The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of The Whispering Chorus: Cult...

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Horace and Ethel Simpson, wealthy siblings touring Europe, fall prey to Russian conmen, one of who plans a marriage with Ethel. The executor of their fortune Daniel Pike, assisted by Grand Duke Vasill, exposes the Russians for what they are.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Esra Kincaid takes land by force, and having taken the Espinoza land, he sets his sight on the Castro rancho U.S. Government Agent Kearney holds him off until the cavalry shows up and he can declare his love for Juanita--"The Rose of the Rancho."

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

As the Civil War begins Ned Burton leaves his Southern love Agatha Warren and joins the Union army. He is later protected and saved from death by Agatha in spite of her loyalty to the South.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Ramon loves Catalonian peasant Maria Rosa. He uses a knife belonging to her love Andreas to kill fisherman Pedro, so Andreas goes to jail for ten years. Maria will wait for him, but Ramon convinces her Andreas dies in prison so she agrees to marry him. On their wedding day Ramon is paroled. Maria then stabs Ramon.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

With her brother killed Sonya is given Turkish captive Mahmud to do the hard work on the farm. After they become fond of each other he strikes a Turkish officer. When peace arrives, his blow costs him his noble lands. She is burned out of her house. They meet again on the road with nothing but each other.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Chimmie is sent to Death Valley, California as part of a railroad scheme. He's to pretend to have discovered gold there, then set a new transcontinental record heading East. It doesn't quite work out that way.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Soda jerk Harvey is the most popular man in Blakeville, New York, and deliriously happy through three years of poverty-stricken marriage to Nellie. When a musical-comedy comes through town, Nellie becomes and actress and tag-along Harvey becomes "What's His Name." When Nellie falls for a millionaire and goes to Reno for a divorce, Harvey takes their child Phoebe home, where her later illness brings her parents back together.

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

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

Road agent Ramerrez hides out in his girlfriend's store where the Sheriff knows him to be. The Sheriff plays The Girl a game of cards to decide Ramerrez's future. She wins. She later saves him from a hanging. She rides off with him.

Dir: Cecil B. DeMille

A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.