John Howard Payne leaves home and begins a career in the theater. Despite encouragement from his mother and his sweetheart, Payne begins to lead a life of dissolute habits, and this soon leads to ruin and misery. In deep despair, he thinks of better days, and writes a song that later provides inspiration to several others in their own times of need.
Helen Alving leads an outwardly contented life. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of her husband's death, she is about to open an orphanage as a memorial to him. To mark this occasion, her bohemian painter son Oswald has returned from Paris. Helen plans to take the opportunity to tell Oswald the truth about his father. But ghosts of the past erupt during an eventful evening, bringing the facade of civilised family life crashing down.
A country boarding house story
The ranchman's daughter is in love with Jack of the Rancho and becomes engaged to him, but Pa comes on their lovemaking and rudely separates them. Following an idea which he worked on during a visit to New York, Pa writes to a Frenchman, a lawyer there, and tells him he will marry his daughter to a count the lawyer will provide. The lawyer accordingly looks up an Italian cook, decks him out with a red sash, etc., and sends him west for the easy money.
A singer on a gambling ship is married to a wealthy playboy. When he is found murdered, all evidence points to her as the culprit, and she is put on trial for the crime.
Dottie gets a job in a small show as "side kick" of a famous knife thrower. The "Angel" is a nice boy who is backing the show, and who is too modest to declare his love to Dottie. She can see no one save the great, handsome "Strong Man." The knife thrower gets drunk, and the "Angel" forbids Dottie to do her act. The "Strong Man," however, locks up the "Angel" and bids the knife thrower go on with the show. Dottie, terrified but helpless, has risked her life a half dozen times from the carelessly thrown knives, when the "Angel," bursting out of his prison, rushes into the ring and flings himself between her and the weapons. He is seriously injured. At the hospital, Dottie and the "Angel" pledge their troth.
A lost film. Mary the tomboy, and Owen, the sportsman, have an equal aversion to the opposite sex. . Meeting at the trout stream one day, Owen orders Mary off his side of the stream, where she has comfortably ensconced herself. But alas! Cupid has not lost his opportunity and the die is cast. Mary's uncle, although seemingly severe, has a tenderness for an interesting spinster of uncertain age and plans to get Mary married off at the behest of the spinster lady.
Molly Boone's father has been sent to prison for twenty years for alleged complicity in the killing of a revenue officer, Uriah Hudson, whom she secretly suspects of having a hand in sending her father to prison, is her persistent suitor.
Country girl May loses at cards and must borrow $250 from Captain Stiles, but the wealthy roué's loan does not come without an expectation of repayment.
The Tear That Burned is a silent movie drama.
Seamen Enoch Arden returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he finds his wife married to another, and though he loves her, he cannot bear to disrupt her current happiness.
The country boy, despite the advice of a fellow-townsman, goes to the city, where, after an encounter with a motion picture holdup man, is engaged as property boy in a studio. His fellow-townsman comes to the city when he learns that his wife, from whom he has become estranged, is dying.
May and her younger sister, Carol, live in a small town. May is the more lovely of the two, but Carol is wooed by Frank, a country boy. George, a city man, comes to town on a visit, falls in love with Carol and wins her away from Frank. Carol is pleased with his attentions and poor Frank is brokenhearted. Calling one day to see Carol, George meets May and falls madly in love with her, and finally runs away with her and they are married. Carol, in despair, turns back to Frank and they are married, and a year later a baby is born.
Nettie is beloved by all the boys in the mining camp. Magoon, a big, jovial miner, loves her most of all, however, and asks her to become his wife. Nettie is in love with Colter, a young Easterner, and though it pains her to do so, tells Magoon of the fact. Magoon leaves town to become sheriff of the adjoining county. A murder is committed in the mining camp, and Colter is unjustly accused. Nettie rescues him from jail and sends him to Magoon. The sheriff with admirable self-sacrifice hides his rival, and, when the posse arrives, points out what Nettie has done for the boys of the mining camp. Colter is released, and all the boys escort him back to Nettie.
There is, at once, quite a change in Dot and her sweetheart Robert plainly doesn't like it. After a tussle with a burglar and a cop the couple come to an understanding.
Thwarted by his despotic uncle from continuing his love affair, a young man's thoughts turn dark as he dwells on ways to deal with his uncle. Becoming convinced that murder is merely a natural part of life, he kills his uncle and hides the body. However, the man's conscience awakens; paranoia sets in and nightmarish visions begin to haunt him.
Ruy Blas, a commoner disguised as a nobleman, falls in love with the Queen, Maria de Neubourg, after being manipulated by Don Salluste, a banished prime minister seeking revenge.
Ruth Wilson, daughter of a wealthy landowner, receives a visit from her country sweetheart, Joe Merriam. who is a motorboat enthusiast. Unknown to anyone but her brother Frank, Ruth is an expert at fixing auto and motorboat engines as the estate is on the bay and Ruth has the use of two launches. With Joe she goes for a boat ride but the engine breaks down and he is unable to fix it, and afraid that it would lower his opinion of her if she should repair the engine, she lets him call another boat to tow them back to the wharf. Merriam, while in love with Ruth, cannot bring himself to propose, fearing that she would be too ornamental for a farmer's wife, and half of his visit passes while he attempts to make up his mind.
Bob Taylor was a valuable man. Talbot, his employer, told Miriam as much, showing his daughter the good round sum which his new clerk had handed him that evening for a real estate deal he had made in Talbot's absence. It was after banking hours and Talbot slept with the money under his pillow. The next morning he went off in a tearing hurry and forgot the roll of bills.
