Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Bill Apperson's Boy Synopsis
The motherless son of mountaineer Bill Apperson, Buddy (Jack Pickford) falls in love with Martha Yarton (Gloria Hope), who must take care of her widowed father and six brothers. When Bill remarries and Buddy sullenly refuses to call the new bride "mother," Bill hits him with a stick and immediately regrets it. Buddy leaves home and wanders toward the Yarton house where he follows a thief inside and shoots. The thief escapes, but Buddy is caught and only escapes a jail sentence when Martha says she saw the thief. Buddy and Bill are reconciled, but the town, still suspicious, shuns Buddy. Meanwhile, Mary, Bill's wife, had left rather than come between a father and son. Buddy calls her "mother" and she returns, but he is uneasy when his father embraces her. When Martha says she does not love him, he leaves town for a year, but returns to find that the thief has confessed, Bill and Mary have a baby, and Martha still loves him.
Little Pal Synopsis
"Little Pal" is the daughter of a saloon keeper in a rough Alaskan gold rush town. During a game of dice, he loses his daughter to the brutal "Black Brand". A fight ensues and her father is killed, Little Pal flees and seeks refuge with John, an Easterner who has come to Alaska to mine. When he falls ill, the lovestruck Little Pal nurses him back to health with the help of her loyal friend, Cultus. Little Pal is heartbroken with the arrival of John's wife, and when she learns he will die if he remains in the harsh climate, Little Pal and Cultus steal gold dust from a rival claim in order to provide John with money. Meanwhile, Black Brand who is suspected of the crime is shot. As John and his wife leave Alaska, a despondent Little Pal finds comfort in Cultus' love.
"Bill Apperson's Boy" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Little Pal" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Bill Apperson's Boy