Cinematic Discoveries Following the Footsteps of The Vengeance of Durand: Cult Guide

Dir: Tom Terriss

Emily Cottrell, one of the most respected members of a large gang of crooks headed by Fraser Grimstead, is caught while robbing the home of wealthy David Parrish. Emily accepts David's offer of a home and a chance to go straight, but Grimstead is unwilling to lose her, and he insists that she help him steal the famous diamond collar, The Tower of Jewels, which is in David's possession. When Emily refuses, Grimstead threatens to expose her past to Wayne Parrish, her benefactor's son with whom she is in love. Grimstead and the gang surround the Parrish home, then Wayne's cousin removes the jewel case to throw suspicion on her rival for Wayne's affections. Emily's innocence is established later, and her reputation is further cleared by Grimstead, who is shot by the police. With his dying breath, Grimstead describes Emily's gentle birth and states that she is fit to marry Wayne.

Dir: Tom Terriss

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

Louise Grayling escapes from a straight-laced aunt on a plea that she wants to visit her uncle, Captain Abe, on Cape Cod. Abe is henpecked by his housekeeper and rather looked down upon by the villagers who haunt his store. To give himself a fictitious glory he invents a fictitious brother, Amzon, who is a composite of all the pirates from Blackbeard to the food profiteers. Louise penetrates the deception and induced Abe to go away and come back as the fictitious brother. She has the time of her life keeping the placid Abe up to the reputation of his fire-eating brother, but all would have gone well had not some shipwrecked East Indians imagined that they recognized him as the desecrator of their Temple. Between them and the town people, who get the idea that Abe has been murdered by Amzon, Louise has her hands full, but Abe is transformed into his proper self, and a supposed fisherman who turns out to be a young millionaire rescues her from the mob and all ends happily after all. - Moving Picture World.

Dir: Tom Terriss

Carrying on with the antique business of her deceased father, Jacqueline Nevers (Alice Joyce) is asked to catalog James Desboro's (Walter McGrail) collection. When they fall in love, it induces the jealousy of Elena Clydesdale, a married woman who is also in love with James. Jacqueline and James marry, but Elena endangers their happiness by announcing that she and James are having an affair. When Elena becomes ill, she becomes reconciled with her husband and confesses her lies to Jacqueline, permitting the newlyweds to live in peace.

Dir: Tom Terriss

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

Florence is a little milliner who shares a room in "Brick Dust Row" with Ella, a fellow worker. It is all the home she has and the girls have to receive their company in the parks because there is no reception room, the millionaire owner of the Row having sublet the parlors. They see no harm in chance acquaintances. Then Florence meets Blinker, and real love comes into her life; but Blinker learns of what to him seems her promiscuous acquaintances and makes it plain that he cannot marry such a woman. There is a fire on the excursion boat on which they are traveling, and Bill, a gun-packing husky, who has constituted himself Florence's champion, saves them both. Then he learns Blinker's attitude, and a visit to the young millionaire owner of the Roy shows Blinker that his own greed is basis for Florence's actions and a changed Row is Florence's wedding present. - Moving Picture World 1918.

Dir: Tom Terriss

An expose of the methods used by a police-department to extract a confession from a suspect, regardless of innocence or guilt, and the effect and consequences on a family when an innocent member breaks under the interrogation methods and confesses to a crime he did not commit.

Dir: Tom Terriss

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

John Sark is the owner of a piece of land coveted by Henry Murden, leader of the band of "White Riders," who has purloined the information that a railroad wishes to buy the property. Sark is a naturalist and has for an assistant Rose Ember. He discovers one of the rider's masks which is made of one of Rose's handkerchiefs, and this introduces a mysterious element into the love affair. The mask belonged to her father. The riders try to force Sark's hand, but are obliged to capture him. Rose, seeing Sark lead away, dons a mask and riding close to his horse, cuts his bonds. Sark kills Murden, and, finding that his savior was Rose, is once more happy in his love. - Moving Picture World 1919.

Dir: Tom Terriss

Innocent Kaly Dial comes to New York from the Cumberland Mountains and gets employment at a fashionable dress shop owned by a friend of her deceased mother. Peter Vernon, the brother of the owner, falls in love with her, but Kaly becomes attracted to suave John Crispen, not knowing of his reputation as a Lothario and his shady business deals. Crispen scoffs at conventional marriage and rearing children, preferring "comradeship," while Vernon offers marriage. Kaly finds herself attracted to Crispen's unconventionality and, believing that he loves her, goes with him to a hotel, but soon realizes that his love is not right and asks to be taken back. Crispen complies even though he knows he will face imprisonment when he returns. Vernon takes Crispen's case and after finding out that Crispen is already married, gets him off with the promise that he will never see Kaly again. After a year, Kaly falls in love with Vernon and they are married.

Dir: Tom Terriss

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

The opening picture finds Edith (Alice Joyce) in prison where she has been for the last three years. She is a widow and her baby has been placed in an institution. She is paroled, finds her child and steals him from the asylum. After wandering around she finally obtains a position in a department store, where Jim Roberts, superintendent, falls in love with her. They are married, but she fails to tell him of her past. Mabel, also freed from prison, demands that Edith join with her and her side partner in a crime, under threat of exposing her past to Jim. Jordan, a friend of Jim's visits them. He is a detective, and recognizes Edith as a former thief. Further to involve her, Mable, hiding from the police, forces Edith to give her refuge in her home, where she immediately proceeds to steal everything in sight, money being her particular passion. Jordan tells Jim he is harboring a thief and he tells Edith she must leave, but Edith, still fearing Mabel, confesses to the theft of money and Mable is allowed to stay. The two men then plan to trap Mable by placing $400 in a desk. As Edith takes the money from the desk, lights are flashed on and she stands before the two men as the thief. The distracted girl now tells her husband of her first theft to save her baby and of her present attempt to keep her past from him. The men have a battle, the detective gets badly beaten up, but is moved by her great courage, gives her back to Jim and the child and through his efforts she obtains a free pardon. - Review from Variety, May 10, 1918.

Dir: Tom Terriss

The story concerns a young girl who spends her entire life in trying to obtain money to pay off the mortgage on her farm. But the day comes when she can no longer meet the claims, and Jarvis, the man who holds the mortgage, gives her the alternative of selling herself to him in return for the land. She spurns his offer, but adopts a plan to sell herself in service for one year to the highest bidder. Her old sweetheart arrives too late to save her and later proves that he was not worthy of her. The year passes without her "master" claiming her. Then the girl learns that Jarvis had bought her services because he had really loved her and she, having learned to care for him, marries him. - New York Dramatic Mirror, July 27, 1918.

Dir: Tom Terriss

The story is of Angelina Allende, who is left an orphan by the suicide of her father, a real-estate visionary who has beggared not only himself but his friends in a vain attempt to "boom" the deserted hamlet of Anne's Bridge. Receiving news of his death, Angelina returns home, where she is presently inveigled into a trip to New York by two men, one of whom wants the property and the other of whom wants Angelina. In a restaurant scene which follows, Bink, the elder of the conspirators, makes advances to Angelina, is repulsed and then is shot by Wolver his fellow conspirator. The police enter, Angelina is accused of the shooting, and she is sentenced at length to a three-years' term in a home for delinquent girls. Emerging at the expiration of her sentence, she returns to Anne's Bridge. Here, in the lonely days that follow, she advertises for boarders and is at last rewarded by the appearance of James Deane. It is here that the love story begins; and it progresses until Angelina is cleared, through Deane's efforts, and, finally, is free to marry him. - New York Dramatic Mirror, November 10, 1917.