Minister John Hodder becomes rector of a prestigious church in the Midwestern city of Bremerton but finds dissension and malfeasance among his congregation. When he calls it out both tragedy and a way forward are revealed.
William P. Carleton
as John Hodder
David Torrence
as Eldon Parr
Marguerite Clayton
as Kate Marcy
Margaret Seddon
as Mrs. Garvin
Edith Hallor
as Alison Parr
John Bohn
as Preston Parr
Richard Carlyle
as Richard Garvin
Shakespeare Clancy is a jailbird who walks out with a crowd of visitors about the time "Skeeter" Burns, the prison printer, is discharged. Learning that a legacy awaits them in Dodson, the pair depart for the small Western town. Discovering that the bequest consists of a failing county newspaper and a plot of barren land, they hatch a plan to fleece the townspeople by selling shares in a bogus oil well. Problems arise when Clancy falls in love with society editor Alice Whitney. Clancy is conflicted but then they do strike oil! Concluding that his destiny is to be an honest man, Clancy returns to jail to finish serving his term. Slipping into the crowd of visitors, he dons his prison clothes and resumes work as though nothing had happened.
Jimmy Nevins--once wealthy and now engaged to Doris Standish--is reduced to poverty and jilted by her when he is befriended by Mary Butler, the leader of a gang of crooks.
Jack Pickford got his own production company when his sister Mary signed a huge contract with First National, and this was its first product. the story takes place in the Blue Ridge mountains, where the Appersons and the Yartons have an ongoing feud.
Andrew Maxwell is so intent on creating a universal language that he completely neglects his wife, Laurette, and daughter, Ruth. Laurette decides she wants to return to the stage and is encouraged by Charles Prescott, a former suitor. When Maxwell discovers Laurette and Prescott together, he berates her, and she angrily moves out, taking Ruth along with her.
The Isle of Lost Men is one of those lawless tropical island colonies so beloved of adventure-story writers.
Sato (Sessue Hayakawa) faithfully works for importer James Thornton (James Neill). When the old man dies, he leaves his daughter Mildred (Vivian Martin) in Sato's care. Sato loves the girl, but as he is Japanese he cannot hope to ever marry her (at least not in the racially prejudiced era of the early 1900s). Besides, Mildred loves Harry Maxwell (Tom Forman), who was raised alongside her.
Seduced and abandoned by the caddish Louis La Farge shepherdess Marie Beaupre is cast out of the village and forced to survive in the mountains alone. Driven mad she becomes known as βthe witch womanβ until hypnotist Dr. Cochefort and his friend Delaunay encounter her while on a hunting trip, take her to Paris, and effectuate a cure at which time she becomes heir to Delaunay's fortune. All seems clear sailing until Marie is introduced to Louis's twin brother Maurice and mistaking him for Louis sets forth on a plan for revenge.
This is a touching story, faithfully told, and shows the devotion of a venerable preacher whose church has retired him because it thought he had outlived his usefulness. In his place a younger minister is secured, who fails at each call made upon him to do his Christian duty.
The story of a ruddy-cheeked rural postman who dabbles in poetry-writing on the side. He utilizes his hobby to spread a bit of sunshine throughout the village, at one point reuniting a long-estranged family.
Crooked banker Peter V. Wilkinson intentionally drives his own company into bankruptcy and puts the bank's deposits into a secret account he has set up using his daughter Leslie's name. A series of events occurs in which Leslie finds out what her father has done and sets out to get him to return all the money he has stolen.
Addicted youth Roy Wilson steals his architect father's bid for a railway contract to pay gambling debts to Graham Madison, but the theft leads to his father's death and an attempt to frame Roy's sister Jessie's sweetheart, Carew. After Carew is wrongly accused, a confession from Roy and the exposure of Madison and Carew's plotting lead to Madison's arrest, Carew's vindication, and hope for the future.
To keep his social-climbing wife and daughters in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, wealthy George Hunter makes some large investments in the stock market, but the stocks crash and he loses a great deal of money. His wealthy aunt offers to bail the family out, but complications ensue.
Henri Le Rocque's arrival in an island village causes much anger when he insists upon advanced rental for the land he owns. Accompanying Le Rocque is his nephew Paul, who is recovering from a broken heart. One day, little flower girl Fleurette visits the Le Rocque estate to make a present of a rare flower and is shot as a trespasser. She is nursed back to health at the mansion, and Paul falls in love with her. However, trouble is brewing in the village which will endanger all their lives.
Lucy Fay leaves her husband, Richard, a fireman, for a suave politician, Perry Dunn. Richard compensates for the loss by adopting Drina, a baby girl whose mother perished in a fire. Drina develops into a beautiful young lady and becomes a model at a modiste shop owned by Dunn and managed by Lucy. Dunn is attracted to Drina and plots to get her alone by giving her a drugged drink. An untimely fire interferes with his plans, leaving Drina drugged and trapped by flames in Dunn's room, where she is sleeping.
A recently widowed and destitute young mother (Jane Novak) appeals to her wealthy and heartless father-in-law (Robert Edeson) for financial aid. Instead, he convinces her to hand over her new baby to his care so that the child will be brought up with "everything money can buy." Unbeknownst to the grandfather, we learn that there are twin sons and our heroine keeps one baby to raise herself. The narrative jumps ahead to the boy's twenty-first birthday and we see what's become of them. Not surprisingly, the wealthy son has grown up spoiled and greedy while the poor one works hard and loves his mother.
Felicia Brett is married to Alexander W. Brett, a bullying and unfaithful man who openly flaunts his affair with Rita. Pushed to her limit, Felicia travels to Reno, Nevada, to establish residency and file for divorce. While in Reno, Felicia encounters her old childhood flame, Dick Belden. Alexander, desperate to avoid a settlement and gain sole custody of their young son Bobby, follows Felicia to Reno. He attempts to manufacture evidence of adultery by trapping Felicia in a compromising situation with Dick. Alexander initially succeeds in using this falsified evidence to take custody of Bobby. However, the story reaches a melodramatic conclusion when Alexander is killed in a sudden avalanche. Because the divorce had not yet been finalized, Felicia becomes Alexander's widow rather than his ex-wife, which grants her both her son and the freedom to marry Dick.