Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
The Summer Girl Synopsis
Mary Anderson an heiress, feigns poverty while having a romance with struggling artist Bruce Haldeman, but her status-conscious mother puts an end to the affair. Mary secretly goes to Bruce's studio, but she mistakes one of the models for Bruce's new sweetheart, and so tells Bruce that she hates him. Anguished, Bruce wants to destroy his portrait of Mary, but the model stops him, enters the painting in an art contest, and then explains the mix-up to Mary's father. As a test of true love, he meets with Bruce and with Mary's persistent suitor Smythe Addison, and pretends that he has lost his fortune. Smythe quickly drops out of contention for Mary's hand, but Bruce remains eager. He goes to Mary to resolve their differences, and as they plan their marriage, he finds out that he has won the art contest, and has achieved overnight fame as a painter.
The Social Highwayman Synopsis
Curtis Jaffray's mother, an Italian peasant, must steal to support herself, but genetic tendencies as well as economic necessity contribute to her penchant for robbery, as it is inherited by her son. After John, his British nobleman father, catches him stealing, Curtis runs away, but rather than try to change his nature, he decides to put his mother's legacy to good use. As a result, after he has risen to a prominent position in the United States, he starts stealing from those who belong to his own wealthy social set and then distributing the money among the poor. Even though they can afford it, however, this sort of forced philanthropy terrifies Curtis' friends, and so they enlist the aid of the police, who finally manage to corner the criminal and kill him.
"The Summer Girl" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Social Highwayman" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
The Summer Girl