The Auteur's Selection Complementing the Tone of The Wall Between: Cult Guide

Dir: John W. Noble

To the village of Old Chester comes Helena Richie in search of balm for a broken heart. Her dissolute husband, in a drunken rage, has killed their little child. This tragedy induces Helena to listen to the pleadings of Lloyd Pryor to leave Paris, where the Richies are living, and come to America with him. Pryor makes frequent visits to Helena in the little home he establishes for her in Chester, and the townspeople accept the statement that he is her brother. Old Benjamin Wright, however, has his own suspicions as to the relations between the two. His interest is more than a casual one, for his grandson, Sam Wright, a young poet, is in love with Helena. The old man tells him his belief with regard to Mrs. Richie. Sam asks her whether the suspicion has any foundation, and when she admits that it has he kills himself. Dr. Lavendar, the kindly old minister, has in his charge a child who needs a home. He has decided to send the little boy, David, to Mrs. Richie for a trial visit. She welcomes the boy, who fills the place in her heart left vacant by the death of her own child. Her heart becomes bound up in the boy, though she is torn by conflicting emotions by the thought of her own false position. Helena's husband has been in such feeble health, owing to his dissipations, that she has constantly expected his death to release her so that she and Pryor may be married. Finally the long-expected event happens, but Pryor has tired of her. His promise of marriage has been nothing but a ruse to get her to elope with him. Looking about for an excuse to break the bonds which have become irksome to him, he tells her that she must give up David. She refuses and he says she must choose between the child and himself. Realizing Pryor's unworthiness, she clings to the child, and Pryor leaves her. Helena goes to Dr. Lavendar, tells him the truth about her past relations with Pryor, and asks him to let her keep the child with her always. The old man's answer is: "Can you teach him to tell the truth, you who have lived a lie? Can you make him brave, you who could not endure? Can you make him honorable, you who have deceived all?" Helena is silent in the face of this accusation. She decides to give David up and to leave Old Chester. She tells Dr. Lavendar that on her way to the station next day she will come to bid David goodbye. Next day at the rectory Dr. Lavendar asks her to take with her a parcel which she will find wrapped up in the coach. She promises, and in the coach finds the package to be little David, all wrapped up for traveling. Her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for the boy has proved her worthiness to keep him, and Helena and little David leave Old Chester to find peace among new surroundings.

Dir: John W. Noble

After a brief courtship, Louise Joyce is married to her employer, architect Mortimer Grierson, who soon tires of her and begins to see other women. One night, he comes home drunk and informs Louise that the marriage was a fraud, actually only a mock ceremony arranged by Grierson's nephew Howard Hayes, then deserts her for good. Louise becomes an artist's model, and while working she meets Paul Vivian, a protégé of her husband, and the two fall in love. Grierson discovers their relationship and tells Paul that Louise was his mistress. Soon after, Grierson is mortally wounded by one of his lovers and Howard returns from Mexico to visit his uncle's deathbed. As Grierson instructs Howard to put his affairs in order, Howard confesses that Louise's marriage is legal because in an effort to spite his uncle, he secured a real minister to perform the ceremony. After Grierson's death, Paul finds Louise and learns the true story, and together they begin a new life.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

Wood Harding, the illustrator, first sees Margot, the model, at a sale of the effects of a poor old artist who befriended her. The auctioneer is belittling the old man's work when Margot rushes upon the platform and tells how kind he has been to her. Harding buys the picture that has been ridiculed, and makes her a present of it. From that time on she poses only for him, and the two fall in love. Harding has a wife from whom he has been separated for some time, but he marries Margot without saying anything about her. The real Mrs. Harding returns, and threatens to have her husband arrested for bigamy. To save the man she loves Margot denies that she has been married to him. The girl goes to a distant city and poses for Mrs. Hall, a miniature painter. Mrs. Hall introduces her to Austin Bland, a novelist, who falls in love with her and asks her to marry him. She tells him frankly that she already has given all the love she possesses to another man. Bland says he will be content if she will only marry him, and she does so. Bland is writing a novel called "The Power of Decision." Its central theme is that "Every mortal has within himself the God-given power of decision." By his own decision each man must act for himself in every crisis. The publishers have engaged Wood Harding to illustrate Bland's book. It is the author's wish that his wife pose as the heroine, and Harding comes to visit at the Bland residence. Neither Margot nor Harding gives a sign of recognition on meeting, but Harding tries to exert his old spell over her. Her husband's book seems to have a special meaning for her. One paragraph in particular fascinates her: "This was the turning point in her life. The choice between these two men, one bound to her by the holy sanctity of the marriage vow, the other calling from out the darkness of the past. Which road? What lies beyond? The power of decision rests with her." Gordon, the butler, surprises Harding in the act of attempting to embrace Margot, and later when she discovers him trying to open the safe he prevents her from calling the police, threatening to expose her to her husband. Bland learns the truth through Mrs. Harding, who sees Margot's picture in an announcement of the new novel. Bland has been asked by his publishers to take a trip with an arctic explorer, to write a series of articles. He accepts. Harding has been urging Margot to go away with him and she cannot come to a decision. She promises to signal him by switching the library lights on and off when she has made up her mind. Bland leaves in his car for the railroad station, but the machine breaks down and he misses his train. Returning, he sees Harding across the street watching the library windows, and then the lights flash off and on. He goes into the house and confronts Margot, who tells him she has been tempted to go away with Harding, but has finally come to a realization of her love for her husband and has summoned Harding to tell him so. Bland does not believe her. The curtains at the French window move and Bland fires at them. A man falls, enveloped in the curtains. Margot urges her husband to escape, saying she will take the blame. Bland finds he has shot not Harding, but the butler, Gordon, who has come to attempt robbery. Harding has hurried away on hearing the shot. Margot finally makes her husband realize that, like his heroine, she has chosen the right road and has exercised her God-given power of decision.

Dir: John W. Noble

A story about the affects of cocaine on the lives of a family.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

The allegory which begins the story represents the world before the creation of man. Out of the elements is born Conscience. Conscience is then present at the fall of the first parents, and drives them from the garden. Conscience is again present when Moses breaks the tablets of stone in his anger at the Israelites for their idolatry on Sinai. At last Conscience sustains the Christ when He stands on trial before the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Then begins the story. A child is born, bearing the name of John Conscience. The figure of the allegory is seen to touch the newborn babe, and it is fore-ordained that he is to be a creature of Conscience. The child grows to manhood. He holds the chair in economics in a great university, and is delivering an exhortation to the graduating class. He tells the young men of some of the shameful conditions the wealthy employer class is imposing upon the poor and helpless class. He bids them go forth with conscience to guide their careers, and that they will be successful in the real sense. The wealthy men, trustees of the university, etc., who are in audience, disagree with John Conscience's principles to such an extent that they demand his resignation, as the result of the speech. One of them, however, Stephen Might, whose son Stephen Might. Jr., is among the students, feels that John Conscience will be a great success in some business where the question of conscience will not be raised, and tells him that he will have a position for him whenever be may want it. John Conscience, sustained by the encouragement of his mother, tries in various fields, without success. He happens to see a girl who is about to end her efforts to succeed and still remain good, by plunging into the river. He dissuades her and takes her to his mother. She tells her story, how she had left her father's roof to earn her living and be useful in the world, and the mother advises her to go back to her father. John is inspired with new hope after his good deed, goes to Stephen Might, obtains a position for himself, and also one for the girl. He rises in position with this concern, and a love affair develops between them, but Stephen Might, Jr., also falls in love with the girl. At a time when a rival company is trying to bribe John Conscience to divulge secrets which will mean the undoing of Might and Company, John Conscience comes upon Mary Knowles, the girl, in the arms of Stephen, and thinks she has accepted him. His mistake causes him to throw off conscience, and begin a grinding, resolute, uncompromising drive for wealth. In Chicago John Conscience takes the name of John Power. He comes to the control of great interests, owns factories, and rules over all these interests with a hand of iron. His employees are but mechanical parts of his structure, and he has no soul, no heart. When the girl realizes what he had meant to her, she denounces Might, Jr., and her father, who had helped about the situation, and runs away. At the time Power's success is at its zenith she us a stenographer in one of his factories. At this time also, in his determination to avenge himself upon Stephen Might, Jr. he is using unfair business methods to drive the Might concern to the wall. Young Might learns that it is the Power firm which is oppressing them and goes to see Power, not knowing who he is. He arrives, and as John is about to drive home his revenge, Stephen tells h him of a mistake, that he thought Mary was with him, as she ran away the same night he had disappeared. John has been harassed by the public safety committees about the unsanitary conditions and lark of safety in his factories, and has been obdurate and unresponsive. Now, he sees that he was wrong, experiences a faint hope, and tells Might he will let him know the next day what can be done. He goes home, and sits by the fireplace in his library to think. Conscience appears to him again, and shows him, by a series of contrasts, the difference between the power he has achieved over the financial world and that which Conscience wields over the souls of men. He is receptive, and Conscience again enters his soul. He calls for architects and builders to reconstruct his factories, for the safety of his employees, and before they can begin work a great fire breaks out in one of his factories, and Mary is caught in an upper story. John rides to the scene, and sees her at a window. He rescues her and their romance finds its proper conclusion.

Dir: John W. Noble

A fortune-hunting follies star Gloria Dawn ( Olive Thomas ), begins to question her engagement to wealthy Peter Shaw after meeting an amnesiac young man who stumbles into her apartment one night. The doctor instructs that he not be moved, so Gloria nurses the stranger back to health, although his memory fails to return. Gloria falls in love with her patient and, upon discovering that he is millionaire sportsman Jerry O'Farrell, rushes home to restore his identity, only to find that he has gone. Amnesia continues to plague Jerry, and he soon forgets both Gloria's name and address. While he is attending a show at the follies, a fire breaks out, and Gloria, recognizing her lover in the audience, rushes to save him. Meanwhile, Shaw, who has discovered Gloria's feelings for Jerry, accosts her. Jerry, who has finally regained his memory, intercedes and rescues Gloria, and the two fall in love.

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

Dir: John W. Noble

Philip Nolan III refuses to fight for the cause of democracy. His father, Philip Nolan II, who has failed in his efforts to convince his son of the fallacy of arguments, then lays bare all the details of the shameful treason of his own ancestor, the first Philip Nolan, "The Man Without a Country." The father's story shows how the first Philip Nolan played into the hands of Aaron Burr; how Thomas Jefferson was elected president over Burr; how Alexander Hamilton prevented the conscienceless Burr becoming governor of New York; the duel between Hamilton and Burr; how Philip Nolan was later arrested on his wedding night for aiding Burr, who had conspired to start a rival government in the south to wage war against the United States, and how he was later banished from the United States for saying "Damn the United States! I wish I might never hear its name again," and how Philip Nolan died kissing the flag of the country he had execrated. Deeply moved, Philip Nolan III loses no time in joining the boys in khaki.

Dir: John W. Noble

Herbert Grayson has timber holdings in a Southern state. One of his mills is burned, and he accuses Len Mathis, a young mountaineer. In trying to avoid arrest Len is killed, and old John Mathis, his father, swears to shoot Grayson or any member of his family on sight. His young daughter, Renie, makes the same vow. Grayson is anxious to gain control of lands owned by Mathis, Grayson's nephew, Eric Southard, volunteers to effect the purchase. On his arrival, he telegraphs his uncle, disclosing his identity to the station-agent, who loses no time in telling the bystanders. Eric starts for the home of Peets, his uncle's foreman, in the village "jitney," as Renie, rifle in hand, is walking across the hills to Hibbitsville to get cartridges. One of the tires of the automobile bursts, and Renie, thinking the noise that of a gun, creeps behind Eric and the chauffeur, who are mending the tire, and makes them throw up their hands. When they explain that the tires contain wind, she shoots one in order to prove it, and while the chauffeur is repairing the damage she and Eric sit by the roadside. She learns in the village that Eric is Grayson's nephew, and goes to Peets' cabin to avenge her brother. Trying to shoot through the window, she misses Eric, who returns her fire, and slightly wounds her. He carries Renie home, and she tells her father she has been wounded by dropping her own gun. Eric and Renie fall in love. John Mathis has promised Renie's hand in marriage to Bud Weaver, as soon as he earns the necessary $100 with which to set up housekeeping. Eric writes to his uncle, refusing to further his schemes in the mountains. Eric is summoned to the Mexican border with the National Guard. He promises Renie to return for her. Bud Weaver demands his bride, and old John, true to his promise, sets a date for the wedding. Eric, stricken with typhoid fever, has been sent back to New York to recuperate, but Renie, unable to read or write, cannot communicate with him. The night before the wedding Renie tries to run away, and discovered by her father, has to tell him the reason. Old John gives her her rifle and shows her the door. Renie goes to Peets' cabin to try to learn news of Eric, and Peets takes advantage of her loneliness. In the ensuing struggle, Renie's gun is fired, and Peets is killed. Some men who are passing break into the cabin and Renie is arrested charged with murder. In a New York hospital Eric is convalescent. He learns that Renie has shot Peets and that her trial will be held in a few days. Eric hurries to Hibbitsville and plans her defense. At the trial, the feud between the Grayson and the Mathis factions is brought out, making the case against Renie look serious, but Eric appeals to the sympathies of the mountaineers in her behalf, and the jury returns a verdict of "not guilty." Eric and Renie are married, and Grayson, having come to a realization of the needs of the mountaineers, begins a new regime of helpfulness among the hills.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Man and His Soul perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: John W. Noble

Rhy MacGhesney and her two brothers, Clem and Sonnie, live with their father and their servant Maggie in a small boom mining town in Colorado. The boom has passed to the camps further on, leaving their little camp practically deserted. Rhy still has faith in the claim her father worked up to the time he was killed, some five years before, but her brother hates the life of the camp, and wants to sell for what they can get and go back to New York, where he feels he can have a chance to make something of himself. Their neighbor across the street is Lewis Beresford, whose obvious mission in the camp is one of pleasure, but who is in reality a mining expert, connected with big mining interests. He has ingratiated himself into the affection of the people of this little camp, and shows a great liking for Rhy and her brothers. Steve Towney, the former mine superintendent for "The Three of Us," is in love with Rhy and is jealous of Beresford, as he has been accepted as suitor for Rhy's hand, up to the time of Beresford's coming. Mr. and Mrs. Bix, Rhy's closest friends in the camp, give a Hallowe'en dinner, which is to be the biggest event of the year. On the day that the dinner is to be given, Steven strikes, by accident, mineral. This assures the success of the mine on which he holds an option, and which adjoins "The Three of Us." Overjoyed, he rushes to Rhy to tell the good news, informing her that it will be impossible for him to attend the Bix dinner, as his option expires the next day at noon. Rhy confesses her love for him, and asks him to wait until next morning. She will then go with him. He consents, giving her the option and samples of ore. Clem overhears the conversation. He is bribed by Beresford to reveal it. The latter thus has an opportunity to make an attempt to gain possession of the mine. He is at the recording office waiting to establish a claim the moment that the option to Towney's mine expires. But Rhy saves the mine and proves her loyalty to Steve by a thrilling ride over the mountains. This is shown in a series of exciting pictures. A great explosion for the breaking of ground for a smelter for the two successful mines ends the picture.

Dir: John W. Noble

Philip and Miles Quaintance quarrel over the love of Ellen Sheridan; Miles is rejected, while Philip is successful. Philip dies soon after his son is born, and Miles proposes to the widow. When she refuses him, he uses every means to make her unhappy. She leaves the Southland where they live, taking her infant son Stephen. When Stephen has grown to manhood, his mother dies, first telling him the story of Miles' persecution. He is so embittered against his uncle that he avoids meeting him, and he leaves for South Africa. Miles Quaintance amasses a fortune, and in his declining years he hopes to meet Stephen to make restitution for the wrongs he had done his parents. Miles has a ward, Dagmar Lorraine, whom he sends to Paris to study singing. There she meets Etienne, the Duke de Reves, who has an unsavory reputation. He makes violent love to Dagmar and obtains her consent to marry him. After the ceremony a woman enters the church carrying a baby whom she claims is the Duke's son. Horrified, Dagmar flees from the church and returns to America. In a whimsical mood, and partly to atone for the wrongs he had done in his past, Miles makes a will leaving his $10 million fortune to Dagmar and Stephen, provided that they marry and that the wedding takes place before midnight of the following May 31. Miles does not know of Dagmar's wedding and dies before she arrives in America. Stephen is notified of the contents of the strange will at a trading station in Africa. He decides he will take no assistance from his uncle, and with Timothy O'Farrell, a companion, he plans a way out of it. They find the body of a white man floating in the river, and Stephen puts all his papers and trinkets in the pockets of the dead man. Mark Seager, a gunrunner, finds the body and conceives the idea of impersonating the dead man, marrying Dagmar, and claiming the legacy. He sets off for America immediately. Stephen and O'Farrell also leave for America. They are in a restaurant, where they see a man abusing a young girl and using threatening language. It is the valet of the Duke, who has met Dagmar and is trying to blackmail her for his silence. Stephen drives the valet out of the place, and is charmed by the appearance and manner of the girl. She leaves before he can question her. While driving her automobile home that night, Dagmar has trouble with the engine. When she stops to fix it Seager, who does not know her, observes her predicament and attempts to take advantage of it. She frightens him away with a revolver. The next day, Stephen sees an automobile offered for sale, and noticing that it corresponds with the one driven by the girl he met the day before, he answers the advertisement. Dagmar sells the car to him as she is low in funds. That night the valet and the Duke come to her home and she flees, taking passage the next morning on a steamship bound for Paris, where she has left some money in a bank. Seager learns that she has gone, and he follows. Likewise do the Duke and Stephen and O'Farrell. Stephen, taking the name of A. Newman. Seagar finds Dagmar in Paris and tells her he has come to marry her. One look at him and she leaves. The Duke finds her and persuades her to come to him, saying he will lead a better life, and introduce her to his own society. On the night of the reception she is kidnapped by Seager, who takes her to a deserted house where he has arranged for a rascally advocate to come and marry them. The Duke follows to the house and is killed in a fight with Seager. Stephen and O'Farrell have followed the Duke's valet and arrive there just as Seager is forcing Dagmar into a marriage. It is just 10 minutes to midnight, the time assigned for the $10 million wedding. Seager is driven from the place and Stephen and Dagmar tell each other of their love. Both agree not to touch a penny of Miles' fortune, and after the clock strikes twelve they are married.