The Auteur's Selection Complementing the Tone of Vincennes: Cult Guide

Dir: Edwin L. Hollywood

Opal, who knows nothing about her ancestors, falls in love with G. D. Stanley, the strange young man who is her closest neighbor in the Canadian wilderness. One day, Opal is informed that she is really the princess of a small country and must return to her native land to marry the neighboring king to save her people from invasion. Opal decides to sacrifice her love for Stanley, but before she departs, she spends one hour alone in his cabin. On the eve of her wedding to the dissolute king, it is discovered that Stanley is actually Stanlai, heir-apparent to the throne. When the drunken king attempts to attack Opal in her boudoir, Stanlai kills him, thereby becoming the ruler of his country, and Opal becomes his queen.

Dir: Aubrey M. Kennedy

Wealthy oil magnate Harry Mangin is in love with his competitor James Murdock's daughter Blanche. Mangin schemes to ruin Blanche's father so that the girl will be forced to accept his attention. However, Blanche loves "Sky Eye" Blake, an aviator at the adjoining U. S. aviation field. When Mangin is driven in desperation to muster his own private air force in order to destroy his rival's oil plants, "Sky Eye" takes to the skies to quell the riot. After several daring escapades, "Sky Eye" captures Mangin and wins Blanche for his bride.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Sky-Eye perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: George B. Seitz

The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.

Dir: Ralph Ince

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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

Dir: Malcolm St. Clair

A dancing instructor gets involved with a newly rich family.

Dir: Perry N. Vekroff

While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.

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

Dir: Edwin L. Hollywood

Postmaster's daughter Sally Haston, living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, loves Steve Carey but wants him to enlist and fight the Germans during the Great War. At the training camp, Steve is unhappy and frequently argues with his roughneck tentmate Billy Murphy. Steve deserts to visit Sally, who quickly accompanies him back to the camp, where Captain Roderick Brooke sympathetically explains the purpose of the war. Later, moonshiner James Grogan holes up with a gun to escape the draft and holds Sally prisoner. Her father organizes a posse, but Steve, on leave, rescues her and announces that he is leaving for Europe to fight for democracy.

Dir: Edgar Jones

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

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Don't Weaken! perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Richard Smith

Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.

Dir: Unknown Director

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.