Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Pals First Synopsis
As Danny Rowland, a tramp, and his partner Dominie, an ex-minister, trudge wearily past the Winnicrest mansion in Tennessee, an old servant called Uncle Alex rushes up to Danny and welcomes him home as his long-lost employer, Richard Castleman. Amused, Danny assumes the role, and he and Dominie are clothed, fed, and generally treated like royalty. The beautiful Jean Logan, who had believed with the rest of the neighborhood that Richard was lost at sea, greets her returning sweetheart with a passionate embrace, and Danny soon falls in love with her. Dr. Harry Chilton, Richard's cousin and rival in love, maintains that Danny is an impostor, but Danny defeats him in a fight and banishes him from the estate. When Danny announces his intention to marry Jean, Dominie is shocked and tells her everything. Forced to confess to the sheriff, "Danny" reveals that he is indeed Richard, earlier robbed of his clothing and money by a crook named Danny Rowland, who died on a voyage to Australia. Relieved, all of the parties--with the exception of the jealous doctor--are reunited.
The House of Tears Synopsis
In the House of Tears, there lived Robert Collingwood, his wife, Alice Collingwood, and their baby girl, Gail. In the courts Robert has been granted a decree of divorce and the custody of little Gail, upon evidence that Mrs. Collingwood has been found in a compromising situation with Henry Thorne, and her subsequent admissions. Once free, Mrs. Collingwood openly accepts the attention of Thorne, and they soon marry and go west to live. Thorne takes up the life of a prospector in a mining community, and his consistent failure proves a source of discouragement to him and unhappiness to the woman. Collingwood, his mind upset by domestic troubles, loses his fortune in Wall Street manipulation, and becomes a raving maniac. He drives his employees out of the office, and then goes to his home intending to kill his little daughter. In a chase up a staircase, he falls and is killed. An annuity he had settled on the baby when she was born, and which has been saved from the financial wreck, is the means of her education. Fifteen years later Thorne, who has been plodding along in the west, meeting with little success, wins $15,000 at faro in a desperate plunge one night. He has become tired of the woman he won by intrigue and his sudden prosperity turns his head. He arranges to go back to Wall Street to flirt with fortune, and he tells his wife he will not take her along, but will leave enough money for her to live on. She is horrified at the prospects of his desertion, and at the point of a revolver, demands his money. In a struggle which ensues, she is seriously wounded. Thorne leaves, believing his wife dead by the shot from her own hand. Back in Wall Street, Thorne electrifies other operators by his phenomenal rise to affluence, and he becomes the elegant man of wealth he aspired to be. Gail Collingwood, who has now grown to womanhood, is known under the name of Alice Gail, and employed as a reporter on the Evening News. She is sent to interview Thorne, who is now known as "Edward North." They become very friendly and their acquaintance soon ripens into love. In due time their betrothal is announced. Out in the mining town Thorne's wife has recovered, and she resolves to come back to the scenes of her youth. She is seeking Thorne in the great city, when Gail, who is riding in an automobile loaned her by her fiancé, runs down her mother, a poor, ill-clad, wandering woman. The mother is slightly injured, and she recognizes her daughter. They plan to make "North" face his past. Gail sends word for "North" to come to her home, as she is in trouble. When he arrives he is brought face to face with his wife, whom he believed to be dead. "North" becomes frenzied from fear, as he thinks the sad faced woman is an apparition, and he flees from the house. The apparition continues to haunt him, and in a half-crazed mood he drives his automobile blindly through the streets, ending by running off a bridge when he is hurled to death. Mother and daughter, re-united, then seek a happier existence.
"Pals First" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The House of Tears" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The House of Tears