Acting
Jared Wolcott, storekeeper in a small country town, lives with his young sister, Marion. He succumbs to the flirtations of a Mrs. Elmore from a wealthy summer resort, and when he proposes and learns she is married he commits suicide. Marion vows to avenge her brother, and years later, as a successful illustrator in New York, she is engaged to illustrate George Elmore's latest novel. At the Elmore country home, she leads Mrs. Elmore to believe she has won her husband's love, although she is romantically involved with John Corliss. The revelation that Corliss is Mrs. Elmore's brother leads her to forgo her revenge, and disclosing her identity to the family, she leaves. Corliss follows, and they are united.
Nell leaves the farm to start a candy store in New York, but has a troubled start until she meets Jack Monroe, a young spendthrift who helps her attract business. They fall in love, marry, and move in with Jack's father. Nell soon discovers that Jack is a drug addict. In sympathy, Jack's father offers to annul the marriage, but Nell refuses, wishing instead to commit herself to the indefinite struggle of pursuing the road to Jack's rehabilitation.
Beam opens a boarding house and many interesting characters are introduced. She spreads her optimism to their lives. Also to her blind father by telling him army stories about her brother when in actuality, he's deserted.
Phoebe Lester, a little country girl, whispers to her pet hen, "You've laid an egg for a man from New York. Ain't you proud?" and while taking breakfast to Philip, the new boarder, who came from that distant place, she gazes at him as if he has come from an unknown land. Returning to the city with a newfound love and regained health, Philip struggles to sell his poems to bring his "egg" girl to her New York.
Mary's supposed father, Syd, trains her to believe theft is justifiable. Caught robbing a man's house, Mary escapes and Syd is jailed. Mary begins working as a locksmith. When she meets the man again, will he believe she's changed?
With younger brothers and sisters to support, Peggy takes on the task-heavy job as maid for Mrs. Stuyvesant. Peggy also manages to help the woman's children, a lovelorn daughter and a son who is the unwilling tool of spies.
The production vindicated the new feature-length movie format by restoring several characters, plot complications, and atmosphere that had been truncated in Thanhouser’s 1910 version of less than one-sixth the length.
A lawyer is worried about his client. He's infatuated with a dubious woman who's scheming to get his money. The lawyer gets the idea to have him marry an honest woman and protect his fortune in her name, but who? "Cigars. Cigarettes."
The spread of yellow journalism in a small town almost destroys the lives of several people and threatens the livelihood of the hamlet itself.
Framed for stealing some pearls while staying at the country home of her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, Delsie O'Dell is banished from their house. Delsie along with her bulldog, Violet, follows Oscar, the actual thief, to an old haunted house, which is the hideout for a gang of thieves. A series of humorous escapades follows as she first hides from the thieves, then pretends to be a ghost, terrorizing them. Eventually she retrieves the pearls, clears her name, and is safe once again in the arms of Bill, Dennison's secretary.
The affluent Carnabys have now dwindled in fortune and family, leaving just Lucy and her brother, Gordon in financial straits. Situations escalate as they struggle to pay their bills and deal with Gordon's gambling debts.
To her aunt's dismay, Prudence isn't interested in society life. She'd rather listen to the butler's tall tales of being a pirate. Nixed from a boat trip, she rents a schooner, recruits a crew and raises the jolly roger.
A tailor tries to pass himself off in high society by wearing some of his rich customer's clothes.
