Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Bandolero Synopsis
When his wife is killed by the evil Marques de Bazan, Spanish army officer Dorando becomes a notorious outlaw known as El Bandolero. He kidnaps Bazan's son Ramon and has him raised by one of his own men. When Ramon grows up to be a man he meets and falls in love with El Bandolero's beautiful daughter Petra. Bandolero forbids his daughter from seeing Ramon, so Ramon leaves to become a bullfighter. A vengeful young woman he has spurned sets up Ramon to be gored by a vicious young bull. Complications ensue.
The Triumph of the Weak Synopsis
The opening picture finds Edith (Alice Joyce) in prison where she has been for the last three years. She is a widow and her baby has been placed in an institution. She is paroled, finds her child and steals him from the asylum. After wandering around she finally obtains a position in a department store, where Jim Roberts, superintendent, falls in love with her. They are married, but she fails to tell him of her past. Mabel, also freed from prison, demands that Edith join with her and her side partner in a crime, under threat of exposing her past to Jim. Jordan, a friend of Jim's visits them. He is a detective, and recognizes Edith as a former thief. Further to involve her, Mable, hiding from the police, forces Edith to give her refuge in her home, where she immediately proceeds to steal everything in sight, money being her particular passion. Jordan tells Jim he is harboring a thief and he tells Edith she must leave, but Edith, still fearing Mabel, confesses to the theft of money and Mable is allowed to stay. The two men then plan to trap Mable by placing $400 in a desk. As Edith takes the money from the desk, lights are flashed on and she stands before the two men as the thief. The distracted girl now tells her husband of her first theft to save her baby and of her present attempt to keep her past from him. The men have a battle, the detective gets badly beaten up, but is moved by her great courage, gives her back to Jim and the child and through his efforts she obtains a free pardon. - Review from Variety, May 10, 1918.
"The Bandolero" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Triumph of the Weak" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Bandolero