The Man Who Paid

The Face on the Barroom Floor

January 1923 •English

As a derelict paints the face of a girl on a barroom floor, the plot is developed in a series of flashbacks: Robert Stevens, an artist engaged to marry Marion, a society girl, becomes charmed with a fisherman's daughter who poses for him. The society girl's brother brings dishonor upon the fisherman's daughter, and when she commits suicide the artist shields the brother. Stevens is blamed by his fiancée, who terminates their engagement. The artist becomes a derelict and is wrongfully imprisoned. Eventually Stevens is exonerated and reunited with Marion.

Caravan of Death

November 1920 •German

Caravan of Death (German: Die Todeskarawane) is a 1920 silent German film, it was an adaptation of the latter half of the Karl May novel From Baghdad to Stamboul, and is now considered to be lost. The film featured Bela Lugosi playing an Arab Sheik pitted against European travellers in an adventure story set in the Sahara. It was the second of three films released by Ustad based on desert adventure novels by Karl May. Although Karl May’s widow praised the film, critics were unimpressed and it was a commercial failure.

Sklaven fremden Willens

January 1920 •German

When doctors fail to cure the young and beautiful Claire Raven, who for inexplicable reasons seems to have fallen under a spell, Professor Mors, an expert in the field of hypnosis, is called in to help.

Tarnish

August 1924 •English

Finders Keepers

January 1921 •English

Amy Lindel, a church choir singer, goes to the city to pursue a singing career, but finds herself only able to get cabaret gigs. She then becomes entangled in a situation involving stolen diamonds, and is saved by the "good guy" whom she later marries.

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.

Some Good in All

December 1911 •English

John Lane is a prosperous businessman, a widower, who lives in a large house with his seven-year-old daughter Betty. Lane has an enemy, one Ben Hartley, who, by the aid of some forged papers, threatens to expose Lane and put him in prison. The night of the story opens with Lane receiving a letter from Hartley, who demands $10,000, to be paid at midnight, that night. Lane has not that much ready money in the house, and no way to get it. He thinks it all out and decides to commit suicide. He stands before a mirror and is about to pull the trigger, when Bill, the burglar, steps into the room, stopping him.

For the Honor of the Family

January 1912 •English

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

April 1912 •English

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.

Infatuation

December 1925 •English

Infatuation is based on Caesar's Wife, a story by Somerset Maugham. Dazzlingly British socialite Viola Morgan falls madly in love with professional soldier Sir Arthur Little at a dinner party. The two marry, and before long Viola has relocated to Egypt with her husband. Soon bored by her hothouse existence, Viola succumbs to the attentions of young British attache Ronald Perry.

The Reckless Lady

January 1926 •English

Set amidst French resorts and featuring gambling casinos and an automobile race, a mother and wife develops a mania for gambling, much to the dismay of her husband and daughter. A lost film.

The Dancer of Paris

February 1926 •English

The Ace of Cads

October 1926 •English

An officer in the British Guards takes to drink when a friend and fellow officer convinces the woman they both love that he has another woman.

The Fall of the Romanoffs

January 1918 •English

The overthrow of Czar Nicholas II in Russia was such big news that the then-fledgling art of cinema couldn't help but jump on it immediately and create a couple of dramatizations.

Mother, I Need You

September 1918 •English

A young woman who became pregnant from an assault faces legal trouble and scandal after having an abortion.

For Husbands Only

September 1918 •English

A sheltered young woman began a romance with a playboy, under the mistaken assumption that they'd get married. When she finds this isn't the case, she starts a feud with him which continues even after her marriage to somebody else.

Why I Would Not Marry

November 1918 •English

Adele Moore pressured by her father to choose a husband among four men consults a fortune teller for advice. The crystal ball warns none are suitable so Adele does a flit. Settling in Vermont she opens a store. Business is slow but one day a passing salesman walks in and things begin to look up!

The New Teacher

August 1922 •English

Society girl Constance Bailey becomes a schoolteacher in New York's Lower East Side, telling her fiancé, Bruce Van Griff, that she is sailing to Europe.

The Saintly Sinner

February 1917 •English

When her father goes broke in the stock market, Jane Lee is forced to leave her prestigious boarding school. Glad-handing John Brock, an old friend of Jane's father, arranges for the girl to be hired as his stenographer. But Brock's lecherous ulterior motives become obvious when he locks Jane in the office and tries to rape her. When she manages to escape his advances, Brock vengefully frames the girl on a robbery charge.

A Model's Confession

June 1918 •English

An important customer at Armande's, where Iva Seldon works as a model, is Billy Ravensworth, who purchases expensive gowns for a heartless vampire named Rita Challoner. When Billy pays for a number of gowns with a bad check, Iva is sent to Rita's home to collect the finery, and there she meets Bertrand Seldon, whom she recognizes as her own father, a society man who had deserted his wife years earlier and never acknowledged Iva. Rita learns that Billy is poor and breaks off their affair, after which Iva persuades him to pose as her fiancé so that she might enter society. Billy is content to maintain the masquerade in exchange for Iva's money, but soon finds himself jealous over her apparent romance with Bertrand. Iva agrees to accompany Bertrand on a drive, but the car plunges down a cliff, whereupon she reveals her identity. Before his death, Bertrand at last recognizes his daughter, and with his fortune, she and Billy begin a new life.