Thwarted by his despotic uncle from continuing his love affair, a young man's thoughts turn dark as he dwells on ways to deal with his uncle. Becoming convinced that murder is merely a natural part of life, he kills his uncle and hides the body. However, the man's conscience awakens; paranoia sets in and nightmarish visions begin to haunt him.
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.
A Duel for Love is a 1914 dramatic short.
A singer on a gambling ship is married to a wealthy playboy. When he is found murdered, all evidence points to her as the culprit, and she is put on trial for the crime.
Three college boys graduate. One is in love with a girl, whose mother and father have domestic difficulties. They go to court and are divorced. Father is refused the request for his daughter, and in turn kidnaps her and takes her to another state, where he becomes a great political factor. Bill, one of the graduated college boys who is in love with the girl, with his two companions, traces the girl and steal her away. In doing so his hand is burned with a poker and the father uses that as a means of identification in tracing him.
Seamen Enoch Arden returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he finds his wife married to another, and though he loves her, he cannot bear to disrupt her current happiness.
Jim McRae and his pal, Clancy, two crooks, perform many robberies and divide the loot equally. Clancy wants to marry McRae's daughter, Mary. She does not want to marry him, but is forced to do so by her father. After the marriage, Clancy and McRae have a quarrel over the division of some loot. Clancy refuses to give McRae his share.
Frank Andrews is a successful businessman. He has always found pride and joy in the company of his wife, son and daughter. He suddenly finds himself enthralled by the advances of a gay young woman siren, who lives in the same apartment house as he does. So marked an influence does she have over him as time progresses that at last he quite forgets his home ties, neglects his family, and goes the way of many other men who have forgotten the meaning of paternity and blood ties. The story is advanced through many scenes enacted with the accompanying notes of New York's night life, and the denouement comes when the faithful wife discovers her husband's infidelity. At this time the mother's mind nearly loses balance, while Jane, the beautiful daughter, crazed by the grief of her mother, determines to take part in the tragedy. With revolver in hand she steals up to the apartment of the woman, but her frail nature is overcome by the temperamental anger of the woman and her mission fails.
Society man Arthur Lee is in love with society belle Helen Robinson, who is also admired by James Holden, a wealthy mine owner from the West. At her father's country place, Lee is unhappy because of her popularity but is appeased when she finally accepts his proposal and ring. Holden interrupts and claims a moment's talk. Telling Lee to wait for her in a favorite nook of the veranda, she goes with Holden while Lee strolls in the garden to await her. After proposing, Holden leaves her and hastens to the nook, seating himself with his back to the French windows. Lee is nearby in the garden finishing his smoke. He sees Holden in his chair, by the light of the latter's cigarette, and then sees Helen come from the lighted ballroom, approach the chair and throw her arms about Holden, sit in his lap and kiss him. Lee turns away in despair and anger and leaves the grounds.
Laura Bell runs away from her country home to the city, where she becomes a clerk in a department store. Her brother, Frank, follows her to New York, but is unable to place her. He becomes interested in a settlement house and obtains a position in social service work. Mary Ashton, daughter of the proprietor of the store where Laura works, is shocked to find that her father pays his clerks starvation wages.
May and her younger sister, Carol, live in a small town. May is the more lovely of the two, but Carol is wooed by Frank, a country boy. George, a city man, comes to town on a visit, falls in love with Carol and wins her away from Frank. Carol is pleased with his attentions and poor Frank is brokenhearted. Calling one day to see Carol, George meets May and falls madly in love with her, and finally runs away with her and they are married. Carol, in despair, turns back to Frank and they are married, and a year later a baby is born.
John Stafford is unjustly arrested on the eve of his marriage for the murder of an old gentleman whose body was found in his guardian's library. The young man is taken to the penitentiary, but eludes his guards and escapes. His sweetheart engages a noted detective who finds a small Hindu image in the hand of the dead man.
Molly Kite, the neglected child of a drunken father, rouses the sympathy of the minister, Mr. Shipton, who also teaches the school at Dead Tree. The minister-school-master persuades some of his parishioners to give the girl decent clothes, and he coaxes her into attending school. At first unruly and sullen, she gradually comes to feel that the minister is her best friend. One day she happens to see him meet a strange girl on the street. Apparently overjoyed, he kisses the stranger. Molly rushes into the house, tears off her new clothes, and vows she will never go to school again.
A picture from the short story of Ellen Farley in "The Cavalier," and screened by John O'Brian. The story is of a girl who tries to be an author and has the usual fate of such. The new interest comes when she enters the home of the publisher because the policemen won't let her sit on the park benches and she wants to hide out of sight of them. She is starving and there is fruit on the table which she eats, but when the "burglar" comes she feels in duty bound to protect the place from him; it is the publisher, and from this meeting the two young people fall in, it always happens in fiction, why say it? But even with this ending the offering has much to commend it. Able direction and good acting give it atmosphere and it will go all right.
Molly, a slavey in a New York boarding house, is in love with Herbert, the butler at the house next door. They are engaged to be married. Molly is a sort of Cinderella, whom everybody in the boarding house picks on, especially Beth, an actress in search of a rich husband. A mysterious man comes to the place, and both Molly and Beth, because of his resemblance to a picture they have seen in the paper of the lost Lord Lovell, believe him to be none other than this titled Englishman, whom the trustees of his estate are seeking. Beth gets the stranger a place in her company, and the manager makes money featuring "the lost Lord Lovell." Meanwhile, Molly and the butler have been married. To celebrate their honeymoon they go to the theater. Coming out, they read in the paper about the hit Lord Lovell is making on Broadway and the story of his disappearance from England.
Sunbeam's father is sent to prison, and on his release promises to remain honest. He secures a job as a night watchman, but his prison record being discovered, he is fired, and finds it impossible to secure work. Sunbeam gets a job in a a family as a "slavey" in order to support the father and herself, but her father chafes at the idea of his daughter working, although he does not know what her job is nor where. In desperation, he decides to turn crook again, and breaks into the house where his daughter is working.
Ruth Wilson, daughter of a wealthy landowner, receives a visit from her country sweetheart, Joe Merriam. who is a motorboat enthusiast. Unknown to anyone but her brother Frank, Ruth is an expert at fixing auto and motorboat engines as the estate is on the bay and Ruth has the use of two launches. With Joe she goes for a boat ride but the engine breaks down and he is unable to fix it, and afraid that it would lower his opinion of her if she should repair the engine, she lets him call another boat to tow them back to the wharf. Merriam, while in love with Ruth, cannot bring himself to propose, fearing that she would be too ornamental for a farmer's wife, and half of his visit passes while he attempts to make up his mind.
A dramatic comparison between the mating habits of animals and the way humans choose their own partners. The film is now considered to be a lost film.
The Tear That Burned is a silent movie drama.
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