Visionary Picks Drawn from the Same DNA as The Tiger Lily: Cult Guide

Dir: George L. Cox

Tyler Cole's greatest treasure is the last of the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed Christ - a ducat - which Tyler has locked in a cabinet, forbidding his wife Leila to open the receptacle. Leila, her curiosity piqued, is told by fortune-teller Mignon Brunner that the cabinet harbors a portrait of her husband's old girl friend while the seer, in an attempt to capitalize upon marital discord, informs Tyler that his wife has unrequited feelings for her former suitor Captain Lake. Leila, driven to jealousy, opens the cabinet just as Lake pays an unexpected visit. In her surprise, Leila drops the coin, which lands in Lake's trouser cuff and is carried off by her former suitor when Tyler arrives and jealously orders him from the house. Leila, desperate to retrieve the coin, follows Lake to his hotel, where Tyler traces her. After an initial confrontation, Tyler and Leila come to the realization that their fortune-teller has been fomenting marital discord, and the couple are reconciled.

Dir: George L. Cox

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

Fired from the railroad, David Rand gets together a gang of bandits and robs trains going through Shoshone Basin. The railroad hires Cowboy Sunset Jones to capture the gang, but discovers something that could throw a wrench into his plans: his former fiance Marion is now married to bandit leader Rand.

Dir: George L. Cox

Without social or romantic interests, young Basil Hammond goes to Paris to study paleontology and to bring back a report to his guardian on the manners and moral character of her granddaughter, Liane. At first he is disgusted by her attempts to vamp him, but eventually he falls in love with her. Basil discovers that Liane is engaged to Count Oudoff, and when the Count insults him at a party, a duel is arranged. Liane intervenes to save Basil, and in despair he returns to America; on the steamer he finds Liane, and she promises to marry him.

Dir: George L. Cox

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

Young Doris Kane suspects that her fiance, Paul Evans, doesn't love her anymore. She finds out that he is now infatuated with a "vamp", Jeanne DuPre. Paul's father is appalled at his son's behavior, and devises a plan to break up the romance between his son and the vamp by making her fall for him and exposing her perfidy to his son.

Dir: George L. Cox

Joseph and Helen Harper, who have spent their niece Blanche's inheritance, worry that Blanche's fiancé, wealthy George Graham, will no longer want her when he finds out that she has gone insane from grief after hearing a report of his death in the war. When George returns and learns of the situation, he hires detectives to investigate. The Harpers convince cabaret dancer Mazie Del Mar, who resembles Blanche, to impersonate her and marry George. Mazie, wanting to escape from cabaret owner Signor Enrico, called "The Hellion," who uses hypnosis to control her, agrees, but she falls in love with George and feels deceitful. After Enrico kidnaps Blanche, thinking she is Mazie, and unsuccessfully tries to hypnotize her, they fight and Blanche is killed. George tells Mazie, about to confess, that his detectives told him who she was, but that he loves her anyway. He forgives the Harpers, since their scheme resulted in love for him and Mazie.

Dir: George L. Cox

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

A young orphan known as The Pearl Hunter discovers a priceless pearl called The Blue Moon. A notorious criminal known as The Red Mask murders the man who bought the pearl, and the Pearl Hunter is blamed for the crime and jailed. A lynch mob attempts to take him from the jail to hang him, but he escapes. He sets out to track down The Red Mask, find the pearl and clear his name.

Dir: George L. Cox

Ruth Bannister, the only daughter of a millionaire, is very much influenced by her Aunt Lora's interest in eugenics and other "modern" ideas, much to the annoyance of her conservative brother Bailey. When Aunt Lora arranges for Ruth to meet an artist named Kirk Winfield whom she feels is suitable, it is love at first sight for the pair. They marry, and Ruth is disowned by her father. When Kirk is not allowed to kiss the baby for health reasons, he leaves to seek his fortune in South America. Discouraged, he returns, only to find himself out of place in Ruth's society life. Steve, one of Kirk's old pals, kidnaps the baby for Kirk, taking him to a friend's cottage by the sea. When Ruth sees how happy the baby is in his new surroundings, she comes to her senses, announcing her love for Kirk.

Dir: George L. Cox

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

Leila Mead, a stenographer, loses her job because she has a talent for forging handwriting. Broke, she tries to get some money together by forging a letter stating she is the illegitimate daughter of a famous millionaire, Gilbert Ellis. Ellis gives her a job as his personal stenographer at his home. Soon afterward she discovers that Horton, the butler, is planning to rob Ellis' safe..

Dir: George L. Cox

Shirley, the wife of poor architect Quentin, accedes to her wealthy aunt's advice against marrying a poor man and leaves him. Quentin gives up his dream of becoming an architect and takes a job as a draftsman. His new employer, sensing Quentin's talent, encourages him to give his architectural career another try, as does his co-worker Esther, who is in love with him. However, when Shirley tells Quentin that she wants to reconcile with him, Esther is torn between her love for Quentin and her desire to see him happy and successful.

Dir: George L. Cox

High-spirited Vera Middleton causes her conventional parents much anxiety, so they decide to marry her to Spencer Jardine, a man who is greatly desirous of her money. When, during a weekend at her friend Grace Maynard's seaside bungalow, Vera becomes involved in a fling with Grace's nephew Arthur Tavener, scandalized neighbors notify her parents. When she returns home, Jardine urges her to marry him in order to save her reputation. Vera refuses, indignantly returns to the seaside and proceeds to vamp Arthur in revenge for his kissing her. When he pledges his love, Vera repulses him until her parents insist upon her marriage to Jardine, at which time Vera embraces Arthur and announces that she will marry a real man.