A man breaks into a flat, startling the occupant. They argue about the new girlfriend of the 'burglar', who's come to get her stuff. Then a third man bursts out of the cupboard...
Noble born Mignon is stolen by a band of gypsies as a child. Her mother dies from grief and her father, unhinged by the double blow, gives up his ancestral home for the roaming life of a minstrel wandering from place to place in search of his child. Ill-treated by the gypsies in time she is rescued by traveling student Guglielno, with whom she falls in love. But he is enamored by the seductive actress Filina. Events come to a climax at a castle where all the participants meet, and drastic actions lead to near fatal consequences until all is resolved happily.
Emmy Milburn must decide. Should she go back to the life she had dared so much to lose, or should she pay the price and live in luxury?
Edward Swinger contrives to win the hand of the lovely Caroline Pickering by selling her father his business - a business that doesn't actually exist.
A reception in their small village in celebration of the Count’s daughter Ann’s engagement to Baron Moreno is disrupted by the news that a mine in which the whole village has invested is worthless. Having persuaded the townspeople to invest their savings in the venture, the Count commits suicide, and the baron jilts the now-destitute Ann. Bereft Ann marries American promoter Slater, moving to the United States in hopes of earning enough to pay off her father's debts and the couple have a child. However, the baron follows Ann, raping her. Slater's jealous mother uses this opportunity to break up their marriage. Ordered from the house Ann has no option but to turn to the baron for sanctuary. Slater attempting a reconciliation for their child’s sake tracks her to the baron house where a fight occurs with both men being mortally wounded. Ann returns to her child; finds her mother-in-law repentant, and the three return to France to repay the debt.
Musty gets a job in a grocery store. Through a series of very bad encounters with various customers it becomes clear he is ill-suited to the job and ultimately he goes his own way.
Richard Randall, a patriotic young lawyer speaks out against food profiteers. When ruthless food combine head, Everett Dearing, blackmails society idler Tony Terle into compromising Randall's wife, Beverly in an attempt to stop Randall's anti-war crusades. Ultimately, Terle is caught and confesses to killing Dearing, leading to Randall and Beverly's reunion.
On a whim and to save the good name of her sister, Dolly Erskine, a light-hearted young woman, declares that a riding master is her husband, not realizing that they have crossed the border into Scotland and that the confession of marriage is binding. However, she has unwittingly become the wife of an earl, falling in love with him in time to prevent a divorce decree. While Dolly is falling in love, the earl continues to pose as a riding master, and as such wins the heart of his pretty bride. Based on the play "Gretna Green," by Grace Livingston Purniss.
Broadway actor Lyle plays the adventures of a night in the West. One evening he enters a small theater where a 10-20-30 repertory company is playing. He is struck by the beauty and talent of Ruth Darrell, a young member of the company, and sees in her the type to request a new play in which he will appear the following season.
Job Abramonoff, the leader of a Jewish community in Russia, is arrested for the ritual murder of Sonja Mulnikow, the little sister of Sascha, a gentile and the childhood friend of Job's daughter Manya. Sascha, who is sympathetic to the plight of the Jews, is led to point the accusing finger at Job against his better judgment. He reads a book, "The Philosophy of Race Prejudice," which tells how Maneth, the Egyptian high priest, tried to dupe Alexander the Great into believing that his young friend Cassander was the victim of such a sacrifice by the Jews. Convinced of his error, Sascha tries to save the Abramonoff family and stop the pogrom that began when Job was arrested. Sonja is revealed to be alive and well, but it is too late: the mob has broken into the prison and stoned Job to death. Horror-stricken, Sascha confesses to Manya that he was prejudiced and asks forgiveness.
Indiana Stillwater, the daughter of a wealthy American railroad industrialist, marries English nobleman Viscount Canning and travels to England. Her in-laws are somewhat shocked by her casualness in dress and manner, but welcome her into the family anyway. When her parents invite her to a Sunday-night dinner at their hotel, however, her husband--believing it to be inappropriate behavior for the wife of a nobleman--orders her not to go. Complications ensue.
Adventuress Leonie Sobatsky falls in love with a young man named Nevil Trask, and he with her. Trask doesn't know that Leonie is actually the head of an international smuggling ring--and Leonie doesn't know that Trask is an undercover Secret Service agent assigned to break up the ring and capture its head.
The manager of a small town hotel installs a cabaret in an attempt to achieve the standard set by restaurants in the large cities. His effort is ludicrous because of the fact that his talent is all recruited from the help in the hotel. Roscoe, the cook, is forced to appear in a dress suit and when Al St. John appears from the bar there is a lively rivalry between the two for the applause of the crowd. Mabel, the waitress, vies with a professional dancer from the city. Into this setting comes William Jefferson, a polished sharper, who takes the innocent Mabel by storm.
A series of six boxing dramas, each a complete story in its own right. The episode titles are: #1: Intrusion; #2: Hit Hard; #3: Soft Muscles; #4: The Return; #5: The Surprise Fight; #6: The Jazz Fight.
Mario Campanini, a theological student, makes the serious mistake of neglecting his young and pleasure-loving wife, Rita. Her dissatisfaction grows, until she meets the Count di Turino. The Count is very attentive and almost before she knows it Rita is infatuated with him. One night she elopes, leaving a simple note for Mario, who is stunned. At the count's home Rita is happy, for the Count is very good to her, but one day her curiosity leads her to try one of several locked doors in the castle-like home, and there she finds the Count is keeping in seclusion an insane wife. Now she knows the reason for the Count's many absences from home, during which he was supposed to be engaged in "diplomatic work." Horrified at what she has learned, Rita forlornly returns to her husband, but he sternly orders her to go back to her titled lover and stay there; she has become one of the Unforgiven. At this point Mario awakes from his terrible nightmare just as his wife smilingly enters the room.
A priest is trying to help a poor family when nearby the father is hit on the head by a criminal who then throws him off a bridge into the water below. The priest administers Last Rites then seeks to help the family and find the murderer.
Mr. Bretton's wife decides she would rather pursue an opera career, so they separate, leaving him to raise their young daughter Daphne (Mildred Harris). She is expelled from boarding school after Richard Wiltoner is found in her room under innocent circumstances. Her father sends her to the Adirondacks, where she meets a rogue and soon elopes with him. When her father discovers that he is a bigamist, he has their marriage annulled. Happily, Mrs. Bretton returns to her husband and Daphne and Richard fall in love and marry.
Vera Souroff, a young Russian girl, is kidnapped off the street and raped by one of three officers of the Czar's guard. The crime is brought to the attention of the Czar, but Vera cannot tell which of the three officers is the guilty man. The Czar orders Count Nicho, the eldest of the three, to marry the girl, turns over the trio’s fortunes to her and imprisons the men. When the revolution breaks out, at the risk of her own life, Vera saves her husband knowing he holds the key to the identity of her attacker.
Heiress Rhoda Canby is badgered by her eccentric relatives Uncle Silas, Aunt Elizabeth, and Cousin Hepzibah. She falls in love with writer Irving Mason, who believes Rhoda to be the heiress' secretary, and courts her as chauffeur "Henry Smith." Accompanied by her African-American nurse Aunt Chloe, Rhoda runs away from home. Irving, meanwhile, is abducted. Upon reading of the supposed suicide of Irving Mason, Rhoda assumes the role of widow and visits his hometown. There she is befriended by Irving's uncles and goes to work in the family's general store. Irving escapes his captors and surreptitiously returns home, but is surprised to find himself presumed dead and Rhoda his widow. When the family store catches fire and Irving saves Rhoda, their true identities are revealed, after which they are married.
Novice businessman Curtis Jadwin is introduced to the world of grain speculation by veteran broker Charles Cressler. At a performance of Faust, Curtis meets and falls in love with Laura Dearborn, the sweetheart of artist Sheldon Corthell. Curtis pursues Laura and finally convinces her to marry him, but soon after their wedding, he neglects her for his business. In her loneliness, Laura renews her relationship with Sheldon and the lovers plan to elope. When Curtis is ruined on the market, however, Laura rejects her lover and comforts her husband.