Writing
Daniel Mylrea is the son of the Bishop of Man, the baron of the Isle of Man, whose temporal power is higher even than that of the Deemster, or governor. The Bishop desires Dan to become a minister, but he prefers to be a fisherman. The Deemster of Man has a son and a daughter, Mona and Ewan. Dan and Mona are in love. She consents to marry him when he can obtain her father's consent. Ewan, her brother, decides to become a clergyman, even in the face of his father's insistence that he take up business as a vocation. The Deemster opposes Dan's suit for Mona's hand because he has fallen from his high estate as the son of the Bishop by becoming a fisherman.
The wanton dancer Thais, tries to entice Paphnutius from becoming a monk but fails. He later returns to reclaim her soul and follow in his footsteps. They attempt to live lives of simplicity, but the pull of worldliness is too strong.
Dorothy Dean, a wealthy young woman with modern ideas, abhors the institution of marriage but discovers that she must be wed in order to receive a wealthy relative's inheritance. Through Judge Roan, the family lawyer, Dorothy meets Don Morton, who agrees to accept a $10,000 check to marry her and then leave her in peace. After the ceremony, however, Dorothy's new husband takes her to a lonely island retreat where he tries unsuccessfully to win her love.
Colonel Fairfax, who lives on a Virginia plantation with his adopted daughter, Prudence, has remained faithful to the memory of his former fiancée, Constance Llewellyn, with whom he had a misunderstanding twenty years earlier. When Constance, now a widow, returns to the adjoining estate, the colonel plans to sell his home to avoid an embarrassing situation, but Prudence intends to reconcile the couple. Tom, the colonel's nephew, arrives at the plantation following his graduation from an agricultural college, and initiates a romance with Prudence.
A naive young Swede is repeatedly victimized by predatory women. When finally he meets a young woman who seems sincere and true, he wonders if he can trust her.
Rich club-man Kirk Rainsford, attends a charity bazaar at the home of Marjorie Vail, the society girl he hopes to marry. A fire breaks out among the booths and everyone is pulled to safety except little Peggy, Marjorie's kid sister. Marjorie pleads with Kirk to save the child, but he lacks the courage, and Randolph Sherman, Kirk's rival for Marjorie's affections, plays the hero part. For Kirk's public display of cowardice, he is disowned by his father and rejected by Marjorie, who soon marries Sherman. Kirk drifts to the South Seas, eventually landing in Manila, where he becomes a derelict. When Lillie, a fellow drifter, is roughly handled in a bar, Kirk goes to her assistance; she expresses appreciation for his bravery and soon effects his regeneration through her faith in him. Kirk and Lillie journey to the interior, and they obtain work on a plantation recently purchased by Randolph Sherman. During a native uprising, Sherman is killed, and Kirk saves Marjorie from certain death.
A dramatic recreation of the Johnstown Flood of 1889.
Honest Arizona rancher Sam Gardner, goes with his motherless son Billy to the city, where he is cheated out of ten thousand dollars by a band of crooks. Taking up residence in a boardinghouse where he meets Jane Ingraham, Sam decides that the only way to regain his losses is by gambling. To achieve this, he makes friends with gambler Kittie Hinch who takes him to Jack Bloom's gambling house. When Bloom begins flirting with Hinch's wife Florry, the injured husband kills his rival and the evidence points to Sam as the killer. Jane tries to provide him with an alibi, but fails. Just as things look grim for the rancher, a wire arrives from Hinch, now in Mexico, confessing to the crime. His faith in mankind thus rewarded, Sam is free to marry Jane
Winthrop Chase is running for mayor on the prohibition ticket in a town where his irresponsible son Wint is infamous for his drunken sprees. Wint is in love with Joan Caretall, whose father Amos is a big political boss. Amos fears Winthrop's power and decides to stalemate him by substituting Wint's name on the ballot for that of his father. The morning after the election, Wint awakens from a drunken stupor and finds himself the mayor.
Two wealthy mill owners wishing to consolidate their riches plot the arranged marriage of their children despite that pair’s indifference to each other and the son’s love for another woman. To bend them to their will, the fathers take too nefarious and cruel means to achieve their goals and bring tragedy down on them all.
Returning from World War I, Glenn Kilbourne travels to Arizona to regain his health. He meets a local girl, Flo Hutler, who helps him recover. His fiancee, Carley Burch, follows him to Arizona but soon decides she'd rather go back to New York. When Flo is badly hurt in an accident, Glenn decides to repay her for her help in bringing him back to health by proposing marriage.
A Texas Ranger searches for his kidnapped sister.
When Jim Rittenshaw learns that his friend Richard Desborough is having an affair with Jim's wife Daisy, Jim kills Richard. The murdered man's ghost then takes up residence and attempts to positively influence the lives of those he had wronged.
"The Stranger," an outcast who works in a saloon frequented by Peggy Bowlin, a poor girl suffering through hard times. She finds romance with Larry Darrant and her life begins to improve. They make plans to wed and leave England, but when a convict assaults Peggy, Larry gets involved and accidentally kills him. The Stranger is arrested for the murder, but he refuses to declare his innocence because he doesn't want to destroy Peggy's happiness.
Tom Grant saves Grace Percival from being tromped by a herd of stampeding horses,led by Tony, and they become friends. Grace tells Slade, a renegade who has been trying to capture Tony, the leader of the wild horses, that Tom has promised to capture Tony for her. Not if Slade has anything to say about he isn't.
Although Susan Branch is herself without finances, she has many wealthy friends who supply her with clothes and gay times. She is in love with struggling author Nick Lansing, who also attracts the interests of Susan's chief patron, Ursula Gillow, and is persuaded by Ellie Vanderlyn to marry him for at least a year's happiness. Their marriage falls apart when their wedding gifts are spent; they become involved with the Vanderlyns' domestic affairs; and Ursula decides she wants Nick for herself. However, the lawyer handling the Lansings' divorce proceedings brings them back together, and Nick sells his novel. A lost film.
Alec Lloyd, the foreman of the Sewell ranch, is nicknamed "Cupid" because of his propensity for matchmaking. When Macie Sewell returns from boarding school, Cupid himself falls victim to love, but Macie has aspirations to go to New York and become an opera singer, and so ignores his advances. However, Leroy Simpson, a poor doctor who is enamored of Macie's father's money, encourages her ambitions....
Having followed the road of romance through many countries, Lord Quex finally falls in love with Muriel Eden. After resisting Lord Quex because of his reputation, Muriel finally capitulates to his charms and agrees to marry him. In her heart, however, Muriel still treasures an affection for Caption Bastling, a fortune hunting womanizer, and when Muriel is told of Lord Quex's continuing contact with the Duchess of Dowager, a situation brought about through the scheming of the Duchess, Muriel turns to Bastling and agrees to meet him at her friend Sophie Fullgarney's manicurist shop.
Sahande, a Tartar girl placed on the block to be sold, is bought by Costa, a Gypsy chief who outbids Sahande's fiancé, Sender. Costa marries the infuriated Sahande but agrees to give her 10 days in which either to return his love or have Sender fight him.
Stephen Steps Out is a 1923 comedy short.
