings based on the resulting strong circumstantial evidence. Later, Lady Attwill convinces Admaston that Peggy's friendship with Collingwood was innocent and the couple is reunited.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

In order to save her mother from disgrace, Margaret marries Richard Harding even though she really loves Geoffrey Morton. Five years later, the Hardings have a little son, and Margaret's life has been made almost unbearable by her husband; she lives for nothing but her son. Morton, returning after an absence of two years, learns that Harding has made some false accusations against him and goes to his home to demand a retraction. While there, he witnesses an exhibition of Harding's cruelty as he whips his little son. After Morton leaves, Harding threatens to beat the boy again, and Margaret tells him that she will shoot him if he does. Harding defies Margaret's plea, and she carries out her threat. Together, Harding's secretary and Margaret place the revolver so that it will appear to be a suicide, but the police are not deceived. After a desperate defense by her lawyers, however, the death is ruled accidental and Margaret is free to begin life anew.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

A restless young girl yearns to leave her rural environment and "get away from it all." One day she stumbles upon a film crew shooting a Western near her home. She makes friends with the film's leading man, who encourages her to try her luck as an actress, so she leaves her small town and goes to the big city to break into the picture business. However, things don't turn out quite the way she planned.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

James Kestner is a government secret agent on the trail of a band of counterfeiters and particularly anxious to locate the head of the gang, Frank Lambert, who, in addition to his skill as a counterfeiter, is known to the underworld as the only man who can fill in the perforations of a used bank check. Kestner locates the band in their underground work shop near the river front. He cleverly maneuvers his way into the headquarters of the band when it is empty, but is caught in the act of searching for incriminating evidence by "Bull's Eye" Cherry, a clever girl crook, and one of the mainstays of Lambert's crowd. Lambert and his daughter, who has been educated in crime by her father, return to find Kestner held at the point of Cherry's revolver. Lambert is for killing the detective outright. Impressed by Kestner's brave demeanor, Maura intercedes in his behalf, but finding her father determined in his intention to kill the government agent, she pretends that the police are outside. The counterfeiters make their escape without settling accounts with Kestner. Kestner locates the criminals in their new quarters. One of his assistants trails "Bull's Eye," who has the new counterfeit plates in her possession, but she cleverly evades capture and returns the plates to Lambert's headquarters. Kestner forces his way into the gang's rooms, arriving just in time to witness a desperate battle between Lambert and Tony Morello, one of his accomplices, whose passion for Maura has led him to attempt to force his advances upon her. Lambert kills Morello with a knife, but before dying the man acquaints Maura with the fact that Lambert is not her real father, but that he stole her when a baby and reared her to this life of crime. Kestner places Lambert under arrest, but the crook evades capture a second time by a ruse. Kestner's assistant arrives with the police, but Kestner permits Maura to go free on account of her having saved his life on the occasion of their first meeting. Kestner is determined to capture Lambert single-handed. He trails him to a midnight rendezvous on a wharf, where he and Lambert fight it out to a finish. The revolver battle between the two men in the dark culminates in a hand-to-hand encounter in which Kestner ultimately proves victor, but has barely strength enough to handcuff himself to his unconscious opponent before collapsing. In the end Kestner induces Maura to return to the straight road, and she takes up her home with his mother. The story closes with the intimation that the romance so strangely begun will lead, as time passes, to a life of happiness for them, together.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

A hypnotic Svengali controls the singing voice of a young starlet, but he cannot control her heart.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

Arriving with her husband in Arabia, Katherine Wyvrne is ready for romantic times in the exotic Middle East, but her aristocratic husband prefers to be out hunting "Barbara sheep" than fulfilling his wife's desires. She soon meets up with the dashing Arab chief Benchaalai and falls for his charms, but he has a much more sinister goal in mind for her than romance.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

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

Vincento Perez, the governor of the Portuguese colony of Exile, is an unscrupulous and brutal man who is hated by the natives. Furthering his schemes, Perez tries to force silk dealers out of business, and reveals his plans to government engineer Richmond Harvey in a letter appealing for the American's help. The engineer threatens to expose the plot and Perez, facing ruin and death, sends his wife Claudia to Harvey to offer herself in exchange for the letter. In Harvey's bungalow, Claudia confesses her love for the American who, refusing to take advantage of the situation, offers her the letter. She returns to her husband, only to meet with humiliation. After much abuse, the natives finally rebel against the governor who is lynched by the mob. Claudia is rescued by Harvey and the two face a happy future together.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

Among the simple fisher-folk of a little island off the west coast of Scotland lives MacTavish, head of a clan. Here he rules as a chieftain, and his word is law. One day a hurricane sweeps across the Hebrides and the fishermen turn their boats to the inlet for shelter. On the shore the women and children watch the fight of their men with the waves. Among those who wait is Margaret MacTavish, who sees her father's boat dashed to pieces in the roaring surf. A party of men headed by Jamie Campbell tries to rescue the old chieftain but the waves close over him before they can reach the battling craft. With MacTavish lost, according to the law of the island the succession of authority passes to his daughter Marget, just 18. She, with a spirit of kindness and in a tender, sweet and girlish way, rules the fishermen and their families. Her disposition wins them. Jamie Campbell, a young fisherman, has won Marget's heart. Jamie has always been regarded as the son of Mrs. Campbell, one of the clan. The old lady, realizing that Jamie is reaching his 21st birthday, feels that she cannot keep her secret longer. So she writes to the Countess of Dunstable that the baby of her first marriage, which she left with the old woman of the island, did not die but grew to be a fine young man, and is now known as Jamie Campbell. The Countess, accompanied by her husband, starts out to seek her son. It is on the eve of Jamie's betrothal to Marget that, the Countess finds the young man and tells him of his real identity. She swears him to secrecy even from his own sweetheart. The Countess goes to watch the quaint betrothal ceremony of her son and Marget. Meeting him they are seen by those who do not know the relation to embrace and this fact is told to Marget. The disappearance of the Countess has aroused the suspicions of the Earl, and he, having learned of her secret meeting with, Jamie and not knowing the relation, confronts her. The wife breaks down and confesses that the young man is her son. There having been no children by the second marriage the Earl is delighted with the news and at once starts to plan for Jamie's future. The Earl, however, means that Jamie shall cut loose from all of his former associates. He persuades Marget to believe that she is an obstacle to Jamie's future and she reluctantly decides to make the sacrifice and give up her sweetheart. As chief of the clan, Marget commands him to leave. Jamie with heart torn asunder departs for his mother's yacht. Marget decides to sail out to somewhere in the west where her father and his father were wont to sail with the fishing boats. Before she cuts the ropes that hold the frail old hulk in which she lives to the island shore she sets ashore her pets and writes a note, places it on the strap collar of her favored little goat, and sends it abroad. Grouchy, gloomy Pitcairn, the village atheist who feared no one and hated himself, has always refused to obey the rulings of Marget. Pitcairn is in a troubled sleep the night Marget cuts loose in her unseaworthy craft, and in a wakeful moment he hears the bleating of the goat at his door. He is about to drive the animal away when he finds the note Marget has written. Looking seaward he sees the old craft tossing in the sea and he realizes what has happened. The village is aroused and the church bell set to ringing. Down to the surf line rush the people. Pitcairn sends a messenger to the yacht to get Jamie. Lowering a boat he rushes to the hulk and just as the waters are closing in on the cabin he rescues his sweetheart and the atheist falls to his knees and utters a prayer for the first time in his life. Jamie takes Marget back to the yacht, a reconciliation between the girl and the Earl follows and the dreams of the courtship begin all over again but they are real dreams because they have come true.

Dir: Maurice Tourneur

After being expelled from college, Giles runs away from home and meets and falls for a young lady.