Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Checkmate Synopsis
Country girl Claire Marley goes to the city to pursue a life of excitement, while her twin sister Ida remains home to care for their aging parents. Immersing herself in life with the fast set, Claire becomes the mistress of wealthy bachelor Roy Vangrift who promises to marry her. After Roy tires of Claire and casts her off, she leaves him to earn a respectable living, but failing at this, returns home. Shortly afterward, Roy goes fishing and makes his camp near the Marley home where he meets Claire's sister Ida with whom he falls in love. Discovering that Roy plans to elope with her sister, Claire - with the aid of the minister - takes Ida's place and the two are married. She then reveals her true identity and Roy, realizing that he really loves his bride, forgives Claire.
Sold at Auction Synopsis
To remove forever anything that will remind him of his dream of happiness that was shattered by his wife's infidelity, Stanley sends his infant daughter Nan to be cared for by a woman named Hopkins. He sends money regularly for her support but never visits her. Nan is treated as a slave and never receives any of the money intended for her. Her first real happiness comes in the sincere love of young reporter Hal. Fearing to lose her to him, Mrs. Hopkins tells her she has mulatto blood in her veins. Crushed by the lie, Nan flees from the only home she has ever known. Ignorant of the world, she is carried unknowingly by the tide of events into what is termed a matrimonial agency but is actually something far worse. Nan ends up placed at auction and her own father bids for her against other millionaires. As he outbids them all, Hal, who has traced her, enters, just in time to reveal to the father that Nan is his own daughter.
"The Checkmate" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Sold at Auction" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Checkmate