The Definitive Guide Inspired by the Vision of The Road Agent: Cult Guide

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Robert N. Bradbury

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

A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.

Dir: Bruno Ziener

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Alexander Butler

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Eva, wo bist du? perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Edward LeSaint

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

When famous opera singer Elinore Duane undergoes an operation on her throat, she has a series of ether-induced visions. In one, she is transported to ancient Rome where she appears as a much-admired woman in love with Paul, a young heretic, and at odds with Lutor, the high priest. To save her love, she poisons Lutor with her ring. After several other visions which involve variations on this love triangle, Elinore awakens to discover that Lutor is actually her doctor, Sascha Jaccard, and that Paul is the son of a friend who has come to visit the recovering prima donna.

Dir: Edgar Jones

A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.

Dir: Wilfred Lucas

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

Brian O'Farrell (Snowy Baker), is an English 'new chum' who takes a job at an Australian cattle station. He is teased by station hands because of his appearance (including spats and a monocle) but he soon impresses them with his skills at riding and boxing. The station manager, John MacDonald (Wilfred Lucas), takes O'Farrell to Sydney to meet his daughter Edith (Kathleen Key) who is working in the slums. Edith is kidnapped by criminals after witnessing a crime but O'Farrell rescues her. It is later revealed he is the owner of the station.

Dir: J.P. McGowan

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: J.P. McGowan

Hawke, Jr., son of a famous New York detective, is challenged by his father to capture "The Blackbirds," a gang of smugglers, finds himself stranded in Algiers. Aware of Hawke's presence, Bechel, the Blackbirds' leader, instructs his accomplice, Leonie Sobatsky, to become friendly with the Crockers, a nouveau riche couple, and later in America, exchange a fake Oriental rug for a $10,000 genuine one which they recently purchased from one of Bechel's contacts. On the steamer returning to the United States, Leonie meets Nevil Trask, an English jewel thief posing as a nobleman. After Hawke secures a position in the Crocker home in New York as a guard for their jewels, Leonie, who now loves Trask without knowing that he is a thief, decides not to switch the rugs, but Hawke, eager to capture Bechel, tricks Leonie into taking the antique. When she sees Trask stealing the Crockers' jewels, they both confess their crimes and plan to reform. Hawke overhears, and follows them to Bechel's headquarters, where he captures the leader. After Trask and Leonie promise to marry, Hawke sets them free.