Something for Nothing

Life in Death

A doctor kills and embalms a woman in order to preserve her beauty.

Wicked Night

A young man discovers the reason his new bride killed herself.

The Wolf

Upon his father’s death Jules Beaubien's is left a rich man but also one with a mission. Find his until now unknown half-sister, take her in and educate her. After investigating he discovers she has met a tragic fate after falling for a roue who had abandoned her. Swearing vengeance, he set off in a quest for justice in her name.

On the Stroke of Three

Lafayette Jordan (Davis), financier, plans to inundate Caribou Canyon and turn it into a reservoir, but the villagers will not sell him their land. Among the resentful villagers is Judson Forrest (Harlan), who wants to be an inventor. Mary Jordan (Bellamy), daughter of the financier, is hurt and spends a night at his home. Learning of his attitude toward her father, she poses as a domestic at the Jordan home. Later, in New York, Judson looks her up. He is trying to sell his invention and, to get funds, he mortgages his home. The village banker, in league with Jordan, sells the financier the mortgage, and a foreclosure threatens when Jordan's business agent Henry Mogridge (Miljan) double-crosses Judson. The youth thinks Mary working against him. Friends come to Judson's aid and he pays off the mortgage in the nick of time. He learns that Jordan knew nothing of the methods employed by his agent and that Mary loves him.

Tarnish

Flame of the Argentine

Doña Aguila, owner of a vast ranch and a valuable emerald mine in the Argentine, longs for her lost daughter, Conchita, and is victimized by her manager, Emilio Tovar, who is secretly stealing gems. Tovar goes to New Orleans to dispose of some emeralds, and persuading cabaret pianist Inez Remírez to impersonate the dead daughter, he schemes to divide her inheritance. Dan Prescott, a stranger, forces himself into their confidence and accompanies the couple on their return voyage. Doña Aguila's kindness causes Inez to repent and to refuse to carry out the plan; Tovar and his men attack the rancho to acquire an emerald necklace, and Inez rides for aid. Prescott, revealing himself to be an insurance agent, wins the heart of Inez, and Doña Aguila adopts her as her legal daughter.

For the Honor of the Family

On account of his extravagance and dissipation, Col. Ryder disowns his son and casts him off. Guy, resolved to redeem himself, joins an Indian regiment as a private, and leaves England.

She Never Knew

Left with the care of his little grandchild through the death of his daughter, old Mr. Blinn tries in every way to give her the cure and attention which she needs.

The Narrow Path

Bessie Allen, a girl of the slums, dances in the streets of the Lower East Side of New York to the delight of the crowds. She becomes an orphan when her father, in a drunken stupor, kills her mother, and then himself. Bessie is knocked down by the car of Mrs. Latham, a society matron, who takes an interest in the girl and procures her a job as a dress model.

The Whirlpool of Destiny

George Bell, a wild young man, lives with his rancher father, Thomas Bell, in Paradise Valley, California. When George sells his father's favorite horse, Mr. Bell turns him out, and George becomes a grain salesman in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Polly Martin lives with her father Bill, an ex-businessman who has sunk to day-labor because of his addiction to alcohol. Bill frequently abuses Polly, and when he falls to his death from a high girder, Polly becomes a nurse in the Salvation Army in St. Louis. George falls in love with Polly after he saves her from the advances of a drunk, but she will not marry him because of his wild past.

Black Friday

In 1869, enemies of railroad magnate Richard Strong attempt to ruin him. Richard thwarts them, largely through the help of Charles Dalton, but then Charles tries to seduce Elinor, Richard's wife. Although she rebuffs Charles, Richard accuses her of infidelity, so Elinor leaves him and goes to Paris. Richard follows her, but, caught in the middle of the 1870 riots, he cannot get near her. Charles, also in Paris, finally convinces Richard that nothing had come of his interest in Elinor, but Richard now believes that Elinor no longer loves him.

Barriers of Society

When penniless Westie Phillips briefly meets wealthy Martha Gorham, he falls in love, but Martha forgets the encounter. Harry Arnold, courting Martha, invites her out sailing and arranges to have the yacht wrecked near an uncharted island so that he can be alone with her until rescuers arrive. Meanwhile, without knowing Martha is on board, Westie secures a position on the yacht.

The Black Sheep of the Family

Although Kenneth Carmont and Esther Saunders, criminal Bert Saunders' sister, love each other, Esther marries detective Elwood Collins, who agrees to stop pursuing Bert if she accepts his proposal. One night, Kenneth and Esther hide Bert, who has escaped from the police. The same night, Kenneth's father is murdered. The evidence implicates Kenneth, who cannot supply his whereabouts at the time of the crime, as that would give away Bert. Esther cannot clear Kenneth for the same reason, and because it would let her husband know that she was with her former sweetheart.

The Heritage of Hate

After watching her mother die gradually from a broken heart, Roberta, an illegitimate child, decides to seek vengeance from her father Bradley, who ran away before she was born. Bradley is wealthy now, and so Roberta secures a job as his secretary and schemes to ruin his financial empire.

The Mainspring

Finding himself penniless, Lawrence Ashmore, whose late father was ruined on the stock exchange, obtains a position as a reporter. Ashmore is assigned to investigate the reported fatal illness of Jesse Craven, one of Wall Street's financial monarchs.

Mixed Blood

For Nita Valyez, who is half-Spanish and half-Irish, Carlos represents potential violence and danger, two things to which she is both attracted and repelled. In contrast, she has only a passing interest in Big Jim, the town's honest, good-hearted sheriff. Then, after Carlos kills a faro dealer, he forces Nita to make an escape with him.