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- A stagecoach robber falls in love with a saloon girl. However, she falls for a pastor, who converts her; she marries him. The robber is so impressed by this that he decides to turn over a new leaf. However, a shady gambler sets his sights on the former saloon girl, and the robber has to protect her from his advances.
- An American sailor falls in love with a fisherman's daughter and convinces her that Jesus is more powerful than the gods who have cursed her.
- In the wayward western town known as Hell's Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.
- An Italian immigrant and his sweetheart search for a better life in America, but the harsh realities of life in the slums of New York City lay waste to their hopes and dreams.
- Japanese diplomat Tokoramo ( Sessue Hayakawa ), on a mission to Paris, begins a love affair with chorus girl, Helene ( Gladys Brockwell ), who subsequently rejects her American fiance, Richard Bernisky. When the Japanese discover the affair, they try to force Tokoramo to end it, but Helene refuses to stop visiting him. One night, during one of her visits, Bernisky comes to Tokoramo's apartment and, while Helene hides, rebukes her to her lover. After Bernisky leaves, Tokoramo orders Helene out, but when he realizes his love for her, he calls her back. Suddenly, she rejects and insults him to the point that he strangles her. Tokoramo wants to confess his crime, but he must complete his work, and so his countrymen sacrifice a boy, Hironari, who pleads guilty to the murder and eventually is executed. In the end, Tokoramo also dies and his colleagues burn his valuable papers in order to protect Japan.
- The picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Never having seen a white person before, the local natives, a tribe called Tehuans, bring him up as a god and call him Chiapa. When he reaches manhood, Chiapa is given authority over his entire tribe. He falls in love with the priestess, Tecolote, and she yields to his advances although she is quite unworthy of him, and encourages other suitors. Then the Aztecs hear that under the white god the Tehuans are very prosperous, and start forth to conquer them. The Aztec army is under command of Mexitli, the chief general of Montezuma, the Emperor, and having conquered the Tehuans, he carried off Tecolote as his personal slave. Chiapa follows as a spy. In the garden of Montezuma, he is wounded by a guard, but Lolomi, the beautiful daughter of the Emperor, saves him. They fall in love. Meanwhile Mexitli has tired of Tecolote, and now seeks the hand of the Princess Lolomi, who would rather die than have him. As the Emperor gives Mexitli his consent, he tries to get the princess by force, and in doing so discovers Chiapa. Luiapa is sentenced to die at the end of the year on the sacrificial stone. But Lolomi, finding her pleas to her father of no avail, sends word to the Tehuans that their god is captive. An avenging army sweeps down, and there is brought about a sequence of thrilling scenes with a smashing finish.
- The bandit Jim Stokes, wanting to go straight and settle down with his new bride, strikes a bargain with the sheriff for his freedom.
- One of the first epics on the History of Movies, it tells the story of the Fall of Troy: Paris seduces Helen, queen of Sparta, and takes her to Troy, city state of his father, King Priam. The Greeks declare war against the Trojans, and after ten years of siege finally manage to invade the city with a wooden horse.
- Rumpelstiltskin, a wicked little dwarf with magic power, covets the miller's daughter, Polly. He offers the miller two bags of gold for her and is angrily kicked out of the mill. The dwarf vows eternal vengeance. The King, whose coffers are empty, having heard of the magic power of the dwarf, sends for him and commands him to refill his coffers. The dwarf, in vengeance, tells the King that the miller's daughter can spin straw into gold. The King sends for Polly, places her in a room full of straw and commands her to spin it into gold before dawn, else she, her father and the dwarf will lose their heads. The dwarf tells Polly he will spin the straw for her if she will promise him her first born, if it is a girl. Polly, in order to save her father, promises. Prince Cole, disguised as a hunter, seeks a girl to love. He sees Polly and falls in love with her. She agrees to meet him in the forest, but is captured by the dwarf and taken to his cave, where the Dragon is set to watch over her. With the assistance of the Good Fairy the Prince rescues Polly. The King places the Prince in a dungeon because of his love for Polly. The Good Fairy helps Polly to liberate him and he and Polly step on the magic carpet which the Good Fairy has given Polly and wish themselves far away. They are transferred to the woods, where they are married and a baby girl is born to them. The dwarf searches for Polly and the Prince, finds them and steals their child. The Good Fairy again comes to their assistance and the child is restored to them. The King, whose treasure is exhausted in the search for his son, commands the miller again produce his daughter so that she can spin some more straw into gold for him. The Prince and Polly appear before the King, by whom they are joyfully welcomed. They tell the King the story and the dwarf is condemned to spinning straw the rest of his natural life.
- Jack Harding, a wealthy ne'er-do-well, becomes involved with a Broadway vamp. When she is murdered, Jack is falsely accused of the crime and must turn for help to his lawyer--his wife.
- Yukon Ed has asked saloon owner Ruby McGraw to marry him several times, and has been turned down each time. She falls for Jack Sturgess, a no-account who has seduced and abandoned a poor young girl and is escaping from his father's anger. She takes up with Jack to Ed's dismay, and soon the thing that Ed feared would happen does happen.
- D'Artagnan goes to Paris and becomes a member of the famous King's Musketeers. The Queen sends him on a dangerous mission to England. His three companions are either captured or put out of commission in the course of fights on foot and horseback. D'Artagnan reaches London and recovers from the Duke of Buckingham a pair of studs the Queen gave him as tokens of regard. On the ship on which he returns the hero is captured by his deadly enemy, De Rochfort. Jumping over the side, he clings to the chains of the vessel till it reaches port in France. He restores the studs to the Queen, and she has them put back into the necklace where they belong. Cardinal Richelieu has induced the King to command the Queen to appear wearing the necklace at a great court ball. When he sees the complete necklace, his plan to embarrass the Queen falls through. In addition to obtaining the favor of the Queen, D'Artagnan is rejoiced over the safe return of his comrades and his reward from his sweetheart for his bravery.
- Peggy, a rambunctious young American girl, goes to Scotland to visit her uncle. Her American ways both shock and eventually delight the people of the old village--especially the handsome young minister.
- "Phantom" Farrell was known as one of the cleverest crooks in the world, with a penchant for jewel robberies. He planned to attend the Bereton ball and steal a famous necklace which he knew the daughter would wear. Chance makes it possible for Farrell to gain admittance to the Bereton mansion before the night of the ball, in the guise of a detective, and it happens that he meets the young woman whom he has planned to rob. Farrell is so attracted by her beauty and winsomeness that he falls in love and decides not to steal the necklace. At the ball the necklace really is stolen and Mr. Bereton, the owner, immediately asks "The Phantom," whom he knows only as a detective to find the thief and locate the jewels. "The Phantom" has observed the intimacy between Bertie Bereton, the son of the household, and one of the guests, a Dr. Ratcliffe. He finally forces Bertie to confess to him that Dr. Ratcliffe is really a noted race track gambler who has forced him to aid in the theft of the necklace in order to square certain gambling debts which he holds against him. Dr. Ratcliffe has already made his escape from the house, but "The Phantom" overtakes him at the railroad station and compels him to return to the house where, with the assistance of his valet, he recovers the valuables. In addition, he forces the gambler to give up all claims on the young man. The arrival of the real detective whom "The Phantom" is impersonating and three others, complicates matters for that worthy, and he would have been caught immediately had not Bertie warned him of their approach. The escape of "The Phantom" and his valet is effected only after a series of stirring adventures, but it is finally accomplished and as the pursuers dash off down the road, "The Phantom" and his faithful valet emerge from behind a hedge and start a long walk back to town. The valet upbraids his master for his weakness in not actually stealing the jewels himself, but "The Phantom" remembers the beautiful girl whom he has made happy by his success in restoring the necklace and he walks along the dusty road perfectly happy with himself.
- Cliff Hudspeth, the leader of a band of outlaws in Arizona, has won his place by the killing of notorious gun-bullies. At their headquarters, in the Gila Mountains, in consultation with "Ace High," his lieutenant, he plans depredations on the neighboring settlements. Although Hudspeth is powerful, their rule is disputed by El Salvador, a half-breed, and his following of desperadoes. Desert Pass is the scene of many conflicts between the contending bands. Rumors of the arrival of miners with gold causes El Salvador to send "Cactus" Fuller, his henchman, to levy tribute by a hold-up, which is successful. Flushed with triumph, he boasts in the "Golden Fleece" saloon of the ignominies to which he would treat Cliff Hudspeth if he ever met him. Hudspeth arrives and makes Cactus, whom he throws out of the saloon, realize that something must be done to retrieve a shattered reputation. Coming out of the saloon, Hudspeth sees Norma Wright, a milliner, standing at the door of her little store, and waves her inside, as he anticipates trouble. The shooting commences and Cactus is defeated. As Hudspeth is preparing to leave town Norma denounces him as a cold-blooded murderer. Stung almost to madness by the girl's accusation, he seizes her and gallops out of town. At his retreat he locks the stupefied girl in a room and seeks to drown the memory of her words with whiskey. The whiskey, and his awakened conscience, bring him to review his life, and, half delirious, he sees his victims pass reproachfully before him. The girl, too, becomes aware of the human side of the man and next morning she brings him around to her way of thinking and extracts a pledge that he will never willingly kill another human being. Soon after there comes from a member of the legislature offer of a pardon and restoration to citizenship if Cliff will undertake to rid Arizona of El Salvador. Hearing of Cliff's new appointment, El Salvador is wild with rage, and burns the town and drags Norma away to the mountains. Cliff Hudspeth rescues her and kills El Salvador, although mortally wounded himself. He places the girl on a horse, which bears her to safety, and passes away consoled that his last killing was in her defense.
- "Draw" Egan, a notorious bandit of New Mexico, has come to the end of his tether. His gang has been dispersed, many slain, and more in jail, and there is a reward of $1,000 offered for Egan, "dead or alive." While drinking in a saloon at Muscatine, Egan chances across Matt Buckton, a leading citizen of the neighboring village of Yellow Dog. Yellow Dog is a town infested with gunmen who make life miserable for the few respectable citizens. Buckton is on a still hunt for some strong men who will shoulder the unenviable responsibilities of sheriff, and put the fear of God and the law into the hearts of his undisciplined fellow-citizens. While Buckton is thinking over his seemingly impossible quest, the bully of Muscatine enters the saloon and accosting "Draw" Egan, finds himself crumpled upon the floor without opportunity for repartee. Buckton is so much impressed by the quietude and deftness of Draw Egan's work that he immediately offers him the job of cleaning out Yellow Dog. So Draw Egan, as William Blake, is installed as sheriff of Buckton's promising community. William Blake soon has the bullies and gunmen of Yellow Dog well in hand, with law and order restored by the capable ex-bandit. At the time when the respectable citizens are singing the praises of the new sheriff, one of the worst of Egan's old gang, Oregon Joe, strolls into town, sizes up the situation, and holding a threat of betrayal over the sheriff's head, proceeds with the aid of the tough element to undo the sheriff's good work. For himself Egan cares little, but while endeavoring to live down his past and lead a clean life, he has fallen in love with Buckton's daughter Myrtle. Day by day he submits to Oregon Joe's insults and the tough element gradually gets the upper hand. Things have reached such a pitch that one day the gunmen, headed by Oregon Joe, decide to drive the respectable citizens out of town and run the place for themselves. It is up to the sheriff to decide, and his manhood asserts itself. He confesses the evils of his past life, throws himself on the mercy of his fellow citizens and promises to surrender to the government if they will allow him one day to restore order. He makes good; the gunmen are whipped into submission and Oregon Joe, the blackmailer, meets his just reward. The sheriff surrenders and is locked up in the caboose, but the next morning a delegation of citizens greets him with the assurance that to them Draw Egan has ceased to exist and that Yellow Dog only recognizes Sheriff William Blake. Myrtle Buckton is one of the delegation.
- Denton rides into Yellow Ridge with a money-belt filled after years of toil in the mines beyond the desert. The local gamblers covet the fortune but fail to get Steve to try the roulette table until the enticer, Trixie, comes to exercise her charms on him. He blindly follows her lead and is watching the wheel with stern stare when a telegram is received. He asks the woman to read it. She lies when she says it contains good news, for it tells of his mother's critical illness. In the morning Steve awakes to find his belt is empty. In his feverish search through his pockets, he comes upon the telegram. As the truth dawns he goes to the telegraph office to send home a wire. The operator hands him the news that his mother has died. Wild with rage, he shoots up the town and drives away with Trixie lying limp over his horse before him. His heart is now filled with hate for all women and Trixie becomes his slave in a community where he tolerates only the scum of the section. Across the desert comes a pack train of Mississippi farmers who have left their fertile valleys to hunt for gold. Their water is all but gone and their stock is fagged. Their leaders plead with Steve for aid, but the white race may expect nothing from him. Back to the wailing women and children go the despondent leaders. Mary Jane, a waif among them, is not cowed by the story they tell, and by night she goes to repeat their please to the harsh white man. He looks upon her as another victim to share Trixie's lot, but her innocent, fearless attitude toward him makes him hesitate. Meanwhile, his men have carried off the women of the train. As the men pursue and bloodshed is in the air, Steve yields to the little girl and trades the safety of those people for his rich mine, leaves his wealth to his followers and guides the strangers out of the desert.
- Gambler "On-the-Level" Leigh gives up his profession for his little sister, Alice, whose precarious health demands that she move to the mountains. There, the gambler meets the fiery dance hall girl Coralie whose advances he rejects. His funds exhausted from the expense of the move, Level unwillingly returns to his old profession, but Coralie induces the dealer to "cold deck" Level, and he loses every cent. Out of desperation, Level decides to hold up the passengers of the stagecoach while unknown to him, Black Jack shoots and kills the driver for the express box. Learning of the driver's death, Level surrenders himself to the law and is jailed. Escaping from his cell, Level discovers Black Jack uncovering the express box and arrests him. Level returns to town with the real murderer, is cleared of all charges and is reunited with his sweetheart, Rose Larkin.
- A deserting soldier encounters a wagon train of settlers. When they are faced with an Indian attack, he risks court martial to return to the Army post for help.
- A minister who was raised in the Kentucky hills returns home from preaching in Vermont to try to end a generations-long feud between his family and another, the McCoys. His family wants nothing to do with any kind of truce, and throws him out. He moves into a small shack in the mountains, and continues his preaching of non-violence and peaceful co-existence. However, when he is forced to rescue his sister from the clutches of one of the McCoy men, he finds his philosophy put to the test.
- The Devil, in the guise of a human, meets a young couple who remark upon looking at a Renaissance painting of a martyr that Evil could never triumph over Good. The Devil, taking this as a challenge, decides to bring about the couple's downfall.
- The scenes of the story are laid in Japan during the last revolution in the late 1860s. The Emperor is growing old and infirm. He has two sons: Yorotomo, the elder, will succeed to the throne; his younger brother Togowawa would succeed to the throne in the event of his brother's death. The Emperor, for reasons of state, betroths Yorotomo to Sada San, daughter of the Prime Minister. The Chief Shogun, supposedly loyal to the emperor, covets the throne. He realizes that the Japanese people would never permit him to ascend the throne himself, and he casts about for a dummy to occupy it. The Shogun calls upon the younger prince and unfolds his plan to kill Yorotomo. Togowawa enters into the conspiracy and promises to aid the Shogun. The conspirators are overheard by a spy of the Emperor, who reports the plot. Yorotomo is sent away in disguise. During his sojourn he falls in love with Mimi San, daughter of the gardener of the summer cottage of the Mikado, who does not know that Yorotomo is a prince. The Mikado dies and Yorotomo is called to take the throne, and he is compelled to leave O Mimi San and marry Sada San.
- A young man named Leandro tries to force himself onto his love interest, but she already has another man, and while escaping punishment for his rushed actions, he enters an alchemist's house and releases the lame devil that was being held there. Together they make some mischief.
- Jim Treen, a road agent, is engaged to Molly Stewart, who has no notion of his secret profession. When she discovers Jim's hidden treasure cache, she breaks their engagement. Though he pleads with her, promising to reform, Molly will not marry the bandit. Bill Carey, interested in Molly's savings, woos and wins her. The evening they are to be married, she entrusts to Carey her bank account, asking him to invest it for her. Carey beats it out of town on the night stage. Jim Treen is notified that Carey has left Molly in the lurch. The former road agent rides after the stage. Carey bribes the driver with a bonus of one hundred dollars to make the eastbound limited. Treen, however, by taking a perilous short cut over the mountains, stops Carey at the train, snatches away his gun, and compels him, at the point of his own weapon, to hand over Molly's money. Jim restores her savings to the woman he still loves, and Molly becomes his wife.
- Attractive young Englishman Harry Dickson is engaged to beautiful English girl Elsa Arlington. While serving as a deputy commissioner in a principality in India, he becomes acquainted with Janira, a nobleman's daughter, who is given in marriage to dissolute Indian Prince Chandra. While the festivities are in full swing, the groom dies from a stroke of apoplexy. His body is put on the funeral pyre. At the period of this play, it was the practice among the people of India for the widow to throw herself on the fire in which her husband's body was burning. Janira is compelled in spite of herself to submit to this custom. Just before she is placed in the flames, Dickson and his servant see what is going on and rescue her after a fight. Dickson becomes infatuated with Janira and keeps her in his bungalow disguised as a servant boy. His sweetheart Elsa arrives from England, and he soon feels a reviving of his old love for her. His attentions to Elsa trouble Janira, but she is faithful to him and will not admit to herself that the white man can do any wrong. Dickson is summoned before the English commissioner and the father of Janira accuses him of having kidnapped the girl. The deputy puts up a bold front. Then to settle the matter, soldiers are sent to Dickson's house to fetch the girl. They return in a short time with the message that they found on their arrival that the bungalow was in flames. After the structure had been destroyed, they saw in the embers a human body burned to such an extent that it was unrecognizable. Dickson reels and the commissioner hastens to support him. The girl's father totters out of the office.
- An narcissistic woman with the ability to charm, Leila Aradella reaps delight from preying upon weak men. Her first victim is John Morton, a talented lawyer, whom she ruins both morally and financially. Her second victim, Rex Walden, the generous son of society matron Mrs. Walden, becomes her complete slave. Mrs. Walden sends her elder son Franklin to try to dissuade Leila from toying with Rex's affections. Franklin, however, also falls under Leila's spell, and Rex is driven to suicide by her callous behavior. Desperate, Mrs. Walden enlists Adele Harley, a girl of strong moral character, to fight Leila for Franklin's affections. Adele's determined victory causes Leila to lose her confidence, and in a drunken state, she cuts her own face with a shard from her shattered mirror. Permanently disfigured, Leila ends a broken and lonely woman.
- Glory Wharton is the granddaughter of civil war veteran Jed Wharton. Jed entertains everyone with his war stories, but has a serious drinking problem. Glory is determined to help him overcome this.
- Knud, a vicar's son, meets Magda, a piano teacher, on a tram. He falls in love with her and introduces her to his parents. She refuses to go with them to the Sunday service and convinces him to go to the circus with her.
- Truthful Tulliver, a Westerner and a journeying newspaperman, followed by Silver Lode Thompson, printer and compositor, arrives in Glory Hole to start a newspaper. He is visited by York Cantrell, an Easterner, whose mining interests keep him in the vicinity. They stand at the office window watching two sisters, Grace and Daisy Burton. The girls are insulted by men hanging around the Forty Rod saloon and dance hall, run by "Deacon" Doyle and secretly owned by York Cantrell. Tulliver rushes to their assistance and incurs the enmity of Doyle. The next day Truthful states, under big headlines, that Doyle must go, and the following morning finds a notice on his door that Doyle will be in the Forty Rod Saloon at ten o'clock, and there is not a pen pusher in Arizona that can run him out of town. Truthful surprises Doyle and his henchmen by coming into the saloon through a rear door, and. from his horse, lassoes and pulls them out into the desert, where he tells them never to return to Glory Hole. That night Truthful is shot at from York Cantrell's room by Doyle, who has returned. Truthful then drives both from town, not knowing that York has wronged Daisy Burton. Daisy confesses to Grace, and Grace finds Truthful, who, misunderstanding, thinks she is the one who cares for Cantrell. He promises to bring him back, and reaches the railroad, intercepts Cantrell, and forces him to return. Then understanding comes. Cantrell wants to marry Daisy and live a new life, and Truthful comprehends his mistake. Grace turns toward him, with her thanks and relief, and sees him watching her with such eloquent eyes that hers fall for a moment. Then she comes to him and with happy faces, hands clasped, they see York Cantrell married to the sister, and as the priest blesses them, Truthful clasps her close.
- The story opens with an Indian village, the home of Big Bear, the son of the Sioux chief. The government agent, impressed with the brightness of the lad, persuades his father to permit him to be sent to a military school. The cadets, perfectly disciplined, are shown in their trim uniforms, drilling on the parade grounds and the young savage is introduced into their midst. Ten years serve to convert the slender boy into a stalwart man, who graduates with the rank of lieutenant, and is assigned to Fort Reno. He arrives in a stagecoach and reports for duty to Col. Garvin. The officers and their families are at dinner when the colonel introduces the new officer. Lieutenant Big Bear is made to keenly feel barrier of race, as his pleasant acknowledgment of the introduction is met with coolness. Soft-hearted Ethel, the colonel's daughter, noting the man's mental anguish, impulsively comes forward and gives the lieutenant her hand, with a gracious word of welcome. The old Indian chief is advised of his son's coming, and attired in all the glory of paint and feathers, so dear to the Indian heart, visits Big Bear. An affecting scene takes place as the father and son meet again, and the old chief fondly caresses the gold trappings of his son's uniform, and proudly admires the shining brass buttons. The actions of the chief are the source of much amusement to the other officers and the women of the post, who watch the pair from a window and mimic the actions of the chief. Indignant at their narrowness, Ethel runs out and asks Big Bear for an introduction to his father. Capt. Haines has been an ardent wooer of Ethel, and he resents the friendly interest she has taken in the Indian. He is infuriated when he sees Big Bear in pleasant conversation with the girl while the lieutenant is waiting to speak to the colonel at his quarters. Haines waits for Big Bear and warns him from speaking to Ethel. The Indian resents the insult, the men engage in a terrific struggle. Haines is being badly thrashed by the powerful Indian when he draws the revolver from Big Bear's holster and attempts to shoot him. The weapon is knocked from his hand, but the shot attracts other officers who pull the contestants apart. Haines dramatically accuses Big Bear of having attempted to kill him, and points to the Indian's revolver with one cartridge exploded. Big Bear is court-martialed and found guilty of assaulting a brother officer, and is ordered publicly disgraced and dismissed from the service. The ceremony is most impressive, as the shoulder straps and side arms of the lieutenant are torn from him, in the presence of the whole regiment. Big Bear packs his belongings into his trunk, including his saber and uniform, and departs. With tears in her eyes and quivering lips, Ethel alone bids the lieutenant good-bye, and as he clasps the hand of the girl and sees the sympathy and friendship in her face, his whole heart goes out to her. With the taciturnity of his race, however, he does not betray his feelings, and with a hand clasp he bids her adieu forever. Big Bear is given a warm welcome by the tribe, and his father and mother. His civilian's attire is noted, and when the Indians hear the story of his disgrace they are filled with rage. The government has been negotiating with the Indians for their lands, and, a few days later, at a meeting with the colonel at the fort, the old chief denounces the pale-faces and their methods, and threatens trouble. After his departure, the colonel, knowing that a terrible Indian war is inevitable, sends a courier to Ft. Custer, apprising the commander of the situation, and telling him that the women of Ft. Reno would be sent to Ft. Custer via stage coach, under escort, for safety. The courier is shot from his horse by the Indians, who find the letter but are unable to read it. Big Bear has been persuaded by his father to don the war paint, and to join in the fight against the whites, when the letter is brought into camp. He interprets the message and the old chief immediately determines to massacre the escort and capture the women. Instantly Big Bear realizes the terrible danger Ethel is placed in, and, alone in his tent, he racks his brain for a scheme to save her. A vision of her soft eyes looking tenderly at him as she bade him good-bye comes to him, and he resolves to sacrifice his life, if need be, to save her from harm. At the fort the women are placed in the coach, and, accompanied by a picked detail, start on the journey to Ft. Custer, a larger and safer structure. As the Indians leave the camp to ambush the soldiers, Big Bear, by a ruse, stays behind, and rushing into his tent, tears the Indian feathers from his head and dons his lieutenant's uniform. Buckling his saber about him, he examines his heavy army pistols, and, leaping on a horse, starts out on his hopeless mission. As the stage coach reaches a valley, the surrounding bushes and trees become suddenly alive with Indians, and a volley marks a trail of death among the soldiers. Lashing their horses, the troopers endeavor to escape, and a running fight ensues. Behind a hill the last stand is made, and huddled together the little band fight for their lives. Galloping along, Big Bear comes upon the body of the company bugler, and picking up his instrument, makes his way to the crest of the hill. From this advantageous position, hidden by the bushes, he deliberately picks off the redskins as they approach close to the stagecoach, Coolly and calmly he makes every bullet tell. Amid the terrible excitement and thunder of riflery, the crack of his guns is not noticed. With the clothes practically shot from his back and hanging in shreds, a trooper suddenly darts through the line of Indians, down the hillside, and plunging into the river at terrific speed the horse turns a somersault. The wounded rider clings to the saddle and the noble animal gallops to the fort. A word, and the bugle call rings out and the brigade is mounted and hastening to the scene of battle. Meantime the little band is in a desperate predicament. Big Bear has seen the escape of the soldier, and knowing that every second is golden, he puts the bugle to his lips and the musical blasts of "The Charge" cause consternation among the Indians, who think the soldiers are at hand and hurriedly retreat. They soon discover their mistake, however, and return to the attack with redoubled fury. The few minutes' respite, however, have saved the doomed people. Creeping up from the foot of the hill an Indian works his way to the back of Big Bear. Taking deliberate aim he sends a bullet crashing into his body. Mortally wounded, the lieutenant leaps upon the Indian, but is soon dispatched. As the troops arrive and charge into the ranks of the Indians a thrilling scene is enacted, but the redskins are broken up and scattered, and ignominiously run for their lives, pursued by the relentless soldiers. The last scene shows the still form of the lieutenant in the twilight, the man who was despised by the white people with whom he had cast his lot, and who met his death at the hands of his own race, "unwept, unhonored and unsung," his heroism unknown even to the girl for whom he gave his life. They met. A far something in the soul of the girl responded to an indefinite something in his. And the greatest blessing and the greatest bane of earth melded with and became her being, a heedless, headless love. Then he tired of the jesting imitation, of the eternal squalor and the dreary denial, and longed for the convenient comforts and luxuries of his other life. He told them he was going to work elsewhere, and the girl's heart filled with an instinctive but indistinct fear and foreboding, interpreted by a great, glistening tear. Type was never so cold and bold and cruel as that which told her, a few weeks later, of his marriage to millions. A great sob arose from the desert of her soul to mock the lying promises of man, and her heart bowed to a sorrow as solemn as midnight, as profound as death.
- Richard Deering, a wealthy New Yorker, spends his holidays in a magnificent lodge in the heart of the Adirondacks. His daughter, Evelyn, Donald Greene, his ward, and Robert Ross, his confidential secretary, are his companions. On the eve of Thanksgiving, Greene is called to New York on business. He leaves reluctantly as he is deeply in love with Evelyn and jealous of Ross. The next morning, while at breakfast, Donald receives a telegram from Evelyn that her father has been shot and begging him to come at once, and bring a detective. Greene goes to Horace Lee, a crime specialist, and returns to Deer lodge accompanied by the detective and his assistant, Joe. They find Deering unconscious attended by the country doctor, and Dr. Adamson, a specialist from New York. The detective and his assistant set to work to unravel the mystery. Suspicion lights on the family butler, who was the last to see his master alive, and who had been acting strangely. Through adventures and deduction the detective unravels the mystery. The butler is exonerated as his worried demeanor is found to be the result of an effort to shield his son, an escaped convict, who had sought refuge in the lodge on the eve of the shooting, and the charge of attempted murder is brought against Donald Greene, who had brought in the aid of mechanical science to perform the deed in his absence. Donald Greene, who has inherited a trace of madness, becomes hopelessly insane. Evelyn gives her hand to the man of her choice, Horace Lee, who is completely restored to health.
- Dick Carson stole into the familiar hall. A light was still burning in the library. It was an unheard of thing for his father to be up at such an hour. Was it possible the old man was thinking of him, regretting perhaps his inexorable part in the stormy scene of the evening before? Dick hesitated at the library door. Then Clara's face appeared to him. He turned on his heel and hastened noiselessly up the stairs. Like a thief now in his father's house, he must gather together a few old treasures he could not bear to lose, and escape into the night. Two blocks away, a girl was sitting at the switchboard of the local telephone station. Between twelve and one in the morning there were almost no calls. Clara Morrison had fallen into a reverie. Dick hadn't told her in so many words, but she knew she was the cause of it all. Old Mr. Carson would not hear of his only son marrying a telephone girl. But how terrible that he should have turned Dick out of the house. Suddenly the instrument began to buzz frantically. It was the Carson's number. Through the receiver, bound about her head, she heard a voice, his father's voice, quivering with fear uttering incoherencies. Now it was interrupted by a volley of rough expletives. There was a confused noise as of a struggle, of furniture overturned, then someone fell heavily. At the same instant the connection was cut off Clara rang up the police in furious haste. When the officers reached the house, they found Dick in the library bending over his unconscious father. A suspicious looking bundle lay on the floor where, in the straggle the young man had evidently dropped it. The servants, huddling, pale and frightened, in the doorway were jabbering confusedly of a quarrel, of Mr. Dick breaking into the house, of how they had caught him and cut off his retreat. The officers took the young man into custody. His vehement protestations availed nothing. The next morning the papers were full of it. It was Clara's testimony which saved her lover. She swore that if the real burglar were brought to her, she could identify him from the voice she had heard over the phone. She flung herself heart and soul into the defense. The guilty man was found, and Dick cleared of all shadow of suspicion. Mr. Carson's recovery was not rapid, but when he was himself again, his pride was completely melted before the harrowing events of those weeks. Clara Morrison was a revelation to him of pluck and devotion Disinherit Dick for loving such a girl? He had already set the day, with the bride's consent.
- Jim Houston, the "Shootin' Iron" Parson, comes to Barren Gulch to reform the morals of the frontier community. He receives the support of "Birdshot" Bivens, the sheriff of the county. Jim's wife, Mary, however, is a weak character. She falls a prey to the seduction of Dr. Hardy, the village gambler and saloon keeper, and elopes with him. Jim Houston, forsaking the ministry, goes to the mountains and cares for his child in a log cabin home. Later the child falls very ill. Mary, in a mountain storm, comes unwittingly to their door. Dr. Hardy is sent for as the only physician in the district. He ministers to the child and confronts Houston, who intends to kill him. Mary is asked to make her choice between Houston and Dr. Hardy. She points towards the child and goes to its bedside. Houston forgives his wife and instead of killing Hardy permits him to go unharmed.
- A poor ditch-digger, Pietro Massena, lovingly raises his motherless daughter Rosina. Phil Griswold, in order to throw a party to celebrate his expected inheritance, induces his friend Robbins to rob the flower shop where he works. After the inheritance goes to Phil's brother William, who refuses Phil money to return to the flower shop, Phil abducts William's daughter Dorothy and sends a "Black Hand" ransom demand to throw suspicion onto Pietro, who earlier frightened Dorothy when he delivered a Christmas tree to William's house. William drives into the slums looking for Pietro and accidentally runs down Rosina. The grieving Pietro goes to the flower shop on Christmas morning to buy a rose for Rosina's coffin and is accused of the kidnapping, because Phil arranged to have a man known by "the sign of the rose" pick up the ransom money there. Pietro threatens to kill the arresting detective so that he can return to his "bambino," when William arrives with news that Dorothy has been found. William offers Pietro compensation, but he refuses and sorrowfully returns home.
- The prologue shows the life of a trapper, living in the solitude of the forest. He digs a bear trap, which is covered with boughs and grass. An Indian girl, armed with a bow and arrow, creeps close to a wild turkey, which she brings down. As she runs forward to gather up her prey she falls into the trap. Evans, the trapper, finds her there and on lifting her from the pit, finds that she has sprained her ankle, and takes her to his cabin, and makes her as comfortable as possible. As the shades of evening fall and the pain subsides, the girl drops into a slumber, and loath to awaken her, Evans leaves her in possession of his cabin and, wrapped in a blanket, sleeps outside. In the morning, the girl having recovered sufficiently, he lifts her to his horse, and mounting behind her, proceeds to the Indian camp. On the way he is attacked by a trio of Indians, who fire at him from behind a tree, and the trapper brings down one of his assailants. The others rush back to the camp, and when Evans arrives he is roughly dealt with by the Indians, but is saved by the intervention of the girl, who is the daughter of the Sioux chief. Some time later a party of Cheyennes visit the Sioux, and the chief buys the girl from her father. Though she has not seen the white trapper since the day of her accident, the Indian girl's heart has gone out to him, and the prospect of becoming the squaw of the Cheyenne chief is distasteful to her. It is an unwilling bride, indeed, whom the old Cheyenne brings to his tepee, and when he attempts to subject her, she turns upon him with a knife, and leaving his lifeless form dying in the tent, makes her escape. When she reaches her own village, however, she fears the wrath of her father, and suddenly the thought occurs to her to seek refuge again in the trapper's cabin. Evans, who has fallen in love with the girl, assures her of his protection. The Cheyennes, wild with anger at the death of their chief, call upon the Sioux to deliver the girl to them, and are assured that she is not in camp. They trail her to the cabin, and, while Evans is away examining his traps, break down the barricaded door and set the house on fire. As Evans is returning he sees the Indians gallop off with their prisoner, and flying to the Sioux camp tells of what has occurred. The Sioux chief immediately calls out his braves, who start in pursuit of the Cheyennes. The girl is about to meet her death when the Sioux arrive, and a hand-to-hand conflict ensues, in the heat of which Evans rescues the girl and gallops away with her. As the sun is setting, standing on the crest of a hill, he points out to her a wagon train of emigrants, and hand-in-hand they go to his people, and safety.
- Ashley Hampdon, a Wall Street financier, has a daughter named Lina. Gregg Lewiston wants to marry the girl. The father tells him that the girl can please herself. As he does not seem to progress in his love-making, Lewiston puts through a scheme to ruin Hampdon in the market, so that the father will bring pressure to bear on his daughter to marry the suitor as he has lots of money. Hampdon is distracted by his losses. While aimlessly looking over his papers Hampdon comes across a little note signed by a western mining man, Bot White. It is an offer from White to assist Hampdon at any time and in any place, physically or financially. Hampdon had once befriended White and as he would not take anything else in return, White gave him the written offer. Hampdon sends a message to White to come to New York at once. When White appears, Hampdon tells him of his suspicion, that Lewiston injured him through an accomplice who had given him a wrong tip. Lina takes offense at a conversation she hears between Lewiston and White and tells White that she objects to him. He is put up at a club by Hampdon. There Lewiston sends Rankin (the same broker that he used to ruin Lewiston) to White with a tip on the market. White sends for detectives. They connect White's room with that of Lewiston's on a floor above by means of a wire and with the aid of a Dictaphone they overhear Lewiston and Rankin concocting a scheme to ruin White as a friend of Lewiston and a possible rival to Lina's hand. White and Hampdon use this information to make a fortune much to the discomfiture of Lewiston. As his treachery is now revealed, Lewiston is unable to win Lina. He goes to the club and insults White by saying in a loud tone of voice that this is the first case he has known of a man trying to buy a girl. White wants him to fight, but Lewiston excuses himself by remarking that it is a gentlemen's club. Finally Lewiston strikes White for calling him a coward, but spectators separate the men. Lewiston goes to his uptown home and White follows him. There is a fight and White gets the best of it till Lewiston hits White over the head with a bronze vase. Just then John Worth, who is a friend of White's and is half crazed from losses due to the villainy of Lewiston, appears at a window and shoots Lewiston in the arm. White having accomplished his mission, goes to bid his friend, Ashley Hampdon, good-bye. Lina has come to admire White for his loyalty to her father and for his efficiency. He does not seem to understand the change in her and bids her farewell. She, however, gets her father to take her on the same train on which White goes. They meet on the platform of the observation car where the misunderstanding is cleared.
- Lillian Hillary's mother encourages her to marry a rich man after her father's death and the loss of the family fortune. She chooses Bert Werden, who is more wholesome than her other wealthy suitor, financier Graham Henderson. When Werden loses his fortune, Lillian's goading causes him to work night and day dealing in the stock market. Although he regains his fortune, his health soon suffers and he develops an obsession with making money. Werden neglects Lillian, who misses his attentions. After Werden forgets their third wedding anniversary, he responds to Lillian's displeasure by coldly handing her a $50,000 check. When Henderson tries to gain control of a syndicate to bankrupt Werden so Lillian will leave him, Werden, to save himself, asks her to give the check back, but she refuses. Thinking that Lillian will accept Henderson, Werden is about to shoot himself when he overhears her tell Henderson that she refused Werden's request so that he would go broke and forget about greed. Werden sends Henderson away and is reconciled with his wife.
- Confederate soldier Frank Winslow is terrified of the war and eventually runs away from battle. But when he finds himself behind enemy lines with vital information, he must decide between his fear and his conscience.
- "Bat" Peters, reformed gunfighter turned prospector, travels to Chicago to collect on a business deal with a mine promoter who turns out to be crooked.
- A young woman's sweetheart fights for the Union, while her brother fights for the Confederates, in the pivotal 1863 battle of the U.S. Civil War.
- Angus McConnell is factor of the outpost of the Hudson Bay Company which is dignified by the name of Fort Lu Cerne. The summer has been disastrous for the trappers, and they are deeply in the company's debt for provision. Angus keeps account of what they owe in a little book, and one night this precious book disappears. Angus vows all manner of vengeance on the culprit who has taken it. He keeps close watch on the office, and at last he beholds Lois Le Moyne, belle of the outpost, rummaging about his desk. Unknown to him, she has come to make him a gift of a beautiful pair of moccasins, made with her own fair hands, so he concludes she is the thief, and has her thrown into the goal. Then Richard Sylvester, the company inspector, comes to Fort Lu Cerne on the rounds. He sees Lois, falls in love with her, and has her released. On his promise that he will have Angus dismissed as factor and himself appointed, she agrees to wed him. This he accomplishes, and Angus takes to the trail alone. But before the wedding can take place an epidemic of sickness breaks out, and in terror the cowardly Sylvester flees with his bodyguard. Angus, who has heard that the Blackfeet Indians are about to descend on the outpost to demand a white person to be sacrificed as an offering to the god who has brought down the plague, happily returns at this time and resumes the reins of authority. The Indian attack takes place, and after a thrilling fight, in which the whites are greatly outnumbered, Angus goes forth to offer himself as the victim. He is miraculously saved, however, and returns to the fort. But he finds that all the garrison have gone save Lois; and with these two great enemies along in a terrible situation there comes about a great finish to a remarkable film. -- Moving Picture World, June 3, 1916.
- A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
- Jack o' Diamonds and his partner, Two Spot Hargis, are known as square sports in the desert town of Oxide. Jack gives liberally to all charities, and is surprised when one day a pioneer missionary refuses to take his money as he considers it ill-gotten. About this time Col. Ransome enters Jack's gambling place. The colonel, a big ranch owner, intoxicated and loaded down with money received in a cattle deal, insists on a game for the highest stakes. Jack consents, wins the colonel's money and also a deed to the ranch. In the fight that follows Colonel Ransome is shot by one of his own foremen, Anastacio, who has previously planned to rob his master and hates to see the money get away from him. The onlookers think that Jack killed the colonel, but as there is a general shooting no fuss is made about the matter. Jack becomes disgusted with his present mode of life and quits the gambling game. He takes up the ranch that has been deeded to him by the dead colonel. When Jack and his partner, Two Spot, arrive at the ranch they discover that the colonel has left an only daughter, Virginia Ransome, who is being educated in New York. Jack determines to put the ranch in order and hand it over to the rightful heiress. When things are in shape he writes to Virginia to come west. When Virginia arrives she treats Jack as a hired servant. He still keeps on with the work around the ranch, but is hampered by Virginia's attitude, as this encourages Anastacio and the hands to almost open mutiny. After plotting to dethrone Jack and secure both the ranch and Virginia for himself, Anastacio tells Virginia that Jack Diamond is the murderer of her father. Virginia dismisses Jack and makes Anastacio her foreman. Jack and Two Spot leave the ranch, but determine not to leave "the little lady" to the mercy of Anastacio. Jack dispatches Two Spot to the nearest fort for the rangers and returns in time to rescue Virginia from Anastacio and the rangers arrive in time to clear up the ranch. One of Anastacio's associates tells Virginia that her father was shot by Anastacio and not by Jack. Virginia apologizes to Jack for her past unkindnesses and offers to turn over the ranch to him as rightful owner. Jack will only entertain a proposition that involves a half ownership, and eventually wins Virginia as his wife.
- A short comedy in which Tweedledum engages in an exciting race with the police, who pursue him for failure to display his license number. The result is a series of comical, exciting incidents.
- Wonega is a very pretty Crow Indian girl with whom Deer Track is in love. Her decided aversion angers him. One day while gathering herbs and leaves for the medicine man, she falls from a high rock into the water. Her cries are heard by Feathered Arrow, a Sioux warrior on a lone bunting trip in a canoe, who rescues her and carries her to his tepee. Wonega's father sends Deer Track to look her up, and he discovers her with Feathered Arrow, who has won her heart. A swift attack is made on Feathered Arrow, and he Is captured and condemned to death. The Crows break up camp and move on, leaving Feathered Arrow to the tender mercies of his rival, Deer Track, who proceeds to torture his bound and helpless prisoner. Wonega has been given to Deer Track in marriage, and he has tied her to a tree. She tugs desperately at her bonds and finally unloosens herself. Creeping up behind Deer Track, she fells him with a fagot and releases Feathered Arrow. The lovers make their escape by canoe to Feathered Arrow's village.
- Dr. Dudley Duprez is a well-known Louisiana physician. His beautiful but wayward niece, Rose Duprez, is abducted by Paul Crenshaw, a friend of the doctor, and to prevent her shame from becoming known, Rose kills herself. Dr. Duprez learns her secret and determines to make Crenshaw expiate his crime. While traveling on a Mississippi River steamer, the doctor wins Mercedes, a beautiful slave, at cards. He takes her home and, passing her off as a distant relative, arranges it so that Crenshaw falls in love with the girl. A wedding is arranged, and immediately after the ceremony Dr. Duprez announces to the assembled guests that Mercedes is a slave and that he considers he has punished Crenshaw sufficiently by making him the husband of a "nigger." A yellow fever epidemic breaks out shortly after, and Crenshaw is shot when attempting to evade the quarantine. Dr. Duprez is told by a dying overseer from the plantation where Mercedes was born that the girl is of Spanish and American ancestry, without a drop of negro blood in her veins, and was made a slave through a conspiracy. The doctor returns home, confesses his wrong to Mercedes and is forgiven by her. In the end they are married.
- The emigrants are seen fighting the hordes of redskins. The hero rides to the settlement for help and engages in a thrilling duel with pursuing Indians. The settlers swoop down on the unprotected Indian village and burn it up. The savages seeing the flames, hurry back and fall into an ambush. They are attacked from the rear by the emigrants and from the front by the settlers. In a wild scene of carnage the surprised Indians are mowed down by the hail of bullets, horses and riders falling in tangled masses.
- The city of Naples is in the grasp of the plague, and the terrified people are mowed down by the awful disease. The king with his court flees to a distant castle, where death is mockingly defied, behind locked doors. Death, a shadowy specter, carrying his scythe, stalks into the castle, presenting a weird and awe-inspiring sight, and casts the plague upon all except a poor woman and her two little children, whose pleadings moved the king to take them along, and who, alone, prayed to be spared.
- Cretinetti destroys the Christmas tree of his house and is taken angrily by Santa Claus to heaven to be judged by St. Peter. There his behavior is so disastrous that he is sent to hell chased by a thousand demons.