The Man Without a Country

Wealthy wastrel Neil Sparks devotes more attention to the pursuit of pleasure than to his inherited oil business. Neil's neglect allows two schemers, Craig and Abbott, to siphon the Sparks' Texas oil through the construction of an illegal pipeline. Upon receiving notification that his wells are running dry, and in an attempt to rid himself of the unwelcome attentions of his mercenary fiancée, Bess Kinloch, Neil ventures West to investigate, using an assumed name. Discovering the theft, Neil sends for his butler, and the two of them force the crooks to buy a parcel of land and deed the property to Myrtle Pratt, whose father had been swindled and murdered by the scoundrels. Justice served, Neil returns East to be followed by Myrtle and her five brothers, who arrive during his engagement party to Bess. Neil shocks his guests by announcing that the children are his, and he and Myrtle wed.

Sailor Jesse, shipwrecked off the Texas coast, naively becomes involved with a cattle rustler. Because the sheriff believes in his innocence, Jesse finds work as a cowboy, but soon becomes infatuated with Polly, the medium for fake hypnotist Bull Brooks, and marries her. When he learns that Polly married to win a bet, Jesse attempts to take her from the town's influences to open spaces, but Brooks falsely reports that she killed herself rather than go.

Minor member of a Boston law firm, Donald Joseph Blenhorn goes to Mexico to investigate Dorothy Charlton's fiancé, Hugh Hankins, who must meet approval of the firm representing her father's will. Blenhorn appears in Mexico disguised as rancher Don Jose, a Mexican aristocrat, and discovers that Hankins is a cad and coward.

Burke Harlan an artist, saves Anne Warren from auto thieves, but he is wrongfully arrested and accused of stealing her car. The girl's father is a criminologist and has Harlan released into his custody as he would like to try to reform the young man. Harlan finds this highly amusing and goes along with the idea, mainly because it will allow him to be nearer lovely Anne. He does his best at convincing he is a delinquent, however Anne has a beau who is the police commissioner. But the clever Harlan outwits everyone and elopes with Anne before revealing his true identity.

An adaptation of Balzac's novel set in the roaring twenties, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. La Peau de chagrin belongs to the Études philosophiques group of Balzac's sequence of novels, La Comédie humaine.

World War I veteran Jack Dunbar who, like a lot of veterans then and now, is finding it hard to land a job. When he fixes the broken down auto of the newly rich Nicholas Small, he finally runs into some luck. The blustery Small explains that the way to get ahead is to blow your own horn, and then he takes Dunbar to an estate, where he is introduced as a millionaire.

Wealthy businessman Carson Burr discovers first-hand the problem of social unrest when he loses his cook and his chauffeur and he is insulted by a waiter. Burr runs for mayor to improve the labor situation and is elected. The editor of The Red Messenger organizes the streetcar drivers to begin a general strike, but Burr manages to break up the strike

Miles Machree (J. Warren Kerrigan) meets Irish-American Sheila Lynch (Fritzi Brunette) when she travels through Ireland with her father (James O. Barrows). Soon after the Lynch's return to the States, Miles follows, and through his uncle's connections, gets a job on the New York City police force.

A young woman attempts to rescue her father from a gang that has kidnapped him in order to find out his secret for making "Fuelite," a substitute for coal.

Spaulding Nelson moves into an apartment after his uncle has been driven from it by the sounds of screams and whispers. Upon undertaking an investigation, he meets neighbor Barbara Bradford, whose sister Clara is being tormented by the recurring sounds of her dead husband Roldo's voice.

Small town politician and banker Brent Warren is responsible for a murder, but only George Roan is sent to the gallows for it. Roan, however, is resuscitated after he is hung and proceeds to secretly haunt Warren's life. District attorney Cullen Grant is sure that Warren was behind the killing and has him arrested. Warren's fiancee, Dare Keeling, also happens to the Grant's ex-sweetheart, and she believes in his innocence. Her brother, Larry, however, isn't so sure and he goes to work as Warren's secretary.

The lead Florence La Badie plays dual roles. Clever editing is used for the scene where her two characters meet. La Badie, however, does appear twice within a scene via superimposition, but that's in a flashback-within-a-mirror scene. There are a couple such scenes where La Badie's reflection in the mirror reflects her reflective melancholy mood.

After having been wrongly accused of murder and robbery, a heretofore kindly and gregarious weaver becomes a nasty, bitter, lonely old miser. Originally a seven-reel picture, a three-reel re-release survives.