Masterpiece Selection Resonating with the Themes of Whither Thou Goest: Cult Guide

Dir: Raymond B. West

The social climbing Flower family is comprised of Mr. Flower, a banker who has overextended himself financially, Mrs. Flower, a socially ambitious mother, Julia Flower, a marriage-minded elder daughter and Madge Flower, a high-spirited younger daughter. When Madge is expelled from boarding school for her practical jokes and pranks, she joins her mother and sister in Palm Beach, where they are wintering, in hopes of snaring a titled husband for Julia. Julia, fearful that her little sister will impair her success on the marriage market, forces Madge to dress as a child of ten. Julia has her sights set on the Earl of Larsdale, but after a series of misadventures, Madge elopes with the young man who turns out not to be an earl at all, but a prosperous young American who is holding her father's notes. Thus, she saves the day for the Flower family.

Dir: Raymond B. West

Pampy lives in a quaint little Dutch village, where she supports her invalid father by selling flowers to tourists. Pampy is so beautiful that she provides inspiration to Donald Luther, an American artist who is visiting the village, and at his request, poses for him. Just as his interest starts to blossom into love, he is called away for two weeks. During his absence Pampy's father dies, leaving her only with directions to her wealthy grandfather's home in New York. A letter containing money for her voyage is intercepted by the unscrupulous Captain von der Bloom, who takes an innkeeper's daughter to the old man and tries to persuade him that she is his grandaughter. Pampy is finally able to sail to America when the village priest buys her passage, and she arrives just in time to prevent the old man from turning over a large sum of money to von der Bloom. The gloom of the old house is then awakened to laughter as it is filled with Pampy's charming presence, and all ends happily as she is reunited with her artist.

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

Dir: Raymond B. West

Bessie Wheaton returns from Europe to find that her nouveau-riche family has adopted and magnified the worst characteristics of the upper class. Her father spends all of his time at the club, her mother cultivates snobbishness, and her sister thinks only of marrying into royalty. To shake them out of their aristocratic poses, Bessie decides to reflect all of their faults, becoming as lazy as her father and as status conscious as her mother. She even rejects her own sweetheart, Allan Shelby, to lure Count d'Orr away from her sister. Finally, her family members confront her and she angrily tells them that she was only mirroring their behavior. She then runs away, but Allan, with whom she quickly reconciles, brings her back, just as her family acknowledges their recent burlesque of the upper crust.

Dir: Raymond B. West

An actress plans revenge on a man and gives it up for the sake of his little son.

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

Dir: Raymond B. West

An narcissistic woman with the ability to charm, Leila Aradella reaps delight from preying upon weak men. Her first victim is John Morton, a talented lawyer, whom she ruins both morally and financially. Her second victim, Rex Walden, the generous son of society matron Mrs. Walden, becomes her complete slave. Mrs. Walden sends her elder son Franklin to try to dissuade Leila from toying with Rex's affections. Franklin, however, also falls under Leila's spell, and Rex is driven to suicide by her callous behavior. Desperate, Mrs. Walden enlists Adele Harley, a girl of strong moral character, to fight Leila for Franklin's affections. Adele's determined victory causes Leila to lose her confidence, and in a drunken state, she cuts her own face with a shard from her shattered mirror. Permanently disfigured, Leila ends a broken and lonely woman.

Dir: Raymond B. West

Scottish fisherman Andy MacTavish rescues a baby whom he discovers washed up on the shore during a storm, and names her Ariel. As a girl, Ariel often dances on the beach and dreams of a man who will appear to her out of the mist. Her dream comes true when she witnesses an airplane crash in which the pilot, Franklin Shirley, is injured. Andy and Ariel care for Franklin until he recovers his health, after which he returns home. Having fallen in love with Franklin, Ariel follows him to London, where, with the encouragement of impresario Abe Strohman, she becomes a renowned dancer. Now Franklin's social equal, Ariel uses all her wiles to win his love, despite the fact that he is already engaged to Elaine Shackleford. When Elaine's mother asks her to give him up, however, she reluctantly agrees and prepares to give herself to Strohman. Elaine surprises everyone by eloping with Richard Barrows, leaving Franklin free to wed his dancer.

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

Dir: Raymond B. West

Patrick "The Ear" Muldoon, a professional safecracker, passes on his skills to his daughter Peggy. However, after reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's books, Peggy decides to forego a life of crime, after pulling one last job. Unfortunately, she's arrested for that crime and sent to prison for two years. When she gets out of prison she moves to California and meets Robert Benton, who works in a local bank. Theu marry and are living happily--until Peggy's old gang shows up and threatens to tell her husband about her past unless she helps them crack the safe in his bank.

Dir: Raymond B. West

Thisbe Lorraine, an American who hopes to pursue an art career in Paris, falls in love with German aristocrat Ernst Faber, who makes love to the young woman and then leaves her. Disillusioned, Thisbe resolves to live by her own rules and returns to New York, where her sex novels earn her great fame and wealth. At a grotto café in Greenwich Village, Thisbe encounters "Tea Cup Ann," a fortuneteller who predicts that her sinful ways will bring her only sorrow. Later, Thisbe falls in love with artist Le Saint Hammond, who asks her to pose for his statue of Psyche, but when he learns of her past, her rejects her and then begins to drink excessively. Thisbe's sorrow turns to joy, however, when Le Saint finally returns to her.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Maid o' the Storm perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Raymond B. West

When the wealthy Robert Reyburn offers to pay for struggling painter Phyllis Page to continue her studies in Europe, he is not interested simply in serving as a patron of the arts. As a result, they indulge in a brief romance behind the back of Robert's wife Edith, then, several years later, Phyllis returns to the United States as a famous artist and becomes a high society favorite. Later, Edith successfully arranges a romance between her brother Dick and Phyllis. When Dick proposes, however, Edith turns him down, because she knows that, as his wife, she eventually would have to tell him who gave her the money for her European training and explain the conditions under which the money was offered.

Dir: Raymond B. West

Rumpelstiltskin, a wicked little dwarf with magic power, covets the miller's daughter, Polly. He offers the miller two bags of gold for her and is angrily kicked out of the mill. The dwarf vows eternal vengeance. The King, whose coffers are empty, having heard of the magic power of the dwarf, sends for him and commands him to refill his coffers. The dwarf, in vengeance, tells the King that the miller's daughter can spin straw into gold. The King sends for Polly, places her in a room full of straw and commands her to spin it into gold before dawn, else she, her father and the dwarf will lose their heads. The dwarf tells Polly he will spin the straw for her if she will promise him her first born, if it is a girl. Polly, in order to save her father, promises. Prince Cole, disguised as a hunter, seeks a girl to love. He sees Polly and falls in love with her. She agrees to meet him in the forest, but is captured by the dwarf and taken to his cave, where the Dragon is set to watch over her. With the assistance of the Good Fairy the Prince rescues Polly. The King places the Prince in a dungeon because of his love for Polly. The Good Fairy helps Polly to liberate him and he and Polly step on the magic carpet which the Good Fairy has given Polly and wish themselves far away. They are transferred to the woods, where they are married and a baby girl is born to them. The dwarf searches for Polly and the Prince, finds them and steals their child. The Good Fairy again comes to their assistance and the child is restored to them. The King, whose treasure is exhausted in the search for his son, commands the miller again produce his daughter so that she can spin some more straw into gold for him. The Prince and Polly appear before the King, by whom they are joyfully welcomed. They tell the King the story and the dwarf is condemned to spinning straw the rest of his natural life.