Essential Cult Cinema Mirroring the Impact of The Wharf Rat: Cult G...

Dir: Chester Withey

Living quietly under the assumed name Paul Sernine, reformed gentleman crook Arsene Lupin is summoned to protect his invalid, wealthy friend Henry Forbes. Despite the watchfulness of Paul and Alexandre Mazeroux, a fellow criminal turned detective, Forbes is murdered. French detective Jabot and the New York detective force have many suspects including Paul, Marie Forbes, the dead man's widow who is suspected on the basis of an apple found with an imprint of her teeth on it, Gordon Savage, her lover, and Florence Chandler, Forbes' secretary and beneficiary under his will. After a series of traps, false arrests, chases through secret passageways, and an escape from handcuffs, Paul deduces that the true criminal is Doctor Varney, who cared for Forbes. Paul prevents Varney from blowing up the house, and at the same time wins the affections of Florence.

Dir: Chester Withey

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

Genevieve Rutherford Hale, a pampered youngest child, reads an advertisement for women to work on farms to increase food production during World War I. After having her modiste make silk overalls which Genevieve models on Russian ballet attire, she arrives at the Hubbard ranch in New York State with her chauffeur, maid, and pet dog, to be a "farmerette." While Genevieve finds the chores difficult and the other girls unfriendly, Bobbie, the youngest Hubbard, discovers officer training camp to be equally discouraging. Although he is tempted to desert, Bobbie only leaves for one night to see his home again. He finds Genevieve crying in a potato patch, and together they resolve to do their patriotic duty. When a prying neighbor, seeing them together, tells the Hubbards that Genevieve was with a soldier, Genevieve remains silent about Bobbie's identity, and is banished from the ranch. After Bobbie gets a furlough and explains matters, the Hubbards apologize to Genevieve. Bobby proposes, and they plan to marry when he returns from "over there."

Dir: Chester Withey

Adventures of King Richard when he travels with Queen Berangaria, the knights and ladies of his court, and his army of crusaders to Palestine to fight Sultan Saladin and the Saracen hordes for possession of the Holy Land.

Dir: Chester Withey

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Richard the Lion-Hearted perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Senator John Coburn's son Steve, who associates more with gamblers, criminals and drug addicts than with his father's congressional cronies, impulsively murders his mistress' new lover. The senator tries to use his influence to have Steve acquitted, but all of the evidence firmly and correctly implicates him, and so the jury prepares to find Steve guilty without much deliberation. Before the verdict can be announced, however, Steve's mother rises in court to make an impassioned plea for her son. As a result, moved by the mother's grief, the jurors choose to ignore all of the evidence, and declare that Steve is not guilty.

Dir: Chester Withey

Jim is the leader of the "Slouchy Seven," a gang of small town boys. He takes the gang for a swim in the reservoir, and is reported to his father, who, as a punishment, locks him in his room. Jim, however, escapes and goes to the assistance of Clarence, a "nice" boy, who is vainly trying to secure an apple for his sweetheart, Mary. Mary is won by the prowess of Jim, but he is indifferent to girls. Clarence and Mary go for a walk and Tom, the blacksmith's boy, pushes Clarence aside and takes his place beside Mary. Jim goes to find the gang at the railroad station he meets a girl, who asks him the direction to Mr. Morton's, who, she says, is her uncle. Jim offers to take her bags and show her the house. The boys see him and have fun at his expense. He leaves the girl, whose name is Ruth, at the gate and goes to meet the gang. They have lost a member who moved away, and initiate Clarence, who proves to be a good sport. Unaware of the interest he has aroused in Mary's heart, Jim fights Tom, when he again interferes with Clarence and Mary, and is accused by Ruth of being "stuck" on Mary. This he stoutly denies. He calls on Ruth and her uncle tells her to dismiss him, that he is a bad boy. Jim then joins the gang in a prank on the schoolmaster, and as a punishment his father orders him to chop a pile of wood. Jim is rebellious and, taking his dog, leaves the house. He meets Mary and tells her he is going to the city. His dog deserts him and he falls in with a band of tramps. His mother places an ad in a local paper asking him to come home and Mary takes care of his dog. Later he comes back and is induced by the tramps to assist in robbing the bank, of which his father is vice-president. He dresses up and goes to secure the combination. Mary is impressed by his prosperous appearance, and when he hears his mother talking he almost gives up the idea of aiding the tramps, but his father's gruff remarks determine him to keep on. On going back to the tramps he sees his mother's ad in an old newspaper and refuses to help the hobos, but they take the paper with the combination away from him and bind him in a freight car. He escapes and hurries back to the town and tells the gang. They go to the bank, but are not in time to prevent the robbery, and the tramps escape with the loot. The loss ruins the bank, and although Jim is hailed as a hero his conscience troubles him. Finally he tells his father and is forgiven. The money is discovered in a woodpile, and the next day Jim carries Mary's books to school.

Dir: Chester Withey

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Old Folks at Home perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A down-on-her luck streetwalker is ultimately redeemed by the love of a decent man.

Dir: Chester Withey

Society girl Octavia rejects her fiancé, Teddy Westlake, and marries the elderly Colonel Beaupree, a wealthy rancher. When the colonel dies, Octavia discovers that he has left her only the ranch out West. When she goes to Texas to claim her inheritance, she discovers that Westlake has become manager of the ranch. Unknown to Octavia, even the ranch does not belong to her, but Westlake keeps this, and the fact that he still loves her, secret until Jose' Alvarez, the cruel overseer, tries to take advantage of her. In the end, Octavia realizes her love for Teddy and chases after him until he admits his feelings for her.

Dir: Chester Withey

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

A young man planning to marry receives a cautionary tale from his bishop based on the sad tale of the bishop's own early romance.

Dir: Chester Withey

Billy Jenks, a young bank clerk in a small town, goes to New York City in search of greater opportunity and becomes a cashier in a department store. When several dollar bills he is counting are blown out a window, he chases after them and, by coincidence, finds the money at the feet and on the hat of stenographer Phoebe Howard. They become so romantically overwhelmed that they neglect their jobs and are soon fired. Billy wires his aunt for money, but the next day, when he throws his alarm clock out the window, it hits, by coincidence, the head of a lawyer who has come to tell Billy that his aunt has died and left him $100,000 in thousand-dollar bills, which he duly presents to the stunned heir. When Billy gives Phoebe the news on a Fifth Avenue bus, con man "Handsome Harry" Brent overhears their conversation, introduces himself, and arranges to "help" them by investing the money the next day. However, Billy's money is stolen by John Carter, who is desperately in debt, and Billy, by coincidence, mistakes Stephen Fiske, Carter's creditor, for the thief. During a series of chases, notes and money are exchanged to the satisfaction of all parties, leaving Billy and Phoebe to get married.

Dir: Chester Withey

Maggie Pepper, a strong-willed, sharp-witted saleswoman for a dry goods store, raises her deceased brother's daughter, Claire, to shield the girl from her thieving mother, Ada. Unaware that she is speaking to her employer, Joe Holbrook, Maggie shares her ideas for improving the store. Maggie is fired by the insecure manager, but rehired as Joe's assistant, and the store prospers with the help of her innovations. After Ada marries Sam Darkin, she reclaims Claire and teaches the girl to be a pickpocket. The mother and daughter are soon apprehended in Joe's store, and Claire is returned to Maggie's care while Ada is sent to prison. Realizing that Joe's interest in her has ended his engagement, Maggie quits her job and takes Claire to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as protection from Darkin. Joe arrives soon after and rescues Claire from being kidnapped by her stepfather. Although he sustains only a minor wound, Joe pretends to be seriously hurt so that Maggie will nurse him through the night. The next day, Joe proposes marriage and she accepts.