Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
A Man Must Live Synopsis
Circumstances force Jeff Farnell to take a job on a New York scandal sheet while he awaits the settlement of his claim against a steel company. Job Hardcastle, the hardened city editor of the paper, sends Jeff to get a story on "Mops" Collins, a society divorcée who has been reduced to dancing in a cabaret. Jeff takes pity on Mops, who is dying of consumption, takes her into his apartment, and tells Hardcastle that he could not find her. Afraid of losing his job, Jeff hunts for a big story, finding it when he discovers that Clive Ross-Fayne, a friend he thought lost in the war, has been arraigned on charges of narcotics peddling. To get a picture of Clive to go with his story, Jeff goes to the Ross-Fayne residence, where he discovers that Clive's sister Eleanor is the girl with whom he fell in love at a dance before the war, whose name he never knew. Jeff then tries to kill the story, but Hardcastle nevertheless publishes it. Mops dies. Jeff is fired after he assaults Hardcastle, but he is reconciled with the Ross-Fayne family when Clive is freed. Jeff gets a $100,000 settlement from the steel company and asks Eleanor to marry him.
Cynthia of the Minute Synopsis
While in New York seeking work, Cynthia, a young English girl, meets Bruce Crittenden and George Rhode who introduce her to Madame Savarin, a wealthy woman seeking a companion for a sea voyage. She hires Cynthia, and while at sea, Cynthia discovers that Bruce is the ship's purser. Cynthia's father was a famous wireless expert who taught her how to read code, which enables her to overhear a plot to sink the ship and steal Mrs. Savarin's jewels. Soon after, the crew mutinies, and while Rhode and Bruce fight the crew, Cynthia sounds the alarm. As he is attempting to foil the jewel thieves, Bruce falls overboard, and Cynthia swims to his rescue with the jewels strapped to her back. They are rescued by a government patrol boat and taken back to New York where Cynthia and Bruce are married.
"A Man Must Live" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Cynthia of the Minute" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
A Man Must LiveBoth films share