Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Splendid Sin Synopsis
Although they have a happy marriage, explorer Sir Charles Chatham and his American wife Lady Marion have been unable to have children. After Charles goes to Egypt, his sister Gertrude and her sweetheart Stephen Hartley, an American consulate attaché, take refuge from a storm in a deserted tower. Frightened, Gertrude yields to Stephen's advances. Although he intends to marry Gertrude, Stephen is suddenly called to deliver supplies to starving women and children in Russia. Marion takes pregnant Gertrude away to have her child, and notifies Stephen, but because he is shot during Bolshevik rioting, he returns too late to marry Gertrude, who dies after giving birth. To honor Gertrude's dying request and provide Charles with a much-desired child, Marion telegraphs Charles that the baby is theirs. However, when he returns, his mother, who wants the estate for her son George, tells Charles that Hartley is the father. To stop Charles from shooting Hartley, Marion confesses the truth, whereupon Charles adopts the baby.
Petticoats and Politics Synopsis
In Red Dog, Nevada, a lawless mining town, Ann Murdock attempts to oust the reigning politicians, all of them corrupt, by persuading women to run for office. Because the women cannot vote, they convince their husbands to vote for them, and as a result all of the elective offices in Red Dog come to be held by women. The men, meanwhile, remain at home to care for the houses and babies. Disgruntled by his loss of power, the former town boss has the new town officials locked in jail. Tenderfoot Leonard Blair tries to assist them but is arrested on a trumped-up robbery charge. Ann finally rescues Leonard, with whom she has fallen in love, and the women are released from jail to continue their petticoat politics.
"The Splendid Sin" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Petticoats and Politics" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Splendid Sin