The Definitive Watchlist For Devotees of Through the Valley of Shad...

Dir: Laurence Trimble

Marshall Strong and John Moore, partners in a western gold mine, both fall in love with schoolteacher Constance Harvey, but she marries Moore, even though she is attracted to the shy Strong, because Moore convinces her that Strong loves someone else. After they strike ore, Moore is killed in a barroom brawl and Strong is accused of murder. He hides out and sends for Constance, but when Lilas Niles, a squatter's daughter who wants Strong's money, deceitfully tells him that Constance is sending the police, Strong leaves, embittered, and marries Lilas. Years later, Strong, now known as Mark Smith, is a wealthy mine owner. Constance lives with her son David who loves Strong's daughter Nancy and works in Strong's mine. After Strong refuses demands for safety precautions, an explosion traps David underground. When Strong discovers that David is Constance's son, he rushes into the burning mine to save him. Strong then promises safer conditions, and David marries Nancy.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Alone in London perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A crook tries to make a thief of a boss's son and ties a flower girl to the lock gates of a canal.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

A wealthy businessman proudly watches as his son begins his own business, a shoe store. However, things start to take a turn for the worst when the father's estranged wife inserts herself into her son's life and a seductive gold-digger tries to get her hooks into the young man. His father must stand helplessly by and hope his son makes the right decisions.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

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

A rich man pretends his injured son's marriage is illegal and makes his wife marry a drunken wastrel.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

Joe Holland, the superintendent of a gold mine, saves his invalid friend, Weadon Scott, from a pack of wolves. Frank Wilde, an executive engaged to Holland's daughter, Mollie, buys White Fang, a man-eating dog, from an Indian and matches him with a bulldog in a pit fight. Scott rescues the dog and tames him. After Mollie Holland marries Wilde, she discovers that he is robbing the mine. Mollie tells Scott of Wilde's perfidy, but Wilde escapes, blackjacking Scott and killing Holland. Orphaned, Mollie goes to the home of Judson Black, the owner of the mine. Wilde attempts to spirit her away and is killed by White Fang. Scott and Mollie eventually find happiness together.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

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

An heiress takes the blame for stabbing her uncle, thinking her lover guilty.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

Sal Gratton picks Joe Brown over Bill Sproat for her husband. They marry and have a son, and Sproat watches them in anger over the passing years. Sal and Joe come into a fortune and they give their son all the advantages in life, but he turns to gambling and squanders their fortune. He departs to another country and his parents are sent to the poor house, still besieged by Sproat who has also become wealthy.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

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

Margaret Manning, a poor waif who lost her mother early in her childhood and was deserted by her machine-politician father Jim Connelly is raised by the Finns, a poor family who sends her to work in the factory. The evils of such a life make a deep impression on Margaret, who attends night school to better herself. Assuming the leadership in a campaign to abolish child labor, she journeys to Washington, D.C., where she falls in love with Jack West, the son of a wealthy politician. Margaret's bill is backed by Senator Mathews, who decides to discredit his opponent, Jim Connelly, by investigating his past. He discovers that Margaret is Connelly's daughter, a fact that shakes Jack's faith in her. However, when Connelly finally admits that he is beaten and praises his daughter's tenacity, Jack's faith is restored, and the bill is passed to the benefit of thousands of factory workers.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

David gets into a fight with the owner of Strongheart, a German Shepherd. Believing the has accidentally killed the man, David takes Strongheart and flees to northern Canada. He arrives at a small settlement and gets a job with the local trading post, and falls in love with Sally, the owner's daughter. When it comes time for Strongheart to find a mate he leaves the settlement, and soon returns with "The Fawn". However, during the time he was gone David has come down with pneumonia and is deathly ill. Complications ensue.

Dir: Laurence Trimble

Sadie Sullivan leaves Ireland to live with her married sister in New York. Troubled by her worthless brother-in-law, discouraged with her low-paying five-and-dime-store job, Sadie reads a story about a chorus girl who married a millionaire, she decides to join a musical-comedy company. Having befriended mission clergyman Reverend John Page, Sadie reads a Bible backstage and is surprised at the other girls' loose morals. Her "saintly" reputation among the others inspires press agent Jack Mills, looking for a new angle, to devise a routine built around Sadie, now billed as "The Saintly Show Girl." After millionaire Dick Carrington switches his attentions from leading lady Dollie Delmar to Sadie, their subsequent engagement arouses Dollie to attempt to tarnish Sadie's image. Dollie sends Sadie a letter, supposedly from a friend, to meet her at a roadhouse that Dollie knows will be raided, but after Reverend Page explains Sadie's presence there satisfactorily to the police and Dick, Dick marries her.