The House Built Upon Sand(1916)

Better Times(en)

Ezra Scroggs is a shiftless gambler who has let his hotel, the Lakeview, fall on hard times. Finally his daughter Nancy gets fed up seeing all the business go to his rival, Si Whittaker at the Majestic, and she decides to do something about it.

Miss Hobbs(en)

She was a very modern young woman, was Miss Hobbs. Her ideas were about fifty years ahead of time. For one thing she hated men, thought them all brutes. But love has a way of smashing such an idea. Then she went in for barefoot dancing, futurist art and other advanced notions. Well, the upshot of it was the young man took upon himself to tame her, to make her a regular girl.

Seeing It Through(en)

Swindled out of her small property by crooked money lender Bogrum, Betty Lawrence turns to large estate owner and old friend Jim Carrington. On a tip supplied by Bolter, Bogrum's secretary, Jim investigates and after Bogrum's crooked dealings are exposed, and he is imprisoned, Betty and Carrington join their property through matrimony.

The Big Noise(en)

John Stoval, a guard in a New York subway, thinks that Philip Hurd, who owns a concession at Coney Island, would make a good husband for his daughter Sophie. Sophie, however, has her sights set on Bill Hedges, the son of a wealthy farmer in upstate New York. Her father arranges for her to marry Hurd in exchange for a 25% interest in the concession, but matters come to a halt when John slips and falls off a subway platform and is injured.

The Haunted Bedroom(en)

Betsy Thorne (Bennett) travels to investigate a missing man where she overhears a conversation between the sheriff and an imported detective that reporters are barred from the house and grounds where the mystery has taken place. She comes across a maid sent to the house from Richmond, and so frightens her that she gains a chance to act in her place. During the first night at the house she is terrified when she sees a ghostly figure come from the grand organ. The house is roused by her screams as she flees the room, and she is forbidden from going back there by the sister of the missing man. During the following night she is locked in her room during a thunderstorm, and while escaping through a window sees the ghostly figure again in the family graveyard. She makes an investigation which starts from a particular chord played at the grand organ. They find that certain keys cause a secret door in the organ to open, revealing a secret passage to a family tomb.

Wanted, a Sister(en)

In the college play, Tom and his room-mate, "Bunch," take prominent and successful parts, Tom as the hero and "Bunch" as the heroine, in which he is an excellent female impersonator. The day after the performance, "Bunch" makes an engagement to take a real chorus girl to dinner. Unexpectedly his mother comes to college to visit him and he makes Tom take the girl.

The Light of St. Bernard(en)

Marie, a self-dependent girl, compromises herself by associating with Petro Maquin. She asks him to keep his promise to marry her. He ignores her and leaves the village to join a band of wreckers. The gossips circulate scandal about her, bringing reproach upon her name.

Written in the Sand(en)

Love is awakened in the heart of Peter Hansen when he sees his name written within the outlines of a heart on the sands of the seashore. Above his own name is written the name of "Norma," a daughter of Gyntsen, the aristocrat of the little village. Norma's father is a widower. He idolizes his daughter. Peter is a quiet, noble fellow, a fisherman, with the instincts of a poet and the rule of a king. He is not given to associating with his fellows, being of a retiring disposition. His natural timidity and shyness forbid him to make known his love for her and he worships her in silence.

The Little Minister(en)

To start a little in advance of our story, Lord Rintoul, of the English nobility, finds a little Gypsy girl three years old, who had been deserted by her parents. Fifteen years later, Gavin Dishart, the Little Minister, receives an appointment, his first, at Thrums, Scotland. This was made possible through the self-sacrifices of his widowed mother, to educate him for the ministry. The community of Thrums is made up of weavers, who work hard, have little and accomplish much. They are ultra-religious and look upon their pastor with such reverence that he is a little lower than the angels. While naturally intelligent, they are grounded in dogma and intolerance. Just after the Little Minister takes charge of the "Auld Licht Kirk" and the Manse, the weavers resent a reduction, by the manufacturers, in their pay and a strike is declared.

The Midnight Bride(en)

While waiting on a New York park bench for the return of her friends, country girl Jeanne Sterling meets Forrest Chenoweth, a rich young wastrel who, while drunk, registered for a marriage license with fortune-hunting Helen Dorr. Enchanted with Jeanne's innocence, Forrest proposes to Jeanne, and they are married by an alderman friend of Forrest's with the license that Forrest had taken out with Helen. That night Forrest drinks too much, falls in his room and kills himself. The scandal appears in the papers, forcing Jeanne to confess the marriage to her sweetheart Robert Pitcairn. However, Helen, in an attempt to acquire the Chenoweth fortune, claims to be Forrest's widow, thus disgracing Jeanne.

Wallflowers(en)

Sandra and her sister Dody (Theodora) leave the Virginia countryside to join Washington's social set. Dody determines to marry wealth, while Sandra wants romance. Both girls' fortunes are reversed when Sandra falls in love with wealthy Rufus Fisk, whose stepmother threatens to cut him off if he marries her. Dody loves Gale Markham, an ex-soldier, once wealthy, in whom the beautiful Stephanie Moore also takes an interest. Gale returns Dody's affection, but he is reluctant to propose marriage because of his depleted finances. Both girls find happiness when Rufus sacrifices his wealth for Sandra, and Dody her desire to marry money for Gale.

The Foster Child(en)

Mr. and Mrs. Caspar, home-loving, industrious people, long for a little one to bless their lives and their home. Their hopes are not in vain. One night, when they are sitting in the quiet, they hear the voice of a baby. Mr. Caspar, opening the door, finds a deserted child lying on the door-step. Tenderly lifting it in his arms, he brings it to his wife, who cares and nurtures it with a mother's love. Their adopted child is just one year old when a son is born to Mrs. Caspar, and an added joy comes to bless their union.

The Black Sheep(en)

You would think that the death of his wife through his dissipation and neglect would have brought Jack Moreland to his senses. Instead he is more dissipated, and deserts his child, Clara, who is taken by her uncle, Harold Moreland, and brought up in ignorance of her father's existence.

The Whip Woman(en)

A different kind of a story about a different kind of a girl---a modern, young cavewoman who whipped her way into the heart of a man who wanted to forget about love!

The Two Battles(en)

Just previous to his departure for South Africa and the Boer War, Gordon Frazier, a young officer in the English Army, bids an affectionate farewell to his fiancée, Gladys Mayford. In Africa, engaged in battle, Gordon is rescued from death by a young soldier, with whom he formed a slight acquaintance.

The Sacrifice(en)

During Nick Austin's imprisonment, his wife passes away. Before she dies, she writes a note to her husband, asking him to put her little girl in the care of an orphan asylum. Mrs. Downes, while bringing some of her dead daughter's clothes to the asylum, takes a fancy to Nina Austin and adopts her.

Irene's Infatuation(en)

Irene and Helen are worshipers at the shrine of Frangiapani, the tenor of the hour. When he sings at a concert, they meet in Irene's room, take the printed program of the concert, and one of them plays the accompaniment of the song he is actually singing. Irene sees an advertisement for a maid and waitress at Madame Frangiapani's home. The wild thought enters her brain that if she applies and gets the position, she will be nearer her adored. She puts the plan into execution, gets the position, and is waiting for the signor to appear. He does appear in a towering rage, at an adverse criticism in a paper which he is holding in his hand. His wife tries to soothe him and treats him like a little, unreasonable, bad-tempered child.

Tempted by Necessity(en)

Jim is tasked with taking the daily deposit to the bank. On his way, he happens to overhear an intense argument between a man and his wife, drawing him into their backyard. Once there he is “Tempted by Necessity” to help them.

With the Eyes of the Blind(en)

Ruthless stockbroker John McLane has ruined James Horton through reckless money management. McLane is extremely hard in business matters. When Horton’s son, Walter, confronts McLane they have a stormy altercation in which McLane is accidentally killed with a paper knife. McLane’s blind daughter Nora has been upstairs during the incident but runs down to find Horton sitting in a chair feigning sleep. Nora touches him lightly on the face thus impressing his features in her mind and when she turns to her father he flees. In time Nora’s blindness is cured and at a house party she meets Walter Horton. He recognizes her but she does not know him, and they fall in love but when she touches his face, she realizes the truth.

Die Puppe vom Lunapark(de)