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Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Peggy of the Secret Service Synopsis
The Algerian consul solicits the aid of the Chief of the Secret Service in the apprehension of the sultan's brother, Abdullah, who has fled with the royal harem and the royal jewels to the United States. The chief assigns Peggy, his most reliable feminine operative, to the case. Newspaperman Hal Tracy, Peggy's sweetheart, is on the scene when Peggy attempts to arrest Abdullah. In the ensuing fight, Hal is thrown overboard, and Peggy, for the first time in her life forgetting her duty, dives in after him. She follows Abdullah to his mountain hideout and later gains entrance to his harem in the guise of an Algerian woman. Her position becomes more perilous each night, and she finds herself struggling with Abdullah just as Hal arrives with help. Abdullah is arrested, and the jewels are recovered. Peggy and Hal are denied permission to marry, since the chief has another assignment for Peggy.
The Manager of the B & A Synopsis
Thomas Emory, manager of a local branch of the Buckhorn and Antioch, finds one day that he is minus a position due to his negligence in office. In his place is appointed temporarily his former assistant, Gordon Holt. Later, on an unexpected trip to the branch office, General Coming, the president of the B.&A., and his private train are narrowly saved from accident by the act of one of the minor superintendents along the division, Dan Oakley. In reward for the deed of daring which shows to the company's president of what stuff the young mechanic is made, Oakley is made manager over the head of Holt. With the introduction of new blood into "the works" the old regime of banker's hours and shiftless work is dealt its death blow. As a consequence the radical young manager incurs the enmity of the editor of the Antioch Herald and the leader of the Labor Party, one Griffith Ryden, who stirs up the men against him. But in spite of opposition the new manager "makes her pay." Due to the activities of the Labor Leader, a strike is called. Although the subsequent turmoil, hunger and dissatisfaction among the strikers is distasteful to the fighting manager, he stands his ground and keeps up his record by means of the men who remain loyal. A personal bitterness grows up between Ryder and Oakley since Constance Emory, the daughter of old Thomas Emory, the former manager, has evinced an interest in both which sways from one to another as her father's sympathies vary. The strike culminates in the cutting of the pipes leading to the water tanks, which results in the explosion of an over-heated engine boiler and a fire. The journey for aid to the next town to get the fire-fighting apparatus through a roaring forest fire which threatens to lick up the puny train with its tongue of flame, falls to the brave young manager. On his return he has won not only the hearts of his men, but that of the beautiful Constance, who promises to become his partner for life.
"Peggy of the Secret Service" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Manager of the B & A" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Peggy of the Secret Service