Hand-Picked Alternatives Movies That Echo the Spirit of Troubled Wa...

Dir: Albert Parker

Sally Carter Rand, married to an elderly senator, is accused of espionage, but she is able to clear herself by proving that her mysterious knitting is actually a baby sweater.

Dir: Albert Parker

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of From Two to Six perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

During World War I, John Stevens invents an anti-submarine device, but the plans are stolen by two German spies, the Baron von Wiederholtz and Madame Elsa, who flee to a New York hotel. Stevens' daughter Alice pursues the spies hoping to retrieve the plans. Also lodging at the hotel are Howard Skeele and Margaret Worth, childhood friends whose parents are forcing them to marry with threats of disinheritance. In attempting to escape, Howard finds himself in the baron's suite just in time to spy the German in the act of hiding the plans. Howard directs Alice to the plans, and then, because he must be wed before six o'clock that evening or lose his inheritance, he proposes to her. They marry with Margaret's blessing, the spies are arrested, and Alice returns home with the plans and a husband.

Dir: Albert Parker

Phemie Sanders, confronted with the unhappiness of her parents because of the perpetually drunken state of her father, harbors a hatred towards men which even extends to Joe Stull, the village blacksmith who wants to marry her. Upon her mother's death, Phemie takes her younger sister and goes to Joe to accept his proposal while announcing that she will never love him. Joe accepts her conditions, thinking that she will soon change her attitude, but Phemie remains steadfast. Having read in the paper of the power of matrimonial jealousy, Joe decides to write anonymous letters to Phemie, mentioning another woman in his life. These have no perceptible effect on the man-hater until another woman, in reality, looms upon the horizon. She is Lucy Conyer, a former admirer of Joe's who is now a widow. Lucy makes a play for Joe's attentions and this finally has an effect on Phemie, who upbraids her husband for neglecting her and, then forced to a confession, declares her love for him.

Dir: Albert Parker

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

Designated to write an article on the high price of food, reporter June Justice visits the tenement districts where there have been food riots and where the women of the neighborhood have rebelled against the food retailers, thinking that they are to blame for high food prices. June then visits the retailers, the middlemen, and finally interviews Henry Havens, the leader of the ring of food speculators. Havens attempts to bribe June to slant her story, but finds himself falling in love with her instead. Under June's influence, Havens sees the hardship that his policies have wrought, and finally joins her in her push for legislation which would dissolve the food trust.

Dir: Joseph Henabery

When respectable Lloyd Norwood becomes infatuated with moll Goldie Lewis, he falls into a life of debasement that results in his being accused of the murder of gangland henchman Joe the Swell. Norwood's wife Mary, convinced of her husband's innocence, determines to clear his name. Disguising herself as a vamp and infiltrating the underworld, Mary extracts a confession from the real murderer, Pussyfoot Connor, whom she dupes into believing that he sees the ghost of the murdered man. Later, to have witnesses to the story, Mary takes a midnight dinner with gang leader Jack Frost, arousing the jealousy of Connor, who enters and accuses Frost of instigating the murder. The police, alerted to the scheme, rush in and arrest the criminals. Finally, a phone call to the prison warden results in Norwood's release as a wiser man.

Dir: Harry Southwell

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

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Ewald André Dupont

Fred Hopkins, a jeweler's assistant, replaces the pearl necklace Lord Reading bought as a wedding present with a worthless imitation. A hunt begins, which the flower seller Rahel and the jumping jack dealer David are able to end by finding the jewelry. Hopkins, who is convicted, then commits suicide for fear of being punished with poison.

Dir: Albert Parker

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

A woman runs away from an arranged marriage. Her father finds her and plans to send the man to the same rooming house so they might fall in love. Plans go awry when a police reporter accidentally assumes his place while on a case.

Dir: Albert Parker

In a prologue, Douglas Fairbanks appears in a chef's outfit mixing a cake with action, mystery, adventure, romance and comedy, seasoned with pep and ginger. The finished cake is The Knickerbocker Buckaroo. The story begins as buoyant Teddy Drake, expelled from his exclusive Fifth Avenue club for playing practical jokes and leaping over furniture, decides to reform his selfish impulses. Anxious to do "something for somebody," he boards a train bound for the Southwest. After helping an old woman off the train, Teddy takes the wrong train and meets Manuel Lopez, a Mexican bandit, going to visit his sick mother. To hide Lopez from a crooked sheriff, and because Teddy left his shirt in the first train, Teddy exchanges clothes with him. At the border town of Sonora, the sheriff chases Teddy along the roofs until, seeing a girl in jail, Teddy lets himself be arrested. Learning that the girl, Rita Allison, has money hidden that the sheriff wants to steal, Teddy escapes. After Lopez saves him from a lynching, Teddy finds the money, holds off the sheriff's gang until a U.S. Marshal arrives, and then returns to New York with Rita, now his fiancée.

Dir: Raoul Walsh

Dave Henderson, an orphan who has become the beneficiary of a rich man's will, falls in with race-track crooks Martin Tydeman and Bokky Sharvan who bilk him out of his $100,000 inheritance. In retaliation, Dave steals the money from Tydeman's safe, but is caught and sentenced to five years in jail. In prison, Dave becomes friendly with Millman, who is about to be released, and reveals the money's hiding place to him, arranging to rendezvous at the end of Dave's term. Once released, Dave is hounded by members of Tydeman's gang as well as the police, who are waiting for him to retrieve his bounty. While taking refuge at the house of Capriano, an old bomb maker, Dave falls in love with the old man's daughter Teresa. However, Capriano sets a trap for Dave, who awakens in a drugged state to find the $100,000 missing. With the help of Millman and Teresa, Dave recovers the money, turns it over to the police and resolves to go straight.