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Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Mixed Blood Synopsis
Just over the American side of the Mexican border, Big Jim Burmister, the Sheriff, kept law and order, being both feared and hated by the Mexicans who were thus forced to keep within the bounds. Conducting the saloon and gambling hall is Joe Nagle. His devoted slave, who is also his faro dealer, is "Blootch" White. He is much attached to Lottie Nagle, who bears the surname of the saloon-keeper by courtesy only. The Valyez family, the newest arrivals in the little town, are a source of interest to all. The girl, Nita, whose Mexican father is dead, has inherited a great many of his traits. Carlos, a gambler and a bully, is enamored of the girl. His passionate wooing almost wins her, but at the last moment her contrary nature causes her to turn upon him with angry vehemence. Carlos, angered, returns to the saloon. He starts drinking, and before long he is shooting up the place. He is arrested by Jim, who imposes a fine or imprisonment for a year. Carlos is forced to accept the latter alternative. When Nita hears of this, she hastens to the saloon and soundly berates Jim, who has just received word that the nearest town across the border had become infested with the plague. Joe Nagle gives Nita the money to pay the fine of Carlos, thus thinking to win her heart. Lottie jealously watches this, and later overhears Joe telling "Blootch" to "get Carlos." She warns Carlos and gives him a gun. She has seen the notice of the plague and conceals it so that it does not become public. When "Blootch" accuses Carlos of cheating, the latter kills the faro dealer. Then Lottie whispers to him to take his horse and Nita and go across the border, though she knows she is sending them to brave infection. Carlos goes to the cabin of Nita, telling her that he has killed the faro dealer and that they must flee; but at the last moment she does not want to leave her mother. While they are arguing, Big Jim raps upon the door. Nita hides Carlos in a closet. Then Jim plays upon her jealousy and intimates that Carlos has been having an affair with another girl. She grasps Jim's gun and shoots toward the closet, but on the instant is sorry for her act. Jim, realizing that she loves Carlos, goes outside. When Nita opens the closet she finds it empty, as Carlos has escaped through the thatched roof. As Jim is waiting outside, Carlos sneaks along the roof and shoots him. Then he rushes down to Nita, and with sheer force, compels the fainting girl to accompany him. They have just gone when her mother returns, and bandages Jim's wound. Though weak from loss of blood, he takes up the pursuit of Carlos and Nita. When he arrives, after a day's pursuit, he finds Carlos dying a victim of the plague, while Nita is caring for him. Thinking that she loves the Mexican, Jim leaves for the border, but before he has gone far he falls from his horse, where he is found later by Nita. who has come to seek him. realizing that she loves him.
The Lair of the Wolf Synopsis
Widow Margaret Dennis, unaware of the abusive nature of Oliver Cathcart, agrees to become his wife. Among other cruelties, Cathcart has ruined the Taylor family in a bad business deal, causing the death of Mrs. Taylor, turning Mr. Taylor into a worthless drunk and embittering their son Raymond, who swears revenge on Cathcart. Margaret's son Jim, learning of all this, forces his mother to choose between him and Cathcart. Choosing the latter, Margaret goes to his country estate, where she finally learns her husband's true nature. Nearby live the Taylors. Raymond is courting Cathcart's maid Milly, and when he comes to the estate one day to visit Milly, Margaret pleads with him to send a message to Jim. Meanwhile, Taylor's sister Steve leaves home, seeking adventure. Receiving Margaret's message, Jim arrives and promises to take his mother away the next day. That night, Cathcart is killed, and on Milly's testimony that Jim had been at the house, he is arrested for the crime. Steve, however, hearing of Jim's arrest, returns and testifies that she and Jim shared refuge from a thunderstorm in an old shack on the night of the murder. Robert Shepherd, the estate gardener, then confesses that he killed Cathcart when he found him struggling with his beloved daughter Bess. Jim is finally freed, and Shepherd acquitted on a plea of temporary derangement.
"Mixed Blood" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Lair of the Wolf" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Mixed Blood