Lizzie Stokes, an obscure and colorless actress, is elevated to stardom through publicity and better coaching from Daniel Hoffman, a theatrical producer. As Olga Rostova, an exotic Russian, she meets Norman Brooke, whose infatuation turns to love. Hoffman suggests that Norman could never care for Lizzie and proves his point. Heartbroken, Lizzie decides to see no more of him. On closing night, when he proposes to her in her dressing room and she refuses, Norman declares he must believe all the lurid details of her past; in desperation, she bares her true identity, only to find it is not her glamorous image but rather her real self that he loves.
Lola Gray working in a New York department store as a clerk, loves Charles Cox, a millionaire's son who is described by his friends as "Broadway's million-dollar kid." One evening at a lavish party, Charlie, quite intoxicated, proposes to Lola, but because of his irresponsible habits, she refuses him. Heartbroken, Charlie decides to drown himself in the hotel fountain and urges his friends and the proprietor to join him. When Lola learns from her sister, Ida Bell Gray, that Cox, Sr., having read about Charlie's antics in the newspaper, plans to disown his son, she phones Charlie immediately to accept his proposal. Although startled by the news of his disinheritance, Charlie is comforted by Lola's assertion that she prefers a man of character to one of wealth, and the two begin their married life on a farm in the Midwest.
To trick a judge who's trying him on a gambling charge, Leon poses as a famous British explorer.
Frivolous Jasmine Grenfel is torn between the bold Rudyard Byng and the reserved Ian Stafford. Impulsively she marries Byng with the rejected Stafford leaving for South Africa. He proves to be a poor husband, and much heartache follows but when war breaks out Rudyard distinguishes himself in the field, recovering from his former dissipation and the couple are reunited.
A star of the college football team is forced to work as a milkman when his father's business begins to fail.
Rich Matthew Thurlow, spends nearly every night at cabarets, admires Dazie, a leading dancer whom he calls "Redhead." Dazie loves Matthew, but she is dismayed that he wastes his life in clubs. After Matthew, while intoxicated, marries Dazie to win a bet, Dazie insists that they remain married. When Matthew's uncle cuts off his allowance and ends his "soft" bank job, Dazie decides to make a man out of Matthew, but he scorns her. She rents a small apartment, while he gets work in an auto factory. Although Matthew is genial when Dazie's parents visit, he remains cold to her. When Matthew's uncle offers Dazie money for a divorce, she refuses, but says that she will agree to a divorce if Matthew really wants one. Matthew develops a new interest in life and realizes he loves Dazie when he becomes jealous through a misunderstanding. After his uncle, seeing Dazie's effect on Matthew, threatens to disinherit him for good if he does divorce her, Matthew confesses his love.
Wealthy Anne Wilmot vacationing along with her aunt Katherine at her fiancé Leon Morse's (Hull) Arizona mountain lodge discovers his plot to destroy a nearby hydroelectric engineering project in order to obtain the land for his railway. She thwarts the sabotage but find herself in a life and death struggle.
Paul and Virginia are two young lovers who have grown up together from infancy on an island in the Indies. When Virginia is sixteen, her mother receives a letter from a wealthy aunt in Paris, who offers to make Virginia her heir and give her a good education, providing Virginia will, in the future, make her aunt's home her own. Virginia goes leaving Paul brokenhearted at her departure. Virginia tries to be a dutiful niece, but when her aunt insists that Virginia marry a rich nobleman she refuses, and her aunt disowns her sending her back to her island home. Virginia's ship arrives during a hurricane, and despite being only a cable's length from shore, it sinks before help can reach it. Paul almost loses his own life in a vain attempt to save her, but Virginia is lost.
Tom Taylor, a woman-hater, who sells his property to a financier at a play. In order to finalize the transaction, Taylor must go to the financier's hotel and becomes the subject of a bet by Lou Bennett that she can win his affections. Lou succeeds in the bet, but Taylor finds out and is preparing to leave forever when Lou speaks to him.
Itinerant Scot performers: One daughter of a veteran trouper weds a ne'er do well and dies in childbirth.Her spendthrift man goes but later returns to bleed the old man out of remaining savings.Another daughter makes good as a singer.
Clarence Brooks is a shy, timid man working for Mr. Flavell. He is love with Flavell's daughter, Nancy. Nancy is shallow and fickle, always chasing after other, less-upstanding men. Clarence enlists when World War I erupts. While Clarence is off defending his country, Nancy's mother arranges for her daughter to marry the wealthy Mr. Braille. When Braille is drafted, Nancy's mother starts arranging a rush wedding, against Nancy's wishes. Nancy claims that she and Clarence are already secretly married. When the war is over and Clarence returns home, he refuses to be a part of her charade. When Clarence declines the offer to marry Nancy for real, she must mature to win his affections back. A lost film.
A 1919 film directed by Sidney Franklin.
To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.
"A comedy drama of New York life of a restaurant proprietor and it's a scream from start to finish." - Sheffield Observer, 03/28/1929
To raise funds for the American effort in The Great War heiress Betty Hallowell decides to lease her beautiful country house to Mrs. Wentworth, a wealthy widow whose son Tom is recuperating from injuries received overseas. When Mrs. Wentworth suddenly demands the services of a maid for the summer, Betty, unable to secure a servant on such short notice, dons a dark wig and poses as "French maid Bettina." Tom and “Bettina” fall in love much to his mother’s dismay but when the deception is finally revealed all ends well.
Pampered Frederic "Freddy" Pritchard, warned by his father that he must work or be disinherited, learns how to crack safes to help his girlfriend Gloria Nevins, whose villainous uncle holds security for the family jewels, as well as the right to vote on the disposition of the Nevins Motor Works. After Freddy steals the papers with the aid of his valet Smithson, Gloria's uncle locks him in a warehouse to prevent him from attending a crucial stockholders' meeting. Freddy escapes and saves the factory for Mrs. Nevins, who gives him power of proxy. Pritchard, Sr., pleased with his son, consents to Freddy's marriage to Gloria.
Heading to America after finding themselves destitute following their father's death, Charles de la Fontaine, the Marquis d'Aubeterre and his sister Helen secures a position in the home of Lathrop, a millionaire thanks to the Countess d'Este. He instantly falls in love with Lathrop's pretty daughter Marian, but she fears he is a fortune hunter and becomes engaged to the wealthy Rudolph Miller. Charles tells her he would only marry her when the two are equally wealthy. Charles then secretly backs Marian's brother Frank in a successful financial venture, making both rich. Discovering Rudolph is unfaithful and with the "golden wall" of wealth that had separated them now obliterated, Marian and Charles wed.
Once there was an old man called Jonah Crabb, who believed in doing good. Every morning the bunco artists would watch for him on the street corners, and after they had told their hard-luck stories, he would dish out coin to them. When he arrived his office he was almost swamped with panhandlers and bums. Finally he tried his hand at fixing up a lovers' quarrel and put his foot in it. Billy Speedwell, the man in the case, got hold of the old boy and just knocked the spots off him for butting into his affairs. From that time on, Mr. Crabb changed his mind about doing good, and the next morning he cleared all the hobos out of his office. Moral: Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back to you as sponge cake.
British silent drama film based on the 1913 novel The Paupers of Portman Square by I.A.R. Wylie.
Lucille Vale is in love with struggling architect Paul Arden, but her mother believes that Allen Granat is a more suitable match. Lucille's mother prevails, and Lucille leaves Paul a note in their secret hiding place saying that she is going to marry Allen. Paul is injured when thrown from a horse and does not receive the note. He is nursed back to health in the home of entomologist Thomas Wiggan, whose son Johnnie is in love with Marion Vale, Lucille's younger sister. Two years later, Lucille and Allen return to the estate, very much in love, and engage Paul's services. The note is found, still waiting in the secret hiding place. After many complications, and with the help of her friend Suzanne Russell, Lucille recovers the possibly incriminating note.