Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
An Unwilling Hero Synopsis
Whistling Dick, a hobo known for whistling classical tunes, arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana, to discover that fellow hoboes plan to rob the Lovejoy plantation on Christmas night. Their accomplice is Richmond, a guest and suitor of young Nadine Lovejoy, who loves the overseer, Hunter. On the road, Dick encounters Nadine, Hunter, and Richmond, who offer him a ride and give him a package, which they believe to be a new smoking pipe. After arriving on the plantation, Dick opens the package to find a pair of women's stockings. Richmond's gang of robbers fear that Dick will reveal their plot to the Lovejoys and abduct him. Dick warns his hosts by wrapping a message around a rock, placing it in one of the stockings, and throwing it through a window. It lands on the dining room table during a Christmas dinner party and the plot is thwarted. Dick is welcomed as a guest, given new clothes, and offered a job; but the next morning he resumes his wandering.
The Kingdom of Youth Synopsis
Jimmy Betts angrily remonstrates with his wife for a letter she has written to Count Henri Duval, while she bristles at the attention that Jimmy has lavished on Mrs. Ella Rice, an aging but nonetheless charming widow. Exasperated, Ruth decides to accept the count's invitation to dine on his yacht, but on her way, she overturns her rowboat and loses consciousness. In her delirium, Ruth dreams of the happy days of her marriage, before Jimmy went away to handle Mrs. Rice's business affairs. Because she missed him so much, Ruth finally left her Aunt Sophronia to be with Jimmy, whom the love struck Mrs. Rice hoped to win for herself. In order to drive the young people apart, Mrs. Rice then introduced Ruth to Count Duval, who soon professed his love for her. Aware of Mrs. Rice's schemes, Ruth frightened the widow from her bedroom late one night so that Jimmy could see her for the "painted interloper" that she really was. Ruth then wrote her letter to the count. Jimmy rescues Ruth and carries her aboard the yacht, where she finally awakens from her dream and happily kisses her husband.
"An Unwilling Hero" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Kingdom of Youth" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
An Unwilling Hero