Ann, a 19-year-old girl who looks much younger, meets a dashing army major on a boat sailing from Liverpool to Bombay, India, and falls in love with him. Her love appears to be unrequited, though, because the major thinks she is far too young--and also, unknown to her, because he had once been in love with her mother. When a fellow passenger on the ship takes advantage of the naive girl the major comes to her rescue, but in the process the girl finds out about the past relationship between he and her mother.
Twin sisters Rosetta and Lola Gelardi live happily with their aging father, Professor Gelardi, until their Sicilian village is destroyed by an earthquake. Unable to find Lola, the professor and Rosetta move to New York, where she obtains employment as a stenographer to author Aubrey Hapgood. Rosetta captivates Aubrey and his friends, but Mildred Sanders, who had hoped to win Aubrey for herself, tries to ruin Rosetta's reputation. On a drive with Aubrey, Rosetta relates her life story, whereupon Aubrey, claiming he loves her, takes her to an inn. Although he promises to marry her, she later reads of his engagement to Mildred. Rosetta shoots herself, after which Lola appears to avenge her death by causing the ruin of Aubrey's sister. Aubrey fires on Lola, but Rosetta awakens in his car and realizes that it was all a dream. While the chauffeur repairs the car, she and Aubrey walk into town to find a preacher.
Ann Barton, the daughter of a once-wealthy family, is forced to clerk at the cigar counter of a village hotel, where she meets James McDonald, a breezy, handsome salesman. Ann is adopted by an aristocratic aunt, who disapproves of James's manners and breaks up Ann's relationship with him. Ann soon revenges herself on her aunt by placing both her aunt and herself in compromising positions.
Wealthy heiress Clover Dean has three suitors: Duke Boris, promoted by her aunt, Bucky Raine, a wealthy idler sponsored by her uncle, and struggling young doctor William Dunn, who is her own choice. Clover's engagement to the duke is to be announced at a dance, but she rebels before the gathering and refuses to go on with the marriage. Clover leaves hurriedly, a shot is heard and the duke found dead. Bucky Raine, discovered wandering about the garden with a revolver in his hand, is arrested for the crime, but his testimony convicts the doctor as the person who had possession of the gun during the shooting. The doctor and Clover are both arrested for suspicion, but a guilty conscience forces Rita, a former sweetheart of the duke to confess to the crime. Clover then has her own way and marries the doctor.
Chrissey Desselden is the ward of John Warburton and has promised to marry him though she is drawn to the roguish Robert Neyland. When Robert’s caddish behavior becomes too flagrant, she marries John despite still feeling a pull towards the bad boy. Conflicted, she asks her husband for time to sort out her feelings but when she discovers Neyland’s plot to destroy John’s fortune for spite she spurns him and settles into a happy marriage.
When she is orphaned Lily Upjohn, from the London slums, becomes a chorus girl at the Pandora Theatre. During a performance a scene painter drops some paint near Lily and her screams prompt the show's composer to create a hit song "Mind the Paint Girl," which Lily makes an overnight sensation. She is courted by young officer Nicholas Jeyes and by Lord Francombe. Driving both men to near ruin she promises marriage to both but in the end choses neither.
Marty Reid, the star quarterback at Sanford College, is constantly singled out by the opposition for punishment, and he swears to his pal, Honey Smith, and to Coach Wilson that he will quit the game forever. Ed Kirby, who dislikes Reid, calls him yellow, and Wilson gets Patricia Carlyle, the college vamp, to induce Reid to play. At a sorority dance, where only football players can cut in, Kirby persecutes Reid by dancing with Pat, and as a result Reid does apply to play in the game.
Cal Stanley goes undercover as a beef buyer in order to catch the gang responsible for stealing the area's cattle.
Follows the life of an illegitimate son of a kabuki actor.
After Barbara Martin, a naïve young convent girl, elopes with her guardian's degenerate brother, Barton Sedgewick, she discovers that Barton already has a wife and child. Barton then deserts both wives, leaving Barbara to turn to her guardian George Sedgewick for advice. George advises an immediate divorce, but Barbara takes no action until she meets John Brent and falls in love. Upon requesting that George arrange her divorce from Barton, Barbara discovers that Brent is her guardian's lawyer. Panicked for fear of Brent discovering her marriage, Barbara's quandary is resolved when she discovers Barton in his partner Rhodes' apartment. Through Barton's carelessness, Barbara is able to obtain documents which prove that his first marriage was valid, thereby nullifying their marriage and freeing her to marry Brent.
A Russian peasant girl becomes a member of the Imperial Ballet.
Danny O'Rourke is the son of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Eager to join the police force, Danny fails his exams. The failure causes him to neglect his sweetheart Maggie, whose father is a police lieutenant. His attentions turn instead towards society girl Miriam Welton. When Danny’s sister, Shannon, is arrested for shoplifting, Danny turns to boxing to save her. He works his way towards the championship but discovers the final bought has been rigged. Danny fights anyhow and he is beaten, but it is discovered that a mistake had been made on his exams and he actually was eligible to join the police force after all. Considered a lost film.
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.
A young woman with a shady past goes to the tropics, where she winds up marrying a vicious and brutal pearl trader, then falls in love with another man.
Sculptor Leonard Hunt is urged by his wife Vivian to compete for a million dollar prize competition for a Victory Memorial commemorating the First World War. Sylvia Morton models for Hunt, and they become romantically involved. In an attempt to save her marriage, Vivian persuades him to close the studio and go on a second honeymoon. But Hunt is unable to forget Sylvia, so he leaves Vivian. Vivian threatens to kill Sylvia unless she promises to give up Hunt. Months later, Hunt returns, remorseful and begging forgiveness, saying that Sylvia has married someone else.
Ben Jordan runs away after accidentally setting fire to a barn in his small New England community. He returns when his mother dies to find that she has left everything to her ward, Jane Crosby.
Club pianist Ted Mason writes a love song for Beth Barton. A rival named Goldie steals the song for her husband, Steve, to publish. Beth faces unfair blame from her friends and teacher because of the popular song. Ted proves he wrote it by creating an even better song, exposing the theft, and winning Beth back.
What must a man do in order to put an end to his bachelorhood? For George Finch, one of nature's white mice and probably the worst artist ever to put brush to canvas, there are many obstacles. Undoubtedly the greatest is his beloved Molly's fearsome stepmother, Mrs. Waddington, who has her eye on an eligible English lord for a son-in-law. Luckily, George has an ally in sharp-witted Hamilton Beamish, an old family friend of the Waddingtons, not to mention George's butler, Mullett, and his light-fingered girlfriend, Fanny, whose valuable skills are of particular interest to the would-be father-in-law.
Jackie's father runs a general store that is on the brink of bankruptcy. To save it, Jackie borrows $2,000 from the local millionaire, Mr. Skinner, and renovates the store into a modern haberdashery. This sparks a rivalry with J. Smythe, a fashionable ladies' milliner from Paris who opens a shop across the street. A pair of kidnappers plot to abduct Mr. Skinner's daughter, Evelina, for ransom. They overhear Evelina mention she plans to buy a specific dress displayed in Smythe's window. However, Jackie buys the dress first, leading the criminals to kidnap her by mistake. Jackie is held in a deserted house. J. Smythe, who has developed feelings for Jackie despite their business rivalry, comes to her rescue. In a comedic turn, Jackie ends up saving him from a beating by dropping heavy jugs on the kidnappers' heads from above.
A young man uses tips from an absurd book to woo a woman he fancies.