The Skyrocket

Young rapscallion Penrod Schofield causes a good deal of trouble in his community, all in the name of protecting kids from too-strict parents and nasty neighbors. He heads the ABPA (American Boys' Protective Association) and through it disrupts a number of local social events. The townspeople are pretty fed up with Penrod and his gang, but when a couple of outlaws come to town, Penrod shows his mettle.

Chorus girl Peggy Lane, finds a small part in a new show for David North, a stages-truck country boy. At rehearsal, David meets Delerys Devore, the show's star, and she quickly offers him a larger part in her act. Quite taken with David, Delerys invites him to her home on the pretext that Peggy will be there; when Peggy does not show up, David leaves, infuriating his hostess. Derelys has Peggy fired the next day, and in reprisal Peggy goads her into a Carmenesque fight backstage just before the show. Derelys is unable to go on stage, and Peggy takes her place, becoming the hit of the show. Peggy and David are later married and give up show business, finding contentment living on a farm.

Former U.S. Army Capt. Bob Hampton joins a party of settlers and saves the life of a girl known as "The Kid" from a siege.

Arthur, who has been out the night before, is late to breakfast, much to the annoyance of his wife. When he finally makes his appearance in the dining room he finds that he has no appetite, and after a stormy scene he leaves for the office. Arthur's grouch hangs on until he encounters his friend, John. Both are ardent baseball fans, and a discussion of the game revives the husband's spirits to such an extent that he decides to send his wife a box of flowers as a peace offering.

When eccentric Colonel Wynn threatens to kill Joe Benson if he marries his daughter Dorothy, the couple wed secretly. Their honeymoon at a resort is interrupted by Barbara Dow, a friend who threatens to expose the marriage unless Joe announces that Barbara is his wife.

Three men, disillusioned in love and intent on getting away from all women, rent a cabin and retreat there. But the young woman who owns the cabin, unaware that it has been rented, is on her way there to escape from an unhappy engagement.

Minnie, the homeliest girl in town, is devoted to her father, a discouraged inventor who has been working on a wireless device. Subject to the sneers of her neighbors, Minnie "invents" a lover and sends herself letters and flowers. Her stepsister suspects the truth and threatens to expose her. Desperate, she claims an unidentified body at the morgue and tells a reporter that this is her lover, unaware that the body is that of a Chinese man. The absent-minded reporter sees her heart and forgets about the big story. After further disappointments in the invention, Minnie's stepmother decides to leave her father. Her father then has a success and becomes rich. At a celebration, the stepsister and townspeople are surprised when a new couple appear, which turn out to be the former reporter and his lovely wife Minnie.

The rise of a raucous hayseed named Lonesome Rhodes from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Marcia Jeffries is the innocent Sarah Lawrence girl who discovers the great man in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell.

Mary Pickford plays "Rags," a pretty but wild girl who defends her alcoholic father a disgraced bank cashier, no matter how he mistreats her. Enter a handsome engineer whose family had once fired Rag's father for theft. Rags falls in love but realizes that marriage is a hopeless proposition considering her lowly place in society. But when she learns that her father plans to rob the newcomer, Rags betrays him to the sheriff, and he is shot in the ensuing battle.

Esther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of her idol Norman Maine, is sent for a screen test, and before long attains stardom as newly minted Vicki Lester. She and Norman marry, though his career soon dwindles to nothing due to his chronic alcoholism.

Stella Maris is a beautiful, crippled girl, who is cared for by a rich family. They shield her from the harsh realities of the world, so that she has no idea of the cruel things that some people do. Unity Blake is a poor orphan all too familiar with the harsh realities of the real world. These two young women both fall in love with John, love which is complicated by the fact that he is still married to (though separated from) a bad wife.

Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral and witnessing a murder.

When the Great War breaks out, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, each attending Oxford University, enlist with the Royal Flying Corps.

A popular child star, exploited and overworked by her greedy guardians, decides enough is enough--and takes it on the lam.

Behind in the mortgage on Sunnybrook Farm and barely managing to feed seven hungry mouths, mother sends young Rebecca off to Riverboro to be raised by her wealthy Aunt Miranda. The little girl is treated like a prisoner by her strict Aunt, yet she gamely does her best to get an education. When spoiled girls at school mock the spirited Rebecca as "missy poor-house," she soon makes them come to eat their words. Despite many difficulties, Rebecca manages to help the less fortunate and spread joy in Riverboro, dreaming that her reward will come when she is "all growed up." This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion.

In the year 1550, Sir George Vernon agrees to have his young daughter Dorothy betrothed to John Manners, the son of the Earl of Rutland. Sir George signs a contract, promising that the marriage will take place on Dorothy's 18th birthday, or else he will have to pay a large penalty to Rutland. But when the two children have grown older, rumors of John's wild behavior in France provoke Sir George to call off the engagement, and to pledge his daughter instead to her cousin Malcolm. Rutland now claims the forfeit from Sir George, and meanwhile, John has befriended Mary Stuart, the sworn enemy of Elizabeth, who is now Queen of England.