Writing
Ruy Blas, one of Don Salluste's lackeys, falls in love with the young Queen of Spain, Maria de Neubourg. Spurned by the Queen, Don Salluste takes revenge by introducing her to his bright young valet, Ruy Blas, whom he has disguised as his noble cousin Don Cesar. When the queen falls in love with Blas, Don Salluste humiliates them both by revealing the handsome young man as his lackey. Blas kills Don Salluste to save the honor of the queen, then drinks poison and dies.
Miss Marbury comes on deck and looks haughtily at Mrs. Cray, an attractive young widow, half suspecting that she has her steamer chair. When she finds that she is mistaken, she ties a large red ribbon upon her own chair, which is situated between Mrs. Gray on her left and Mr. Martin, on her right. Miss Marbury is quite annoyed when little Dolores and Helen, Mrs. Gray's two playful children, come to settle a dispute over the ownership of a tennis ball. Tom Blake stops to greet Mrs. Gray and plays with the children, making them forget their animosity.
Mary Turner is a young shopgirl who is unjustly convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison. Upon her release, she does everything possible to make the man who wronged her to suffer, always taking care to stray no further than the extremes of the law allow.
John Sark is the owner of a piece of land coveted by Henry Murden, leader of the band of "White Riders," who has purloined the information that a railroad wishes to buy the property. Sark is a naturalist and has for an assistant Rose Ember. He discovers one of the rider's masks which is made of one of Rose's handkerchiefs, and this introduces a mysterious element into the love affair. The mask belonged to her father. The riders try to force Sark's hand, but are obliged to capture him. Rose, seeing Sark lead away, dons a mask and riding close to his horse, cuts his bonds. Sark kills Murden, and, finding that his savior was Rose, is once more happy in his love.
Advised by his friends to seek a second wife so that his children, Helen and Dolores, may know a mother's care, Sir Edward Tilbury marries Phyllis, the daughter of Lady Olivia Gower, a leading social light in Calcutta.
Glory Quayle, a natural-born mimic, leaves her country home, reaches London, goes on the stage, gains fame and affluence. John Storm, her country sweetheart, believing he has lost Glory forever, enters a monastery, tries to forget her, cannot kill his love, returns to the world, becomes a famous slum worker and friend of the poor.
Treasonous courtiers plot to assassinate Cardinal Richelieu and overthrow King Louis XIII, manipulating Chevalier DeMauprat into joining the scheme. The Cardinal unmasks the deception and fakes his own death to trap the conspirators. He dramatically returns to the throne room with a secret dispatch proving the villains' treason, leading to their arrest and the reunion of the young lovers
The story of how Lady Godiva came to ride naked through the streets of Coventry.
Malvini, retires to a monastery after his wife elopes with another man. After 20 years, Malvini returns to find his daughter, Valeria, accused of murder. Her lover, Mario, had actually shot the man in self-defense, but the dying victim blamed Valeria. Mario, initially driven insane by the event, recovers and explains what happened. The priest intervenes with the King, Valeria is freed, and Mario is pardoned. The film ends with the priest marrying Valeria and Mario.
The Baron Lafitte is in love with and proposes to Adelaide Burton, daughter of Andrew Burton, a wealthy manufacturer. Clara Lane, a newspaper reporter, has been assigned to watch the movements of the Baron. She is further instructed to make a scoop of their movements. Tom Drake is in love with Clara, and is her persistent follower throughout.
An early film adaptation of the Bard's comic fantasy.
Part two of Blackton's "The Life of Napoleon". After Waterloo, Napoleon reminisces. His triumphs are seen in flashback. The film ends with the exiled Napoleon overlooking the beach of St. Helena.
Dan works for Pritchard and Pritchard out of San Francisco and is in love with Maisie, referred to as "the icebox" by his news reporter friend. As one of his ships returns to San Francisco, Dan learns that the Captain has contracted Leprosy and asks Dan to be the guardian of his South Sea island daughter Tamea. Dan soon learns that Tamea wants him and will do nothing without a kiss. But Tamea soon learns that she is different than Dan and Maisie and that makes her angry. Dan decides to go and live on the island with Tamea, but soon finds out that Paradise is not everything that he thought it was.
Adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel.
In India, Leslie Adams dreams of a priestess who is turned into a snake by Karma, the high priest. While touring a ruined temple, he finds the snake, who is said to resume human form every 100 years. Assuming her human form, Qunitreea give Leslie's fiancée an amulet, causing her to fall into a permanent sleep. Leslie realizes he is the high priest Karma reincarnated, and that Qunitreea has had her revenge.
Miss Olivia Martindale, at a dinner, announces: "There is no longer any romance in American life," and immediately arouses a storm of protest.
It is sometimes decidedly difficult to get a little privacy on shipboard. Several times Jack Hardy almost reaches the proposal point with Marion Van Sickles, but each time the fates are against him. Marion and her mother are on their way home from a vacation in Europe and board the boat at Liverpool at the same time as Jack, who is very much struck by Marion's appearance. After a little flirtation on the boat, he believes that his feelings are returned and is about to propose. Just then mama comes along with Count Brainlesse, whom she wishes to marry Marion. The proposal is postponed. Again and again Jack tries to come to the point, being constantly interrupted by someone, either the count or mama, or the grouchy owner of the deck chair he has taken. First the grouch, then mama, and then the count, get sea-sick and at last Jack has Marion alone. Alas, the time has not yet come.
Wah-Ta-Wah, or Hist, the lady-love of Chingachgook, a Delaware chief, has been captured by the warlike Hurons. Chingachgook asks the aid of Deerslayer, a white man brought up among the Indians, in rescuing her, and. the two men arrange to meet at Lake Otsego, then called Glimmerglass. Deerslayer sets out for the meeting place, accompanied by Hurry Harry March, a trapper, who acts as his guide.
Sir Philip Randall, a prominent judge, is fed up with the antics of James, his scapegrace son, and tosses him out of the house. The conflict between father and son leaves Mrs. Randall heartbroken, and when she dies, she makes her husband swear to help James if he ever needs it. When Joe Merrion, a bookmaker, is found dead, circumstantial evidence points to Squire William Rufford. Although Randall can't believe he committed the crime, he is forced to convict him and sentence him to prison. But later, when James, whose wild ways have left him penniless, comes to his father for help, Randall discovers that he was the killer.
Stanley Deane, raised by a British governor, defends mill workers and falls for Alice, daughter of mill owner Amos Buckingham.