Cinematic Discoveries Following the Footsteps of The Seven Sisters:...

Dir: Sidney Olcott

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

Nora O'Brien leaves Ireland to visit her brother in America. On the trip she suffers a concussion, and soon is mistaken for another Irish girl named Nora who is on her way to visit her aunt in the US, Mrs. Watson, who has not seen her niece in many years. Nora, still somewhat dazed from her injury, is taken to the Watsons' home, and when Mrs. Watson's son Jack returns from college, he falls in love with her but cannot express it to her because he believes she is his cousin. Complications ensue.

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

Dir: Sidney Olcott

'Poleon and his daughter Oachi live a quiet existence in the North Woods, as do their neighbors, André and Marie Beauvais. Doré, a villainous whiskey runner fleeing from the Northwest Mounted Police, is hospitably welcomed by 'Poleon; but when he forces his attentions on Oachi, her father drives him away. Terror-stricken by the loss of his rattlesnake idol, and thus deprived of communion with the evil spirits, he is welcomed at André and Marie's cabin but is likewise thrashed soundly and sent on his way. Doré returns when Marie is ill, in André's absence, and kidnaps her during a storm; she escapes and leaps over an embankment, there to be found unconscious by Oachi the next day. Doré, driven mad with fear, returns to their home wounded, and a vision of Marie brings his death.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

A little girl is kidnapped by the Mafia in revenge for her father's help in capturing one of the mobsters. She is presumed dead, but in reality is spirited away to Italy, where she is raised as the daughter of a kindly couple. When she is betrothed to the cruel padrone, she disguises herself as a boy and stows away to America, where she finds herself once again in the clutches of the mobster who originally kidnapped her. But this time luck and her own pluck are with her, and the tables are soon turned.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of God's Country and the Law perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

Barbara Rand, the daughter of a poor but proud Southern widow, loses her sight after leaping through the window of a notorious roadhouse to escape an assailant. Her sister, Natalie, reluctantly abandons her fiancé, Ned Gardiner, and marries Oliver Landis, who can provide the money needed for Barbara's operation. Unaware that Oliver was Barbara's attacker, Natalie places the blame on his business partner, Howard Pollard, who was with Barbara on the night she was injured. As Natalie holds Howard at gunpoint, her husband arrives and promises to deal with the supposed villain. A struggle ensues between the two men, and Howard falls from a cliff to his death. After Barbara is released from the hospital, Oliver tries to blind her once again by removing her bandages prematurely. Natalie threatens him with a pistol, but Oliver wrests it away from her. He then realizes that he can no longer hide his guilt from Natalie or the police and shoots himself. Barbara has been avenged, and Natalie is free to marry Ned.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

When a young man courteously scratches the back of a young woman at the opera, she sees in him the chivalric sort who might be able to aid her in a problem which threatens her marriage.

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

Dir: Sidney Olcott

A traveling theatrical troupe is stranded in a small town, and the leading ingenue, Polly, returns to her New York City hometown broke. She and her friend Bunny, desperate for a job, convince the Hawkers, a "nouveau riche" family from Kansas, that they are French and an experienced maid-and-butler team. Young Zeke Hawker is smitten with Polly, but Polly is attracted to their neighbor, a famous actor named MacGillicuddy. One night at a swanky party given by Mrs. Hawker, her jewels wind up stolen, and Polly is suspected of it. Complications ensue until Polly discovers who the real thieves are.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Sidney Olcott

An Irish girl comes to America disguised as a boy to claim a fortune left to her brother who has died.

Dir: Sidney Olcott

Dora and her mother decide to go to Europe to find a wealthy husband as their funds are diminishing. Much to her mother's disapproval, Dora falls in love with a penniless nobleman, Julian Beauclerc. His marriage proposal is eventually approved after he inherits millions and is appointed attaché to the British embassy. When he discovers important defense papers entrusted to him have disappeared, he suspects Dora of stealing. Julian's brother Henri stumbles upon the papers and, sniffing them, recognizes the perfume of the Countess Zicka. With this evidence, Henri charges the countess with spying, thus mends the faltering relationship between Julian and Dora.