The Case of Lena Smith

Dangerous Lies

September 1921 •English

A widow's husband returns after her second marriage, and dies while assaulting her.

Tropical Love

October 1921 •English

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, The Drifter, young and educated, and The Seeker, old and feeble-minded, meet and form a partnership. The Seeker meets Rosario, unaware that she is his daughter, left there 20 years previously when his mind was affected by a tropical storm that killed his wife and wrecked his home. Rosario is deeded land belonging to her father and is about to sell it to Clifford Fayne when The Seeker discovers gold there and urges her to desist. Fayne lures her to a cabin and tries to force her to sign the bill of sale; The Drifter and her father rescue her; the father is mortally wounded but lives long enough to learn that Rosario is his daughter and that she will be happy with The Drifter.

Beating the Odds

May 1919 •English

Political graft collector, David Power forced by the district attorney to leave New York takes cabaret singer Hebe Norse with him. Showing talent in a variety of professions, Power is eventually hired by a great steel manufacturer, Gail Rogers. He falls in love with Rogers' daughter Rosalie, and they marry happily until Rogers returns home with a new wife…. Hebe Norse. When Rogers discovers Hebe's past, the two men sever ties as does Rosalie. Vengefully Rogers tries to ruin one of Power's companies without success. Ultimately Rosalie forgives Power and they and their young daughter are reunited.

The Lords of High Decision

February 1916 •English

Even though he disapproves of the harshness with which his father, the Colonel, treats his employees, Wayne Craighill joins the old man's mining business. Adding to the strain between father and son, Wayne soon falls in love with Jean, the daughter of a small mine owner whom the Colonel wants to put out of business.

In Self Defence

November 1921 •Swedish

A wealthy Russian family is faced with change and challenges as events unfold during the First World War.

Mr. Dolan of New York

April 1917 •English

After his defeat at the hands of "Spider" Flynn, the welterweight champion of Europe, boxer Jimmie Dolan and his trainer, Thomas Jefferson Jones, leave for a principality near Paris. Having lost all their money on the fight, Jimmie accepts Count Conrad's offer to impersonate Prince Frederick in return for a large sum of money.

The Girl in the Checkered Coat

April 1917 •English

When Mary and Fannie Graham, daughters of a good mother but a father with criminal instincts, are left motherless, Mary flees from her unhappy surroundings while Fannie, inheriting her father's disposition, remains and is raised as a thief.

A Kentucky Cinderella

June 1917 •English

After the death of her father, a young girl goes to live with her uncle in Kentucky. She immediately comes into conflict with her uncle's shrewish wife.

The Fountain of Bakhchisaray

December 1909 •Russian

The Gamblers

June 1929 •English

A father-and-son team of cons gamble their firm’s assets. The son is caught investing money that doesn't belong to him and is indicted on a swindling charge. The plot gets spicy when the District Attorney handling the case is his former sweetheart's husband. This situation gives the DA an opportunity to prosecute his romantic rival.

The Scarlet Crystal

February 1917 •English

Priscilla Worth, an innocent country girl, goes to the city to visit her aunt, who has sent for her, thinking that her childlike simplicity will afford a welcome relief to Vincent Morgan, a wealthy bachelor and man-about-town. The plan works, but soon after Vincent and Priscilla's marriage, Vincent, besieged by his friends to return to his gay life and suspicious of his wife's relationship with Durant--an artist who has painted her portrait--yields to temptation.

The Girl and the Crisis

February 1917 •English

Lieut. Governor Oliver Barnitz accedes to the governorship when his predecessor, failing to call out the militia during a riot at the Wilmot plant, is shot and killed by terrorist Oliver Poole. Faced with the dilemma of whether or not to commute the assassin's death sentence, Barnitz falls into a troubled sleep and dreams of being forced to cast judgment on his father in a similar position.

The Gates of Doom

March 1917 •English

Indore, an Indian woman married to the English Captain Terence Unger is imprisoned by the prince after she gives birth to a baby daughter named Agatha. On his deathbed, Unger beseeches his friend Francis Duane to care for Agatha which Duane does, returning to England with the infant.

The Reckless Sex

February 1925 •English

Robert Lanning, a proper Bostonian who owns an estate in southern New Mexico, suspects that some of his employees are smuggling arms into Mexico, and sends his son, Robert Jr., to investigate. During his journey west, Robert meets Mary Hamilton, a stranded actress from a roadshow company of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Because Mary is still in costume as the character, “Little Eva,” Robert mistakes her for a child and takes her with him to the ranch. He ultimately discovers the identity of the arms smugglers and, with the help of the Mexican Rurales, brings the gang to justice. Robert then realizes that Mary is not a child and wins her for his wife.

The Whirlpool of Destiny

September 1916 •English

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.

The Social Buccaneer

October 1916 •English

While working in China for Nathan Goldberg, a New York Jewish importer, Chattfield Bruce comes to admire the Robin Hood philosophy of Wong Lee, who gives to the poor all the food, clothing and money that he steals from the rich. After Chattfield informs Wong Lee of a betrayal among his gang, Wong Lee gives him a ring that is guaranteed to give the wearer the allegiance of any Chinese throughout the world.

The Black Sheep of the Family

October 1916 •English

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

November 1916 •English

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.

Mixed Blood

December 1916 •English

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.

Old Shoes

April 1925 •English

A widowed woman marries her husband's brother, who soon proves to be a tyrant stepfather to his adopted son.