The film consists of a series of tightly interlinked vignettes, the most sustained of which details the story of a man and a woman who are passionately in love. Their attempts to consummate their passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, by the Church and bourgeois society in general.
Marianna advertises for work as a reader and is employed by the reclusive millionaire Dymov. Appreciative of her sensitive, artistic nature, and of her youthful innocence and purity, Dymov is protective of Marianna and shields her from the attentions of his philandering playboy son. Marianna confesses to her fiancé Sergei that, at times, she feels deeply conflicted, drawn by the seductive lure of wealth and luxury. When her protector Dymov dies, his son begins to pursue her. Can Marianna resist her attraction to the opulent lifestyle that Dymov's son offers?
A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.
A scientist discovers that there's gold on the moon. He builds a rocket to fly there, but there's too much rivalry among the crew to have a successful expedition.
A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.
The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
The story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.
John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..
Adrift in the vast expanse of the ocean, a solitary boat carries three castaways—a man and two women. Stranded and devoid of any glimmer of rescue, they find solace in recounting the tales of their lives to one another. As they delve into their personal narratives, reminiscing about the circumstances that led them to this desolate predicament, they navigate through the depths of three distinct destinies. Bound by the confines of their shared space, every aspect of their existence becomes a boundary, underscoring their plight.
An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.
A Spanish soldier seduces and falls in love with the young wife of a smuggler.
In English known informally as "The Half of a Boy" and "Stepmother". Based on the novel by Kálmán Mikszáth. After his wife's death Gáthy Lörinc (in Serbian version: Mr. Wickfield) remarries and in secret he takes his son born from this second marriage to the same foster parents who take care his first son born from his first marriage and left without mother. Five years later, when both boys return home, his wife does not know which is her own child, and which is the child of the previous wife, so the husband's desire is fulfilled, his orphaned son doesn't have step-mother, because his wife loves both boys equally, as her sweet children.
A working-class love story set in and around the London Underground of the 1920s. Two men – gentle Bill and brash Bert – meet and are attracted to the same woman on the same day at the same Underground station. But the lady chooses Bill, and Bert isn't the type to take rejection lightly...
Don Carlos, heir to the Spanish throne, and Princess Elisabeth of Valois are deeply in love but King Philip, Carlos's father, wants Elisabeth for himself.
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Hardly one of French filmmaker Abel Gance's masterpieces, The Torture of Silence nevertheless has more dramatic and psychological value than your average romantic-triangle tale. Simply put, the film concerns a doctor, his wife, and his brother. The doctor, a specialist in pediatrics, has no time for his wife Marthe. She seeks solace in the arms of his brother. Unable to keep up the charade, Marthe attempts to shoot herself, but it is her lover who is mortally wounded.
The picture tells the story of Maria, a devoted wife of a bank employee. The couple has a cozy life; they have a baby but he is cared for by their maid so Maria can spend her time doing terrific things like going shopping. During one of these consumer afternoons, Maria meets by chance an old friend, Lidia, who will introduce her to exclusive idle class social circles. Soon Maria's beauty attracts the interest of Lebedev, a rich old libertine. From that point on Maria suffers continual sexual harassment (worthy of inclusion in any silent film encyclopedia article on beleaguered heroines) which she resists for a time. In the end, however, she falls into his bourgeois claws.
A new skyscraper is being built in New York City, and numerous workmen are busy at hazardous jobs high above the ground. When one of the workers, Dago Pete, deliberately starts a fight, he is immediately fired. But the discharged worker soon comes up with a plan to commit a robbery and get even. His scheme could affect the lives of several others.
Based on the novel The Star Rover by Jack London (New York, 1915).