Stairs of Sand

The life of Sam Houston, soldier, statesman, patriot and one of the founders of the Republic of Texas, is depicted.

Brothers Hugh and Dan Clayton are both in love with Phyllis, their father's secretary. She finally chooses Hugh, and they marry before he joins the army and is sent overseas as a fighter pilot. He is shot down in a dogfight, crashes and loses his memory and drifts around Europe. Years go by, and Phyllis decides to try to find him in France before consenting to marry Dan, who still loves her. Complications ensue.

Newland Archer is engaged to May Mingott of a prominent New York family. Shortly after the engagement is announced, Newland finds himself attracted to May's older married cousin Countess Ellen Olenska.

Berenice Arnold spends her time trying to keep her family happy. This is easier said than done -- her brother, Jimmy, is a gambler and he steals 80 dollars that his father was responsible for. Berenice sets out to get the money back, but winds up causing a scandal because of her association with Trix Ulner, a gambler and thief.

Sally Williams (Betty Bronson) marries Donald Moore (Richard Walling) and have trials and tribulations and input from others but they demonstrate that the most successful marriages are usually based on trust and respect, rather than on sex alone. Released in the UK under the title of "The Jazz Bride".

A pair of elderly Civil War veterans, Judge Holt and his friend Joel Ketchum, spent most of their time reminiscing about their wartime experiences. In the meantime, Holt's granddaughter falls in love with a devil-may-care aviator. The only problem is that Holt hates aviators and will do whatever he can to break up the romance.

Disappointed that her daughter has not married into money, a mother meddles trying to make the girl unhappy with life in her new home, the economical housing development known as Honeymoon Flats.

Following the Spanish-American War, a soldier is given the assignment of finding the leader of a band of rebels in the Philippines. In order to do this, he must romance Roma, a cabaret spy working for the rebels. This does not please the daughter of his commanding officer, whom he is romancing.

Grace Leonard, a typical woman of the New York stage, beautiful but old in sin, seduces William Craig, who becomes a thief in order to shower luxuries upon her. He is sentenced to prison and emerges five years later as a sad-faced, gray-haired man, entirely cured of his mad passion for La Valencia. But she sees him and her old passion is stirred, meaning nothing to her that since his release from prison, he has fallen in love and married a good woman who knows nothing of his past. When William is not swayed by her fascinations, Grace threatens to expose his past life.

Ruth Merrill and her father both are serving prison terms but her's is lighter and she is released. She becomes the wife of the wealthy Dr. Richard Boulton, who knows nothing of her past. Ruth's father escapes from prison and the unscrupulous detective, the same one who sent both to prison while knowing Ruth was innocent, is sent on Merrill's trail.

After being unfaithful to "The Stranger", who committed a murder on her account, Cherry Millard, known as "The Siren", leaves to work in a dance hall in the Western town of Nugget. When Burt Hall arrives in town to deliver a will to the heirs of Bruce McClade, he is captivated by Cherry, who learns of Burt's mission. Discovering that the will dictates that Dr. Langdon, a friend of the family, is to receive $25,000, Cherry decides to impersonate Langdon's daughter Rose and thus gain possession of the money. In the meantime, The Stranger, who has been freed from jail, returns, recognizes Cherry as The Siren and kills her. This frees Burt from her evil spell, and The Stranger, now insane, follows The Siren's spirit into the desert.

While studying in Paris, Princess Oluf of Kosnia (Andree LeJon) befriends an American girl, Ruth Townley (Clayton), and gives her a locket bearing her name and the royal coat of arms. When Ruth accidentally drops the locket off a balcony, it is returned by a handsome stranger. Back home in Kosnia, Oluf wants to get married, but her choice of mate is challenged by Valdemir, the ruler of a neighboring principality (Warner Baxter).

Left penniless after the death of her reprobate father Linda Haverhill procures a loan from John Converse, who is smitten with her. She squanders the money in an attempt to maintain her social position by going abroad. During the journey Linda falls in love with Army Captain Brian Anestry of the United States Army, but foolishly burns her possessions planning to file an insurance claim to tide her over. Arrested, she is involved in a wreck which just might provide an escape for both Linda and Brian from their troubles.

After losing a fistfight to his romantic rival, wastrelly Clinton Philbrook skulks off to the North Woods. Hoping to redeem himself in the eyes of his sweetheart Alicia Van Orden, Clinton signs on as an apprentice to trapper Pierre Bechard.

In a small town in Virginia, Faith Corey, daughter of a socially prominent family, meets and falls in love with Jerry Malone, a prizefighter, though her straitlaced mother wants her to marry Siegfried, a spellbinding "missionary reformer." Though Grandma Corey promotes the romance with the prizefighter, Mike, the fighter's hardboiled, wisecracking manager, tries to keep them apart; following a quarrel, Faith reconciles herself to marrying Siegfried, but when he invites a group of "weak sisters" to a revival meeting, he is disgraced when one accuses him of her downfall. Finally, with Mike's advice, Jerry wins back Faith and they are united with the family's blessings.

Kathleen, the daughter of a poor tenant farmer, dreams of her wedding with her beloved Terrence. The dream is interrupted when the Squire of the estate takes an interest in Kathleen and forces her father to allow him to marry her to forgive the father's debt.

Press agent "Inky" Ames, in a quandary to publicize showgirl Anitra St. Clair, convinces her to paint a birthmark on her shoulder and pose as millionaire mine owner Theodore True's long-lost daughter.

On the lam from the New York Police because of a false murder charge, playboy Brooke Travers escapes to a Central American banana republic.

Maria Lopez is the daughter of an American mother and a Mexican father, who is the head of a band of insurgents. As a child, she was kidnapped by her father and raised south of the border to hate gringos. She begins to like them a lot better when, during an escape from some Mexican "Rurals," she crosses the border and is captured by Texas Ranger Danny O'Neil. He lets her go, and they fall in love, but their romance is interrupted when she hears that her father has been captured by Americans.

A cowboy is falsely accused of killing the local sheriff. Fleeing the law, Wilson obtains a job on a ranch.