Top-Tier Alternatives In the Shadow of When Baby Forgot: Cult Guide

Dir: Eugene Moore

"Beware of the water devil." That was what the editor said to the star reporter as he sent him off to Florida to investigate the mysterious water denizen that was causing a panic among the residents on the shores of Crystal Lake. The reporter laughed; he was not a bit worried about the water devil, for his assignment was taking him to the spot where his sweetheart lived and where he suspected a great treasure in gold bullion that had been stolen from her father was buried. Four crooks had stolen the gold from the mine of his sweetheart's father in Mexico and had carried it by boat to Florida, where one of them had double-crossed his pals, marooned them on an island in a lake, buried the gold and went north, expecting to join his wife and disappear with her, returning to Florida later for the gold, but the other crooks got away sooner than he expected, followed him North and besieged him in his own house. Cut off from all help, he wrote a note to his wife. He also drew a map telling where he had hidden the treasure, painted it over with blue watercolor and hung it on his wall just before the avengers broke in. In the fight that followed he was blinded and mortally wounded and was taken to the hospital. The wife of one of the crooks followed him there, knowing that he was blind, and pretending to be his wife, tried to get the secret of the treasure, but failed. Later he died after saying to his wife, who came at last: "The blue picture; the blue picture." Being out of money and unable to solve the mystery of the blue picture, the wife wrote to the mine owner, offering to divide the gold if he could help her locate it. The owner was away, and before his daughter could answer the letter the crooks managed to do away with the writer of it and carried off the blue picture, which they suspected contained the clue. It is at the scene of the killing that the reporter meets the mine owner's daughter and falls in love with her. It is there, too, that the reporter finds a fragment of the blue picture and suspects its importance, chiefly from the efforts of the wife of the sole surviving crook to steal it from him. He lets her steal it at last, and then follows her and finds the blue picture in the shack in Florida where she lives with her husband. This shack is on the banks of the lake where the water devil moves and has his being. Hesitating to carry off the picture, the reporter photographs it, only to find out later that blue (the picture is blue) is non-actinic and does not photograph. His sweetheart, who develops the film for him, comforts him for his failure. They throw aside the film as useless; they had hoped the pictured scene would give them the location of the gold. The film falls into the hands of the woman who now has the picture, and she finds out that the writing and the plan giving the secret has photographed through the blue and can be read by the aid of a magnifying glass. But before she can take the secret to her husband and with him find and get away with the gold, the daughter of the rightful owner of the gold comes upon her, takes the film from her, locks her up, and gets to the reporter with the glad tidings that at last she knows where the stolen gold is buried. Unluckily, the imprisoned woman's husband is with the reporter when the girl brings the news, and he offers to take the pair to the island where the gold is buried, in his boat, and help them to dig it up. All this he does, and then he calmly tells them that the gold is his and they are going to die and be buried in the hole from which the gold was taken. Just at this moment, when the ruffian, standing in the gold-ladened boat, raises his rifle and is about to shoot, from the water behind the boat rises the water devil, of whom much had been told, but of whose real existence few people had been convinced. It carries off the would-be murderer, and the girl, happy in having restored to her father his lost gold, finds still greater happiness in the life-long love of the young reporter, whose bride she consents to be.

Dir: Eugene Moore

When Dr. Beatrice Barlow, who has recently been appointed to the city health commission, disregards a warning about denouncing as unsafe and unsanitary a tenement which Mayor Glynn owns, she is fired. After learning that the city's newspaper is also owned by Glynn, Dr. Barlow writes to the governor and is granted a hearing the next month. Upon finding a case of smallpox in the tenement, Dr. Barlow unsuccessfully attempts to have it quarantined. When she puts up a quarantine sign herself, a health official struggles with her, but a man appears and thrashes the official. Although the mayor and his cronies hide a man in her hotel room to compromise her, the man who helped her learns of the plot, and it is foiled. When the tenement catches fire, the man rescues Dr. Barlow, but she is then lured to a sanitarium and imprisoned. The man finds her, arrests her keepers and brings her to the hearing in time to present evidence against the mayor, who is imprisoned. Finally the man reveals himself to be the governor's private secretary.

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

Dir: Eugene Moore

The story is centered about an oval diamond, a priceless gem, found by a South African miner on his claim. His possession of it has aroused the envy of his stepbrother, Major Dennison, his former partner, and the latter's son, Arthur Dennison, and of four miners who owned adjacent claims. To escape their plotting to gain possession of the stone, the owner and his daughter, Sylvia, left for America. Shortly after their arrival in the United States, however. Major Dennison and his son had effected an automobile accident with the taxicab in which Mr. Daunt and his daughter were riding, had killed his stepbrother, and had escaped with diamond. Later, on her search for the gem, Sylvia had gone to her uncle's house where she had been imprisoned and restrained from going beyond the high walls which enclosed the plane. All this had happened before the beginning of the play. Things of importance for Sylvia do not begin to happen until the entrance of Robert Ledyard, impressionable youth, over the garden wall. On a trip south, Robert discovers that there is something mysterious and unfathomable about the house next to the one in which his uncle, whom he is visiting, lives. To further his suspicions, he discovers a very hampered and unhappy looking girl in the enclosed yard. Feeling certain that she is in trouble, he throws a note to her in which he offers his services, and asks her to nod her head if he can be of assistance. Hardly waiting for a reply, he follows his note over the garden wall, and learns the story of her distress. The complications which follow with the return of Major Dennison and his son before Robert has time to return to his uncle's house, start Robert's fight for the possession of the oval diamond. Robert escapes, eludes now Major Dennison and his son, and later the four miners, who, too, have come to America determined to possess the diamond. He finds the diamond a thousand times and loses it again. It travels through hundreds of hands during the brief five thousand feet of its existence, but in the end it comes back to stay in the hands which own it. Sylvia marries Robert. They start north on their wedding trip. In his pocket the young bridegroom carries a small package which he carefully guards, feeling nervously now and again, to see that he has not lost it. Following them is a mysterious character who watches and shakes his head shrewdly as he sees the evident feeling of insecurity which possesses Robert. As the young bride and groom sit on the rear platform of the train the stranger appears before them, removes his mustache, and demands at the point of the pistol, that Robert hand over the small package in his pocket. It is Colby, one of the miners. Knowing that resistance is futile, the young man hands over his guarded package, and the thief drops from the speeding train. After he had gone, the young husband laughs, and pulls from an inside pocket the real diamond. The one he had given to Colby was paste.

Dir: Eugene Moore

High spirited daughter of Miller Tulliver, the owner of the "Mill on the Floss," Maggie Tulliver goes to visit Tom, her brother, at his boarding school and becomes acquainted with Philip Wakem, Tom's crippled schoolmate. After Philip's father, a prosperous lawyer, schemes to take over the mill, Tom forces Maggie to end her liaison with Philip. To satisfy his father's dying wish, Tom maneuvers to reclaim the mill, which legends say will cause the Floss River to flood if it is lost to the Tullivers, but throws Maggie out of the house when he hears spurious reports about her friendship with Stephen Guest, her cousin's fiancé. Although she loves Stephen, Maggie decides to give him up and mend her relationship with Tom. On her way to his house, the Floss begins to overflow, threatening to destroy the mill. Bravely Maggie struggles to save her brother, but the river overcomes them, and they die, clasped in each other's arms.

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

Dir: Eugene Moore

Orphaned after the death of their mother, Nancy Grimm and her baby sister Ellen are taken to the country where Ellen is adopted by the wealthy Walsh family. Nancy keenly feels the loss of her sister, and when the judge rules that she cannot visit Ellen without permission, she throws herself onto a bench, winning the sympathy of young attorney Chester Noble. Nancy is then placed in the Wick's home where she is treated as a servant. Miserable, Nancy cuts off her hair and, dressed as a boy, runs away. Learning that Mrs. Walsh has tired of the novelty of having a baby, Nancy goes to the Walsh house and steals Ellen away, but the fugitives are found by the police and returned to the orphanage. Desperate, Nancy goes to Chester and confesses all, and the young attorney agrees to help her. After sending Nancy to his parents in the South, Chester intervenes and convinces the court to put the sisters in the custody of his parents, and thus Ellen and Nancy are finally reunited.

Dir: Eugene Moore

Julie de Mortemar, the ward of Cardinal Richelieu, is in love with Adrian de Mauprat, a soldier of fortune. Louis the Thirteenth is in love with her himself, as is also his favorite, Count de Baradas. Cardinal Richelieu, in order to protect his ward from the King, marries her to de Mauprat. Under the influence of Baradas, King Louis issues an order for the annulment of the marriage and demands that she return to court. Baradas conspires with Gaston, Duke d'Orleans, a brother of Louis the Thirteenth, to dethrone the King and murder his prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu. Baradas poisons de Mauprat's mind against Richelieu and induces him to join in the conspiracy against the King. The conspirators attempt to murder Richelieu. De Mauprat enters his chambers at night, but he meets Richelieu, who proves to de Mauprat that Baradas has lied to him in showing that the Cardinal was de Mauprat's enemy. The conspirators are at the door to murder Richelieu, but the Cardinal and de Mauprat trick him by pretending that Richelieu has been strangled in his sleep. The conspirators have sent a document to Count de Baradas, who, at the head of his army, is on the French frontier. This document contains the names of all concerned in the conspiracy. Richelieu, by the aid of his spies, obtains possession of that document, exposes the conspirators to the monarch and assumes his old position at court as the Prime Minister of Louis Thirteenth. The husband of his ward is made to have no regrets for his loyalty in the Cardinal's great time of need.

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

Dir: Eugene Moore

Nell (Gladys Hulette) leaves the farm to start a candy store in New York, but has a troubled start until she meets Jack Monroe (William Park Jr.), a young spendthrift who helps her attract business. They fall in love, marry, and move in with Jack's father (J. H. Gilmour). Nell soon discovers that Jack is a drug addict. In sympathy, Jack's father offers to annul the marriage, but Nell refuses, wishing instead to commit herself to the indefinite struggle of pursuing the road to Jack's rehabilitation.

Dir: Eugene Moore

With younger brothers and sisters to support, Peggy takes on the task-heavy job as maid for Mrs. Stuyvesant. Peggy also manages to help the woman's children, a lovelorn daughter and a son who is the unwilling tool of spies.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Girl Who Won Out perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Eugene Moore

The second of "Thanhouser Big Productions," a monthly schedule, Joseph in the Land of Egypt was a true "feature" film, a new class of film which came to dominate the market by the end of 1914. A feature was an hour or more, heavily advertised, with elaborate production values, often with higher ticket prices, longer runs per theater, strongly promoted star cast and was always a drama. Thanhouser followed up on the enormous success one year earlier of THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM with a familiar Biblical story, large and highly decorated (and highly populated) sets, elaborate costumes and (something new) star promotion. Only a few "Thanhouser Big Productions" in early 1914 included specially-commissioned scores from Tams Music Library. It had been common for accompanists to improvise or use standard selections from theater and classical music, or "cue sheets" of compilations tailored specifically to the film. Beginning in 1915, the biggest features included original scores commissioned by the production studio. The performed score for JOSEPH IN THE LAND OF EGYPT is a combination of the written original music and the musician's improvisation based on its themes. This original music is a transition to the fully-composed scores introduced in Europe and the U.S. a year later. Whether it is another Thanhouser innovation is a subject for research. As in all the other titles in this Thanhouser collection, organist Ben Model exhibits the demanding and skillful art of improvisation.

Dir: Eugene Moore

Pamela Congreve, the daughter of an old fisherman, is a carefree child of nature, whose heart has been won by Lord Charteris, a treacherous noble, who is the secret leader of a band of smugglers. Charteris tells Pamela's father of the wealth he will win if he joins the smugglers, and the deluded old man finally consents. The smugglers land a cargo on the sea coast, but the suspicions of the revenue officers are aroused and they pursue the smugglers. Lord Charteris and the old fisherman are overtaken, and, to save himself from capture, Charteris tells the coast guards of his rank and claims that he captured his companion, whom he denounces as a smuggler. In spite of Pamela's pleas, Charteris refuses to aid him, and the old man is put to death. Vowing to be revenged upon the treacherous Charteris, Pamela goes out into the world. She obtains employment at a wayside inn, and there once more meets Charteris. She stabs him, and believes that she has killed him, but it is merely a ruse of the wily noble. Pamela joins a troupe of traveling actors, and goes to London, where she soon becomes one of the reigning favorites. Pamela's chief admirer is the Duke of Harlow. He asks her to marry him, but she refuses, and struggles vainly to conceal her deep love for him, feeling that her past makes her unfit to be his wife. The Duke of Harlow's wealth has made Lord and Lady Trevor consider him as a desirable husband for Kitty, their daughter, but that strong-willed person has already selected a future husband who boasts neither wealth nor title. So Kitty and her beloved go to Pamela, whom they know the Duke adores, and beg her to accept him. Then Kitty will not have to wed him. Pamela promises to aid the young couple, and in order to do so, manages to win an invitation to Lord Trevor's ball. At the grand ball at Trevor House the load of guilt is lifted from Pamela's heart for she meets Lord Charteris again, and realizes that he still lives. Charteris is as unscrupulous as ever, and determines to steal the Trevor jewels. An opportunity presents itself when Trevor shows his guests the famous gems, and after they are replaced in the strong box the key falls to the floor, and is found by Charteris. Pamela, however, suspicious of the man she hates, keeps watch during the night and discovers him in the act of stealing the gems, but Charteris adroitly directs the suspicion upon Pamela, playing upon the prejudice of the others for "the stage-woman." Harlow takes her part. The Duke threatens to prove Charteris to be a scoundrel, and the latter, fearing that he will be exposed, plans to silence Harlow forever. The cowardly plot does not succeed, for word is brought to Pamela and she reaches Harlow in time to warn him. Charteris later succeeds in kidnapping Pamela, but they are overtaken by Harlow, and Charteris is killed, while Pamela, now convinced that her "past" is buried, promises to marry the man she loves.