Novak's movies were often based on outdoor stories. Some of these include "Treat 'Em Rough" (1919), "Kazan" (1921), "Isobel" (1920), "The River's End" (1920), and "The Rosary" (1922). By March 1922 she had her own company and was under contract for five outdoor movies, with a salary was $1,500 per week. Aside from Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Novak was the first film star to paid in four figures for a single movie. At this time performers were only paid while a motion picture was shooting. An entire film was completed in three or four weeks.