Deep Archive Finds Movies That Echo the Spirit of The Upper Crust: Cult Guide

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

Abel Manning, an attorney, has spent the greater part of his life waiting for "something big." Joan, his daughter, is teaching school and is of great financial assistance to her father. Senator Kitwell is to hold a big political rally, and Manning is elated because he is to give the address. Geoffrey Daniels returns home for the election, bringing his college chums. He sees Joan and is interested. As Joan's father is making his speech, Geoffrey plays a joke on him, incurring Joan's contempt. In the meantime the Mexicans are scheming for a new government and Gonzales goes to Washington to use his influence in securing an American consul his gang can influence. Kitwell wins, and Manning, believing Kitwell's promise to do something for him, goes to Washington. He is given nothing, however, his funds diminish and Joan finally joins him. Geoffrey is appointed to install wireless stations at some valuable mines in the Mexican country, Gonzales, promising Kitwell an interest in the mines if he will send a consul who will recognize their new government. Kitwell, believing Manning the right man, appoints him, and the latter views this as his great opportunity. As Gonzales endeavors to rope Manning into their scheme, the real man in the old attorney rises against the traitors and he puts Gonzales out of his office. As he is sending a cable to Washington for help, Manning is seized by Gonzales and his men, the cable instrument demolished and Manning threatened with death if he does not join the Mexicans in their revolution. Geoffrey learns of the situation, and that Joan has been taken to Gonzales' ranch, rushes to the rescue just as a company of American marines land and after overpowering the Mexicans, the marines put Manning upon a box and he delivers an oration with great intensity. His loyalty has won for him at last the recognition he has so long coveted.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

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

Hugon, a Canadian backwoodsman who is respected for his strength both of limb and of character, falls in love with Marie even though she has another sweetheart, a young man named Gabriel. Realizing that Marie favors Gabriel, Hugon good-naturedly offers to help the boy develop muscles and stamina but soon abandons the hopeless task. Meanwhile, Roque and his group of crooked surveyors have made plans to swindle the woodsman out of his property. Hugon's discovery of the plot leads to a brutal fight in which he is seriously injured. Deeply ashamed, he hides himself in a lonely cabin. Seeking to console Hugon, Marie reminds him of the strength of the spider, which continually rebuilds its broken web. Gabriel proposes to Marie but later backs out, and she, realizing her love for Hugon, builds a home with him on his restored property.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

A girl's father cannot afford a train ticket, so he ships his daughter by Wells Fargo & Co. Express. He loses his money to a villain and cannot claim his "shipment." The villain attempts to claim her, but the Wells Fargo agent foils the plot and claims her himself.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

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

Fearing former suitor James Armstrong, Louise Newbold accompanies her husband William on a trip to the Colorado Rockies. While riding a mountain trail, Louise and her horse fall over a high cliff. Her injuries are so severe that she begs her husband to kill her to end her suffering, and, out of love, he does so--and blames Armstrong for being the instrument that drove Louise to take the dangerous trip. Five years later, Armstrong meets Enid Maitland and falls in love with her, and they go on a camping trip with several acquaintances. While out fishing, Enid is caught in a sudden violent storm and is rescued by a mountain man: William Newbold, who has become a recluse. But the snow imprisons them in his camp for the winter. The spring thaw brings Armstrong and others searching for Enid, and Newbold recognizes Armstrong as his old enemy.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

Far away, in the timberlands of the North, where the purity of woman is placed above all else, lived Josephine Adare, a kind, honest soul, whose face plainly bore an expression of deep sorrow and anxiety. Up to this, God's Own Country, came a man, Philip Weyman, to spend a year in that region. The man meets the woman and falls in love with her. He begs her to confide in him her great sorrow, which he sees she is constantly thinking of, but she tells him that she cannot do so. Seeing that he is persistent, and really anxious to help her, she asks him if he would be willing to follow her wherever she goes, doing whatever she asks of him, asking no questions and with the hope of no reward but her undying gratitude. Owing to his great love for her, he consents, knowing that he will be working for a just cause. Through the long, bitter, northern winter, he travels with her, knowing neither where he is going nor what he is going to do. To aid her plans, they are married, but it is a marriage in name only. She then takes him to the home of her father, John Adare, a rugged woodsman, where she tells him to pose as the father of an infant which she shows him. For a moment, his faith in her wavers, when he sees the child, but his manhood conquers and he determines to stand by his promise. Then, on one eventful day the infant dies. After the baby's death Philip notices unusual activity about the camp, and suspects that Josephine's enemies are about. Though he knows not who they are, he longs to fight them, but Jean Croisset, Josephine's half-breed protector, who has also been assisting her in her trouble, tells him that he can do nothing but wait for orders from her. He is tempted to cast caution to the winds and search for them himself, but his better judgment prevails and he realizes that he must be satisfied with anxiety and inactivity. Josephine's ferocious wolf-hounds have grown to love Philip as they love their mistress. These terrible beasts, though born for fighting, have big hearts in their savage breasts, and at a word from one whom they love, would tear an enemy to pieces. One day, Josephine, who is known throughout the neighborhood for her kindness and love of children, is called to another village to tend a sick child. Jean follows to protect her, and Philip trails him with the dogs. Philip learns that she was kidnapped by Lang, who, Jean tells him, is responsible for all her troubles. Philip rouses all the honest woodsmen in the neighborhood, who love Josephine for her kindness, and they set out to rescue her. They also enlist the aid of a tribe of Indians in their cause. After traveling for some time, the rescue party traps the villainous gang in its lair, "Devil's Nest." Here Lang and his gang barricade the doors and windows and prepare for the attack. A battle ensues, and Lang's followers, seeing they are being beaten, try to escape but find themselves hemmed in. In the midst of the battle, Jean is shot, and, knowing he is about to die, calls Philip to his side. He tells him how, a year before, Josephine's mother had fallen into Lang's clutches while her husband was away, and of the birth of the child, which Josephine had claimed as her own to shield her mother's honor. The story told, the faithful half-breed dies, with a parting injunction to Philip to kill Lang and destroy the incriminating papers in his possession. During a lull in the fighting, Lang tries to escape through a window with Josephine. His action is seen by Philip, who rushes over to protect her. In the struggle which follows, Lang manages to gain the upper hand, and reaches for his knife to end Philip's life. Seeing his danger, Josephine releases the dogs, with a command to kill. As though they knew the sorrows of their mistress, the shaggy beasts leap upon the struggling forms, single out Lang and kill him with their merciless fangs. Philip informs her that he knows all, and that she need no longer fear for her mother's honor, as he has destroyed the papers. She tells him that she has always loved him, and Philip looks forward to a happy future, in God's country with the woman of his choice.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

While attending college in Washington, D.C., Yuki Onda, the daughter of a Japanese samurai, meets and falls in love with Pierre Le Beau, a diplomatic attaché. At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Pierre is sent to Japan as attaché to the Australian ambassador. When Yuki's father discovers his daughter's romance with a foreigner, he becomes enraged and betroths her to Prince Hagane for political reasons; being an obedient daughter, Yuki agrees to the match. During a political meeting, Yuki's husband commands her to see that nobody enters the house. During her vigil, Pierre arrives, half-crazed with fever and the desire to see his beloved. Out of revenge, he steals an important document from Hagane; believing that his wife has acted in dishonor, Hagane agrees to trade Yuki for the paper. Worn out with grief and struggling against her love for Pierre, Yuki kills herself, and Hagane delivers the body to her true love.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

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

Bettina Vanderpoel, the charming daughter of New York millionaire Reuben Vanderpoel, departs for England to visit her sister Rosalie, who is married to Sir Nigel Anstruthers, an impoverished English nobleman. Arriving at their dilapidated estate, Betty finds that Nigel not only has wasted Rosalie's fortune, but has treated his wife and their little son cruelly. Betty promptly repairs the estate with her own money and then introduces her sister into English society. In the process, she meets Lord Mount Dunstan, a proud but penniless nobleman who lives in the adjacent estate. Although strongly attracted to Betty, Dunstan avoids her so as not to appear a fortune hunter. An epidemic breaks out among the farmers, and Betty, hearing that Lord Dunstan has died, goes riding late one night to forget her sorrow. Sir Nigel finds her in a deserted hut and tries to attack her, but Lord Dunstan appears, rescues her, and finally confesses his love. Soon after, Sir Nigel contracts apoplexy and expires, thus freeing Rosalie.

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

Gertie Jones, known among other thieves as "The Chatterbox" because she talks to herself while she works, becomes a rich woman's French maid after learning about her employer's $40,000 diamond necklace. To cover up the scratches left by her tools after she unsuccessfully tries to open the safe containing the necklace, Gertie telephones the police to report an attempted burglary. Jimmy Hartigan, a famous thief, arrives and after he and Gertie fall in love at first sight, he is arrested. After Gertie helps Jimmy escape from prison, they move to New York and continue their illegal endeavors until they see Gertie's sister, whose time in prison has left her consumptive, and a famous crook, now a broken wreck, and decide to go straight for each other's sake. As the "Harts," they buy a farm in New Jersey after foiling the plans of a crooked real estate promoter. When Kersey, a detective on Jimmy's trail, arrives, Jimmy and Gertie pretend to save him from two escaped convicts. The grateful detective, believing that the "Harts" have reformed, refuses to recognize them as the "Hartigans."

Dir: Rollin S. Sturgeon

During the California gold rush, the all-male mining camp of Spanish Bar, on the Sundown Trail, delegates "Oily" Jones to go East to bring women for them to marry. A young widow arrives with the brides and searches for Velvet Eddy. After "Quiet" Carter, who remains a bachelor, rescues her from Eddy's attack, she learns the attacker's identity and insists on finding him. Lost in a storm, she arrives exhausted at a Mexican dancer's cabin. Because the vigilance committee intends to run her out of town, the dancer exchanges clothes with the widow, who has lost her memory. After Eddy loses a knife duel with Carter, he requests, before he dies, that Carter care for his child. Carter rescues the widow from the vigilantes, and marries her to protect her. After an Easterner claims that she is his wife, Carter learns that he lied to get her property. When he retrieves her, she recognizes the child, which Eddy was holding for ransom, as her own, as her memory returns.