Acting
Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.
Larry Grayson, jazz age son of permissive parents, drifts from wild parties with his classmates to more heady, roadhouse entertainment. There he becomes involved with an underworld gang and falls in love with Spanish Marla, one of their vamps. Larry leaves home after an argument with his father, throws in with the gang (who are using him for their own purposes), and is blamed for a murder. Tried and convicted, Larry is given a light sentence when the judge places most of the blame on his overindulgent parents.
The setting is a farm. Kate Smith and Sally Blane play sisters; assorted relatives live with the sisters, but everyone at home, and in the whole town, depends on Kate to hold everything together. The power company wants to build a dam which will require flooding many of the farms; Kate is holding out; if Kate sells, everyone else will sell; if Kate refuses, the rest of the town will refuse as well. Randolph Scott meets Kate's beautiful sister, Sally Blane, at a dance. Randolph Scott, as it turns out, is an agent for the power company. Kate thinks he's just using Sally; Sally believes that he truly likes her. Randolph comes to the farm and appears to woo Kate. Kate remains unconvinced about selling out, but falls for Randolph.
A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical conservatory in France. The fact that the incident occurred in war does not assuage his guilt. He travels to Germany to meet the man's family.
Mrs. Letitia Summers, owner and principal of an exclusive boarding school, decides to give her two nieces an education while deciding which will be her heir unbeknownst to them. She writes each a letter, stating that a lady of means has provided for their education at Mrs. Summers' seminary. Edith and May are both delighted with the news, but while Edith leaves with her modest belongings May immediately demands a lot of new things to satisfy her vanity and desire to make a great impression. May attracts considerable attention upon her arrival but Edith, in her modest wardrobe, is received with disparaging remarks. Both do well in their studies but on graduation day Mrs. Summers calls the two girls into her private office and tells them that she is their aunt, and she has chosen Edith as her heir in recognition of her kindness and thoughtfulness towards others, particularly towards her poor mother.
Lovers David Lunch and Betty Summers are caught in the feud between their two families. When David kills the Summers son, he escapes to the West. He marries and when his boy is two he and his wife are killed by Indians who take the boy. Twenty years later the boy is now the Indian chief. Betty's daughter is nearby and the two are destined to meet.
Story of the gentleman thief.
A short film about the friendship between a little girl and a stray dog.
Enemy agents under the leadership of "Emanon" conspire with pacifists to keep the American defense appropriations down at a time when forces of the enemy are preparing to invade. The invasion comes, and New York, Washington, and other American cities are devastated.
Geological expert John Leighton naïvely introduces his flirtatious wife Emily to his boss, W. G. Griggs. Griggs sends John to the Graypeak district to prospect for quarries and is soon involved in an affair with Emily. While in the mountains, John rescues Enid Arden from an attack and she falls in love with him. Returning home John discovers the affair and leaves Emily. Emily and Griggs go to Europe to avoid a scandal and while there start divorce proceedings. But Griggs’ philandering ultimately costs him his life and Emily tracks John to Graypeak. Although she tries to win John back a fateful train ride clears the way for John and Enid to face a happy future together.
A prison inmate obtains his release from prison in order to rescue his daughter from the clutches of her unscrupulous mother's plot to implicate the girl in a blackmail scheme.
Ellen Carson volunteers to serve with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war and witnesses the charge of the Light Brigade.
An ordinary man is confronted by gangsters who have reason to believe a treasure is buried somewhere on his property.
Female gang leader, "The Tigress," is married to a master criminal. She steals a child from a wealthy family and raises him as her own, giving him all her love while keeping him unaware of her criminal activities. She becomes the de facto leader of the gang and rules them with an iron will.
Far up in the mountains Mrs. Bailor's two sons, Tom and Harry, are engaged at their distilling, constantly in fear of being pursued by the revenue officers, and arrested as moonshiners.
A model by day and a short-story writer by night, Erminie Foster is insulted when novelist Ernest Sanford visits her display room to study her as a "flapper" type. Later, Erminie attends a reception uninvited to gather atmosphere for a story. Sanford saves her from being thrown out by saying that she is his cousin. When her prudish aunt forbids her entrance at 3AM, Sanford offers her lodgings under the protection of his housekeeper and soon persuades her to stay for inspiration. He writes a satire on women that is turned down, while hers on men sells. After Erminie overhears Monte Ralston, who loves Sanford's fiancée Helen Reeves, threaten Sanford with Helen's incriminating letters, Erminie sacrifices her reputation to retrieve the letters. When the engagement is broken and Helen and Monte explain Erminie's behavior to Sanford, he loses his smugly superior attitude and confesses he loves Erminie.
Deserted by his wife Arline, who absconds with their baby daughter Ruth as well, Robert Travers loses all faith in women. Years later, Travers, now known as the man without a soul, is the owner of a chain of department stores in which young Ruth Carroll is employed as a ribbon clerk. Finding himself strangely attracted to the girl, he takes a fatherly interest in her and offers Ruth a position in his office. Laura Wilson, who wants Travers for herself becomes jealous and tries to lure the girl away but Travers comes to realize she is his own daughter.
Jack Breen and his wife, Lizzie, are professional crooks, who live in a fine house and set themselves up as belonging to the best. Breen gets his living by various means, including begging. He dresses in ragged clothes and picks up crusts in the street, which he pretends to eat, thereby exciting the sympathy of passers-by.
Although her husband is wealthy, he's also cheap, and Helen Porter often finds herself in the embarrassing position of running out of cash while out and about. One day she accompanies a friend to a gambling hall which is run out of the back of a dress shop. She loses what money she has, then borrows more and loses that, and is finally forced to hock her jewels to Milton Howard in order to pay her debts. Howard gets her to steal a valuable jewel at a society reception. Complications ensue.
Mrs. Travers, a society leader, is madly in love with Arthur Ingraham, a rising diplomat. Arthur is not in love with her and avoids her advances. He is in love with Beatrice Langton, a young debutante, to whom he becomes engaged. Mrs. Travers is furious.