Courtenay Foote
In the year 1550, Sir George Vernon agrees to have his young daughter Dorothy betrothed to John Manners, the son of the Earl of Rutland. Sir George signs a contract, promising that the marriage will take place on Dorothy's 18th birthday, or else he will have to pay a large penalty to Rutland. But when the two children have grown older, rumors of John's wild behavior in France provoke Sir George to call off the engagement, and to pledge his daughter instead to her cousin Malcolm. Rutland now claims the forfeit from Sir George, and meanwhile, John has befriended Mary Stuart, the sworn enemy of Elizabeth, who is now Queen of England.
A young girl is seduced and raped by an older middle class man in Victorian England. After moving on with her path, she gets married. All is well until her husband discovers her past. Leading her on a life of wandering, murder, and execution.
An Irish girl comes to America disguised as a boy to claim a fortune left to her brother who has died.
This historical piece, set in the Huguenot days of France, is Norma Talmadge's 37th feature film and the longest to date at two hours. The plot involves a man forced into servitude who falls in love with the sister of his persecutor. It was Ms. Talmadge's fourth involvement with director, Frank Lloyd and the cast included future star, Wallace Beery.
In the 1850s, a young prince in India promises his dying father he will lead a revolt against the English colonial masters of India. However, since he is half-European himself, he can't bring himself to do it and flees to America, to live in obscurity. He finds, however, that he can't outrun his obligations
A beautiful young French girl falls in love with a handsome New Englander, but when they marry and return to his family home, she finds that she does not fit in at all.
The story of St. Gabriel, who was killed by an ignorant mob for making a nude statue representing Purity, who is also represented by a ghostly naked girl that flits through the film.
A sheriff and his posse shoot it out with a gang of robbers headed by Bad Jake Kennedy. The surviving robber, Buckshot John, won't tell where the gang's loot is hidden and gets 30 years in prison. Halfway through his sentence he "gets religion" and in order to save his soul, decides to tell where the gang has hidden its stash of gold. However, a phony clairvoyant, The Great Gilmore, finds out about John's intentions and tricks him into revealing where the gold is. When John finds out what happened, he decides to break out of prison and take care of matters himself.
Accompanied by his dog Skookum, artist Richard Alden goes to work painting the beauty of Laguna Beach. There he courts a city woman, much to the delight of a whimsical waif who weaves fantasies about the lovers. The idyll is interrupted, though, when Wyant Van Zandt, an ambitious millionaire, steals the artist's sweetheart. Alden marries the waif, who later bears him six children. Years pass, and Van Zandt's son falls in love with Helen, the artist's daughter. Indignant at the unsuitability of the match, the millionaire forces his son to break with Helen. Thinking that his daughter's honor has been compromised, Alden attacks and chokes the youth, but at young Van Zandt's bedside, all are reconciled. An allegorical epilogue contrasts the lots of Van Zandt and Alden. To the left, the millionaire embraces a skeleton in black, while, to the right, the artist holds his wife. -From TCM.com Database, powered by the AFI.
John Howard Payne leaves home and begins a career in the theater. Despite encouragement from his mother and his sweetheart, Payne begins to lead a life of dissolute habits, and this soon leads to ruin and misery. In deep despair, he thinks of better days, and writes a song that later provides inspiration to several others in their own times of need.
Seeing Cutey play the part of a maid of all work at a college play, Alys Trevor seeks an introduction to him and they soon become good friends. She takes him with her to present him to her mother, whom she finds talking to a stranger, Lord Goodbluff. Mama does not seem very pleased to meet Cutey. Later Cutey calls at the Trevor house to see Alys and meets Goodbluff there, who soon quarrels with him. Mrs. Trevor, entering in the midst of the dispute, requests Cutey to leave the house and apologizes to Goodbluff for the young man's behavior. Then she sends a note to Cutey, telling him that her daughter is no longer free to receive his calls. By a strange occurrence, Cutey's suspicions of Goodbluff are aroused and he determines to watch him. Noticing an advertisement in the paper for a maid of all work, inserted by Mrs. Trevor, he obtains the necessary disguise and applies for the position, which he gets.
Lester Phillips finds that the allurements of Beatrice Esmond, an adventuress, have attracted him, and he endeavors to disentangle himself. But she loves Lester and is trying to keep his love inveigles her admirer, Zolan, into going to the home of Lester's sweetheart to poison her mind against him, which he does, Beatrice then fascinates Lester's young brother, Francis.
A young painter becomes the apprentice of an old master who is working on his final great work. Meanwhile, the young painter falls in love with his master’s niece.
From his apartment, where he lives a cheerless widower's life, overlooking Washington Park, Alan Dale sees a refined, but poverty-stricken old gentleman on one of the park benches. Calling his butler, he instructs him to go down and tell the old man he would like to see him. When the butler approaches the elderly man the old fellow is somewhat skeptical, but finally consents to go with him. Alan receives his guest cordially and tells him why he has requested him to come and invites him to dinner. During the meal the old man tells his life's story: how he married a young woman, and after the birth of a little daughter, she died. How his daughter had married a young fellow and gone to live in New York, and how he had lost his money. The last news he had received of her was of her death.
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.
