The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of The Soapsuds Lady: Cult Guide

Dir: Reggie Morris

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Smith

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

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Lloyd Ingraham

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

While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

Upon his arrival in Dry Bottom, New Mexico, Easterner Kent Hollis beats up the town's crooked boss, then decides to stay and bring law and order to the community. When he discovers that Big Bill's men are rustling his cattle, Big Bill threatens him, challenges him to leave town within a few hours, then attacks him. Kent is nursed back to health by Nellie Hazelton, who is also desired by Big Bill. Kent places his name in consideration for sheriff and enforces a fair election although Big Bill's men attempt to stuff the ballot box. Kent wins the election but also the ire of Big Bill, who chases and attacks him. Kent wins the shootout and the love of Nellie. Law and order is restored to Dry Bottom.

Dir: Maurice Campbell

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

Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

Millionaire spendthrift Sam Morgan marries Constance Winwood, who tries to break Sam's spending habits by convincing Downer, the trustee of Sam's inheritance, to pretend to abscond with Sam's money. During their honeymoon, Sam spends his $10.30 pocket money, then discovers that his checks are bouncing. Unable to pay an increasingly-large taxi fare, Sam and Constance keep the cab and its sleepy driver engaged after they are thrown out of a hotel. After a friendly thief gets Sam a job in a herring refinery, Sam uses his rudimentary knowledge of Spanish to buy a shipload of herring from a South American dealer and sell it to the refinery's directors, who know no Spanish, thus making enough profit to pay his now-exorbitant taxi bill. Constance confesses her scheme, and although it seems that Downer really has absconded, he finally returns. Wealthy again, Sam and Constance adorn their bedroom with taxi meters and headlights.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

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

Parisian music hall celebrity Mignon marries young American civil engineer John Stanley. When John is suddenly assigned to undertake an engineering project in the Sahara, Mignon accompanies him and her son to the desert, although she is accustomed to a life of frivolity. After months of discontent, Mignon leaves her husband and son for Russian Baron Alexis, who establishes her in a palace in Cairo. Brokenhearted, John becomes a drug addict. Mignon later runs across her husband and son, who have become beggars. She is filled with remorse and returns to the desert to nurse her husband. John recovers slowly, reconciles with his wife, and the family finds happiness together.

Dir: Arthur Rosson

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Henry Edwards

A millionaire bets £25,000 that he can earn his own living for six months.