Social Hypocrites

“The Queen of Judah has gained her throne by eliminating the Royal Princes, but one is still alive and protected by the high priest. In a dream the Queen sees the young Prince as a king. She orders an assault on the Temple but when the Priest draws back a curtain to reveal the child king on his throne, she rushes from the scene believing it to be the fulfilment of her dream (incomplete).” - BFI.

In Britain, during the revolution, the nephew of the Marquis de Lantenac, Gawain (P. Capellani) befriends Cimourdain (H. Krauss), a priest who follows the precepts of the Revolution. During the Terror, the Marquis went into exile in England while his nephew is a soldier in the Revolutionary Army ...

Maud March, the rebellious daughter of a millionaire, goes to New York to see her sweetheart Geoffrey who left town years ago. Her aunt Carolyn wants Maud to marry her son Reggie and sends the Maud's brother Percy after her to act as chaperone. Maud, trying to escape, enters a taxi where she meets handsome composer George Bevan. The man falls in love with the young lady who, when she sees how Geoffrey has changed, soon agrees to marry George.

The film depicts the main events in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. She married Francis II, King of France. After her husband's death in 1560, Mary Stuart left France and returned to her native Scotland. Her father having died around the same time, she became Queen. She was about 19 years old, and her youth, great beauty, and charming manner won the hearts of the Scots. She was a devout Catholic, and when she ascended the throne, she found the country in the hands of Protestants, who caused much unrest. They revolted and imprisoned the young Queen. She escaped and sought help from Queen Elizabeth, but Elizabeth betrayed her and imprisoned her again. With the help of a page, she escaped through a window, but Elizabeth had her recaptured by her soldiers after a fierce struggle. She was therefore returned to prison once again and sentenced to death after a sham trial. It was with her gentle smile that Marie laid her head on the block.

The picture starts with Robert Warwick walking into the office of director Albert Capellani (the film's actual director). Capellani offers him the role of a heavy and hands him the script. The next four reels show Warwick playing a Raffles-like character, an ingenious crook who moves through society, committing robberies and even murder.

Dries, a farmer and a widower, lives with his mother-in-law Grietje and his son Peter. He falls in love with Minna, a widow, and marries her despite the opposition of his family and friends. In anger his son Peter leaves home to enlist, while Grietje takes up her residence in another cottage. Six years pass, during which Grietje becomes acquainted with Minna's daughter Dina. Peter falls ill in Sumatra, but after falling in love with Dina, through the medium of photographs, he recovers and is drafted home again to Holland. He meets Dina and the two find that they truly love.

In Paris Mildred White becomes romantically involved with both Derwent Ainsworth and Dr. Mario Martinez. She prefers Derwent, but when he leaves suddenly to see his dying father, Mario convinces Mildred that he has deserted her. World War I begins, Derwent returns for Mildred, but upon learning that she is leaving Paris with Mario, he enlists in the army. Mildred, learning of Mario's deception joins the Red Cross to be near Derwent. When he is blinded in battle unbeknownst to him Mildred assumes his care. Their love renewed, though he is unaware of her identity, the two soon marry. Mildred then prevails upon Mario to perform a special operation on Derwent's eyes. His vision restored the pair restate their love.

Mr. May wants his daughter Diana to marry into society. The man he wishes her to wed is a scientist, Dr. Dimitrius, but Diana is in love with an officer, Commander Cleeve.

A cheating bride is caught on photographic film.

This is a compact telling of the Cinderella fairy tale and the film is elaborately staged.

Everyman Coupeau's attempts to stop drinking are routinely thwarted by the wicked and vengeful Virginie. Based on Zola's novel, Capellani's film is about the free fall of a group of working-class French folk into degradation and tragedy due to carelessness, jealousy, and alcohol abuse. At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful.

An adaptation of an episode in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, where Jean Valjean is welcomed into the Bishop of Digne's home, and steals his silverware.

The scene takes place in Paris in March 1793 during the Reign of Terror. The Knight of Maison-Rouge, posing as Citizen Morand, is organizing the escape of Queen Marie-Antoinette. He is assisted in his undertaking by Dixmer, a master tanner who passes himself off as an ardent revolutionary and his wife Geneviève, who also happens to be the Knight's sister. While on mission with her brother, she is saved from arrest thanks to the intervention of Lieutenant Maurice Lindey. Geneviève, who is married without love to Dixmer, falls for the young man, who requites her love. A tunnel is dug between a house rented by Dixmer and the Tower of the Temple but the various attempts to rescue the queen attempts fail. Marie-Antoinette risks the guillotine/ Moreover, Lindey finds himself involved in the plot...

Esmeralda, a beautiful gypsy street dancer, arouses the desire of men, especially of Claude Frollo, the archdeacon of Notre Dame. The latter asks Quasimodo, the deaf and deformed bell-ringer of the cathedral, to kidnap the girl. Quasimodo, who has been adopted by Frollo and obeys his every word, captures the gypsy but she is saved thanks to Phoebus, a handsome captain, and his archers. Arrested by Phoebus, the hunchback is condemned to be flogged at the pillory. When Esmeralada, moved to pity by his lot, gives him water to drink, Quasimodo falls in love with her. Later, Phoebus is stabbed to death and Esmeralda is wrongly accused of the murder. Sentenced to hang, she is saved by Quasimodo who offers her asylum and... the love of his heart.

Based on Emile Zola's novel, an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s.