The Business of Life

When perpetual failure Nathaniel Dunham is fired from yet another job, his successful friend Harry Kellogg offers him $500 if Nat will move to a small town, change his ways and marry a rich heiress.

A young Russian peasant feels pity for the Princess Anastasia and saves her life by accidentally wounding her in the massacre of the Romanovs during the Russian Revolution.

To keep his social-climbing wife and daughters in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, wealthy George Hunter makes some large investments in the stock market, but the stocks crash and he loses a great deal of money. His wealthy aunt offers to bail the family out, but complications ensue.

John Burkett Ryder, "the richest man in the world," determines to discredit a judicial decision which works against the interest of his millions by discrediting its author, Judge Rossmore, and causes impeachment charges to be laid against him in Congress. The judge's daughter Shirley Rossmore, learns of his trouble and returns home from Paris, where she has won success as a writer. She is loved by Jefferson Ryder, son of the magnate who is slowly killing her father.

Troubled Breck Dunbarton is placed in the custody of his kindly Uncle Ezra, who trusts him, making him an equal heir with his other nephew, West. After being falsely accused of a theft at his college Breck is expelled he joins the Army and is sent to France. At the front he meets ambulance drive Marie Moore before returning home after the Armistice where he learns of his uncle's passing. Sending for Marie to be Mrs. Dunbarton's companion, both Breck and West fall in love with her. When a theft occurs Breck is suspected but he is aware that West is the culprit though he can't prove it. Marie discovers that a disguised West is the thief and rescued by Breck. When West confesses Breck is cleared gaining both Marie and a fortune.

In order to break up her son's engagement to a postmaster's daughter, a wealthy matron hires the girl as the family maid, then sets up her son with a beautiful and wealthy heiress. The son breaks his engagement and instead becomes engaged to the heiress. Depressed, the young girl leaves and, with a friend's help, moves to London and becomes a fashion model. Complications ensue when her former fiancé comes to London to get her back..

Emily Cottrell, one of the most respected members of a large gang of crooks headed by Fraser Grimstead, is caught while robbing the home of wealthy David Parrish. Emily accepts David's offer of a home and a chance to go straight, but Grimstead is unwilling to lose her, and he insists that she help him steal the famous diamond collar, The Tower of Jewels, which is in David's possession. When Emily refuses, Grimstead threatens to expose her past to Wayne Parrish, her benefactor's son with whom she is in love. Grimstead and the gang surround the Parrish home, then Wayne's cousin removes the jewel case to throw suspicion on her rival for Wayne's affections. Emily's innocence is established later, and her reputation is further cleared by Grimstead, who is shot by the police. With his dying breath, Grimstead describes Emily's gentle birth and states that she is fit to marry Wayne.

Jim McMorrow and Bill Mullaney become close friends during the fighting in France, and Bill asks Jim to look after his family if anything should happen to him. Bill does not return from a patrol in no man's land, and Jim goes to the Mullaney farm, taking care of Bill's wife, Mary, and old Mother Mullaney, who dies shortly after Jim arrives. Jim and Mary are left alone on the farm, and the neighbors begin to gossip.

Richard moves to a remote island to escape from the memory of Eve. Who had been forced to marry another man. But fate still has more in store.

Paul Sinclair, engaged to Helen Graham, represents a large coffee concern in Rio de Janeiro and while visiting with the American consul is taken by the beauty of Lola, a cafe dancer.

An expose of the methods used by a police-department to extract a confession from a suspect, regardless of innocence or guilt, and the effect and consequences on a family when an innocent member breaks under the interrogation methods and confesses to a crime he did not commit.

An overworked farmhand who works also at the adjacent hotel dreams of marrying the village belle.

Notorious pirate Joaquin Santos lives by the saying, "Dead Men Tell No Tales". He conspires with the prominent Squire Rattray to take over and plunder the Lady Jermyn, a ship carrying a considerable amount of gold, and then destroy the ship and kill its crew. Rattray, who is in love with Santos' daughter Eve, agrees to pick up the pirate, his crew and their loot on his private yacht after the deed is done. However, young George Cole, a passenger on the Lady Jermyn who is also in love with Eve, survives the attack and sets out to find her.

After Henry Dawson and Robert Harwell quarrel at Elaine Huntington's garden party, Henry disappears and Robert is accused of murder. Although Robert is found guilty and sentenced to death, Elaine, who loves him, believes he is innocent and does everything in her power to help him.

This is a film drama, apparently based on real events, that depicts a mountaineering accident. A husband and wife are climbing in the Tyrolean Alps when she slips and falls off a cliff. The husband exhausts himself trying to rescue her in a fierce storm and both are rescued by a mountain guide. The film was made by Tom Terriss, who made a short taking images from an earlier Polish feature film from 1930 shot in the Tatra Mountains titled 'Burza nad Zakopane'. In fact, although in theory the action takes place in the Tyrolean alps, the mountain guide (Domenico Gambino) is dressed with the typical costumes of the Polish highlanders from the Tatras (the Gorals). It's a mystery whether Tom Terriss used these images with permission.