The First Degree

A gang of Tripolitan pirates swooped down and kidnapped 13 wealthy brides, whom they held for ransom.

Hector MacKnight, known to the townspeople as "Goofy" and an irritatingly terrible fiddler, is innocently drawn into a rigged poker game. A general fight brings the sheriff, and a chase ensues. Before the confusion is ended and Hector cleared, he meets Ruth Randolph and becomes involved in a circus while trying to recover the other half of her treasure map.

Edward Campbell, known as Checkers, is a racetrack tout. Determined to reform himself, he foreswears gambling, but must take it up once more in order to save someone he loves from disaster.

A bumbling detective chases an escaped convict in an amusement park haunted house in Coney Island.

When Henry Boone hears his grandfather's stories of his youth as a pioneer and scout, he is gripped by the fires of romance and decides to hunt adventure. Boone finds himself in an airplane carrying a military message to a leader of a revolution in a South American country. He is arrested as a spy but escapes and saves the ruler's daughter from the revolutionaries.

A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.

Two bumblers, failures as businessmen and air raid wardens, stumble across a nest of Nazi saboteurs bent on blowing up the local magnesium plant.

Three United States soldiers are lost in the Rhineland on Armistice Day and accepted as conquering overlords by a village... except for Lady Bountiful.

Boston blueblood Aloysius Merriweather loves to play jokes on people and he's come up with a joy-buzzer of a doozy. He'll send barber Joe Jenkins in his place to a dinner party aimed at squeezing a few Merriweather millions. That Cinderella plan soon turns into a pumpkin coach with the wheels fallen off. Circumstances will force shave-and-a-haircut Joe to masquerade as Merriweather for much longer.The comedy comes fast and frantic in Mister Cinderella, from Hal Roach Studios.

Ranchers Bess Lynne and her invalid brother, Harold, seek the services of a competent foreman. Duke, of the "Bar Nothin'" ranch, rides into town and takes the job. Crooked cattle buyer Bill Harliss, aided by Bess's unscrupulous suitor, Stinson, tries to coerce the Lynnes to sell their herd at a low price. Duke learns of their scheme and forces him to buy the cattle at its full market value. As retribution, Stinson robs Duke and leaves him in the desert to die, but the foreman catches a stray horse and returns to the ranch. Stinson convinces Bess and Harold to return East with him, claiming that Duke has stolen their money and escaped into Mexico. As the train leaves the station, Duke chases and subdues Stinson, winning Bess for himself.

An unimpressive but well-intentioned man is given the chance to marry a popular actress, of whom he has been a hopeless fan. But what he doesn't realize is that he is being used to make the actress' old flame jealous.

In this partially lost silent film, a man working as a motion picture extra in Hollywood westerns impresses a visiting sheikh with his boxing skills and is engaged to go to Arabia, where he becomes involved in warring and falls in love with a beautiful princess.

Piccolo player Mike Scanlon loses his girl due to his unexciting lifestyle, so he decides to commit a robbery to gain notoriety. But the robbery goes awry and Mike finds himself on the run from the police, pretending to be a famous singer whose gimmick is wearing a mask in public.

Gopher City Kansas hosts a beauty contest. The winner, Elvira Plunkett, and her mother go to Hollywood. The Chamber of Commerce also provides Elvira with an agent, Gopher City's own Elmer J. Butz. Elmer likes Elvira and the shy Elvira likes him, but Mrs. Plunkett, a formidable woman, has little use for hapless Elmer. On the train west, they meet movie star Larry Mitchell, who takes a shine to Elvira and helps her meet MGM directors once they get to Tinsel Town. Elmer, meanwhile, wants to help Elvira with her career and he also wants to be her man. Movie stardom does come to the Gopher City entourage, but to whom is a surprise. And who will win the lovely Elvira's hand?

Smugglers are using a device for controlling airplanes in flight, and newspaper reporters from Chicago are vying for the story. Reporter Elmer Lane is out to scoop rival reporter Betty Harrison, and capture her heart in the process.

Newspaper reporter "Scoops" is sent out on assignment, to investigate the failed assassination attempts on Archduke Julio. Trying to get the story, he runs into Jane Hamilton who is really Princess Helen. He doesn't realize that she is the story: a princess in exile, in danger of assassination; and, falling in love with "Scoops", while engaged to a prince.