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- Balduin, a student of Prague, leaves his roystering companions in the beer garden, when he finds he has reached the end of his resources. He is scarcely seated in a quiet corner when a hideous, shriveled-up old man taps him upon the shoulder and whispers vaguely of a big inheritance for Prague's finest swordsman and wildest student if he will enter into a certain agreement. Balduin rebuffs him, satirically asking his weird companion to procure him "the luckiest ticket in a lottery or a doweried wife." The old man goes off chuckling and thence onward persistently shadows Balduin, exerting a sinister influence over him, while Balduin is still disconsolate under the frowns of fortune. The Countess Margit Schwarzenberg, hunting with her cousin, to whom her father has betrothed her, meets with an accident. She is thrown over her horse's head into a river, but Balduin, who has been directed to the spot by his evil genius, plunges in and rescues her. Subsequently Balduin calls to inquire as to her condition at the castle of her father, the count, but be makes a hurried departure when Baron Waldis arrives, the contrast in their appearance discrediting him. His desire to win the countess and to humiliate the baron becomes so pronounced that he readily accedes to the compact suggested by Scapinelli, the old man, who has so pertinaciously dogged his footsteps, particularly when he learns that untold wealth and power will be his when he assigns to the other the right to take from his room whatever he chooses for his own use as he desires. The agreement is signed. Balduin receives a shower of gold and notes as his portion; Scapinelli takes Balduin's soul exposed in concrete form by his shadow. Balduin prosecutes his love affair assiduously and with apparent success, till the baron is informed of it by a jealous gypsy girl. He challenges Balduin to a duel, and the latter, assured of his superiority as a fencer, readily agrees. Count Schwarzenberg learns of the impending duel and appeals to Balduin not to kill "my sister's child, my daughter's future husband, and my heir." Balduin gives his promise, but when he goes to the venue of the duel he meets, his own counterpart stalking away derisively wiping his gory sword on his cloak. Balduin turns and in the far distance sees the dying victim of the deed he swore he would not do. He rushes from the spot horror-stricken. When he regains sufficient composure he makes his way to the castle of the count, but is refused admission. Determined to explain that he had no complicity in the death of the baron, Balduin climbs into a room in which the countess is seated. She receives him coldly, but soon succumbs to his ardent wooing. Just as he seeks to leave her she notices he has no shadow and that the mirror gives no reflection of him; and she drops back affrighted, the ghastly apparition of himself which takes shape in the corner of the room sends Balduin scuttling away from the castle in a paroxysm of terror. He makes a frenzied flight through a woodland estate and the streets of Prague, but wherever he stops to recover his breath he is haunted by the counterpart of himself. He reaches his rooms and draws a murderous looking fire-arm from its case. As the phantasmagorical figure strides towards him with a sinister grin, he fires, and in a few minutes the blood gushes from his own side from a fatal wound.Votes2,378
- Financial struggles separate a single mother from her children.Votes1,413
- The young daughter of an army captain missing in action runs away from school and is kidnapped by Parisian lowlifes. When the kidnapper flees to Nice with the child, the kind-hearted employee of one of his accomplices sets off in pursuit.Votes446
- Inspector Juve is tasked to investigate and capture an infamous criminal Fantomas.Votes2,476
- With aid from her police-officer sweetheart, a woman endeavors to uncover the prostitution ring that has kidnapped her sister and the philanthropist who secretly runs it.Votes725
- An epic Italian film, "Quo Vadis" influenced many of the later movies.Votes438
- Modeled after a popular collection of stories known as "Brother Gardener's Lime Kiln Club," the plot features three suitors vying to win the hand of the local beauty.Votes59
- Two love triangles intersect in ancient Pompei.Votes616
- After the murder of her lover Julius Caesar, Egypt's queen Cleopatra needs a new ally. She seduces his probable successor Mark Antony. This develops into real love and slowly leads to a war with the other possible successor, Octavius.Votes76
- In Part Two of Louis Feuillade's 5 1/2-hour epic follows Fantômas, the criminal lord of Paris, master of disguise, the creeping assassin in black, as he is pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve.Votes1,675
- The story of the great German composer, from his childhood through his great triumphs in orchestral and operatic music.Votes123
- Protea, the best spy of Messinia, is sent on a dangerous mission with The Eel, her partner in crime, to retrieve a secret document in a neighboring country.Votes123
- Spartacus sold as a slave rises up and battles the evil Crassus.Votes89
- A young boy hears wondrous tales of London, where the streets are paced with gold. He leaves his country home to see his fortune in London.Votes45
- The Life of the Jews in Palestine: 1913 is an extraordinary look at the pioneers of the First and Second Aliyah in Palestine.Votes43
- After a body disappears from inside the prison, a series of crimes take place, all seemingly by the dead man. With Juve presumed dead, Fandor must investigate alone. Will Fantomas finally be brought to justice?Votes1,328
- King Rudolf of Ruritania is saved from a coup attempt by the help of his lookalike cousin, who falls in love with the king's fiancee.Votes51
- A young, rich woman decides to dedicate her life to helping the poor, but a tragic incident changes her life.Votes698
- After Dr. Friedrich's wife becomes mentally unstable and his research papers are rejected, he leaves the country to respite.Votes475
- First feature length French film adaptation of the story of former convict Jean Valjean who is hunted down by ruthless inspector Javert in mid 19th century France. Released in four parts, like a serial.Votes32
- Based on the Edward Bulwer-Lytton novel. Set in the shadows of Mt. Vesuvius just before its famous eruption.Votes43
- Capt. Derville has occasion to reprove a slovenly soldier at review. This soldier in a spirit of revenge for his humiliation, steals a large part of the funds with which Derville is entrusted. Derville cannot account for the disappearance of the money, and knowing he will be disgraced, he disappears, aided by Tom, his old servant, who supplies him with the clothes of a peasant. Derville is intensely fond of his wife and two children, and the reparation is bitter tor all. In the mountains Derville saves the life of Gustave, a peasant. War breaks out and Derville and Gustave enlist, the former under the assumed name of William. During a fierce battle William (Derville) picks up a bomb and hurls it away as it is about to explode under the feet of a general. For this brave act he is made a sergeant. A warm friendship springs up between him and Sergeant Robert, and the two are inseparable. The plague strikes the town and to prevent its spread strict military quarantine is established. The two sergeants are posted at a gate and refuse to permit anyone to pass. A widow and two children try to get into the gates, and tell a pathetic tale of hunger, adding that they will surely starve to death unless permitted to reach the house of their aunt. The resemblance of the children to Derville's own little ones touches his heart, and the two sergeants allow them to pass. A disgruntled peasant who had been turned back complains to Valmore, the aide-de-camp. This worthy is in love with Laura, the fiancée of Robert, and he takes advantage of the opportunity to rid himself of his rival by denouncing the two sergeants. The general is touched by the pitiful tale, but is compelled to order a court-martial, which finds the two men guilty, but holds that in view of the extenuating circumstances only one man shall he executed, and that lots shall be cast to see which shall die. William and Robert throw dice and William is the unfortunate one. The men are sent back to their cell by the old turnkey, who is the uncle of Laura. While there, William receives a note from a friend, informing him that his wife and children have taken refuge on the island of Rozes, not very far off. Derville, who had not been able to communicate with his family for three years, breaks down, and tells Robert the story of his life. Robert requests the aide-de-camp to permit Derville to go on the dispatch boat, which makes daily trips to the island of Rozes, to kiss his wife and children good-bye, agreeing to stay as a hostage and die in his stead should he not return. The aide-de-camp sees possibilities in this and consents. Gustave, the man Derville saved, is in charge of the dispatch boat, and the aide-de-camp secretly tells Gustave that if he delays the return of William he will. In the meantime, get a pardon for Robert. The simple Gustave believes him. Mrs. Derville and the faithful Tom are living in a cottage on the island. The cannon announces the arrival and departure of the dispatch boat, and every day Tom goes to see, if by chance, word has come from the captain. Tom hears the soldiers talking about a proclamation and recognizes the name of his master. He takes the proclamation and finds it is an acknowledgment by the secretary of war of the innocence of Capt. Derville of the charges against him, the guilty man having confessed before dying. When Derville reaches the island, therefore, he finds himself in the peculiar position of a free man, restored to rank as Capt. Derville, and as Sergeant William he is condemned to death. The meeting between the wife and husband is wonderfully depicted, and very touching. Gustave tells the old servant that if he makes his master miss the boat his life will be saved. Tom, therefore, sets the clock back an hour, and Derville is astounded to hear the booming of the cannon announcing the return of the boat. The weeping wife and children cling to him, but he tears their hands away and dashes to the water's edge. There is only one way to keep his word of honor to swim, and he dives into the water and begins the long journey. The dispatch boat arrives at the fortress without William, and the execution of Robert is ordered. The general is angry when he learns what has been done, but despite the pleadings of Laura and her uncle, he is compelled to carry out the sentence. Robert faces the firing squad, and the commands are given: "Ready. Aim." Before the word "Fire," is said, the old turnkey sees in the distance the swimmer nearing the shore, exhausted. Derville is assisted to land and Robert is saved. Derville makes known his rank to the general, as well as his true name. Laura and her uncle eloquently plead for mercy, and the old general is, in fact, only too glad to have an excuse to stop the unpleasant proceedings, and tells Derville that to make atonement for the great wrong done him, a pardon would be secured for him. Then, indignant at the conspiracy of the aide-de-camp, he removes him from office and orders him under arrest to be himself court-martialed for his vile plotting.
- The opening scene is in Elsinore, where a ghost is seen by the sentinels keeping guard on the battlements of the castle. This is related to Hamlet by his friend Horatio, who describes the spirit as much resembling the late King of Denmark, his deceased father, whom his Uncle Claudius is suspected to have murdered in order that the latter might usurp his throne. Uncle Claudius also married the queen, the mother of Hamlet, within a month after. Hamlet, moved by the narration of Horatio, determines to watch for the next appearance of the ghost. It is seen again at midnight, discloses itself to Hamlet as his murdered parent and relates to him the cruel circumstances of his cruel murder by the king, his uncle, and calls upon Hamlet to avenge it. In order to accomplish this purpose, Hamlet feigns madness, especially in his conduct towards Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, with whom he is enamored. Hamlet engages some players who enact a scene in the presence of the king and queen which displays the murder of his father, purposely to try the king. Claudius, on beholding this, stung by his conscious guilt and fearful of some outward event, determines to rid himself of his nephew by sending him to England. This project is aided by Hamlet, killing Polonius. whom he mistakes for the king and who was concealed behind the arras to listen to the conversation between the queen and her son, who had demanded an interview, Hamlet is by an accident made prisoner by some pirates as he is on his way to England but escapes and unexpectedly returns to Denmark. Previously, he discovers that the ambassadors are instructed by the king's letters to cause him to be put to death on his arrival in England. These letters he exchanges for others containing the same directions for the deaths of the ambassadors. During his absence, Ophelia, distracted through her father's death and her own misfortune, destroys herself, and her brother, Laertes, urged by false rumors concerning his father's demise, rebels against the king, but he abandons his intention on being told that Hamlet committed the deed. A stratagem is evolved by the king in which Laertes basely consents to kill Hamlet by secret means. Claudius wagers six Barbary horses against six French swords with Laertes that in a dozen passes he does not exceed Hamlet by three. Hamlet consents to make a trial and is first wounded by Laertes, who has treacherously used a poisoned weapon. In a scuffle they change swords and Laertes is himself wounded by the same deadly rapier. The king had prepared a poisoned chalice with which he determined to end Hamlet if Laertes failed. In the contents of this, the queen, unconscious that it is drugged, pledges Hamlet and is poisoned. Laertes, in the agony of death, confesses his own perfidy and accuses the king, and Hamlet, with the sword of Laertes, revenges himself by stabbing Claudius. The film concludes with the news of the death of Rosencrantz and Guilderstern through letters forged by Hamlet, and a eulogium oh the unfortunate prince by his friend Horatio and the choice of young Fortinbras for King of Denmark.Votes81
- The mechanic Etienne Lantier is a competent workman out of a job, whose tempestuous disposition is more than atoned for by a good heart. With bundle in hand he looks for work from town to town and in vain until he comes to the coal mines of Montsou. Luckily for him there is a vacancy because of a workman being absent, and the foreman, Maheu, hires him at the suggestion of his daughter, Catherine, who dressed as a man is wont to work like a man in the mine. Lantier creates an impression on her and she takes his part much to the chagrin of her accepted lover, Chaval, an unworthy and violent man. Lantier fails to recognize her as a woman until after sharing her lunch with him in the depths of the mine, her hair falls from under her miner's headgear. From that moment he devotes his whole heart to her. At the end of the day's labor Lantier, who has excited a fierce jealousy in Chaval, is invited by Maheu to become a boarder at his house and he joyfully accepts. The engineer, Negrel, making his daily descent into the mine finds the shoring timbers holding up the earth in a bad state and ready to fall. He makes a report recommending that the woodwork he immediately and properly repaired so as to avoid accident. The company, however, posts a notice saying that because the woodwork has to be repaired the price received by the miners per car of coal mined will be decreased. This arbitrary and unfair notice causes much discontent and anger among the miners. A mass meeting is called for at the Cabaret Rasseneur; Souvarine, an anarchistic workman, advocates violent measures. Lantier opposes this and suggests concerted action. The anger of the workmen breaks out afresh when they begin to receive their reduced wages and urged on by Lantier, whose influence is growing, they vote to strike. In the meantime Catherine, though in love with Lantier, dares not go back on her word to Chaval and marries him. Chaval treacherously carries full information of the strike proceedings to Mr. Hennebeau, the chief director of the company, and accepts pay for being a spy. The strike is now on amid general enthusiasm. In the meantime, Negrel, the engineer, who is in love with Hennebeau's daughter, pleads with Hennebeau to answer the miners' requests. Miss Hennebeau also pleads with her father, but in vain. The stores refuse to extend credit to the striking workmen and famine soon stalks among them. Lantier discovers to his surprise that Chaval is an exception and that he has plenty of food and money. As yet he has not discovered that Chaval is the paid spy of the company. Catherine brings secretly to her starving relative food and money. Chaval follows her, drives her from the house and strikes her. Lantier seeing it interferes in her behalf, and being attacked by Chaval thoroughly thrashes him. Chaval, taking advantage of the growing misery among the miners, urges some of them back to work. While they are in the mines the other strikers cut the elevator ropes. There is a panic in the mine depths. The imprisoned miners finally escape by ladders, but have to run the gauntlet of the enraged strikers, who still hold out. When Chaval is dragged from the mine Lantier rashes at him, but Catherine steps in between and prevents harm being done to her husband. Blinded by hatred Chaval goes to Hennebeau and denounces the miners' leaders, especially Lantier. The police are called upon to arrest him, but warned in time he escapes to the abandoned shaft of Voroux. The strike becomes violent and the troops are called in to reinforce the police. In the absence of Lantier, Souvarine is called in to head the strikers. Hennebeau's house is attacked and stoned. Seeing the soldiers preparing to fire on the mob, the director's daughter rushes from the house to try and avert the coming calamity. She is caught in the storm of bullets and dies together with many of the miners and their wives, among them Catherine's father. This crushes the strikers' movement and instigated by Chaval they vote to resume work. Lantier, emerged from his refuge, tries in vain to dissuade them, but his influence is gone and bowing to the majority he also goes back to work. Souvarine, alone implacable, determines upon desperate measures. He releases the bolts binding the barriers that hold back water from flooding the mine and the flood breaks loose. He is drowned in the cataclysm that follows. The miners, caught like rats in a trap, run madly hither and thither. Some escape, others, among them Lantier, Catherine and Chaval, are caught. These latter three find themselves imprisoned in an abandoned working pit, where they sit in despair with the water up to their knees. They have little food and when after long hours Catherine attempts to give a little of her lunch to Lantier. Chaval furiously opposes. Chaval finally attempts to deprive his wife by force of her morsel of food. In righteous rage Lantier strikes him and kills him. His dead body, floating on the water, haunts them. Forgetting their animosities, directors and workmen unite in the work of rescue. Through an abandoned pit they come near to Catherine and Lantier. Their signals being answered by the prisoners they redouble their exertions. By imprudence, however, an explosion takes place, which kills many of the rescuers and sets back the work. Among those killed is Catherine's brother. When the workers finally pierce the intervening walls they find only Lantier alive, for Catherine lies dead in his arms. When the unconscious man is brought into the daylight and at last opens his eyes it is the bereaved Negrel who, with a heart of sympathy, comforts him in his grief when he sees the body of his dead sweetheart. Broken in spirit he sees injustice rule and the poor pay the piper.Votes170
- A Martian is sentenced to visit Earth to cure a selfish man.Votes212
- A peasant girl sent to make a claim on her family's ancestral home in England's Wessex is seduced and left with child by its current owner.Votes28
- A Parisian doctor, infatuated with the wife of his benefactor, drugs and kidnaps her, and tries to convince the husband that she is dead.Votes24
- A successful stage actress with a hidden past as a criminal is kept on the path of righteousness by a benefactor.Votes24
- Back from a crusade, the hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel fights for courtly love and Saxon honor.Votes92
- Documentary on the Second Balkan War of June-August 1913.
- Episode 2: "Zingo and the White Elephant" Zingo and his wife, Sari, who are returning from their adventures in Mexico, when Zingo learns from his newspaper that the Royal Elephant of Siam has been stolen and for whose return a large reward will be paid. Not content with settling down to a quiet domestic life, he persuades Sari and his good crew to aid him in finding this white elephant. In the Royal Square of the Capitol of Siam, he reviews the troops which are all comprised of women, which is the custom there. The Prime Minister bids Zingo and his men to visit the Royal Harem. Here they are captured by the troops and are about to be tortured to death when Sari, disguised as a colonel in the army, aids them in escaping. They find the province of Chokuff where the white elephant has been secreted, and catching the Prince making love to Sari, they demand the white elephant. He promises, but traps them all in his dungeon. They are all, but Zingo, placed in barrels with their heads protruding. Zingo files away the bars of his cage, and rolls the barrels by the guards, who are in a stupor from opium smoking. He swims down the river, towing his crew in the barrels. After a fierce encounter with the Prince of Chokuff's army, he attacks the Royal barge in the Blud River, and after a bitter struggle in which he disposes of the entire crew by throwing them overboard, he captures the white elephant and recovers his faithful Sari. He returns the sacred elephant to the King of Siam, and after a big reception by royalty and the populace, Zingo is awarded rich treasures for his noble work. Episode 3: "Zingo in Africa" After returning from Asia with his jolly band of tars, laden with gold and precious stones as a reward for his clever work in recovering the Sacred White Elephant of Siam, Zingo thought he would never again feel the call of the sea, and he didn't for several months. But the wanderlust fever soon returned, and taking his wife as his sole companion, he set out for the wilds of Africa in search of fresh adventures. From this point on, let us follow Zingo down the Nile, and record his hairbreadth escapes. Selecting a likely spot, Zingo and Sari, his wife, make camp. Hearing piercing shrieks just back of their tent, they don bear skins and hasten to the spot in time to prevent the execution of two beautiful native girls by a band of savages. The two girls now become members of Zingo's party, happy to serve their gallant protector. The next day Zingo puts on his armored hunting suit to battle with hungry lions, who have been prowling about the camp. After an hour's terrific struggle with a pair of lions, Zingo returns to find his party gone, and many evidences of a struggle. Suspecting that they have been kidnapped by roving gorillas, Zingo sets off through the forest and eventually comes to the bottom of a large tree sheltering the crudely made gorilla nest. Having a smattering of monkey chatter, he quickly gains an entrance to the nest, and there discovers his wife and the girls more frightened than harmed. The good-natured gorillas listen attentively while Zingo explains that they must proceed up the Nile in their power boat, and they bid the party an affectionate farewell. During an inspection of the Pyramids, Zingo and his party encounter some knavish artists, who drug him and make love to Sari and the native girls. Zingo is boxed up and sold to a London professor as a rare specimen, and does not regain his senses until weeks later. After startling the assembled professors out of their wits, he charters an aeroplane and flies back to Egypt overnight in time to punish the cringing artists and save Sari and her servants from further insult. Then with a last fond look down the Nile River, Zingo and his party board the aeroplane and sail back to Paris. Episode 4: "Zingo's War in the Clouds" Zingo, while working and studying over the prospectus of the Eldorado Mine in his library in Paris, is visited by his faithful crew, who are restless from lying in port and beg of him to put to sea in search of new adventures. Zingo agrees to their proposal, and decides to submit a gigantic scheme to the Eldorado Directorate for working their mine. Arriving in Mexico, he finds the mine operators are entertaining a scheme presented to them by one, Fileas Fogg. Zingo exposes Fogg's crookedness and is awarded the contract for working the mine. In order to study the country around the mines, Zingo and his wife, Sari, erect huts in a nearby river to live in. Fogg, enraged at Zingo for exposing him, with the aid of a savage Indian tribe, attacks Zingo in his river home, and after a thrilling encounter, captures Zingo and Sari. They are bound hand and foot and told they are to be executed the next morning. A pretty Indian girl sets Zingo free in the night, and rides off with him. Zingo calls on the Federal army and is honored by being given the rank of commanding officer, After reviewing his troops and submarine guards. Zingo attacks Fogg's troops, who use chloroform bombs and a special pneumatic sucker to repel his army. Zingo's submarine troops attack Fogg's deep water divers and after a severe encounter in the depths, Zingo's men are victorious. Vanquished under the sea, Fogg takes refuge in a huge motor balloon with Sari still in his power. After a most thrilling battle in which a dozen types of balloons are used, Zingo's dirigible manages to catch Fogg, and after transferring Sari, he cuts the ropes suspending the basket from the bag, and Fogg drops into eternity. Zingo sights his yacht directly below him and by lowering a rope and making it fast to the mast, they all descend and are joyously received by the crew. Zingo promises all to return home after settling up his business affairs in Mexico.Votes214
- A rich young man falls for a beautiful girl and meets with trouble.
- Gerard, the eldest son of a wealthy family, is destined by his father for the church, although his own inclinations lie elsewhere. The young fellow is a born artist. His first success comes when he reads of the announcement of a public competition in which a big prize is to be paid for the best picture. It is at this period that he meets Margaret and her aged father. He falls in love with Margaret, and their fast-growing affection is viewed with great concern by the burgomaster of Rotterdam who is keeping in his possession some valuable parchments which relate to Margaret's fortune. Gerard's affection is discovered by his father, who sternly reprimands him, bidding him to think of the vocation in life that he has to fill. Gerard defies his father and family, and goes to his patroness, who, on hearing his story, tells him to put aside all ideas of priesthood for the present, and that she will pay for him to go to Rome and study art. Gerard gratefully accepts the offer, but at the same time he determines that before he leaves, he will wed Margaret secretly. In the meantime his father has been to the burgomaster, attempting to put the law in force against his disobedient son. The burgomaster, fearing for himself if the union between Gerard and Margaret should come to pass, promises his aid. Accordingly Gerard is torn from the arms of his newly-made bride at the very foot of the altar. He is imprisoned in the burgomaster's house. But thanks to the efforts of Margaret and his sister and crippled brother, he makes his escape. While escaping he accidentally discloses a trapdoor which conceals the secret hiding-place of the burgomaster's papers, and thinking that some of them will be useful to him in his work as an artist, he fills his pockets full. He finds on examination that one of them is the actual document relating to Margaret's fortune, and he keeps this, giving the others to Margaret to bury in the garden. He then sets out for Rome and on his way falls in with Denys of Burgundy, a Burgundian soldier of fortune. A friendship springs up between the gentle artist and the rough soldier. Then follows the attempted murder of the two men in the inn by the rascally landlord and his two accomplices, from which Gerard and his companion emerge victorious. Gerard arrives at Rome, and continues his studies. In the meantime his brothers, who have always been jealous of him, discover his whereabouts, and with the connivance of the burgomaster, send a letter to him to the effect that Margaret is dead. This information drives Gerard to such a state of despair that when his life is attempted by an assassin who is bribed to kill him by Princess Cloelia, whose overtures he has rejected. He offers no resistance, but the assassin overcome with remorse drops his dagger and flees from the scene. A year elapses, and Gerard, now a priest, returns to his own country. He is summoned to the death-bed of an old hermit and when he dies. Gerard takes up his life in the old man's cave. His wife comes to the spot to pray, and recognizes Gerard by a birthmark on his hand. The unfortunate man then learns for the first time that he has been deceived, that his wife is alive and that he has a son five years old. When he realizes the extent of the treacherous trick that has been played upon him, he bursts in upon his family and denounces his brothers. The rage of his father knows no bounds, and he is with difficulty restrained from slaying the son who has wrecked his elder brother's life. He next visits the burgomaster, and by the aid of the incriminating parchment, which he has kept all these years, forces him to restore Margaret's fortune. This, however, is the most he can do, and, after taking an agonizing farewell of his wife and child, he is forced to go out in the world alone, for there is no power that can absolve him from the duties of his holy calling, nor is it possible for a man to mix again with the world over whose head the sacred words have been spoken, "Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedech."
- A French sailor, imprisoned for years on false charges of conpiring against the king, escapes and exacts revenge on his accusers.Votes69
- A young woman's sweetheart fights for the Union, while her brother fights for the Confederates, in the pivotal 1863 battle of the U.S. Civil War.Votes40
- The daughter of an adventurer in India is kidnapped by a native king, whom she is forced to marry. She has several adventures battling natives and wild animals.Votes45
- At the beginning of hostilities, Tom Winston, despite the pleadings of his sister Ellen, an ardent Confederate, goes North and acquires a commission in the Federal Army. Frank Carey has entered the Confederate service, though his sister Ethel, furiously denounces him as a traitor, and asserts her intention of herself serving the Union. Both girls become identified with the secret service department of the South and North, respectively. Tom is with Grant, Frank with Johnston, and the armies' movements bring them into the neighborhood of their homes. Tom has with him Don, a dog that had been used in the old days to carry messages between his master and Ethel. Union headquarters are established in the Winston home, affording Ellen an opportunity to acquire many valuable secrets which she communicates to Frank, and it is the belief that some officer is proving a traitor. Tom watches his sister closely, and one night observes that as she sits merrily chatting with the Union officers, she is using her fan in such a manner as to make the dots and dashes of the Morse code to Frank, who is concealed in the shrubbery, making notes of the information. Tom discovers Frank, overpowers him, and succeeds in taking from him the memoranda, but allows him to escape. Tom places the memoranda in his pocket. The Battle of Shiloh has begun and Tom is given an important dispatch, ordering up supporting brigades. He proceeds on his mission, but is pursued and badly wounded. Unable to go on, Tom gives the dispatch to Don, telling him to carry it to Ethel. Don does his part, and Ethel undertakes to deliver the order. She is hotly pursued by Confederate cavalry, and only escapes by jumping her horse from a cliff into the river, a deed which none of her pursuers will attempt. They do not fire upon her, but wave their hats and cheer as her horse swims the stream and climbs the other bank. The dispatch is delivered, and the reinforcements begin a forced march to the assistance of the Federals. Meanwhile, Tom has been picked up by a Federal party, unconscious, but not dangerously wounded. The memoranda taken from Frank is found in his pocket, and it is concluded that he is the supposed traitor. A drum-head court-martial condemns him to he shot. The battle is now raging fiercely, the victorious Confederates pressing steadily forward. The Federal position is carried. Tom is captured and sent to the Confederate rear, where he succeeds in eluding his guards. Despite the sentence hanging over him, he determines to rejoin his troops. Johnston is killed, the triumphant advance of the Confederates falters. Tom reaches the Union lines, he rallies a breaking regiment and leads a fierce charge. The tide of battle is turned; Frank is captured. The battle lulls, the Confederates sullenly withdraw from the field. Tom is immediately arrested and placed under guard. Frank learns of the fate in store for Tom, and to save him, confesses himself to be the spy, Tom is released. Frank is held as a spy, but cleverly effects his escape. Frank goes to his home to attempt to induce his sister to go South with him, as he must accompany the southern army further into the Confederacy. Tom has gone to see his sister, to endeavor to induce her to give up her dangerous work as a Confederate spy, and has been captured by a squad of Confederates while at his home. He sends a note to Ethel informing her of his situation. Ethel secures several Federal troopers and makes her brother a prisoner. Under a white flag, Ethel and her squad approach the Winston home, and Ethel proposes an exchange of prisoners. This is agreed to, as well as a temporary truce; then Tom and Ethel turn to the North, while Frank and Ellen ride away into the Confederacy.
- Votes16
- Jean Valjean, guilty of a minor theft of food, is pursued and hounded for years by a relentless lawman, Javert.Votes53
- A man has an accident while out riding his horse one day. He soon discovers that he now has a split personality, and that his alternate is helping a criminal to rob his house.Votes113
- An employee of an iron works is fired as a dangerous agitator, and after his friend dies in an explosion at the iron works, he runs for governor on a labor ticket.Votes113
- Nymphs and gods and their foul play.Votes72
- A young German woman in New York is sheltered unwittingly by a vicious criminal until she has a chance encounter with a society woman who adopts her.
- The story of two men and their rivalry for the attention of a dancer, and the events that follow.Votes12
- Philosopher-eccentric Chuang Tzu comes across a woman fanning the newly built grave of her dead husband because she desires to marry again. On returning home, Chuang Tze decides to put his wife to the test - he fakes his own death; the wife is grief-stricken and goes into mourning. While funeral arrangement are in progress, a handsome young man come to call on Chuang Tze. Later, there is talk of marriage between Chuang Tze's wife and the man. However, the young man falls ill; his servant says that taking the human brain is the only medicine to cure him ...Votes18
- Robin Hood and his followers aid the poor and oppressed from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham.Votes56
- Jack Hilton, naval lieutenant, has fallen in love with Adriana Duncan, a wild beast tamer, but his relatives refuse to sanction the marriage owing to the poverty and to the humiliating occupation of his fiancée. In despair, Milton appeals for the last time to his eccentric old uncle, Marquis Hilton, who threatens to alter his will in favor of another if he persists in his mad intention. A fortnight later, in spite of this determined opposition, the marriage is celebrated. Furious at this disobedience, the Marquis is in the act of disinheriting his nephew when his old complaint seizes him and he dies without having time to change his will. Jack is ordered out to conduct an expedition into the interior of India with a view to discovering the unknown sources of the "Sacred River" of Belopore. Sadly he takes leave of his young bride and sets out upon his journey. In the train he meets Thomas Trevalny, his old school friend, and on board the liner, a few minutes before the departure, he receives the news of his uncle's unexpected death and of his own inheritance. In great haste, Hilton entrusts the important documents to Trevalny, saying that he will send the power of attorney from Calcutta. Left alone, Trevalny determines to gain possession of his friend's valuable inheritance, and gains admittance into his house as gardener in order to intercept the letters from the East, and also Hilton's power of attorney, Trevalny succeeds in his villainous plan, and, while poor Adriana is still waiting for news of her husband, he becomes master of the fortune by means of the intercepted power of attorney. At last Jack Hilton and his expedition are bivouacking on the banks of the "Sacred River." The Rajah, however, an unrelenting foe of all Europeans, is informed of their intrusion, and sends his fanatic soldiers to attack the encampment. Overwhelmed by a superior force, the Europeans are almost all massacred, and Hilton himself is taken prisoner. The Rajah himself condemns the unfortunate man to be burned alive, but, at the entreaty of his favorite Fedorah, he imprisons him for life. Meanwhile Adriana has become poor once more, and believes her husband to be dead. A son is born, of whose existence the father knows not, and Adriana is compelled to devote herself once again to her old profession of wild beast tamer in a menagerie to provide food for her child. At Belopore, the Rajah observes Fedorah's nightly visits to the European's prison, and the unfortunate Jack Hilton is thrown into the Court of Lions. Fedorah, however, persuades the faithful Pipel to save her lover, and he flees from Belopore to his safety. Trevalny, who loves Mrs. Hilton, comes one day to force his will upon her, and is driven from the house by the unexpected arrival of one of her leopards. Furious at his failure, he buys the menagerie where Adriana is employed, and writes a letter to her, announcing his fixed intention, either to realize his desire or to drive her into the streets with her little son. Helpless, Adriana comes to appeal to his better feelings. That same evening, after two years' absence, Jack Hilton returns home, finds the threatening letter, and guesses the danger of his wife's position. Without losing a moment, he runs to Trevalny's mansion, and bursts into the drawing room where the scoundrel is trying to seduce his wife. With a terrible cry he hurls himself upon the traitor, but, at his wife's prayer, restrains his fury until the arrival of the police. So, after so many sufferings, Hilton and his wife embrace once more, while Trevalny awaits the punishment he well deserves.