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- Free adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's powerful novel. The subject opens with the return home of Prince Dimitri, who meets the maid Katusha, a little peasant girl, and is instantly charmed with her beauty. Young, artless and innocent, as pretty as a rose, she unwittingly fascinates the prince. His noble bearing likewise impresses her, and his little attentions flatter her, until at length she is unable to resist his advances. The poor girl is meted the usual fate. An alliance is out of the question. The disparity of their ranks even forbids it, and soon the prince must cast her aside. Five years later we find that the girl, who is now a loathsome sight, has learned the bitter lesson of the eternal truth, "The wages of sin is death." It is death to the soul at all events. She has gone down to the lowest depths and is arrested in a low Russian tavern. As she is carried to the tribunal she passes Prince Dimitri, who now sees the terrible result of his sins. He grows repentant and attempts to plead her cause before the jury, but they are a callous lot and pay no attention to the arguments for nor against, and by force of habit vote to send her to Siberia. She is dragged out to the pen of detention and herded with a lot of poor unfortunates, who scarcely bear any resemblance to human beings. The repentant prince determines to give up his life to right the wrong he has done, and visits her here with a view of turning her now vicious nature, handing her a copy of the Bible. She does not recognize him at first, but when she does she flies into fury, beating his body and face with her fists and the book. He leaves her and she sits moodily on the bench with the book on her lap. Shortly she turns its pages and lo, the Resurrection! Her eyes fall on the passage (John xi, 25), "And Jesus said unto her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live." In an instant her whole being changes. There is hope for her salvation, and she reads on. The guards arrive and we next see her with the poor unfortunates trudging over the snow-clad steppes toward the goal from whence few return. She becomes the ministering angel, sharing her comforts with them. The prince, meanwhile, has secured her pardon and hastens after her. Giving her the welcome notice, he begs her to return with him as his wife: but no, she prefers to work out her salvation helping those poor souls to whom a kindness is an indescribable blessing, and bidding him farewell, she renounces the world for the path of duty, so we leave her kneeling on the snow at the foot of the Holy Cross.
- Ramona is a little orphan of the great Spanish household of Moreno. Alessandro, the Indian, arrives at the Camulos ranch with his sheep-shearers, showing his first meeting with Ramona. There is at once a feeling of interest noticeable between them which ripens into love. This Senora Moreno, her foster mother, endeavors to crush, with poor success, until she forces a separation by exiling Alessandro from the ranch. He goes back to his native village to find the white men devastating the place and scattering his people. The Senora, meanwhile, has told Ramona that she herself has Indian blood, which induces her to renounce her present world and go to Alessandro. They are married and he finds still a little shelter left from the wreckage. Here they live until the whites again appear and drive them off, claiming the land. From place to place they journey, only to be driven further until finally death comes to Alessandro just as aid comes in the person of Felipe, the Senora's son, who takes Ramona back to Camulos.
- Magua, a worthless, treacherous chief, is expelled from his tribe and becomes a guide in the army. His drunkenness causes him to be lashed and drummed from the fort. He endures the punishment with Indian-like stolidity and bides his time to be revenged upon Major Monroe, who ordered him flogged. Soon after Magua is hired at another fort. Judge of his delight when he finds his first mission is to guide his enemy's two beautiful daughters to their father. He arranges a trap from which they are rescued through the heroism of Hawkeye. Chingachgook and Uncas, the last of the Mohicans. Magua is wounded, but escapes and, rallying a large war party of Iroquois braves, he leads them close upon the track. They capture the two girls, David, their singing teacher and Duncan Heyward, a gallant officer. Magua tells Cora Munroe that her father had him flogged and that she must become his squaw. He promises if she will do so, he will free Heyward, David and Alice, her younger sister. Cora agrees to the sacrifice, but the sister will not listen. Heyward is goaded to frenzy by Magua's infamous proposition, and so insult him that the infuriated Indian gives orders for a massacre. As the tomahawks are suspended over the brave prisoners, shots are heard and a detachment of troops, headed by the Scout Hawkeye and Major Munroe, fall upon the savages and conquer them. Uncas, the brave Mohican warrior, has a hand to hand fight with Magua. Uncas receives his death wound and perishes, the last of the Mohicans. The girls are restored to their father, but the general happiness is clouded with sorrow, for all have grown to respect the brave boy who perished for them.
- Marguerite is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying Armand, she acquiesces and leaves her lover. However, when poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her, Marguerite discovers that Armand has not lost his love for her.
- Richard of Gloucester uses manipulation and murder to gain the English throne.
- Cardinal Richelieu, for political reasons an enemy of the Queen, desires her downfall. He decoys Buckingham, of whom the King is jealous, to Paris by means of a forged letter. D'Artagnan leaves for Paris to enter the King's service. His father gives him a letter to De Treville and bids him "Honor the King, obey Capt. De Treville and never refuse to fight." Poorly dressed, and riding on an old spavined white horse, D'Artagnan arrives at the Black Raven Inn, near Calais. He is insulted and jeered at, resenting which, he is beaten insensible and robbed of his letter by De Rochefort. Regaining consciousness he learns of his loss and starts in pursuit of the thief. The Cardinal issues an edict prohibiting dueling and gambling in public places. Boniface finds six Musketeers gambling in his tavern. He notifies the Guards, who surprise the Musketeers, kill three, wound Athos, and arrest Aramis and Porthos. Reaching the street, Porthos overpowers his captors and rescues Aramis. The Queen learning that Buckingham is in Paris, consents to see him secretly for the last time. Constance delivers the message. Boniface, her husband, observes this and reports the matter to Richelieu, who sets Lady De Winter to watch the Queen. D'Artagnan's first day in Paris is eventful. He manages to offend Athos. Aramis and Porthos and has three duels on his hands. The Three Musketeers are surprised to find they are all to fight the same man. D'Artagnan and Athos start to fight, but are interrupted by Capt. Jassac and four other Cardinal's Guards, who demand that all surrender their swords. The Three Musketeers cry: "Come and take them." D'Artagnan sides with the Musketeers, quickly disposes of his adversary and saves Athos from being run through by Jussac, whom he disarms. Astounded by D'Artagnan's courage and swordsmanship, the victorious Musketeers welcome him as a comrade and with swords crossed pledge themselves: "One for all land all for one." The King has quarreled with the Queen. Desiring a reconciliation, he presents her with twelve diamond studs. Buckingham is admitted to the Queen's presence by means of a secret passage. Lady DeWinter, unobserved, witnesses the clandestine meeting. She informs the Cardinal and he in triumph tells the King that Buckingham is with the Queen. The King proceeds to the Queen's apartment, but Constance warns her of his approach. Buckingham begs for a token and is given the first object at band, the diamond studs. The King arrives to find the bird has flown. Search is made without result and the King after threatening the Queen with the block, orders Richelieu to search the Queen's apartment and even her person if necessary. The search results in the Cardinal taking from the Queen's person an unaddressed letter. Richelieu hastens to the King and hands him the letter, but the King's rage is turned to laughter when he finds it is the Queen's brother, the Emperor of Germany, demanding Richelieu's dismissal. Defeated but not beaten, the Cardinal plots again, and dispatches Lady De Winter to London to steal two of the studs. The King, at Richelieu's suggestion, decides to give a state ball, and requests the Queen to wear the studs. The Queen, in despair, seeks Constance's aid, and she promises that her husband, Boniface, will take a message to Buckingham in London and bring back the jewels. Boniface not only refuses to be the Queen's messenger, but tells Constance that he is in the Cardinal's pay and suggests she give him the Queen's letter, so that he may obtain further reward. His request denied, he attempts force, but is frustrated by D'Artagnan. Boniface foiled, informs the Cardinal, who sends two of his guards to arrest Constance. D'Artagnan, not knowing Constance is Boniface's wife, is smitten by her charms, but Athos discourages him and tells him of his experience with women. Years before he had married Lady De Winter, then under another name, and by chance discovered she was a branded felon and hung her for deceiving him. Unknown to him, she had been rescued. The Cardinal's Guards attempt to arrest Constance, but D'Artagnan and Athos rescue her. Boniface being killed in the fight. D'Artagnan and Constance seek De Treville's advice, and he dispatches D'Artagnan to England with the Queen's message, ordering the Three Musketeers to accompany him and see to his safety. At parting Constance gives D'Artagnan a cross she has worn since an infant. Richelieu, learning of the plans, sends De Rochefort to Calais with orders to prevent D'Artagnan leaving England. On the road to the coast. D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers are waylaid by a large force of armed men, who overcome the Musketeers, but D'Artagnan makes his escape. De Rochefort reaches Calais shortly after Buckingham has gone on board his ship, and the Port Warden, obeying the Cardinal's orders, has the portcullis lowered. Lady De Winter, provided with the Cardinal's passport, is aided to board Buckingham's ship. The Duke recognizes her as his divorced wife. D'Artagnan arrives, and is refused passage by the Port Warden, but binds and gags him and makes his escape in an open boat. He is fired upon and wounded by the Guards, led by the Port Warden, who has been released by De Rochefort. D'Artagnan reaches Buckingham's ship, and while the Duke is on deck interviewing D'Artagnan, Lady De Winter steals two of the studs. Returning to the cabin with D'Artagnan, Buckingham becomes suspicious and accuses him of being Milady's accomplice, and orders her put ashore. D'Artagnan produces the Queen's letter and swears by the cross Constance had given him that he is a friend. Buckingham recognizing the cross exclaims, "The woman who gave you that cross is my daughter." Giving D'Artagnan the diamonds, the Duke discovers that two of the studs are missing, and decides Lady De Winter has taken them. To avoid capture, D'Artagnan decides to swim ashore. He dives through the porthole and eventually lands on a wild part of the coast. Seeking shelter at a tavern, D'Artagnan's gold arouses the cupidity of the landlord, who shoots and robs him and flings his body into the cellar. Lady De Winter returns to Paris sooner than expected and delivers the studs to the Cardinal. Believing D'Artagnan safe in England, the Cardinal influences the King to hold the ball two days earlier. The day of the ball arrives, with no news of D'Artagnan and the Queen is in despair. Endless crowds of courtiers and ladies are seen descending the grand staircase and a gavotte is in progress when the heralds announce the approach of the King and Queen. The stately procession enters and the King is about to lead the Queen to the dance, when the Cardinal calls attention to the fact that the Queen is not wearing the studs. The King insists that she wear them; the Queen returns to her apartment, where Constance offers to sacrifice herself by saying she had stolen the diamonds. D'Artagnan' s opportune return with the studs saves the day. The Queen returns to the ballroom, while D'Artagnan tells Constance that the Duke of Buckingham is her father and receives his greatest reward, herself. The King shows pleasure at the sight of the studs, but the wily Cardinal suggests he count them, and finding there are only ten, asks where the other two are. Lady De Winter produces them and tells the King how she obtained them. At this climax Athos recognizes Lady De Winter, and proclaiming her a thief, forces her to her knees, tears away her dress, exposing to the horror of all the brand of the felon. Her arrest is ordered despite her vain appeals to the Cardinal. The King realizing the conspiracy, banishes the Cardinal, and after asking her pardon, leads the Queen to the dance.
- A woman's husband runs into trouble when he flirts with the wrong "girl".
- PART I: Evangeline and Gabriel as children are being taught their lessons by Father Felician, priest and pedagogue. After their lessons they hurry to the forge of Basil, the blacksmith, to watch him at his work. Thus passed a few swift years and they no longer were children. Gabriel, a "valiant youth," helps his father, Basil, at the forge; Evangeline keeps house for Benedict, her father. We see Evangeline carrying a flagon of home-brewed ale to the reapers in the fields at noontide. We see the prayerful attitude of the reapers and Father Felician as they bear the Angelus. At eve the flocks return from pastures and "the cows patiently yield their udders unto the milkmaid's hand." "Thus at peace with God and the world, the farmer of Grand-Pre lived on his sunny farm." PART II: In part two the Arcadians are still enjoying their happy, peaceful life, but a shadow of gloom is thrown over them at times by the advent of English troops with a proclamation from Governor Lawrence commanding all the men to appear at church to hear the reading of His Majesty's wishes. Basil believes it threatens disaster. Benedict, however advises patience. "Now has the season returned when the nights grow colder and longer." We see Benedict by the wide-mouthed fire place and Evangeline at her spinning wheel. A knock at the door and Basil and Gabriel enter, followed soon by the Notary, who draws the betrothal contract. We next see harvests gathered in. the peasants working on the dikes, and then the betrothal feast spread "under the open sky. In the odorous air of the orchard." After the feast they dance under the orchard trees. PART III: "And lo, with a summons sonorous," while they were merrily dancing, "Sounded the bell from its tower" bidding them to come to the church to bear the King's Mandate. "Thronged ere long was the church with men. Without, in the church-yard, waited the women." The English soldiers marched on, and demanding admittance in the King's name, "enter the sacred portal." Colonel Winslow, in front of the chancel, reads the King's Mandate, that inside of five days they must be driven from their homes and their lands be confiscated by the State. Their wives may gather such of their household goods as they can carry with them. The men will be kept prisoners in the church until the day of embarking. After hearing the mandate all is uproar and confusion. High above the others rises Basil's voice crying, "Down with the tyrants." In the midst of the confusion Father Felician enters the door of the chancel and with a gesture, quiets them. Pointing to the figure of the crucified Christ he leads them to repeat His prayer, "O Father, forgive them." Meanwhile, Evangeline listens at the door and window, but in vain. Then, all forgetful of self, she wanders into the village, "cheering with looks and words the mournful hearts of the women." PART IV: On the fifth day the women and children are seen carrying their household goods to the seashore, urging on the oxen and looking back sadly at their homes that they may never see again. Late in the afternoon the church doors are opened and the soldiers lead forth the patient Arcadian men. When they reach the shore they find their goods piled in confusion and disorder. "So unto separate ships were Basil and Gabriel carried, while in despair on the shore, Evangeline stood with her father." They lighted fires on the shore and the priest wandered from fire to fire, cheering and consoling, until he approached Evangeline and Benedict. Vainly Evangeline tried to cheer her father. Suddenly there is seen a light, which grows broader and higher and redder. The crowd cry aloud in their anguish, "We shall behold no more our homes in the village of Grand-Pre!" Overwhelmed with the sight the priest and maiden gaze in horror. As they turn to speak to Benedict they find he has fallen, and lies motionless on the ground, his soul departed. Evangeline kneels at her father's side and wails aloud in her sorrow, "Let us bury him here." and the priest said, "Lo, with a mournful sound like the voice of a vast congregation solemnly answered the sea." PART V: "Many a weary year has passed since the burning of Grand-Pre." Evangeline commences her endless search for Gabriel, cheered by the faithful Father Felician. Hearing that he is with Basil in the South, they start southward with a few Arcadian boatmen. Evangeline, cheered by a vision of Gabriel beckoning her onward, falls peacefully asleep. "While all are slumbering, through the darkness a light, swift boat draws near and passes on the other shore." it was Gabriel, who goes to the western wilds seeking, "oblivion of self and of sorrow." When they reach Basil's home they find him a prosperous herdsman. Basil goes with Evangeline to pursue Gabriel, leaving Father Felician to rest. Gabriel is always ahead; sometimes they find the ashes of his camp-fire. A Shawnee Indian woman leads them to the Mission of the Black Robe Chief, who tells them Gabriel was there six days before and will return again in the spring. Evangeline remains to wait, while Basil goes back to his home. Gabriel does not return, and at length, discouraged, Evangeline gives up the search, and becomes a Sister of Mercy. "Fair was she, and young, when in hope began the long journey. Faded was she and old, when in disappointment it ended." After many years a pestilence falls on the city, and Evangeline, in a hospital ward of an alms house, finds Gabriel, who dies in her arms. "All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, and the sorrow." Meekly she bowed her head and murmured, "Father, I thank thee!" In an old graveyard are seen two nameless graves, in which the lovers are sleeping, side by side. "Still stands the forest primeval. Maidens still wear their Norman caps and kirtles of homespun, and by the evening's fire repeat Evangeline's story. While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest."
- The earl of Dorincourt is a descendant of a long line of illustrious ancestors whose escutcheon has never been stained by dishonor of any kind. His oldest son and heir, Bevis, grows up to be a dissolute and weak-willed wastrel, while his second son, Maurice, an idle spendthrift, is little better. Only the third son, Cedric Errol, inherits the good qualities of his father. The worthlessness of his heir is the cause of great grief to the Earl. The reflection that the Earldom will descend to one who will drag the honored name of Dorincourt in the mire is so galling that it usurps every other thought in his mind. For this reason the good qualities of his gentle youngest son irritates him, and in order to get the young fellow out of his sight he sends him to America. About the same time, Bevis, tired of the dissipations of London and Paris, goes to New York in search of fresh sensations. Here he is entrapped into marriage by Minna, an adventuress, who had deserted her husband. Bevis does not know of this, neither is he aware that she has a child whom she has put out of the way by leaving it in charge of some low-class friends of hers. At home, Maurice, the second son, plunges heavily on the turf. At one race he backs the favorites and loses a very large sum. In the meantime, Cedric has married a charming American girl, and with wife and baby enjoys the delights of a happy home. But his father is prejudiced against Americans, and is convinced that Cedric has been entrapped by "a vulgar money-loving American woman." He therefore writes a letter in which he stops the allowance he has regularly sent his son. Soon after this, Maurice, the second son, meets with a fatal hunting accident in England. Four years elapse. Cedric, never robust, is now in the grip of a wasting and incurable malady. In a pathetic scene, he calls his little son to him and bids him always look after his mother. Soon after this he dies. Bevis at this time is living a fast life in Italy with Minna. As the result of his intemperance he has a sudden stroke and falls back in a fit, in which, in a few minutes, he expires. Minna wastes no time over tears, but instantly makes plans to feather her own nest. She writes to the Earl asking for funds and claiming the title of Lady Dorincourt. The old nobleman, in spite of the blows dealt him by misfortune in the deaths of all his sons, instructs his lawyer, Mr. Havisham, to fetch young Cedric, now little Lord Fauntleroy, and heir to the Earldom, from America. Little Cedric Errol is about six years old he has never forgotten his promise to his dead father to look after his mother. Despite the Dorincourt blood in him, Cedric has none of that empty and selfish pride which mars his grandfather's character. He has made friends with everyone, and his particular chums are Mr. Hobbs, an elderly grocer; Dick, a bootblack, and his mother's Irish cook, Bridget. Mr. Havisham calls on Mrs. Errol and tells her the latter's conditions with regard to Cedric, namely, that he is to live alone with his grandfather, though at the house he will provide for her; she is to be allowed an occasional visit from him. Mrs. Errol has just learned that, owing to misappropriation of funds, her small income has almost entirely vanished, and she realizes that it will be quite impossible for her to bring up her boy in the way he should be brought up. Parting from him will be a terrible wrench, but for his sake she conquers her natural reluctance with the thought, "My husband would wish it." Cedric is sent for and introduced to Mr. Havisham, who is surprised and delighted with him, and tells him that the Earl has instructed him to satisfy any immediate wish that he (Cedric) may have. Cedric tells of the troubles of Bridget, the cook, who cannot afford medical attendance for her invalid husband. Mr. Havisham gives him money and he rushes down to the kitchen and relieves Bridget's wants. Later, Cedric, learning that he is to live alone with the Earl, remonstrates but is won over by his mother, who dilates on the many good qualities of the Earl. Mrs. Errol and Cedric, escorted by Mr. Havisham, arrive at Dorincourt Towers. Cedric with his faculty of making instant friends gets upon good terms with a huge Newfoundland dog, which takes to him at once. The Earl unwillingly consents to see his son's widow. She delivers an unfinished letter that his son wrote him before dying, also a photograph of the young man. The old man's emotion masters him as he gazes at the photograph of the only one of his sons who had not disgraced him. To hide his feelings he blusters at Mrs. Errol, who retires with dignity after requesting permission to bid good-bye to her boy, Cedric, with that frankness which is one of his most attractive characteristics, introduces himself to the Earl, who watches him with interest, and is affected at the child's likeness to his father. Cedric, looking through the window, sees Higgins, a tenant of the estate, pleading with the butler on the lawn for permission to see the Earl. He calls the latter's attention. The old man, desiring to find out how his grandson will act, asks Cedric to call Higgins in. He then introduces Higgins to him, explaining that he has a wife and several children, all of whom have been ill. Little Lord Fauntleroy shakes Higgins by the hand sympathetically, and learning that he is worried over paying his rent, gets permission from the Earl to write to his agent telling him not to interfere with Higgins. Dinner is announced. Cedric notices that the Earl rises in pain, and offers his shoulder, saying, "Lean on me. Grandpa." The old man, desiring to test his pluck, does so; they exit. The fierce old man takes to the boy, and can hardly bear him out of his sight. One day, after returning from some riding lessons, he enters the library, where the Earl is reading a document. The little fellow is evidently worried and he lies at full length on the rug in a thoughtful attitude. Asked what he is thinking of, he responds, "I am thinking of mother." The Earl, realizing the child's love for his mother, makes her, through him, a present of a brougham. Cedric, in delight, is driven off to fetch her, and takes her for a happy drive. All this time the adventuress, Minna, has been preparing a pretty little plot. Her plans being ready, she appears with her child at Dorincourt Towers. Producing her marriage license in proof that she was actually wedded to Bevis, she boldly announces that her son is the issue of that union, and that she claims for him the title of Lord Fauntleroy. Her manner is insolent and boastful, but the Earl, though he orders her from the house, feels that she has a strong case, and is full of gloomy foreboding. The old man now realizes his love for his grandson, and the thought of seeing another take his place as little Lord Fauntleroy nearly breaks his heart. He instructs Mr. Havisham to contest Minna's claim. The case excites much interest in the papers. One account, containing Minna's photograph, finds its way to New York, and is seen by Dick Tipton, Cedric's bootboy friend, who recognizes in it the likeness of the runaway wife of his brother, Ben. On the advice of Mr. Hobbs, he sends the newspaper cutting to Ben, who determines to leave the "Wild West," where he has made his pile, and proceed to England to regain possession of his little son. Mr. Hobbs precedes him there, and calling on the Earl, offers his entire savings towards the expense of fighting for Cedric's rights. The old nobleman is deeply touched at such disinterestedness, though he does not find it necessary to avail himself of it. In honor of Cedric's eighth birthday his grandfather gives a fete to the tenants of the estate, to which Mrs. Errol and Mr. Hobbs are invited guests. In the midst of the merry-making, Minna, accompanied by her offspring, forces her way into the grounds, bent on making a scene. She is extremely insolent to the Earl, but her tirade is interrupted by the dramatic arrival of her husband, Ben, who exposes the fraudulency of her case and claims his son. The Earl invites Mrs. Errol to take up her residence permanently under his roof, and thus peace and happiness come to Dorincourt at last.
- The story opens in the country home of Manon and her brother, who have been brought up by a religious father. The father insists that Manon shall enter a convent for life. He compels her to go. But on the way, stopping at an inn at Amisne, she meets the Chevalier Des Grieux. It is a case of love at first sight between them. Manon and Des Grieux escape the vigilance of her traveling companions and flee to Paris. The Baron De Bretigny, a rich nobleman, occupies a residence adjoining their home in Paris. He sees the lovely Manon and, attracted by her beauty, makes her acquaintance. Failing in his attempts to separate her from Des Grieux, the Baron finally writes to Des Grieux's father, an old friend of his in Picardy. The father, objecting to his son's choice, sends his elder brother and two servants to Paris, who takes Des Grieux away by force. The Baron then bribes Manon's maid, who tells her mistress that Des Grieux has deserted her, and, as he does not return, the heartbroken girl believes he has left her forever. Alone in Paris without friends or money she is finally compelled to accept the protection of the scheming Baron. Meantime the Chevalier, believing that Manon no longer cares for him, is persuaded by his faithful friend. Abbe Tiberge, to renounce the world and become an abbe. He goes to Paris and begins his studies at St. Sulpice. But Manon is still the unforgotten object of his affections. Through the false maid Manon discovers the trick by which the Baron separated her from her lover. She leaves the Baron's house and visits the Chevalier at St. Sulpice, where, after a pathetic and emotional scene she induces him to go with her. Manon's brother, Lescaut, a dissolute and unprincipled guardsman in the army of King Louis XV, is hired by the Baron to attack the Chevalier and bring Manon back to him. Ruffians engaged by Lescaut carry out this plan. But after a furious street combat the Chevalier escapes. Manon, however, is taken to the Baron's house and kept prisoner. Here the Chevalier follows her and alone and unaided rescues her after a struggle with the perfidious Baron. The lovers leave Paris and establish themselves in a suburban villa, where Lescaut comes and convinces them that he had no part in the plot. Their financial circumstances go from bad to worse. Des Grieux finds himself beset by creditors and is finally persuaded by his false friend, Lescaut, to gamble at a fashionable club in Paris. The Baron is present, induces the Chevalier to play with him and accuses him of cheating at cards. Manon interferes, but both are arrested and thrown into separate prisons. The Chevalier escapes from St. Lazare after wounding a guard and compelling the prison governor to open the doors for him. Meantime Lescaut has quarreled with the Baron and decides to help the Chevalier rescue Manon from the Magdalen. This is accomplished, and disguised in boy's clothes, Manon escapes in a coach with the Chevalier, driven by Lescaut. The prison guards start in pursuit. The coach is wrecked in an accident, Lescaut is killed and Manon recaptured. Taken back to prison she is sentenced to be transported to America, to the French province of Louisiana, as was the custom of that period. Chained to a number of unfortunate women prisoners Manon is taken to Havre. Des Grieux follows, seeking for some means of saving her, but finding none he smuggles himself as a stowaway on board the ship, which carries his beloved to far-away New Orleans. In the new world Manon and the Chevalier are kindly treated by the Louisiana Governor. But when the Governor's nephew becomes infatuated with Manon the Governor decides to separate them on his nephew's account. The Chevalier fights a duel with the nephew, then escapes with Manon to the forests, where she dies.
- To show his girl how brave he is Fatty challenges the champion to a fight. Charlie referees, trying to avoid contact with the two monsters.
- Anna Gray is a quiet, high-principled young woman who falls in love with Perry Carlyle, a weak young clerk whose own extravagant tastes, and the dissipations induced by endeavoring to please Ruth Jordon, have combined to plunge him into both debt and dissatisfaction at his lot. He finds that his position in the Treasury Department enables him to obtain possession of pieces of mutilated money and that by pasting them together he can induce tradesmen to accept them for good bills and so add considerably to his income. However, the Secret Service men are soon on his train and only Anna's heroic self-sacrifice saves him from the consequences of his crime. Ruth discards him in his trouble, and as he realizes that her affection was inspired only by mercenary motives, while Anna loves him sincerely for himself alone, he is swept in a revulsion of feeling to a love for her which is as deep and lasting as her own. There are moments of the most tense and thrilling suspense while Anna is concealing Perry from the police and when she confronts Ruth and struggles with her for the evidence which will clear or convict Perry, the situation is tremendous as the two women struggle with all the fierceness of love, passion, and despair.
- Broncho Billy comes between a Mexican thug and the young woman he is disturbing. The Mexican plots revenge for the insult and captures Billy, who has rescued a lost old man. The young woman discovers Billy being held prisoner and rides for help. The townsmen gallop toward Billy's rescue.
- The story opens with the arrival in Hangtown of Madison Clay and his daughter, Salomy Jane, who have emigrated all the way from Kentucky. Straightway the young men and bachelors of the camp fall desperately in love with Salomy Jane. Her preference at first is for Rufe. Almost simultaneously with Clay's arrival the "Man" comes to Hangtown via the overland stage coach. He finds his way to the town bar and there recognizes Baldwin, who before coming west, had betrayed the "Man's" sister. The "Man" following comes upon him just in time to save Salomy from his insult. They grapple, but Baldwin breaks away and runs through the woods to his cabin where he begins packing with intent of leaving the community. Meantime Salomy. outraged at the insults of Baldwin, offers to marry Rufe on condition he kills him. Rufe demurs, but, passing Baldwin's cabin a short while afterward, hears noise of a fight inside and looking through the window sees the "Man" kill Baldwin. Remembering Salomy's promise, Rufe tells her that the crime is his, whereupon they become engaged. While this has been happening. Red Pete Heath, a worthless inhabitant of Hangtown, and a partner hold up the stage, wounding Yuba Bill, the driver. This crime, together with the murder of Baldwin, occasions a meeting of the vigilantes, who begin to scour the countryside for the offenders. At the same time these guardians of the law are given another source of worry. A letter from a kinsman has advised Larabee that there is a blood feud between his and Clay's family. The two antagonists meet and each declare that he will kill the other. In the midst of this excitement Salomy meets the "Man" on the road. She thinks at first that he may be one of the robbers. He however disabuses her in this respect, but admits that it was he who killed Baldwin. She brings the "Man" provisions and bids him good-bye with obvious reluctance. Then, acquainted with Rufe's deceit, she breaks her engagement with him. With the booty taken by Red Pete from the stage was a bracelet which falls into the hands of his little girl. She in turn gives it to Salomy. Yuba Bill sees it, recognizes it; thus the responsibility of the hold-up is fixed. In the chase that ensues Red Pete is taken after a sensational tumble over a cliff and his partner killed. Meanwhile one party of vigilantes have taken the "Man." thinking him Red Pete's accomplice. Red Pete's word and the report that the real accomplice has been killed, rights this mistake and the vigilantes are on the point of releasing the "Man," when Rufe declares him Baldwin's murderer. It is decided to hang him alongside Red Pete. Red Pete's wife bids him a tearful farewell. When it is asked if there is anyone to tell the stranger good-bye. Salomy embraces and kisses him. The Man" makes his escape a little later and returns to Salomy, who, to protect him from Rufe. disguises him in her father's hat and coat. Larabee. seeing him thus dressed, mistakes him for Clay and shoots at him. The bullet hits the brim of the stranger's hat. The "Man," in his turn, shoots and kills Larabee. Clay is suspected of this crime. He is forewarned by Starbottle. Thinking that Salomy has killed his enemy, the father assumes the guilt, saddles his horse and rides away. Meanwhile Salomy has joined the man and the two of them make their escape after a sensational fight, including a ride down the river on a log. Hangtown left far behind. Madison Clay meets his daughter and her lover. The whole tangle is explained away by the "Man's" admission that he killed Larabee. Thus reconciled to Salomy, the father finds another horse that the three may ride toward a new home. The stranger and Salomy ride together.
- Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, is someone he once seduced and abandoned and that he himself bears responsibility for reducing her to crime. He sets out to redeem her and himself in the process.
- The uncle of Josephine employs gangsters to abduct her, and in fleeing from them she enters a motion picture theater, where she sees Maciste playing in the screen drama, "Cabiria." The story pictures Maciste escaping from prison by bending iron bars, and Josephine decides that a man of his strength can be of much assistance to her. She obtains his address, and going to him she relates her experience. At first he is inclined to doubt the truthfulness of her story, but later, when he sees half a dozen ruffians attacking her, he intercedes in the girl's behalf, and single handed subdues them. Maciste demonstrates his marvelous strength in many other thrilling incidents, and finally runs down the uncle and his gang, and turns them over to the authorities.
- Snobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife because of his drinking and his attitude at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. In search of the thief, Steele is attacked and left for dead. He is rescued by a kind couple, but suffers from amnesia. He starts life afresh and is happy, until the return of his memory sends him back to resolve his old involvements.
- Enemy agents under the leadership of "Emanon" conspire with pacifists to keep the American defense appropriations down at a time when forces of the enemy are preparing to invade. The invasion comes, and New York, Washington, and other American cities are devastated.
- Marguerite Gauthier, known as Camille, is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying Armand, she acquiesces and leaves her lover. However, when poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her, Camille discovers that Armand has not lost his love for her.
- Nancy, a sea captain's daughter, loves a rich importer's son, but his father objects to their marriage. Nancy takes a sea voyage to forget the boy, but he stows away and rescues her when the ship is wrecked. But washed ashore with amnesia, she is captured and sold into slavery. Can her young man find her and rescue her again?
- Jim Houston, the "Shootin' Iron" Parson, comes to Barren Gulch to reform the morals of the frontier community. He receives the support of "Birdshot" Bivens, the sheriff of the county. Jim's wife, Mary, however, is a weak character. She falls a prey to the seduction of Dr. Hardy, the village gambler and saloon keeper, and elopes with him. Jim Houston, forsaking the ministry, goes to the mountains and cares for his child in a log cabin home. Later the child falls very ill. Mary, in a mountain storm, comes unwittingly to their door. Dr. Hardy is sent for as the only physician in the district. He ministers to the child and confronts Houston, who intends to kill him. Mary is asked to make her choice between Houston and Dr. Hardy. She points towards the child and goes to its bedside. Houston forgives his wife and instead of killing Hardy permits him to go unharmed.
- Fortune-hunting Renee Delaveaux marries the Count de Carney to get her hands on his money. But she falls into a liaison with the Count's ward, Pierre Cavereaux, a handsome young soldier. When Pierre betrays her by seducing and marrying the Count's niece Bella, the furious Renee brings the quadrangle crashing down when she attempts murder.
- An old woman in Frederick, Maryland during the U.S. Civil War displays her American flag in defiance of the armies of Confederate general Thomas J. Jackson. Based on the folk tale that grew from the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier.
- Ashley Hampdon, a Wall Street financier, has a daughter named Lina. Gregg Lewiston wants to marry the girl. The father tells him that the girl can please herself. As he does not seem to progress in his love-making, Lewiston puts through a scheme to ruin Hampdon in the market, so that the father will bring pressure to bear on his daughter to marry the suitor as he has lots of money. Hampdon is distracted by his losses. While aimlessly looking over his papers Hampdon comes across a little note signed by a western mining man, Bot White. It is an offer from White to assist Hampdon at any time and in any place, physically or financially. Hampdon had once befriended White and as he would not take anything else in return, White gave him the written offer. Hampdon sends a message to White to come to New York at once. When White appears, Hampdon tells him of his suspicion, that Lewiston injured him through an accomplice who had given him a wrong tip. Lina takes offense at a conversation she hears between Lewiston and White and tells White that she objects to him. He is put up at a club by Hampdon. There Lewiston sends Rankin (the same broker that he used to ruin Lewiston) to White with a tip on the market. White sends for detectives. They connect White's room with that of Lewiston's on a floor above by means of a wire and with the aid of a Dictaphone they overhear Lewiston and Rankin concocting a scheme to ruin White as a friend of Lewiston and a possible rival to Lina's hand. White and Hampdon use this information to make a fortune much to the discomfiture of Lewiston. As his treachery is now revealed, Lewiston is unable to win Lina. He goes to the club and insults White by saying in a loud tone of voice that this is the first case he has known of a man trying to buy a girl. White wants him to fight, but Lewiston excuses himself by remarking that it is a gentlemen's club. Finally Lewiston strikes White for calling him a coward, but spectators separate the men. Lewiston goes to his uptown home and White follows him. There is a fight and White gets the best of it till Lewiston hits White over the head with a bronze vase. Just then John Worth, who is a friend of White's and is half crazed from losses due to the villainy of Lewiston, appears at a window and shoots Lewiston in the arm. White having accomplished his mission, goes to bid his friend, Ashley Hampdon, good-bye. Lina has come to admire White for his loyalty to her father and for his efficiency. He does not seem to understand the change in her and bids her farewell. She, however, gets her father to take her on the same train on which White goes. They meet on the platform of the observation car where the misunderstanding is cleared.
- Travelling in the Arabian desert, Cecil Weatherby encounters a secret, hidden city, where he finds love in the form of beautiful priestess Ameera. Their love results in their being condemned to death, but even in the City of Death, love will find a way.
- A gypsy seductress is sent to sway a goofy officer to allow a smuggling run.
- His mind unbalanced by much reading about knight errantry and lack of sleep and food, Don Quixote decides to sally forth and right the wrongs of the world. The muddle-minded old idealist takes with him Sancho Panza, his stable man, who from then on vainly tries to dissuade his master from embarking upon all sorts of rash adventures. Notable among them is the episode of the windmills, which the Don thinks are devils, even after he has charged them and been carried around and around and dropped unconscious on the ground. When he recovers, Dorothea tells him of her affair with Don Fernando, which has forced her to leave home to avoid disgrace. He determines first of all to right the young woman's wrong and goes on to an inn, which he imagines is a castle. The maid-of-of-all-work he dubs the fairest lady in all Spain. One night at the inn is enough. The proprietor throws him and his man out the next morning. While riding along the road they meet several prisoners and their guards on the way to the galleys. Without hesitation the Don spurs his ancient steed, Rosinante, among them, and puts the guards to rout. It develops that one of the prisoners is Cardenio, who has been guilty of loving Lucinda against her father's will. Don Quixote offers to intercede in his behalf and together they start back. Cardenio goes ahead and arrives as his beloved is about to become the wife of Don Fernando. Thinking she has been faithless he seeks to end his life with the poison of an adder. The Don, arriving later, invades mansion and halts the wedding just in time. "How about Dorothea?" he asks, and Fernando cowers. Then the Don seeks Cardenio and brings him back to his lady. But Don Fernando is not so easily defeated. With his retainers he kidnaps Lucinda. A pursuit follows and there is much matching of steel when the two parties meet. Don Quixote, who has gone his way, incidentally rescuing Dorothea from a cruel master for whom she has been tending goats, arrives in the midst of the melee. He has become more insane on his favorite subject and every time he comes upon a prostrate form he rushes forward and claims the honor of slaying the villain. As the encounter becomes hotter a blunderbuss is brought into play and the Don is shot in the breast. While he is dragging himself to the inn of the fair Dulcinea, the scoundrel Don Fernando has been attacked by Cardenio. At length the latter is victorious and the body of Fernando crashes into a ravine. Dorothea, who has seen the struggle, goes to it as the others repair to the inn. There is a happy reunion between Lucinda and Cardenio and permission to wed is freely granted. Into this happy group staggers the Don. His faithful Sancho Panza and Dulcinea help him to the stable, discover the hole through his armor and try to staunch the wound. But all efforts fail. To the accompaniment of the merry making above the lovable old character expires in the straw and the devoted pair beside him grieves.
- Barnard completes a study in oils which he calls "The Resurrection." It represents a beautiful, dark woman, her awakened soul shining from her eyes. At a private exhibit in the studio the painting causes a great deal of admiring comment, and Barnard's mother, a society leader and an art connoisseur, admits to her son that he virtually "imprisoned a woman's soul" in the canvas. The soul of the picture, a few days later, stirs to the depths of her being a sordid girl of the underworld whom Barnard has found in the night courts and persuaded to become his model for "The Fallen Woman." Irene Brock, once she has met the rapt, spiritual gaze of Barnard's ideal, involuntarily revolts against the hideousness of her environment. The trade she has been accustomed to ply in saloon dance-halls and low resorts becomes a torture to her. Day by day Irene watches the new painting grow. But she is changing. Barnard, feeling that something is unsatisfactory, and that he will be unable to paint from his model "The Fallen Woman" of his imagination, reluctantly brings the sittings to a close. The moment of parting precipitates an emotional crisis. Love, for the first time, has dawned in the girl's soul, and Barnard, moved by a profound sympathy, takes her in his arms. The young artist's mother finds them in this position; she diplomatically conceals her horror while smilingly asserting that "that could never be." Irene goes away, struggling to be resigned. But the young artist, fired by a self-sacrificing love, refuses to let this end the episode. At last, the mother seeks Irene in her squalid lodging. "Such a marriage," she pleads with the girl, "would make my son a social outcast. Even your love could not always make him forget." The soul of "The Resurrection" working upon her heart, and controlled also by her deep love for Barnard, Irene promises to cure him of his passion. That same night she deliberately gives herself up to a detective an old enemy of hers. The following morning she sends for Barnard to come to the night court and pay her fine. He goes. She is brought before the judge. To the charge, she replies, "I am guilty." Silently, Barnard puts the money on the desk. Outside, in the corridor, they meet. By sheer force of will, she resists the almost overwhelming impulse to fling herself in his arms and tell him the entire story of her deception. The next instant, with a murmured good-bye, he turns and rushes out of doors. That evening Irene slips into the deserted studio, and stands long before the painting of "The Resurrection." From these wonderful eyes she imbibes strength for her lonely struggle with the world.
- Marguerite Gautier, known as "Camille" on account of her fondness for camellias, is queen of the underworld. She has a wealthy lover in Count de Varville, whom, though he supplies her with plenty of money, she does not love in return. Her affections are set upon Armand, a young lawyer from the country. She suffers from her excesses, and the doctor warns her that she must change her mode of living, but she laughs at his advice. Armand's love for her renews her interest in life, and she goes with him and lives quietly in the country. But their happiness is short. Camille has had to sell her jewelry and horses in order to pay her debts, and, learning of this, Armand becomes suspicious. Armand's father, hearing of his son's attachment for Camille, demands that the woman should abandon Armand. For the sake of Armand's young sister, Cecile, Camille agrees to sacrifice herself and returns to her former life with Count de Varville. But Armand's love for Camille will not be suppressed. They meet again. He begs Camille to go away with him. She refuses. Armand accuses her of loving de Varville. The two men meet and quarrel. There is a duel, and Armand wounds de Varville. Armand learns that Camille always loved him and that her aim was to please the father by preserving Armand's family's good name. In the end Camille dies with a smile on her lips and expressing her love for Armand.
- Christ takes on the form of a pacifist count to end a senseless war.
- McTeague begins life in the mines. He later becomes an unlicensed practicing dentist. He is a man of violent physical passions, but until he meets little Trina, who visits his dental office, his love instincts have never been aroused. McTeague induces Trina to marry him through the sheer force of his domineering personality. The couple are not happy. Trina develops miserly instincts and when she wins a $5,000 lottery prize, she hoards the money and grows more and more avaricious. McTeague quarrels with Marcus, his former rival for Trina's affections, and the ill feeling between the two men leads to a fierce combat in which McTeague proves the victor. In revenge Marcus has McTeague prevented from practicing dentistry because he has no diploma. McTeague leans on Trina for support but she turns him away. Trina has a severe illness and while recuperating develops a mania for fondling her hoarded gold pieces. McTeague returns to find Trina showering handfuls of gold upon her bed. After a terrific scene he strangles her and steals the money. Marcus, determined to avenge Trina's death, trails the fugitive McTeague into the heart of Death Valley, where the two men come at last face to face in a final battle to the death under the blistering desert sun.
- Peasant girl Vania is assaulted by a duke who murders her lover and sends her away to London. There she becomes a famous actress. The Duke, seeing her perform but not recognizing her, hears that his son is wounded. "If anything should happen to my boy, I think it would kill me." That's all the motivation Vania needs to go to the front, find the one-armed paralyzed boy and marry him. Next she arranges to make love to his father just as the boy enters the room, causing the young man to blow out his brains.
- A doctor irrationally suspects his wife is carrying on an affair with her childhood friend.
- D'Artagnan goes to Paris and becomes a member of the famous King's Musketeers. The Queen sends him on a dangerous mission to England. His three companions are either captured or put out of commission in the course of fights on foot and horseback. D'Artagnan reaches London and recovers from the Duke of Buckingham a pair of studs the Queen gave him as tokens of regard. On the ship on which he returns the hero is captured by his deadly enemy, De Rochfort. Jumping over the side, he clings to the chains of the vessel till it reaches port in France. He restores the studs to the Queen, and she has them put back into the necklace where they belong. Cardinal Richelieu has induced the King to command the Queen to appear wearing the necklace at a great court ball. When he sees the complete necklace, his plan to embarrass the Queen falls through. In addition to obtaining the favor of the Queen, D'Artagnan is rejoiced over the safe return of his comrades and his reward from his sweetheart for his bravery.
- The story tells of the troubles started by the fondness for gaiety of three mature French judges. With an eye to securing his good graces, they enjoy losing an occasional game of whist to their superior, Judge Galipaux. M. Galipaux's life burden is an ambitious wife. An escapade with the leading lady of a theatrical troupe, Mlle. Gobette, lands the three judges on the carpet for a severe reprimand. The offending actress is evicted from the hotel. Like an inspiration, a way out of their predicament comes to one of the offenders. That night on returning from seeing his wife on her train to Paris, M. Galipaux finds his house occupied by a strange but very beautiful woman, who refuses to leave. Unexpectedly M. Gaudet, the handsome and irreproachable Minister of Justice, arrives. He is fascinated by Gobette whom he believes to be Mme. Galipaux. Still posing as Mme. Galipaux, Gobette comes to Paris to call upon him. Scenting a possible scandal, Marius, the head usher, lays a trap. Mlle. Gobette calls and the trap is sprung. From then on events crowd quickly upon poor Gaudet, but through humorous situations and startling perplexities he remains undaunted to emerge triumphant.
- While working as a clerk for stockbroker Jerrold Burns, Scott Wells overhears his boss' plan to ruin railroad magnate David Haldeman, but before Scott can warn David, the millionaire leaves town on vacation. Scott then decides that he himself will fight Jerrold on the floor of the stock exchange, and he goes to David's daughter Dorothy with his plan. She gives him all of her money, and Scott spends all of it in fighting off the first day's raid on David's financial empire. Then, Scott discovers that Jerrold's cronies hold David captive. Scott rescues the millionaire, and rushes him to the stock exchange, where David successfully defends his holdings against the takeover attempt. Afterward, Scott receives more than David's gratitude: he also gets his permission to propose to Dorothy, who quickly accepts.
- A little girl is kidnapped by the Mafia in revenge for her father's help in capturing one of the mobsters. She is presumed dead, but in reality is spirited away to Italy, where she is raised as the daughter of a kindly couple. When she is betrothed to the cruel padrone, she disguises herself as a boy and stows away to America, where she finds herself once again in the clutches of the mobster who originally kidnapped her. But this time luck and her own pluck are with her, and the tables are soon turned.
- In the wayward western town known as Hell's Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.
- Lady Jocelyn, a favorite in the court of England's King James, escapes a forced marriage to the hated Lord Carnal by fleeing to American colonies. There she meets and marries Captain Ralph Percy. Pursued by Lord Carnal, Lady Jocelyn and her new husband eventually find themselves shipwrecked on a desert island with Lord Carnal. A band of pirates finds them there, and Captain Percy convinces them that he is himself a notorious pirate chief. But Lord Carnal casts them all into danger by revealing Percy's true identity.
- A satire on American films, in which Shakespeare's Macbeth is performed as it might be imagined performed in an American film. (The film was prepared as part of a live benefit for the YMCA attended by the British royal family. Edmund Gwenn (QV) appeared onstage but not on film as the American producer.)
- Sunny Wiggins is regarded as worthless by the other members of his family, who have risen to the social station where they are snubbed by the best people. The morning of the day the play begins his sister is preparing to entertain a party of butterflies, among whom is the mentally lacking beanpole she intends to marry. Sunny is in bed with as queer a lot of associates as could be collected. He has recruited his following from the bread line; two of them are in bed with him while the others are sleeping on the carpet, and one has even gone to rest in the bathtub. Not too willingly do all hands go to the shower, but it is a wash or no breakfast. Downstairs goes the motley array and into the dining room. Sunny thinks it fine that such a spread has been prepared for his guests and there is little left when sister enters with her guests. Of course, Sis at once tells father and Sunny is called to book. Dismissing his own guests, he finds that he has only one friend in the place, one of his sister's guests, and he doesn't know her name. She thinks Sunny is splendid and when his father has sent him out to try his sociological theories along the Bowery, she wishes him luck. There in a cheap lodging house Sunny teaches the derelicts to laugh, and with such success that an eminent specialist drafts him to cure a millionaire grouch of dyspepsia. In the rich home of the dyspeptic he finds that the girl is the millionaire's daughter. She enters heartily into his plans but an aged 'cellist, whose favorite music is Chopin's "Funeral March," exerts more influence in the household than he. But when father has discovered his daughter and the supposed physician in fond embrace there is a fight, which ends with father a prisoner in his room, to be cured by starvation. Meanwhile a broker, whose offer of marriage has been refused by the daughter, is plotting to ruin her father in Wall Street. How Sunny thwarts the attempt, cures the grouch, becomes his son-in-law and partner and thereby is reinstated in the good graces of his own family, is the story this comedy tells.
- Charles Chaplin, a convict, is given $5.00 and released from prison after having served his term. He meets a man of the church who makes him weep for his sins and while he is weeping takes the $5.00 away from him. Chaplin goes to a fruit stand and samples the fruit. When he goes to pay for it he finds his $5.00 is missing. This results in a battle with the fruit dealer, but Chaplin finally escapes. He is held up by a footpad and finds it is his former cellmate. He is inveigled into joining him in robbing a house. They put a police officer out of commission with a mallet and stack up the silverware. They then start upstairs to search the upper rooms, but are met by a young woman who implores them to leave because her mother is ill and fears the shock will kill her. Chaplin's heart is touched but the footpad insists on ransacking the house. This results in a battle between the footpad and Chaplin. While they are fighting, a squad of police arrives. The footpad makes his escape, but the police capture Chaplin. The woman of the house, however, saves him by telling the police he is her husband. She gives him a dollar and he leaves. He goes to a lodging house and in order to save his dollar from thieves puts it in his mouth, swallowing it while he sleeps. A crook robs all the men in the lodging house but Chaplin takes the money away from him, and also the rings his "pal" had stolen. This starts a battle in which all join. Chaplin flees. In order to do a good turn to the woman who had saved him from the police, he takes her rings back.
- Meena Bauer is the heroine of this romance of a Pennsylvania Dutch girl, who is loved by the son of a Mennonite family. Meena treats Jacob as a joke in spite of the arrangement their parents have made that they should wed. The Mennonite simplicity has no charms for Meena, who proceeds to fall in love with Count Fredrick von Ritz, who is temporarily out of funds and comes to the little Pennsylvania town as a canvasser for a clothes wringer. Meena wants her father to buy one, but the latter believes that woman's hands were made for that work. Von Ritz next goes to the house of the town constable, where he is arrested for peddling without a license. Arraigned before Squire Bauer the prisoner is fined. He cannot pay and faces jail until Meena suggests that he be allowed to sell wringers until he makes enough to pay the fine. In partnership the count and Meena go and soon sales are brisk. Now comes the time when von Ritz receives a check from his estate and with sad farewell of Meena he returns to New York. Soon Meena follows, her father having died, leaving much property, to live with relatives in the metropolis. Here she finds many servants to do the work but they are an unclean lot and Meena takes a scrubbing assignment and is busily at work on the front steps when the count comes along with a present for her cousin. He thinks she is working out: she thinks he is canvassing with a new line. They meet often and one night von Ritz takes her to a noisy resort near the city. Before they return they have stopped at the minister's across the road. She does not return home and search the next morning finds her in her new apartments. Only then do the newlyweds discover each other's true identity. Von Ritz has married a rich wife and little Meena is a countess.
- On the estate of Senora Moreno in Southern California, the senora's adopted daughter Ramona lives. She falls in love with Alessandro, an Indian of noble heritage. When her adoptive mother forbids their marriage, Ramona Alessandro elope, only to find bigotry, misfortune, and finally tragedy wherever they turn.
- Denton rides into Yellow Ridge with a money-belt filled after years of toil in the mines beyond the desert. The local gamblers covet the fortune but fail to get Steve to try the roulette table until the enticer, Trixie, comes to exercise her charms on him. He blindly follows her lead and is watching the wheel with stern stare when a telegram is received. He asks the woman to read it. She lies when she says it contains good news, for it tells of his mother's critical illness. In the morning Steve awakes to find his belt is empty. In his feverish search through his pockets, he comes upon the telegram. As the truth dawns he goes to the telegraph office to send home a wire. The operator hands him the news that his mother has died. Wild with rage, he shoots up the town and drives away with Trixie lying limp over his horse before him. His heart is now filled with hate for all women and Trixie becomes his slave in a community where he tolerates only the scum of the section. Across the desert comes a pack train of Mississippi farmers who have left their fertile valleys to hunt for gold. Their water is all but gone and their stock is fagged. Their leaders plead with Steve for aid, but the white race may expect nothing from him. Back to the wailing women and children go the despondent leaders. Mary Jane, a waif among them, is not cowed by the story they tell, and by night she goes to repeat their please to the harsh white man. He looks upon her as another victim to share Trixie's lot, but her innocent, fearless attitude toward him makes him hesitate. Meanwhile, his men have carried off the women of the train. As the men pursue and bloodshed is in the air, Steve yields to the little girl and trades the safety of those people for his rich mine, leaves his wealth to his followers and guides the strangers out of the desert.
- The theft of a sacred diamond band from a Hindu shrine starts the action. Count Kotschkoff, who has stolen the band, soon finds that the Mystic Seer and the Mystic Doer are hot on his trail. To thwart them, he asks the Widow Marrimore to keep the jewels for him. She wears the band as a garter, and at a dance it drops off and is picked up by Alonz Evergreen, a middle-aged actor who still aspires to be the juvenile. He does no work and lives on the daily touches he is able to obtain from his hardworking son. Evergreen, who believes that he's in love with the widow, reads an advertisement for the return of the jewels. He aims to increase his favor with the widow by sending back the band. He has wrapped it up in an affectionate note when his son's fiancée enters the office on her way home from a shopping tour. When she departs she takes all the bundles in sight. Alonzo discovers his loss and goes in mad pursuit. In her home the young woman has decided that her beloved is untrue, and has sent back the diamond band and her engagement ring. A distracted lover soon reaches the house to find his father engaged in a frantic attempt to verify his suspicion that the young woman is wearing a costly garter. The gems regained, Evergreen races to the hotel where the widow lives. The Mystic Seer and the Mystic Doer are on his track, but he eludes them and delivers the band. When the Seer and Doer break in and explain their errand the widow goes to the hiding place, but the jewels are gone. The Count has recovered them. The widow is taken to the shrine and tied, to a stake and threatened with death. The stake is near a cage in which a lion is confined. Slowly the gate is lifted and the lion is about to dart out when Alonzo arrives and releases his adored one. There is a thrilling chase and Leo, the lion, finally stalks the widow to a bath room. There Alonzo rescues her under the nose of the beast, the count is captured and the band recovered.
- Molly is an irrepressible young lady who decamps from her grandmother's farm where she learns of the dire poverty with which they are threatened. Coming to the city, she seeks a position and failing to find one, hits upon the scheme of writing letters to invalids for the purpose of cheering them along the road to recovery. It so happens that her only subscriber is Carl Stanton, in whom she has already taken a violent interest. Carl is totally ignorant of the identity of his little correspondent until matters reach a climax which brings about a revelation of the fact that it is none other than Molly.
- Owen and Ernest Wharton, sons of sweatshop owner James Wharton, become interested in two of their father's employees. Owen, a settlement worker, falls in love with Mary, while Ernest, a full time womanizer, makes her sister Amy his mistress. Another sister, Jane, grows increasingly consumptive, but when Mary asks James for some money for Jane's treatment, he refuses. Hearing of the trouble, Ernest offers money to Mary, but only if she too agrees to be his mistress. Enraged, Mary forces him at gunpoint, to marry Amy. Then Owen, knocked unconscious in an accident, calls out for Mary. James begs her to see Owen, but before agreeing to go, Mary makes him promise to improve sweatshop conditions. Finally, Owen recovers and he and Mary plan their marriage. Meanwhile, marriage has turned Ernest into a devoted husband, and James keeps his word about shop conditions.
- Billy, who is the little son of Captain Andrews, commandant of a western army post, has one ambition in life, and that is to become a good soldier. This he has confided to his friend, Sergeant Hogan, and the sergeant takes pains to foster the idea. He really needs all his courage to face a new situation that has come up in his life. His father is going to marry again. While he knows absolutely nothing about his prospective stepmother, he can conceive of no one worthy of taking the place of his beloved mother, who lies in the little cemetery outside the fort. In spite of Billy, however, the wedding takes place. The newcomer tries in every way to win over the little fellow, but beyond politeness his friendship stops. Soon after the wedding his father is called at the head of his regiment to quell an uprising of the Sioux Indians, forty miles away. He leaves his bride in little Billy's care. The distant trouble is but a ruse on the part of Lame Bear, the Indian chief, and now, with his picked braves, he swoops down on the weakened garrison at the fort. The defenders of the fort are so few in number that it is but a question of time before they must surrender. Billy, bearing in mind the admonition of his father to take care of his stepmother, takes her away from the fort by a secret passage and hides her in a cave in the hills. Suddenly he observes the wavering men at the stockade. Bethinking himself of his bugle and hoping to lead the Indians to believe that his father and the regiment are returning, he blows the signal to charge from a distant knoll outside the fort. The outcome of that bugle call saves the garrison and draws Billy and his stepmother together.
- From Alphonse Daudet's 1884 novel comes a variation: A scheme by a beautiful vamp to marry a wealthy young man fails, and the woman returns to her former lover, a sculptor. She is shocked to discover he has committed suicide, and the tragedy catapults her into insanity.