Must-Watch List Comparable to the Style of The White Moll: Cult Guide

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Signa Herrick, a stenographer whose skills leave much to be desired, finds out that her boss is keeping her on only because he's a friend of her recently deceased father. Embarrassed, she leaves her small Wisconsin town for New York to live with her married sister, Janet. She quickly proceeds to get mixed up with jewel thieves, detectives, an alcoholic millionaire and his greedy, scheming relatives.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Bonnie Annie Laurie perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Annie Laurie is betrothed to Donald McGregor just before he leaves Scotland to fight the Germans in France during World War I. At home, Annie discovers a man washed up on the shore and cares for him until her father, fearing that she and the stranger, Lieutenant Hathaway, are falling in love, turns him out of the house. When Hathaway recovers, he returns to the front where he befriends Donald, while Annie becomes a Red Cross nurse. Both men are wounded in a charge and hospitalized. There Annie, though still torn between the two, eventually decides to honor her vow to Donald and marries him.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Rudolph King becomes engaged to Martha Thorne, the niece of John Chandler, when he and Chandler form a pork-and-bean producing partnership. The two hold a house party for Pell Kingston, who buys pork and beans for the United States Army, to negotiate a contract. To convince Martha of the merits of kissing, the shy Rudolph asks Pell to kiss her in the dark, and when she responds favorably, Rudolph claims the credit. Martha discovers that Pell, to whom she is attracted, actually kissed her, but things become confused when Mrs. Irene Chandler also demonstrates an interest in Pell. After several amatory mix-ups, everything is cleared up, and Pell and Martha leave the party together.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

After her lover, Kale Loomis, has had her husband sent to prison on a false charge, Fay Gonard leaves her little daughter, Dolores May, on the steps of a convent. Reared in an atmosphere of strictness and seclusion, Dolores is possessed with a desire to see the world, and after meeting Lawrence Grant, a politician's son, her curiosity is aroused even more and she escapes from the convent. Found on the road by Kale's friends, Dolores lives in his home for a time, but later, Lawrence takes her under his wing with the intention of marrying her. Although she loves Lawrence, Dolores misses Kale's parties and returns to him, whereupon Kale threatens to publicize her activities unless Lawrence's father agrees to his demands. Lawrence takes a repentant Dolores away from one of Kale's riotous parties, but after Kale is found dead, Lawrence is arrested for murder. Dolores' father, however, confesses to the crime, and following his acquittal, he is reunited with his daughter and Lawrence, now her husband.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Eugene Lenoir weds the sister of Major Warfield. The couple dies not many months after the marriage, but there is much animosity between the two families. Gabriel Lenoir inherits his brother's estate, and he makes the nurse, Nance Wilson, swear to kill the baby that was born to Eugene's wife shortly before she died. But the nurse takes the infant to be raised in a New York tenement instead. After the girl is grown, the nurse tells the Major of her existence. Warfield brings her back to Virginia under the name Capitola Black. When the United States declares war on Germany, Herbert Grayson comes to town to ferret out a gang of spies. Capitola decides to help her country, too, and she discovers that Gabriel Lenoir is one of the conspirators. She is almost killed but Grayson rescues her and reveals that Lenoir stole Capitola's fortune when she was a baby, and the villain gets his just rewards for his wrongdoings. The estate is returned to Capitola, who is attacked by one of Lenoir's accomplices that she locks up in the cellar. As Grayson is about to enlist and leave for the front in France, he asks for Capitola's hand in marriage.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

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

Vera Loudon is unhappily married to wealthy, profligate Herbert Loudon, who openly makes advances to Mrs. Alicia Carteret at a dinner party. Donald Cavendish, a former admirer of Vera's, witnesses her humiliation and advises her to leave her husband, which she is unwilling to do. During a rainstorm, Donald's automobile breaks down, and he and Vera stop at the Loudon lodge nearby. When Herbert comes in with Mrs. Carteret, Donald and Vera escape unnoticed. Donald returns to claim the gloves he left behind at the lodge. A fight with Herbert ensues, and Donald leaves without the gloves. Herbert is later found dead at the lodge. The gloves make Donald a prime suspect, but Vera uncovers the real culprit: Mr. Carteret. Vera finds happiness at last, married to Donald.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

Eloise Jackson, the ward of her wealthy uncle, Judge Stafford, spends thousands of dollars on extravagant parties for her friends. Harvey Greyson is a young and penniless writer struggling for recognition. When they meet at a party and fall in love, the judge, certain that Harvey is only enamored of Eloise's fortune, announces that he is bankrupt. Of all her friends, only Harvey sticks by her, offering his manuscripts to the deputy sheriff as security on the family's debts. Through his repeated efforts to secure money and employment for Eloise, Harvey convinces Judge Stafford that his love for the girl is true, and Eloise learns to curb her lavish spending. The judge sends Harvey's works to a publisher, and Harvey and Eloise become engaged.

Dir: Harry F. Millarde

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Miss U.S.A. perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The arrest in America of a foreigner for evading military service in his native land results in his daughter becoming "No. 274" in an orphanage. She is later adopted by a couple who plan to sell her into matrimonial slavery, but she wins the love of a rich young man, who marries her. Later she is reunited with her father through playing a violin, to which she has clung through all her misadventures.

Dir: Edgar Jones

A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.

Dir: Alexander Butler

In Alberta, Canada, a Cornish emigrant unmasks a rustler posing as the girl's "blind" father.