Underground Favorites Mirroring the Impact of The Right to Happiness: Cult Guide

Dir: Allen Holubar

An American woman is terrorized by the ravages of war and a lecherous Prussian lieutenant when she becomes a Red Cross nurse overseas during the Great War.

Dir: Allen Holubar

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

After being abandoned by her mother and adopted by Dr. McLean, little Johanna grows into an attractive young woman. She falls in love with medical student Gerald, but trouble ensues for both when the naive fellow falls for an older woman--who turns out to be Johanna's long-lost mother. Now it is up to the kind doctor to bring Johanna and Gerald back together.

Dir: Allen Holubar

Genevra Frinch, the pretty daughter of Major French, is brought up in a strict environment. Her nature revolts. She wants freedom. A book, entitled "How to Attract the Opposite Sex," falls in her hands, she reads it and absorbs some of its teachings. Lawrence Tabor, who is counted as one of the few friends of her father, visits them. Parrot-like, she practices some of the book's theories on him, and he becomes fascinated with her. After several secret meetings, Genevra asks Lawrence if he will take her as his wife. He consents, and they get married. Shortly afterward she tells her husband she married him to save herself from her prison of a home, and that she is going to be free and act as she pleases. She meets Jack Lanchome, an idler, whose only occupation is to fascinate women, and demands of her husband to be introduced to him. Lawrence refuses, stating that he will not insult her by introducing her to such a man. Her desire to meet him now becomes the stronger. She invites him to the house. After several meetings Lanchome arranges a little supper in a café of bad reputation. After dinner he locks the door and assaults her. Lawrence gets there just in time to save her from the villain's hands. Genevra begs her husband to take her home, promising that in the future she will disobey him no more. Next day Lanchome appears in Lawrence's office. The latter hands him a check, but he refuses to accept it, saying that that was the first good act he has ever done in his life, and that he will accept no pay for it. Further, that he has enlisted in the army to fight in France, intending to keep to the straight path. Genevra is ignorant of the frame-up, but well cured and happy with her husband. Motion Picture News, September 28, 1918

Dir: Allen Holubar

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

In the northwestern wilderness of Alaska, an innocent young girl falls into the clutches of a band of evil men of the gold fields.

Dir: Allen Holubar

Aurora Meredith, the village blacksmith's eldest daughter, is blessed with a natural singing voice. One day, wealthy New Yorker Mrs. Thorndyke visits Aurora's village and, upon hearing the girl sing in the church choir, is so impressed with her ability that she sends her abroad to study. At the end of her third year of studies, Aurora's benefactress dies, and she is forced to accept the aid of Juliantimo, an Italian admirer. After attaining great fame as a singer, Aurora returns to America to escape her Italian admirer's attentions and is awarded the starring role in a new opera. Juliantimo follows her, though, and on opening night he positions himself in a box above the stage, shoots Aurora, and kills himself. She recovers, but loses her voice, and with the loss of her talents, her friends desert her. Lonely, she returns home, where she is welcomed by her family and her childhood sweetheart Phineas Scudder. The traumatic death of Aurora's mother restores her singing voice, but she finally realizes that true love comes but once to every woman, and she chooses to stay in the village as Phineas' wife.

Dir: Allen Holubar

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

When, after three years of active service, ace detective Jerry Brennon is ordered by his doctor to take a rest, Senator Reed, Jerry's staunch supporter since he arrested two crooks burglarizing the Reed home, prevails upon the detective to stay at his cabin in the mountains. Warned that the cabin is haunted, Jerry's suspicion is aroused when a bullet whizzes past his head. While searching the cabin, Jerry discovers a secret door that conceals a sobbing Helen Reed, who has been missing since her refusal to marry Schuyler Hastings. Learning that Helen has been kidnapped, Jerry drives to the village, enlists the aid of the sheriff and rushes back in time to arrest the kidnappers when they return to the cabin. Caught in the act, Helen's abductors admit that they were hired by Schuyler, who was planning to rescue Helen in a ploy to win her love. The Reeds are overjoyed to have their daughter back, and Jerry makes their happiness complete when he proposes to Helen.

Dir: Allen Holubar

During a raging storm, a baby is washed up on shore on an island in Greece and is adopted by the wealthy Stanhopes, who name her Lorelei. Eighteen years later, Lorelei invites her school friends to spend their vacation at her villa. One of her guests, Julie, is insanely jealous of her. One day, disenchanted society fop Gerald Waldron sails by on his yacht, accompanied by his social-climbing friend Hartley Royce. Seeing Lorelei and her friends swimming, they decide to go ashore. Both Gerald and Hartley fall in love with Lorelei, and Julie rages, finding herself relegated to Hartley. Together Hartley and Julie plot to separate the lovers. Informed by Hartley that her lover has a sweetheart in every port, Lorelei becomes wary of Gerald, and when he follows her one night, she jumps from a cliff to escape his advances. Frantic, Gerald searches the grottos for her, and when he eventually finds her, the two sail for America together.

Dir: Allen Holubar

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Once to Every Woman perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Through circumstantial evidence, Yvonne Desmarest is branded by Judge Duroacher as the "other woman" in a sensational murder case. She retreats to her father's hunting lodge near Hudson Bay, Canada, where she meets Scarborough, an Indian girl, and Émile (an old trapper who becomes her protector). Realizing his error, Duroacher follows Yvonne, thus precipitating a series of events in which the judge is suspected of murdering Scarborough, and Émile injures Duroacher out of jealousy. Yvonne's name is cleared, as is that of Émile, who has been sought for many years on a murder charge. Yvonne and Duroacher realize their love for each other.

Dir: Allen Holubar

After Ralph Carter steals $50,000 from the bank where he is employed, his wife Gloria phones bank official Jerome Harris, a wealthy man who has loved her for years, and is told that the charges against Ralph will be dropped if Gloria will offer herself as security against her husband's "loan." Accordingly, she moves into Jerome's house but rebuffs his advances, and soon he leaves her in peace. When Ralph, who has been seen in the company of chorus girls, angrily demands money from Gloria, Jerome appears and orders him from the house. Because of the covert dealings of Meyer, Jerome's secretary and a German spy, Jerome nears financial ruin, which moves Gloria to pity. Having learned of Meyer's duplicity, she confronts the spy, and as they struggle, Ralph enters and is killed. Meyer is arrested, and Gloria realizes her great love for Jerome.

Dir: Allen Holubar

The enemy's success in smuggling a spy through the lines places the Stratiria armies in a dangerous position. The spy is intercepted and killed by Pettrus Baariot, the telegraph operator, who then succeeds in sending a message that saves the Stratiria forces from defeat. For his heroism, Pettrus is promised a promotion, but after his recovery from his severe wounds, he is humiliated through the treachery of Danick Rysson, a government official who desires to marry Floria Natarre, Pettrus' beloved. Bitter, Pettrus listens to the overtures of one of the enemy and steals the new telegraph code. Soon after Pettrus is again made an ardent supporter of his country when he is awarded his promotion. He then follows the spy to the frontier and recovers the crucial document.