Underground Favorites Mirroring the Impact of Young Nowheres: Cult ...

Dir: Frank Lloyd

Barney Kemper works hard on a farm so his younger brother Dick can go to college. However, Dick squanders Barney's money. Margaret Danford, daughter of the village doctor, loves Barney from afar and tries to educate him. A girlfriend of Margaret's comes for a visit and steals Barney's heart. The young girl turns to Dick, and Barney discovers them together. Embittered, Barney goes west to work in a lumber camp. But Dick reforms, and becomes a minister, and is assigned to the lumber camp. Margaret goes along to start a hospital. Tex Daly, leader of the lumbermen, resent Dick and try to frame him with a saloon girl. When Dick is shot by Tex, Barney appears and helps his wounded brother by taking charge of the church. Dick dies, and Barney kills Tex. Barney and Margaret are united.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

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

Alcoholic lawyer Sydney Carton travels to Paris during the Reign of Terror to rescue French aristocrat Charles Darnay, husband of the woman he loves.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

Jean Valjean, a good and decent man who has committed a minor crime, is imprisoned but escapes. He is pursued thereafter for years by Javert, the cruel and implacable arm of the law.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

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

William Armstrong, an American whose family is from France, inherits an iron mine in France. With his sister Betty, he travels to France to take over the business. In the village near the mine lives Claire, the daughter of a wealthy family, who is engaged to the scheming Duc de Bligny. When Claire's family loses all their money, the Duc dumps her for the daughter of a wealthy manufacturer. Armstrong and his sister find themselves caught up in this intrigue, which becomes more complicated when Armstrong falls for Claire.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

Nell, a beautiful mountain girl, is a member of the Serviss family, rivals of the neighboring Rutherford family. Nell is engaged to Jim Serviss, who is the head of their clan, but when, by accident, she meets a stranger who has come to stay with the Rutherfords, they become infatuated. The stranger spends much of his time examining and chipping away at rocks, causing an intense curiosity among the mountaineers, who suspect that he is a "revenuer." When Nell learns that the stranger is searching for radium, she shows him a deposit rich in ore located near the Serviss still. On the night of a big dance, the Serviss still is burned by revenue officers and the mountain people are convinced that the stranger is to blame. Nell rushes to the Rutherford cabin to warn the stranger who is revealed to be Rolf Rutherford. When Jim arrives, Nell saves Rolf's life by telling Jim that she will marry the stranger. Soon after Jim leaves, however, Nell goes after him and admits that it is only he who she loves and that she lied to save him from committing murder.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

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

After her parents separate, young Violet Dale's father takes her to Alaska. Although he tries to protect her from the sordidness of life in a lawless town, Violet must resort to working in a dance hall after he is killed after being caught cheating at cards. Despite her circumstances, Violet remains virtuous and earns the respect and admiration of the dance-hall clientele. Frank Carson, a young man who has come to Alaska to seek his fortune, is attracted to Violet and asks her to marry him. When he shows her a portrait of his mother, Violet sees that it is a duplicate of a portrait she has of her own mother. Now realizing that Frank is her own brother, she refuses his proposal but does not tell him why. Some time later, Frank receives word that his mother is seriously ill and needs an expensive operation that she cannot afford. Desperate to help, Violet holds an auction at the dance hall to offer herself to the highest bidder. Rev. David Cromwell, a kind man who is in love with Violet and knows her predicament, makes the winning bid of $6,000, although he does not have the money. Dance-hall owner Buck, who is jealous of David's influence over the community, decides to lend him the money for three months on the condition that if David does not pay, he will belong to Buck for 10 years. David eventually obtains the money and wins Violet's love.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

Returning home to find that his sister has died after being abducted and violated by an unscrupulous man, sailor Larry Smith ships out as mate with Captain Sutton. After an altercation with the captain, Larry leaves the ship at a South Sea port where he meets and falls in love with Violet North, a woman of questionable reputation who is the mistress of millionaire Lewis. Larry proposes, but Violet sails with Lewis anyway. Sutton also sets sail, leaving behind inveterate drunk Logan, who informs Larry that Sutton was the man responsible for his sister's death. Sometime later, Lewis' yacht is wrecked and Violet is cast upon an island. Sutton picks her up and tries to sell her to the natives as punishment for resisting his advances, but Larry rescues her and kills Sutton. His sister thus avenged, Larry marries Violet and settles down.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

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

Florence Brent is the daughter of Bennington Brent, who runs a successful laundry business. Florence's childhood friend, John Oglesby, is a Congressman. When Florence visits her friend, Eleanor Williamson, in Washington D.C., she meets Eleanor's fiancé, who is a Count. The Duke of Buritz, a countryman of the Count, tries to corrupt Oglesby for political reasons. Meanwhile, the Count breaks his engagement to Eleanor, having become enamored of Florence. Oglesby eventually exposes the duplicity of the Count and Duke.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

Unhappy with her shotgun marriage to Southern aristocrat Arthur Heatherway, Valerie Marchmont leaves her new husband and, after giving her infant daughter to a Virginia family, goes to Alaska to work in a dance hall. Years later, the daughter, Adrian Gardiner, wants to marry Richard Carver. Richard's father Robert, refuses them to marry because Adrian cannot provide any information about her parents. Following a hunch, Richard goes to Alaska to find the mother Adrian never knew, but just after locating Valerie, he is shot by saloon owner Jim McNeil. When Adrian and Robert go to Alaska to be with Richard during his recuperation, Robert recognizes Valerie as the wife of his old friend Arthur. As a result, he approves of the marriage, but the celebration accompanying the news is cut short when Valerie and Jim kill each other in a fight.

Dir: Frank Lloyd

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.