Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Great White Way Synopsis
Jack Murray, a press agent, tries to make popular his two clients--Joe Cain, a prizefighter, and Mabel Vandergrift, a follies dancer--by linking their names romantically. His plan succeeds when they actually fall in love. However, Morton, the jealous owner of the show, threatens to close it if Mabel does not renounce Joe. To save the show and his own reputation, Joe buys out Morton by agreeing to fight the English boxing champion. All ends well when Joe wins the title. The show is saved, and Mabel and Joe return to the West with Joe's father.
The Firefly of Tough Luck Synopsis
"Tough Luck" Baxter, returning from a prospecting trip, meets Happy Jack Clarke, a former citizen of Baxter City, a boom town which became a ghost town when the gold petered out. A game of cards decides that Clarke will go back to Baxter City with "Tough Luck" in search of ore. Meanwhile, the Firefly, a New York music hall entertainer out of a job, is ordered by her parasitic husband Bert Wilcox to perform at the dance hall in Baxter City. Upon her arrival, she finds the town deserted and strikes out on the open trail. Overcome by the desert, she is rescued and brought back to Baxter City by Danny Ward, a former Yale athlete. Together, "Tough Luck," Clarke, Danny and Firefly organize a family and strike gold. Danny, having fallen in love with Firefly, proposes to her on the very night that her worthless husband comes to town. Wilcox loots the assayer's office, is caught, convicted, and thrown out of town. Out of loyalty, Firefly accompanies him. Danny follows them and finds Firefly abandoned in the desert by Wilcox who has stolen her money and water. Justice is served when Wilcox perishes in a den of rattlesnakes, thus freeing Firefly to return with Danny to Baxter City.
"The Great White Way" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Firefly of Tough Luck" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Great White Way