Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Inner Chamber Synopsis
Claire Robson, a girl without money, is annoyed by another, and a third man steps in to try to protect her and does so. The two instinctively love each other, but a woman who has designs upon the kindly-disposed individual tells Claire that the chap is married, so she misinterprets his actions and dismisses him. Then her mother is taken seriously ill and saved by an Italian doctor. He makes violent love to the daughter. Out of gratitude for what he has done for her mother, she consents to wed him. Upon their nuptial night he learns from a gossip what he believes to be true: a lie regarding his wife's former association with the good-natured chap. There is a scene and the husband shoots himself, but before dying he learns the truth. His death leaves the way clear for the two lovers to straighten out their mistake. - Moving Picture World, September 3, 1921.
Simon, the Jester Synopsis
Learning he has six months to live, the wealthy Simon De Gex decides to tell no one of his impending death and to spend his fortune madly. He breaks off his engagement to Eleanor Faversham, then is approached in a park by a dwarf and enlisted in a plot to kill the deserting husband of the beautiful Lola, a cat trainer at the London Hippodrome. The murder plans are carried out in Paris; the dwarf stabs Lola's husband and Simon departs, only to be overcome by his sickness. Selflessly Lola nurses him back to health, but, ridiculed as low-class by Eleanor and Dale, Simon's secretary, she returns to the theater. Cured by a daring operation, Simon sets out to find Lola. His search is rewarded but coincides with the reappearance of the demented dwarf. In a fury of rejection, the dwarf accidentally blinds his beloved. Simon devotes himself to Lola, but she resists his proposals until a second miraculous operation restores her eyesight and frees her to marry in good conscience.
"The Inner Chamber" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Simon, the Jester" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Inner Chamber