Rare Cinematic Gems Exploring the Legacy of Western Blood: Cult Guide

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

"Miss Lady," as the Black servants call the Colonel's daughter, has an admirer in the person of Don Morley whom she does not care for on account of his passion for gay life. However, he promises to reform if Myrtle (Miss Lady) will marry him. As they are out for a canter one day, an accident caused by Chick's foster-father's carelessness, is just averted, and in this way Miss Lady makes the acquaintance of Chick, a little mute chap. A storm one day causes Don and Lee Dillingham to seek shelter in a saloon conducted by Sheely. Sheely and Lee fight and Lee shoots, wounding Sheely, but not seriously. Lee gets Don to promise that he will say nothing about it. All of this has been observed by Chick, hidden in an old barrel. Don, according to the agreement leaves town, and Lee so warps the story that suspicion is fastened upon Don. The Colonel forbids his daughter to receive any word from Don until his name is cleared. Don has left for the West and accompanied by a friend makes a trip to the Orient, where he anxiously awaits a letter from Miss Lady in response to the one he sent her. Through Chick's foster-father's carelessness, a train is derailed; the Colonel is killed and his friend Professor Querrington is injured; he is taken to the Colonel's home, where Miss Lady nurses him back to health. He falls in love with her; later, financially embarrassed and not knowing where Don is, she consents to assume the responsibilities of the Professor's household. But the Professor resumes his writing and Miss Lady is quite neglected. As Don with his friend are ready to return home, he receives a letter from Lee telling him of the marriage of Miss Lady. He is grief-stricken and decides to remain in the Orient while his friend returns home. His friend calls upon the Professor and it is then that Miss Lady learns that Lee has tricked her lover. Don's friend wires him to return home. Christmas Eve the Sequins are giving a party but so engrossed is the professor in his work that he sends Miss Lady alone. She will not dance, as her husband does not approve of the pastime. Don, who has returned, goes to the affair, meets Miss Lady and when she tells him that she did not receive his letter, he leaves her. Sequin advises Don to sell a certain bank stock. He does and a few days later the bank fails. This causes the loss of the professor's entire fortune and eventually his death. Then Miss Lady returns to her own home and takes with her Chick to whom she has become attached. Finally she decides to have him operated upon in the hope of restoring his speech. The operation is successful. Don has been brought to trial for the injury of Sheely and things look bad for him. Chick hears Miss Lady weeping over the fate of Don, and then he tells her that it was the dark-haired man, Lee, who did the shooting. They waste no time in running to Don's aid. and he is soon vindicated. Later Don and Miss Lady are married.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

With his invalid mother, Chet Wells rents a piece of property from Deacon Todd for the purpose of demonstrating Chet's ideas of "scientific farming." Major Burke and his daughter Emily are near neighbors. Emily is engaged to marry a wealthy young neighbor man. Her neighborly kindness to poorly Mrs. Wells brings her into frequent association with Chet, and the young people become fond of each other without openly expressing their mutual regard. Chet is unable to make the farm pay, and when Deacon Todd demands his rent, the young man cannot pay. During the argument Mrs. Wells arises from her bed and the excited conversation between Todd, the sheriff, and Chet gives her such a shock that she falls to the floor, fatally stricken. Chet swears vengeance upon Deacon Todd whom he blames for hastening his mother's death. Finally compelled to vacate, Chet sells his chattel and goes away to seek his fortune. Deacon Todd moves into the house Chet has vacated and an enmity develops between Major Burke and the miserly old deacon, climaxing when the major sends a charge of shot in Todd's direction because he discovers the deacon letting his cows into the major's corn. Todd disappears the night that Chet returns. Suspicion is directed toward Chet because threats he had made to "get even" with the deacon. Major Burke is conscience-stricken when he sees a flock of buzzards hovering over a nearby swamp and fancies that the dead body of his "victim" is the attraction for the vultures. Taking assiduously to drinking for the purpose of quieting his conscience the major is overcome by the stuff and sleeps. Chet enters the major's house to call upon Emily and hears the major talking in his maudlin slumber, revealing the facts in the shooting of Todd. By the same method of transmission, Emily has learned from her own father's lips that truth of "the deacon's demise." When officers come to Burke's house and accuse Chet of the crime the young man admits that he is guilty and tells the officers to search the swamp for Todd's remains. Chet's heroism in submitting himself as a victim to her own father's action greatly stirs Emily's latent admiration, and forgetful of her obligation to marry another, the girl easily surrenders her heart to Chet and proceeds to help him out of his dilemma. Chet is locked in the rickety neighborhood jail and Emily releases him, giving him opportunity to decamp and begging him to take her along to be married. Thus matters arrive at the conclusion of the film, but the exact manner in which the story ends is not revealed. Suffice it to say that the "surprise finish" changes the whole nature of the story from tense melodrama to boisterous farce, ending in the "biggest laugh" ever produced by a moving picture.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Annette finds a baby in the snow alongside her dead mother and takes it to Baptiste Dupre and his wife, where the two of them grow up. A corrupt sheriff is infatuated with her, and Jean Rivard (Tom Mix), an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, must rescue her from him.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Aaron Whitaker is a seafaring man, owner of the sailing ship Alden Besse. He has promised Jacob Babcock, his first mate, that his daughter Esther shall become Babcock's wife. But Esther is in love with Caleb Tilden, her childhood sweetheart, and her grandfather, in sympathetic interest, advises her to marry Caleb and run the chance of gaining her father's forgiveness. The Alden Besse is at sea when Esther's marriage to Tilden takes place. At about the same time Grandfather Whitaker dies. Jacob Babcock has remained ashore for the purpose of marrying Esther, and when the Alden Besse returns and her skipper finds that his daughter has not married Babcock, his anger is intense. Accidentally he discovers, in Esther's sewing basket, a baby's stocking, and divines the truth. He compels Esther to board the Alden Besse and locks her in a cabin. Then he seeks out Caleb Tilden, and in a fight believes he has killed him. Tilden, however, has simply been stunned and when Whitaker throws him from the wharf his sudden immersion in the cold water revives him and he manages to crawl into a string-piece under the dock, At that moment the Alden Besse is sailing, and Tilden watches her with frenzied interest. He sees Esther as she runs to the stern and attempts to jump overboard. Esther's father drags her back to her cabin and securely imprisons her there. The cook of the craft, Eben Wiggs, is the only man on board who has any sympathy for her. The cook cares for her, even when her child is born. Babcock is sailing on the Alden Besse, and when Whitaker tries to compel his daughter to marry the mate, Esther declares that she will throw herself into the sea before allowing her father to conclude the marriage ceremony. Whitaker, in disgust, abandons his purpose. Later the seamen join in mutiny and kill Whitaker, their leader being Jacob Babcock. In the meantime, Tilden has tried to come upon the Alden Besse by shipping as a sailor in a craft that sailed the same sea the Besse usually did, and has found her lying in Panama Bay. When he attempts to board the Besse, Captain Whitaker thinks he sees the ghost of the man he believes he has killed, and drives Tilden from the ship. Tilden returns home and waits for the return of the Alden Besse. The mutiny has broken out as the ship is approaching her home port. There is a fierce storm approaching at the time, and when it breaks the Besse is wrecked. Tilden heads the villagers who go to the rescue, and is the one who wades into the water and secures a raft upon which Esther and her baby have been lashed by the cook. The reunion follows and the final cruise of the Alden Besse becomes tradition.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Rejected by the army because of his petite size, French dress designer Andre Leriche conceives the idea of designing a gown that will aid his country. His employer, Madame Felice, sells the gown to Mrs. Mortimer Reyton, a middle-aged woman who is gradually losing the love of her husband. The gown so transforms her that, in honor of their wedding anniversary, Reyton buys three ambulances for France. Mrs. Reyton then sends the gown to her cousin Natalie. The garment so inspires Englishman Neil Cunningham that, to win Natalie's love, he returns home to enlist. In France, Neil proves himself a hero and, while leading an attack on a German stronghold, saves Andre's father, the mayor of the town, from death. Thus, the gown made a reality of Andre's dream to serve his country.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Lawrence Percival Van Huyler, a society fop, protests against the necessity of living up to his snobbish family's blue-blooded traditions. His fiancée, Alicia Vanderveldt, abandons him for Richard Barnaby, who ridicules the pampered Lawrence and brags of his own daring exploits in foreign countries. While the Van Huyler estate is undergoing renovation, Lawrence uncovers a box containing a confession written by the family's founder, Peter Van Huyler. In it, the patriarch admits that he was actually an Irishman of humble birth who made his fortune engaging in piracy on the high seas. Delighted, Lawrence takes a construction job and adopts a fighting attitude, challenging those who had previously made fun of him. After learning that Richard's tales of derring-do were borrowed from a book, Lawrence exposes him and regains Alicia's love.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Daws Anthony, a boy of 16, is cared for by three old men: Judge Morgan, Roger Appleby, and Caleb Talbot. One day, Northerner Ray Preston comes to their Southern town and proceeds to buy some of the judge's property. He also succeeds in breaking up the romance of village belle Carolyn Dillon and Wallace Turner. When traces of oil are discovered on the purchased property, Preston, at the suggestion of Major Dillon, consents to sell a half-interest in the land to the townsfolk for a large sum of money. Daws is suspicious, however, and undertakes an investigation, only to discover that Preston has oiled the land to swindle the town. Threatened with tarring and feathering, Preston returns the money and leaves town, thus removing all obstacles in the path of Carolyn and Turner's romance.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

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

Optimistic in the face of failure, Daniel Webster Opp finally attains success as a traveling salesman for a shoe firm, but just when his prospects are best, he receives word that his stepfather is dead. He leaves at once to meet his brother Ben at Cove Junction, where they settle the estate according to Ben's demands. Ben takes the money, while Mr. Opp is given the homestead and custody of their feeble-minded half-sister Kippy. Sacrificing all to remain with his sister, Mr. Opp founds a newspaper, "The Opp Eagle," and starts to promote the town. His optimistic editorials are read by John Mathews, a wealthy promoter who comes to investigate the possibility of coal in the area. After convincing the townspeople to invest their money, Mathews discovers the mine to be worthless and decides to sell out to the competition, against Mr. Opp's wishes. Next, Mr. Opp loses his sweetheart Guinevere Gusty to Mathew's secretary, Willard Hinton. Throughout, Mr. Opp remains cheerful and is rewarded for his optimism when the townspeople nominate him to be mayor of Cove Junction.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

Failing to hear from her brother Jimmy after his departure for the Klondike, Barbara Henderson goes in search of him. Arriving in the frozen North, Barbara learns that her brother has been murdered and vows vengeance. Because the town's small hotel is filled to capacity, Barbara accepts an offer of lodging from old Tully Winkle in return for her keeping house for him and his prospecting partner, Cort Dorian. Barbara and Cort fall in love, but Barbara refuses to marry Cort until she solves the mystery of her brother's death. From various sources she learns that Jimmy's disappearance was preceded by a shoot-out between him and prospector Laberge over Seattle Lou. Barbara then makes the acquaintance of Laberge, who tells her that Cort shot Jimmy. Barbara insists upon fighting a duel with Cort, who fires into the air and is wounded by Barbara's bullet. Just as the shots are fired, Tully appears with the news that Seattle Lou has just arrived in town with her new husband, Jimmy Henderson.

Dir: Lynn Reynolds

When Allan Corey, a writer who is out of ideas, encounters Mike beating up a man who abused his horse, he asks Mike to accompany him West for inspiration. Mike, who was recently released from prison, goes along with the idea, but looks for a chance to return to crime as soon as possible. The two stop at the ranch of Esther Hollister where Mike is able to plan a series of robberies. Because he cleverly drags four horses along with him, Mike's crimes are wrongfully attributed to the gang of "Texas" Jack, who are hiding in the vicinity. Esther is disgusted with Allan when he does nothing to stop a bank robbery that they witness, so to prove his mettle, he finds and captures Texas Jack's gang single-handedly, and even finds the loot that Mike hid nearby. The adventure gives Allen great ideas for a new novel and gives Esther ideas to marry her daring hero. Mike, not wanting to see the wrong bandits convicted, releases them from prison one night, but instead of returning to his life of crime, he returns to his partner at the ranch instead.