Fair Play

A disfigured man becomes a circus puppeteer and tries to destroy a waif's love.

After her family is financially ruined in a lawsuit by John Rutherford of Wall Street, Carol Raymond leaves Virginia to set matters straight. Three weeks later, after marrying Bruce Armitage, the now deceased Rutherford's nephew and heir, Carol tells her father the story in a letter: When she arrived, she succeeded in making Armitage fall in love with her. However, Armitage's twin brother, Alan Rutherford, and an adventuress lured her to a roadhouse. After she drank much champagne, Rutherford, appearing as Armitage, attempted to assault her until she threatened to jump from a balcony. When she saw both Rutherford and Armitage together, she learned that it was the disinherited twin brother who pursued the suit. She then married Armitage. As she finishes the letter, Rutherford, after binding Armitage in the cellar, enters her bedroom, but Armitage escapes just in time to save Carol from Rutherford's embrace.

The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and heroine give in to the inevitable and fall in love. But as Martha waits at the altar in her wedding gown, McLane is off on another crusade, this time getting himself arrested to expose corruption within the prison system.

Dorothy Evans, a chemistry teacher at her aunt's girls school, hopes to satisfy her yearning for adventure when she vacations with her aunt, who desires to wear men's clothes, at a secluded island in the Chesapeake Bay. On the boat, they witness officers shooting an escaping prisoner diving overboard.

When Patricia "Patty" Hudson, a struggling New York writer becomes ill, her doctor, advising a restful occupation, arranges for her to be the private secretary to the aged James Winthrop, Sr. The closeness of their resulting relationship disturbs Winthrop's relatives, Mrs. Harrison Tyler and her daughter Sally, who hope to inherit his fortune.

Press agent Jack Bartling persuades a local Suffragette leader, Mrs. Eubanks, whose husband is a Senator and soap manufacturer, to hire him for publicity. He falls for her daughter Nell and through various schemes and a bit of subterfuge Jack convinces both parents he’s the right guy for their daughter.

A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.

Elizabeth Browne is the daughter of nouveau riche parents, who became wealthy when they struck oil. While she attends finishing school, her folks travel to England in search of a family tree so that they can enter society. They encounter Lady Dysart, an adventuress who married Lord Dysart shortly before his death. Lady Dysart tries to convince the Brownes that Cecil, her son from a previous marriage, is the new Lord Dysart.

An auto engineer and a professor's daughter pose as married servants in a mobster's mansion.

After being introduced to the world of opera, a fisherman (Jan Kiepura) falls for a woman (Swarthout) whose guardian is a noted composer (Philip Merivale). They met when the fisherman evaded the police by seeking refuge in the village church. While there, they are each captivated by hearing the other singing Mass. The beautiful woman falls in love with the fisherman with the wonderful voice.

Robert Ware takes it upon himself to tame wild girl, Mag, to prove to his doubting friend Arnold, he can turn her into a graceful young lady. Later, when Arnold is in the war, he meets a pretty nurse who greatly impresses him. Back home he recalls the pleasant encounter to Robert, telling him of the gentle beauty he never forgot. Mag, now Margaret, overhears the story and reveals to Arnold, she was the nurse. The surprised Arnold now has to admit that Robert was right about gentling the little wild cat.

When his play closes down, an actor returns home to find that his children are gone. He's then notified that a wealthy relative has died and left him a substantial amount of money. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

A cop is fired from the force and attempts to solve a string of truck holdups.

A Capone-like racketeer named Anderson, who after being chased out of one town by the authorities immediately sets up shop in another. Unable to get any tangible evidence against Anderson, DA Wayne orders his assistant Carter to dig up some dirt on the gangster boss. To do this, Carter pretends to turned crooked, joining Anderson's gang in order to accumulate evidence. Alas, Carter's girl friend Patricia knows nothing of her boyfriend's subterfuge, and she suspects the worst.

Spectacular stunt work by Richard Talmadge, circus acrobat and stunt man for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., highlights this expose of a big city criminal mastermind.