The Auteur's Selection In the Shadow of The Winning of Barbara Worth: Cult Guide

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Clutching a dagger, a woman enters a room through velvet portieres and murders Nathan Standish, the scion of a distinguished family. Nathan's sister Sylvia hides the knife, and when the butler Bobbins--whose hatred of Nathan was well-known--is arrested, Sylvia remains silent. To please her father, Sylvia marries the prosecuting attorney Paul Wagner. When she secretly tries to help free Bobbins, detective Bull Ziegler, who believes that Bobbins is innocent, suspects Sylvia. After Sylvia's hysterical speech during sleep leads Wagner to suspect her, she becomes insane. Wagner and her father take her to a mountain retreat where she recovers her sanity without regaining her memory. Just as Ziegler is about to have Sylvia arrested, a telegram arrives informing them that Sylvia's cousin committed suicide and left a note stating that she killed Nathan in revenge for being betrayed by him. Sylvia, who tried to protect the family name, recovers her memory when she learns of the suicide.

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A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Powers That Prey perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Run out of town when he exposes crooked politician Jarvis McVey in the pages of his newspaper, Burton Grant asks his daughter Sylvia to turn the Daily News over to his dynamic young city editor, Frank Summers. Having inherited her father's journalistic talents, however, Sylvia fires Frank and takes charge of the paper herself, decorating the city room with bows and printing several rather silly "scoops." In the meantime, Frank learns that McVey and the president of the railroad have become involved in a dishonest scheme concerning the city franchise, and when Sylvia hears this, she publishes an extra, stating that McVey should be tarred and feathered. Sylvia's father arrives just in time to prevent the angry townspeople from carrying out her suggestion and then compels McVey to leave town. Grant orders Sylvia to return to school, but she decides to become Mrs. Frank Summers instead.

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Shouts of joy and the clapping of many tiny hands welcomed the arrival of the big birthday cake. For this was Little Mary's birthday. To celebrate all Mary's little friends had been invited and the big event which preceded the supper and the cutting of the cake was a performance of Cinderella and the affair of the glass slipper. Little Mary forgot to leave at the hour of 12, and when she was called away by the fairy she dropped her glass slipper on the stair. Of course, to every one's amazement, when the Prince went looking for the owner of the slipper, the only one whom it fitted was Little Mary. The party and the excitement was all over, and, as an added help to recuperate from the strain of starring. Little Mary the next day went auto riding with the chauffeur. But fate then took a hand in the story of Mary's life. Captured by Gypsies and later escaping in the midst of a battle royal amongst the tribe she finally made her way to the hut of a crabbed old man, but she finally overcame his crabbedness by her cute and winning smile. Unknown to Little Mary, her benefactor was in reality her grandfather, James Andrews, who had taken his money to this backwoods place because of his son, Dr. Andrews, who had married against his wishes. The chauffeur, wild with anxiety, finally located Little Mary in the cellar, where she had gone to help the old man, who had fallen while miserly counting his money. Would they be able to reach the city in time? They faced a hard task, but Little Mary had known harder work when she had starred in Cinderella.

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

Roberta Lee, who is concerned with reforming ex-convicts, convinces her wealthy father to hire ex-robber "Slippery" Bill Dorgan as a gardener in their home. Bill tries at first to reform himself, but soon yields to temptation and steals Roberta's jewels. To avoid publicity, Roberta takes a trip to the country, where she meets Richard Van Stone who, under an assumed identity, is conducting business for her father. Taken with Roberta, Richard unwittingly buys Roberta's own brooch from Slippery Bill, presents it to her, and is arrested for the robbery. When Roberta is kidnapped, Bill rescues her and returns the jewels, after which she drops the robbery charges and marries Richard.

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Harry Mason is called home by wire, but when he arrives, he finds that his wife Ruth has just died in childbirth. Thoroughly shaken, Harry refuses to look at the baby, and after locking the door to the room that Ruth had prepared as the nursery, he departs for Europe, leaving little Martha in the care of her grandfather, Colonel Mason. In an attempt to escape his grief, Harry travels throughout the world, but the spirit of his wife continually distracts him, and he finally decides to return home. Unaware of her father's identity, Martha, now a charming and spirited little girl, befriends Harry and soon convinces him to unlock the nursery door. On the bureau, he finds the letter his wife had left him years earlier, requesting that he care for their child in the event of her death. Realizing his blindness, Harry takes Martha to his heart.

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

Seductive vamp La Belle ( Lillian Lorraine ) sets out to steal Jack Holmes ( Henry King )away from his loving wife Mary ( Mabel Van Buren ). He foolishly spends every penny on the vamp , leaving his wife almost destitute. La Belle is killed by a jealous suitor and the evidence points to Jack. However, he is given an reprieve by the way of a letter written by La Belle claiming she had intended to commit suicide. Should his wife now forgive him ?.

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A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Just after Bob's fiancée breaks off their engagement, he meets young Mary, whose mother has just died, and the two of them comfort each other.

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No one seems to understand or love Fay, the little spoiled granddaughter of William Van Loan, a hard-hearted capitalist, but the old family butler, who tells her fairy stories. In Powhatan, a mining town controlled by Van Loan, Bessie, a sweet motherless child of Jasper Hunt, a mine foreman, lives with their housekeeper, Mrs. Flannigan. The mining company raises the price of food stuffs at the only store; the men resent this, and failing to get increased pay, strike. Van Loan refuses to yield and decides to use scab labor. Scenes of violence follow and, compelled to go to Powhatan, Van Loan takes Fay with him. Fay meets and plays with Bessie and for fun they change dresses. Separated, the unusual likeness deceives the Van Loan governess, who supposes Bessie to be Fay and whisks her away. Mrs. Flannigan finds and takes Fay, sick from exposure, to the Hunt home. Business hurriedly recalls Van Loan and mistaken for a changed Fay, Bessie revolutionizes the Van Loan household by her sweetness. Hunt, the real leader of the striking men, is summoned to meet Van Loan. During the unsuccessful arbitration meeting, Bessie comes in to bid her "grandfather" good night and, seeing her father, rushes to his arms. Hunt, busy with the strike, supposes her to be ill at home. They are all dumbfounded. Bessie tells them how she and Fay changed clothes. Looking up the family trees, the likeness of the "twin" kiddies is explained, and, completely won over, Van Loan yields to the men and Hunt is made mine superintendent. Years of dread follow, and just as a report of the other's death reaches him, his foe appears, immensely wealthy and wreaks the vengeance in a spectacular manner.

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Jeanette Browning overhears Silas Stone, an aged Wall Street wolf, demanding her as his wife in payment for saving her father from financial ruin. Upon her acceptance of Stone's proposal, her father receives a check to cover his shortage. She then conceives of a plan to make Stone break their engagement so that she can sue him for breach of promise. Stone is invited to the mountains to visit the Brownings, and Jeanette pairs her youthful strength against the old man's advanced age. After tiring him out with dances, midnight suppers, swims and horseback riding, Jeanette plays her trump card when she introduces Stone to her brother Larry, the shame of the family because of his insanity which she claims to have inherited as well. Horrified, Stone attempts to steal away but is caught by Larry. Jeanette feigns despair at the loss of his love and threatens to sue for breach of promise. After Stone patches her broken heart with a check for $100,000, Jeanette confesses to her father that "brother Larry" is actually her sweetheart whom she pressed into service to frustrate the crafty old man.