Underground Favorites Parallel to the Artistry of Your Obedient Servant: Cult Guide

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

Childhood friends Mary Lee and Vera receive two different versions of the 'birds and the bees' from their mothers: Mary Lee gets the facts; Vera gets a prudish fairytale version. Their lives separate after graduation, Mary Lee becomes a nurse who falls in proper love with a Doctor, whereas Vera follows her mother's advice and seeks to marry a rich man, but falls for the unlawful, syphilitic charms of a wealthy cad. Mary Lee and her Doctor rescue Vera and help her get proper care after a series of revelations showing actual patients of the loathsome disease. Finally, Mary Lee and her new husband volunteer to help our boys fighting the Huns in France.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

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

William Randall becomes a bootlegger to provide his wife with the luxuries she demands. As a consequence, he is free only on weekends while Barbara is influenced by a jazz set and spends most of her time at fashionable resorts. Although Barbara remains faithful to her husband, she goes canoeing with another man and nearly drowns when their canoe is hit by a yacht. Gossipers at the resort convince William that Barbara was cheating and he should leave her. She goes to Paris, France, while Federal agents arrest Randall and release him under bail. Meanwhile Barbara, left alone, sends for her husband, who, instead of replying, catches the first plane to Paris. Barbara has already taken poison, but she recovers when Randall arrives and they return to America together.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

Maurice Travers attends college through the self-sacrificing efforts of his mother. However, his love for sports and consequent neglect of his studies prevent his graduation. Madeline Marshall, an orphan living with Mrs. Travers, is in love with Maurice, but he marries wealthy socialite Donna Wayne instead. Their carefree life in New York City is interrupted when Donna's father insists that Maurice support her. When the young man proves himself incapable, Donna elopes with a rich suitor. Maurice endures the blindness and death of his mother, after which he finds happiness with the faithful Madeline.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of If Women Only Knew perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

When young Gloria Waring's wealthy father dies, she discovers that her brother--who is heir to the family fortune--is about to marry a well-known golddigger named Teddy Lamont. Gloria steals the will from her father's attorney, James Hamilton, so Teddy won't find out how much money her future husband will inherit. Hamilton finds out about her theft but is unexpectedly sympathetic to Gloria about it. It turns out that Hamilton has reasons for his behavior, and when Gloria discovers why, complications ensue.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

Russian refugee Countess Natalya is living in Shanghai, China, with her invalid sister Sonya, and supports them by dancing and singing in a local club. She meets up with Sotan, who feigns friendship with her and arranges a marriage between Natalya and a wealthy Chinese, Wu Ting. Using the dowry from Wu Ting, Natalya and Sonya flee China for the US, where Natalya meets and falls in love with diplomat Roger Strong. Unfortunately, Sotan--who is secretly planning to restore the Romanov dynasty to Russia--follows her to America and threatens to blackmail her unless she informs him of Young's purpose for visiting China. Complications ensue.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

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

Vaudeville dancer Rosalie Ray, disgusted by the advances of her admirers, quits the stage and retires to the anonymity of a small town. At her rooming house she meets young minister Arthur Lyle who proposes to her. Soon after, Rosalie learns of a mysterious woman in Lyle's past and decides to investigate. Learning that Lyle keeps a cherished memento of this femme fatale in his room, Rosalie determines to unearth it. Locating the box, she opens it, only to discover her own garter inside. Rosalie is so repulsed at the revelation that when her former manager, Brad Mortimer, appears to offer her his hand in marriage and a professional engagement, she accepts both and returns to the stage.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

Ruth Hoagland grows up on an island off the Massachusetts coast with no companion other than her father, a half-witted fisherman who spends most of his time hunting for buried treasure. Vacationing yachtsman Bob Winthrop and Ruth fall in love, but Winthrop returns to New York, and after a year, has forgotten Ruth. After finding two chests in a cave, Ruth locates her father unconscious from a fall. She goes to the mainland for help, but returns with the Reverend Josiah Arbuthnot and Dr. William Strong, to find her father dead. Strong, out of kindness, offers to marry her, but Ruth declines, sure that Winthrop will return. She offers to divide the chests with Strong and Arbuthnot, but after Strong discovers they are worthless, he withdraws his savings, and gives Ruth money to develop her voice in New York, saying that it came from selling the chests' contents. After Ruth learns of Winthrop's affair with a musical comedy star, she returns to the island to prepare for her Broadway debut, where she discovers Strong's sacrifice.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

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

A newspaper reporter, Phyllis Dale, tries to help get her younger sister "Bobby" out of a scandal situation, and soon finds herself mired deep into the same situation.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

A film on venereal disease made by the United States government.

Dir: Edward H. Griffith

Soon to become a mother, Beatrix Franklin (Lois Wilson) persuades her husband Pelham (Holmes Herbert) to go on a cruise. He becomes acquainted with May Beamish (Flora Le Breton), who tries, unsuccessfully, to capture him. Upon hearing of the attentions paid to her husband, Beatrix provokes a quarrel and separation by staying out with Alec Greenwood (Allan Simpson), a former admirer. The vamp seeks to force Pelham to divorce, but she is triumphantly outsmarted by Beatrix.