Visionary Picks Drawn from the Same DNA as Westward Bound: Cult Guide

Dir: Lambert Hillyer

Tough outlaw 'Sierra' Bill falls in love with traveling violinist Nelly Gray and forces her to marry him. They have a child, but their cozy family life is interrupted by gambler Ringo, who not only persuades Nelly to leave her husband but also ruins Sierra at the gaming table. With thoughts of vengeance, the angry Sierra breaks out of jail and goes after Ringo.

Dir: Harris Gordon

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

A man named Chandler, claiming to be a novelist in search of local color, arrives at a town near the Mexican border, where he makes advances toward Jo, a girl living a solitary life on a desert ranch. Manning, a cowboy, suspects Chandler's motives, and his suspicions are strengthened when Chandler is caught cheating at cards. Following a gang of Mexicans to their mountain retreat, Manning learns that Chandler and the Mexicans are smuggling opium across the border. Two gang members are killed in the ensuing fight, but Chandler, wounded by Manning after a chase on the cliffs, escapes to Jo's home, where he denounces Manning as a smuggler. Manning arrives and dispels Jo's misgivings about him by revealing that he is a Texas Ranger, sworn to secrecy. Chandler is allowed to escape, and Manning and Joe are united.

Dir: Kenneth Brampton

Two brothers, Dick and Jim Marsden, become involved with the bushranger, Captain Starlight. They romance two girls, work on the goldfields, and are captured by the police after Starlight is shot dead

Dir: Scott R. Dunlap

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

When saloon owner Bill Lark detects that gambler Jim Pemberton is cheating, both men draw their guns. In order to prevent a double killing, it is agreed that the first shot should be decided by a draw from a deck of cards. Bill loses and Pemberton gives him three days to live. Meanwhile, Pemberton has persuaded Jess Jones to leave her husband and ride with him to his cabin in the hills where he is chief of a gang of bandits. Upon discovering his wife's absence, Scipio Jones follows Jess but is driven away by Pemberton's gang. After Jones fails, Bill retrieves Jess and brings her home. The next day, Bill is severely wounded when he drives a stagecoach through an attack by Pemberton's gang, but escapes to keep his date with the outlaw. Arriving to accept his fate of the last draw, Bill discovers that the outlaw has been killed by Scipio Jones. Provided with a new lease on life, the honest saloon keeper marries his sweetheart Little Casino.

Dir: Clarence G. Badger

Ort Hutchins is a confirmed loafer who spends all of his time fishing while his wife toils over the washtub. One day, while digging for worms, Hutch uncovers a box containing $100,000 in bills, the loot of a bank robbed in the next town. Realizing that he cannot spend the money without arousing suspicion, Hutch resigns himself to taking a job for cover. Accepting an offer from banker Hiram Joy to work his abandoned farm in exchange for a share of the land, Hutch finds himself successful and the farm prospering. Returning to retrieve his treasure, Hutch is sickened when he finds the box gone and in its place a note from the robber. However, Hutch makes an abrupt recovery when he is offered $10,000 for his share of the farm, an offer that forces him to realize that he has become a self-made man.

Dir: Emmett J. Flynn

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

Rancher Joe Cumberland finds "Whistling Dan" in the desert and gives the boy a home, rearing him with his daughter Kate. Dan, grown to manhood, remains untamed, possessing a hot temper which ignites his eyes into a yellow glow when he is angered. Dan's eyes glow and he vows revenge when outlaw Jim Silent tries to kill him in a saloon brawl. Kate goes to the outlaw camp to prevent Dan from killing Silent, but is taken prisoner. The confrontation between the two men escalates when Dan captures Lee Haines, one of Silent's men, and Silent retaliates by imprisoning Kate's father. After a trade of prisoners, Dan trails the outlaws and exterminates the entire gang except for Silent. The two adversaries then slug it out, with Dan strangling his tormentor. His revenge accomplished, Dan is somewhat tamed and settles down with Kate.

Dir: Victor Heerman

In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.

Dir: Edward A. Kull

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

A "square" gambler first breaks and then saves the lover of a girl whom he later loves himself. The girl gives up her lover in favor of the gambler after learning the former's weakness and the latter's strength.

Dir: Val Paul

Finding himself out of funds, cowboy Dick Rainboldt accepts a job from an employment agency which sends him to the Torpedo mine in San Clemente. En route, he meets Katie Wigfall and is immediately attracted to the girl. Upon his arrival, Dick is amazed to discover that he has been employed as a strikebreaker, but determines to see the job through even though he disagrees with its objectives. Upon learning that the owner of the mine is being misled by his manager and superintendent, Dick determines to rectify the situation. After accepting money from the conspirators to blow up the mine tunnel, Dick uses the incident to expose the plotters, winning for himself a hefty promotion as well as Katie's love.

Dir: Denison Clift

Upon inheriting the H. C. Ranch, young Easterner Jane Hunter ventures West to take possession of her legacy. Soon after arriving, she appoints a cowboy named Hepburn as the foreman. Ranch hand Tom Beck suspects that Hepburn may be in league with the band of rustlers who are victimizing the ranch, but says nothing. An attachment springs up between Tom and his boss, and when Dick Hilton, Jane's former suitor, follows her West and begins making unwelcome advances towards her, Tom intervenes and orders him from the house. With Hepburn's resignation as foreman, Tom takes over the job and, after a quarrel with Jane, sets out to track down the rustlers. Captured by the outlaws, Tom is left to die in a remote canyon. As Tom struggles to free himself, the gang is apprehended and brought to trial. Jane is sentencing them as the escaped Tom appears in the courtroom. Overjoyed, she rushes towards him, and in the ensuing chaos, the gang escapes. A shootout follows and Tom wins both the fight and Jane.