Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Hands Up! Synopsis
Railroad president John Houston, along with his daughter Marjorie and his fiancee, Elinor Craig, are aboard the express train when it is held up by a gang of outlaws. Outlaw Dan Tracy is attracted to Marjorie, who, filled with dreams of romance, returns his interest. They exchange rings and later meet secretly in the city. When Houston learns that his daughter's new suitor is an outlaw, he hires a detective to investigate. The investigation indicates that Tracy is Houston's son by a former marriage, and Houston, mortified, allows the outlaw to escape. Tracy then persuades Marjorie to elope with him and takes her to his shack in the hills where she is rudely awakened to the realities of outlaw life. Houston arrives to save his daughter, and after Tracy is killed by Rosanne, the woman he betrayed, it is revealed that Tracy was not his son but an offspring of his former wife and an outlaw.
Set Free Synopsis
Roma Wycliffe, a high-spirited girl bored with the lavender-and-old-lace atmosphere of her Aunt Henrietta's estate, discovers that her grandmother was a gypsy and decides to become one herself. Wearing gypsy clothing, she runs away to New York, where she is arrested on the suspicion that she is Gypsy Nan, a thief. Mrs. Roberts, whose poodle had attracted Roma's attention, intercedes for the girl and, promising to care for her, takes her to her lavish home. Young John Roberts falls in love with Roma, but the "gypsy" imagines him too stodgy. To win her love, John declares himself the leader of a band of gypsy thieves and then hires a gang of ruffians to prove his claim. When the thugs actually rob a bank, John has them arrested, and Roma, realizing the darker side of gypsy life, marries John.
"Hands Up!" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Set Free" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Hands Up!