Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Man's Desire Synopsis
Tom Denton comes from the East to the Northwest lumber region and becomes co-owner of a lumber camp with Howard Patton, whose bored wife Vera insists on flirting with Tom despite his discouragement. After the partners break because of Patton's suspicions, Tom, as sole owner, declares that his lumberjacks must refrain from drinking liquor. When Tom discharges Slim Dorgan for drinking, Slim visits illicit whiskey dealer Bull Larkin, and they plan to dynamite Tom's sawmill. Bull's abused wife Mary, who married him to fulfill her father's dying wish, warns Tom, but the explosion goes off early and kills Tom's brother and Slim. After Bull exchanges clothes with Slim to escape, Tom and Mary wed and move to another territory. Later, Bull arrives wounded, but Tom does not know him and Mary, pregnant, is afraid to reveal Bull's identity. After they care for him, Bull shoots Tom. Bull forcibly takes Mary to a dance hall near Mexico, but Tom recovers, follows them, shoots Bull and reclaims Mary.
The Fox Woman Synopsis
Hunchbacked Japanese artist Marashida, marries Jewel, the daughter of Yasakuj. Their happy married life is destroyed when the daughter of an American missionary, Alice Carroway, known as Ali-San, persuades Marashida to pose for her sculpture of the deformed god Ni-O. While Marashida's character gradually deforms, Yasakuji recognizes in Ali-San the traits of the legendary Fox Woman, who because she had no soul of her own, stole those of others, sometimes turning warriors into crazy beasts. After Jewel, to please Marashida, indulges Ali-San's demand that she be her "playmate," she suffers further humiliation when Ali-San makes her the servant in her father's mission. Finally, Jewel discards the American clothes she is made to wear and, dressed in her wedding robes, goes to her ancestors' tomb to commit harakiri. When Yasakuji climbs up Ali-San's balcony, and she sees his face in her mirror, she accidentally falls off the balcony to her death. Released from Ali-San's spell, Marashida takes Jewel's dagger from her, and they live happily again.
"Man's Desire" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Fox Woman" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Man's Desire