Forever England gives John Mills his first leading role as Brown. Born after a brief affair between his mother and a naval officer, he joins the Royal Navy during the First World War. There his bravery and marksmanship keeps a German ship in port so a British ship can sink it. He becomes a hero, but at what cost?
While a major in the U.S. Army, Joe Cheever has a fling with his commanding officer's daughter that results in a pregnancy. Cheever convinces the girl to have an illegal abortion. The abortion goes wrong and the girl dies. To protect his career, Cheever implicates Captain Dennison whose life is thereby ruined. Years later, the Captain's now grown-up sister Katherine marries Army Major Alex Breen, and is stunned to learn his commanding officer is the now Colonel Cheever. She becomes obsessed with getting revenge for the sake of her dead brother.
Three New York Irish brothers cross paths as policeman, doctor and bootlegger.
The Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.
Henrik and his younger lover Lulu go on an intimate trip to France. Unexpectedly, Henrik's son, David, arrives.
Jenny is carrying the child of a young man who dies in the San Francisco earthquake (1906). After giving birth, she decides to place her child in the custody of a wealthy married couple. Years later, thanks to the protection of a corrupt politician, she becomes the main "madame" of San Francisco, in addition to participating in various illegal activities.
A Chinese troupe star and the Grand Duke's adjutant fall in love, to tensions from both sides' respective comrades.
After bank president David Dwight makes a vast loan to himself to build a remarkable skyscraper, his board questions the propriety of the loan. Despite the devotion of longtime mistress Sarah, the ruthless David, while seeking bank mergers to protect his building, tries to seduce Sarah's secretary, Lynn. David then agrees to a plot by a bank board member to inflate his bank's stock and sell short — just before the market crashes.
A World War I veteran returns home after fifteen years in an asylum and finds that everything has changed — his daughter is grown and about to marry.
The opera lady singer Ema Destinnová is in all her splendor at the American stages. But in Europe there rages war and she decides to return home to Bohemia.
Other Girls tells the story of four young girls nearing graduation, all of them struggling with various issues.
Zoran is a graduate student of psychology and she gets a motorcycle as a present from his father. Being an unskilled driver, he stumbles upon a girl Biba and she breaks her leg. To prevent a possible lawsuit, he visits her in the hospital. They continue to see each other, and soon fall in love. Biba is a girl from suburban shanty, while Zoran comes from a well-to-do family, and his parents refuse to accept the girl. Young couple gets married and lives temporarily in Biba's home, where they drove out Biba's brother, a petty criminal. While looking for a new apartment, the marriage breaks down. Zoran shines at his exam with thesis on "People from socially broken families", while Biba gives birth to their child in the hospital.
Nahal is around thirty and in her fourth month of pregnancy. During a routine check-up she learns that her baby has died and she now faces a curettage abortion in two days’ time. When she tries to address the subject, neither her mother nor her husband give her a chance to speak.
When his first stage show fails, songwriter Cole Porter goes off to fight in WWI until, injured, he lands in a hospital. He impresses nurse Linda Lee with his creativity, but their budding romance must wait as Cole heads home. Back in New York, he mounts a series of popular shows, and when his work brings him back to Europe, he eventually marries Linda. But success doesn't spare him from marital complications or bad news about a beloved relative.
Jury foreman Edward Weldon's questioning leads to the death sentence for Ethel Saxon. His daughter Stella claims to have killed her lover, the gangster Garboni, just as Saxon was to sit in the electric chair.
Old sailor Chris Christofferson eagerly awaits the arrival of his grown daughter Anna, whom he sent at five years old to live with relatives in Minnesota. He has not seen her since, but believes her to be a decent and respectably employed young woman. When Anna arrives, however, it is clear that she has lived a hard life in the dregs of society, and that much of spirit has been extinguished. She falls in love with a young sailor rescued at sea by her father, but dreads to reveal to him the truth of her past. Both father and young man are deluded about her background, yet Anna cannot quite bring herself to allow them to remain deluded.
Hildy Johnson is an investigative reporter looking for a bigger paycheck. When an accused murderer escapes from custody, Hildy sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime. But when he finds the criminal, he learns that the man may not be guilty. With the help of his editor, Hildy attempts to hide the convict, uncover the conspiracy and write the scoop of his career.
After young Robert Graham commits a murder while drunk and defending his girlfriend, he is prosecuted by ambitious Mark Brady and sentenced to 10 years. Six years later, Brady becomes the prison warden and offers the beleaguered Robert a job as his chauffeur. Robert cleans up his act, but, on the eve of his pardon, his cellmate drags him back into the world of violence, and he faces a difficult choice that could return him to prison.
Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
Heiress learns to fly from aeronautical engineer. Things get complicated as their affair progresses.