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Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Coast of Opportunity Synopsis
When Dick Bristow, an American mining engineer, discovers a rich vein of copper in an isolated desert region of old Mexico, he shrewdly secures an option on a large tract of land surrounding his claim from Julian Marr, an unprincipled mine and railway owner. The property is actually part of an estate belonging to Marr's ward and niece Janet, and when Bristow begins to build a railway to transport the ore from his holdings, Marr soon suspects that the land may be valuable. By underhanded methods he attempts to convince his niece to sign over her property to him, but she refuses. Marr then hires a band of outlaws to kidnap Bristow and hold him prisoner until his option expires, but Bristow escapes and after a gun battle stumbles wounded into Marr's office. Just as Marr pulls a revolver on Bristow, Janet appears and demands that her uncle go through with the deal. Marr complies, and a business as well as love alliance is formed between Janet and Bristow.
Her Beloved Enemy Synopsis
Sylvia Leigh's only recollection of her father was a dim memory of a distinguished-looking man who brought her to boarding school when she was a youngster. From that time he never came to see her, but letters came from him with foreign postmarks stating that "important business" kept him away. After her graduation an old family servant took her to the home she had never known. Within a few months her father appeared. Not the parent she had pictured, but a broken old man whose mind seemed ham ted by some shadow from the past. One day while they were motoring in the park he suddenly drew a revolver, and aiming it at a passing auto, exclaimed, "That man wrecked my life." But before he could pull the trigger he fell exhausted from the effort and the other car passed before Sylvia saw his face. Her father became seriously ill from the excitement. On his deathbed he made her promise to run to earth the man who ruined his life. With no clues or an inkling of what the secret was, she attempted to locate him by an ad in the papers, only to fall into a trap. A roughly-clad young man came to her rescue. Some weeks later she was surprised to find this same young man as a guest at a dance given by a girlfriend. But this time he was clad in evening dress and perfectly at home among society. Then came the blow. An incident revealed him to her as the man she had vowed to bring to atonement. She shadowed him, caught him in a compromising position, kept him captive and phoned the police. Then the fact that she still loved him rushed over her. She realized also that her father's secret was still a mystery. What will he do? Keep a deathbed promise and turn him over to the law or obey her heart? Love wins out. As a knock comes on the door she tells him she still loves him and to escape. But he only smiles, opens the door to the officers, who greet him familiarly, and then he make some remarkable disclosures to Sylvia, which brings happiness to her troubled heart.
"The Coast of Opportunity" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Her Beloved Enemy" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Coast of Opportunity