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Billings and Meeker are two brow-beaten husbands who are dominated by their wives. The women are leaders in a "Rights for Women" club, and they neglect their household duties to show the way to their sisters in the cause. On the day of an important meeting of the club, Billings and Meeker are forced to listen to harsh words from their wives and are in rebellious spirits and ripe for mutiny. The occasion presents itself for an attractive looking young woman calls on Billings soliciting funds for a charitable institution. Billings is favorably impressed and besides his wife has just given him a curtain lecture. The girl is susceptible to flattery, and before she leaves, the henpecked husband has arranged a little supper, at which Meeker and her chum are to be guests. Telephones are brought into requisition and the affair is arranged to the joy of the two husbands. They repair to the restaurant appointed and have an uneasy half hour waiting for their fair guests. In the meantime their wives are spellbinding the members of the club at a stormy session. The young women arrive at the café and the dinner proceeds. Meeker succumbs to the influence of the wine and becomes tipsy. Just about this time a young man calls and takes the solicitor and her chum away. Billings pays the check out of Meeker's wallet and lugs him to his home, lying him on a couch. Mrs. Billings returns and Billings eludes her. She sees Meeker just as his wife calls. Billings bursts in and accuses his wife of an affair with his friend. The women indulge in a hair-pulling match whereat the men wax jubilant, and the scene closes with the husbands getting good and even with their wives.

The boob is working in a country grocery store. One day, a farmer gets in an argument with him. Words lead to a fight and the farmer chases the boob out and up the street. In his endeavor to escape be jumps into an auto driven by a girl from the city who lives near the store. The girl assists him to escape. In the girl the boob sees the girl of his dreams, but in him the girl sees merely a boob. A traveling show comes to town and advertises for extra people for their show. The boob applies and gets the job. After several blunders he gets his part and comes out on the stage. The girl and her father are in the audience and see the boob make an ass of himself. A fire breaks out in the theater during which there is a stampede for the exits. The girl is left in the burning theater. Her father tries to save her but cannot face the flames. The boob rushes in and saves the girl's life. Shortly afterward, the girl and her father leave for the city and leave a note for the boob. The girl tells him that if he ever comes to the city to be sure and call upon her. Enclosed in the note he finds a check from her father telling him to use his own judgment in disposing of the money, but he would suggest that he use it in getting an education. The girl in the city grows tired of society life and longs for a real man. The shallow life and selfishness of the people she comes in contact with disgusts her. The boob has taken the girls advice and secured a college education. He returns to her rejuvenated and she is very much surprised at the change in him. The boob has indeed become another man. With the development of his mind, his character and even looks have changed. In him the girl sees all that she has been wishing for.

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

A French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.

The father is busy with his business. The little child is neglected as the mother is occupied in romantic speculations. And then enters the "friend," who sees his opportunity. One evening when the father is detained on business the wife accepts the "friend's" invitation to the theatre. The father returns and finds his wife gone. When the child tells where the mother is, he realizes that her love has flown, and the next morning he arranges for a separation. A year passes and the mother and child are living together, lonely. The "friend" sends her roses and says he is coming that night to claim his love. While dressing, the mother accidentally finds a white rose that her husband gave her a year before on their wedding anniversary. Memories come back to her, but she disregards them and rushes into the garden to meet her friend. The child, alone and frightened, goes to find its mother in the garden. The child picks a white rose and approaches with it. This brings the mother to her senses and she rushes back to the house with her baby. The baby then takes sick from exposure. The father is sent for, but before he arrives the baby dies. The mother and father are reconciled by their common grief. In the garden the mother sees a vision of her child, which she follows to the house. Here they find that the child is still alive, so the family is happily reunited.

Cattleman Flint cuts off farmer Sims' water supply. When Sims' son Ted goes for water, one of Flint's men kills him. Cheyenne is sent to finish off Sims, but finding the family at the newly dug grave, he changes sides.

An Austrian officer sets out to seduce a neglected young wife.

A young man, told by a psychic that he will die soon, puts his affairs in order and begins to enjoy and treasure life. However, the appointed hour of death passes without his demise, and he begins to suspect something is awry.

A cowboy must save his girlfriend from captivity and then cross the desert on foot with a single waterhole on the way.

In Mexico, a poor Yaqui Indian loses his family through the actions of a racist Mexican officer named Martinez.

Jack Lane, a young nature photographer, goes to the mountains to experiment with his new flashlight process that will automatically photograph the passage of any bird or wild animal. While asleep one night, Jack is awakened by gunshots and soon after discovers that his camera has registered a picture of a woman fleeing carrying a shotgun. Curious, he visits the cabin of Porter Brixton, the murdered man, and is arrested for the crime. Managing to escape, Jack meets Delice Brixton, the woman whose likeness developed from the plate. They both suspect each other of the crime, but Jack is recaptured and brought to trial. At the hearing, when the dead man's half brother, Henry Norton, appears and admits killing Brixton in self-defense, Jack is acquitted.

Abandoned by her maidservant in an isolated country house, a mother must protect herself and her baby from an invading tramp while her husband races home in a stolen car to save them.

In this early collaboration with director Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks), Chaney delivers a dual performance of dramatic intensity, starring as Ah Wing, a kind-hearted student of Confucian philosophy, and Black Mike Sylva, a murderous rake of the San Francisco underworld.

Professor Schultz invents a mechanical life-sized doll. By pressing the right button on its back it will dance or sing. Now little Lillian, the spoilt daughter of Heinie Gotrocks, reads a newspaper account of Prof. Schultz's invention. She will not let up on dad until he promises to buy this mechanical doll for her nursery. The family go to inspect the toy, and Gotrocks promises Prof. Schultz $20,000 for his invention, to be paid when delivered. Gotrocks and his family depart. Prof. Schultz and his helper, all flustered at the prospect of securing the $20,000, are carefully packing the big doll when the janitor, cleaning the toy shop, carelessly upsets the doll box and puts the manikin out of business. Schultz and his helper are enraged. Something must be done, or the twenty thousand is lost. They then notice that the offending janitor is exactly the same size as the injured manikin. They force him to imitate the doll and don its costume. He rebels to no purpose. They promise to relieve him as soon as the doll is repaired and carry him in the doll's place to the home of Gotrocks. Little Lillian is more than delighted with her new possession. The janitor's imitations of the actions of the real doll get by. It was all very fine at first, but as time passed, it ceased to be a joke. He was made to perform day and night at little Lillian's parties, and his stomach grew more and more empty. His frantic appeals over the telephone to Prof. Schultz only brought him the advice to stay on just a little longer as repairs were being rushed on the real doll. Now, Gotrock's butler had caught the janitor off his guard several times and had a well-founded suspicion that the supposed manikin was a fake. In fact, later events proved to him he was certainly right. The butler's endeavor to prove to Gotrocks got him "in bad," however, for Prof. Schultz arrived in the nick of time with the real mechanical doll, thereby allowing the mighty thankful janitor not only to escape his dreadful position but to get back on the butler for the indignities suffered at the latter's hands. When Gotrocks and his family are shown the mechanical doll is no fake, they put down the recent escapades of the janitor to the fact that the twenty thousand dollar doll must have slipped a cog.

In the Alaskan region of Unalik, Professor Norris studies Eskimo culture. His daughter Aurora is devoted to David Waters, a youth of weak character who has been reared in the family. Despite her disinterest in other men, the primitive and passionate "Wiki" Jack Horn is determined to win her. After David's death in an avalanche, Aurora begins to admire Wiki's steadfast courage and submits to his overpowering love.

Francois Villon, vagabond, poet and philosopher, and his friend Colin, leave the vagabond camp and start for Paris. En route to that city, Villon's heart is touched at sight of the eviction of an elderly couple from their poor home. Whereupon he empties his own and Colin's purse, pays the Beadle, and then resume their journey. Overcome with the pangs of hunger, they "lift " the purses of a couple of corpulent monks. For this breach of law both Villon and Colin are arrested and thrown into prison. They succeed in overpowering the turnkey and, assisted by Colin, who insists that his friend don the clothes of the turnkey, Villon makes his escape. Colin is tried, convicted and hanged. At the foot of the gibbet, Villon's farewell to the swinging Colin is interrupted by the entrance of the Chevalier do Soissons. Villon resents the knight's tirade against the corpse of Colin. Fight ensues and the crafty vagabond slays the knight, using as a weapon a great stone. The rich purse, armor, etc., of de Soissons proves too strong a snare for the impoverished Villon, who quickly changes habiliments with the dead knight, props the body against the gallows and then continues on his way to Paris. Philippa de Annonnay, the fair ward of the Chevalier Bertrand de Pogne, is held prisoner in an inn. Villon chooses this inn wherein to satisfy the cravings of hunger. Here he meets de Pogne. From her window she sees the entrance of Villon and determines to appeal to the strange knight. An animated discussion between Villon and de Pogne is interrupted by a scream from Philips. Villon starts to climb the stairs to the gallery of the inn. De Pogne bars the way and a terrific battle with swords ensues. The fight continues up the stairs and toward Philippa's window, through which the girl reaches as the fight continues on the balcony and stabs de Pogne, who falls to the floor below, dead. Villon conducts Philippa safely to her castle, then resumes his journey to Paris. Having dissipated the proceeds of the de Soissons adventure, Villon hies himself to a garret, where he spends his time in courting the muses. Louis XI, the "Prowler," determines to test the loyalty of Villon. To this end, the king hies himself to a dungeon in the Bastille, causes the arrest of Villon, then offers that worthy his freedom if he will help overthrow the king. Villon indignantly refuses to purchase his freedom at such a price. Whereupon Louis reveals himself to the poet and presents Villon with a bound copy of his (Villon's) manuscript, which was the first book to be printed in France. Then Louis knights him, bestowing upon Villon the title Chevalier des Loges.

John Grant, an American, is visiting in England with the family of Sir George Latimer, in a fine house near London. Prince Narr, of the royal house of Numidia, is also a guest with his retainers. Prince Narr is possessed of a strong hypnotic power, which he demonstrates in the course of a reception. After a few days Prince Narr falls in love with Sir George's daughter, Beth, and asks for her hand in marriage. Sir George does not believe in intermarriage between the white and dark races and refuses the prince's offer of his hand. This arouses the latter's displeasure and he also becomes intensely jealous of Grant, who has saved Beth from death during a ride behind the hounds. To avenge himself Prince Narr presents Sir George with a jeweled dagger, and through hypnotic suggestion commands Sir George to commit murder. The crime is really committed by a servant of the Prince, but Sir George is made to believe himself guilty. He is forced, while under the spell, to write a confession across Beth's forehead, which confession is in indelible ink. This at first fades out, but later reappears and can only be removed by a solution concealed in the dagger. The latter weapon is stolen by Claypool, a notorious criminal, and brought to America, where the chief characters follow in due time.

The marshal of a wild Kansas border town is killed in a gunfight in a saloon. His son, Cheyenne Harry, shoots dead two of the killers. Not wanting to lose both her son and her husband to gun violence, Harry's mother gets him to agree never to carry a gun again. However, Harry's rival for the beautiful Conchita, Boone Travis, commits a murder and frames Harry for it. Complications ensue.

Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.

A set of eight golden lotus leaves holds the secret for eternal life. A young girl is tricked out of the one she holds, and enlists the aid of an adventurer is tracking down the entire set.

Willie O'Donovan, grandson of Cormack O'Donovan, a retired millionaire contractor, is regarded by his parents as more of a nuisance than an asset. Mr. O'Donovan, Willie's father, is actively engaged in business, while his wife is an enthusiastic aspirant for social recognition. The grandfather, coming to the O'Donovans' home for dinner, enters to find that he has interrupted a domestic row. The grandfather, disliking to have Willie brought up in such an atmosphere, persuades the parents to let him send the boy away to a boarding school. Willie arrives on the school grounds and is made miserable by Peters, one of the other boys. Peters is in love with Mary, a pretty country girl. Willie receives word from Baden Baden, where grandfather had gone for his health, announcing his death. The will he has left with his valet bequeaths his entire fortune to Willie, but naming the person with whom he is living on his eighteenth birthday as the custodian of the fortune until Willie has reached his majority. Willie's parents are overjoyed when they hear of the news. O'Donovan has been losing money rapidly in his business and finds Willie's fortune a necessity. Since the grandfather's departure for Europe they have entered suit for divorce which complicates matters. Each of them decides to beat the other to the possession of the boy before he reaches his eighteenth year. Each of them writes to him to come to them. Willie refuses to have anything to do with them, so each hires a detective to get him. Clews, the father's detective, captures him, but Willie succeeds in giving the detective the impression that he is not Willie. That night Clews breaks into the dormitory, and following directions given him by Willie, gets another boy whom he takes back to the city to the waiting father. Willie's father is enraged at the detective's mistake and orders him back to get the boy. Returning to the school grounds he and Ketchum, the rival detectives, are pitted against each other. But Willie is too clever for them, and evades the detectives each time they plan to get him. School ends and Willie goes to live at Mary's home in the country. But the villains still pursue him. While he and Mary are fishing, Clews manages to capture him and take him back to his waiting auto. Ketchum, however, in the meantime, has learned that Clews is ahead of him. He hurries to the village constable and enlists his aid, insisting that a kidnapping is about to be pulled off. And so, when Clews arrives at the machine he is met by the posse and is arrested. In the confusion, however, Ketchum gets Willie on board a train and starts with him for New York. Ten miles out of town Willie escapes. En route, he runs into a gang of hobos who take his money and clothes. Willie is then forced to hide his nakedness in a sack. O'Donovan gets Clews out of jail and they start for town when they see Willie returning in his sack. They give chase, but Willie beats them to the gardener's cottage, where he gets a suit of clothes and starts for the church where he is to meet Mary. They trail him there and capture him again. Willie, who is wearing the gardener's clothes, begs for permission to return to Mary's for his own clothes. They hurry there and are met at the house by Mrs. O'Donovan, Ketchum, Mary and her mother. When Mary's mother refuses to let either party take the boy without a warrant, they rush off to get said warrants from the town justice of the peace. While they are gone Willie escapes through the window and they return to find him gone. The next day Willie is eighteen, and since he is living with neither of them, the money is to go to charity. They go to the attorney's office to hear the settlement of the will. One minute before the appointed hour, in walks Mary and demands the money. The parents are indignant until she informs them that Willie is living with her. Mother is about to faint when in walks Willie and announces that they are married and on their way to Europe on a honeymoon. The parents make up and decide to forget the divorce.

A poor hat-check girl loses her job and is forced to get a job as a dancer at a roadhouse. There she falls in love with the son of a rich businessman. The boy's father, believing her to be after the family's money, determines to embarrass her and show his son what she really is.

A doctor's wife is the head of a bureau that publishes and hands out literature on birth control. However, the police stop it and forbid her to speak in meetings about the secret that was open to the rich but closed to the poor. She is arrested for holding a meeting anyway, is arrested, but convinces her husband and a judge of the soundness of her beliefs.

Jealous Bill returns from business, and following his usual snooping custom, he peeks through the window to see how his wife is getting on in his absence. There is a man with her! He picks up a club hidden in a geranium patch, rings the front bell, and then rushes to the back door to wait for the intruder. Gale hears the bell, and knows that it is her husband. She hustles her visitor - who is only the gas man come to read the meter - out of the back door, where Bill tries to land on his bean with the club. The gas man escapes. Going back to the front door, Bill peeks through the window again and finds a book agent with his wife. Then he gets his biggest club and prepares to play the same trick, this time with success. Gale's brother is a movie star. While Bill is beating up the book agent, he arrives, and invites Gale to go with him to see his latest picture. Bill sees them disappearing and follows. He enters the theater and sees the brother, on the screen, beat up four husky men. Bill decides to get a gun to do up the newest "home breaker," so he purchases one at a neighboring pawn brokers. Returning, he shoots at the picture of Gale's brother displayed in the lobby. The manager sees him and gets wise. He dashes into the theater. "If there Is any gentleman in the audience with another man's wife, he'd better beat it," cries the manager in a stage whisper. "The husband is outside shooting up everything." There is a rush, and in two minutes the theater is empty. Bill rushes home and is just about to shoot when Gale tells him that the man is his brother. Then she and the actor set upon Bill, and the cops, who have been summoned, follow suit. From a jealous, domineering husband Bill becomes as meek as a lamb. Moving Picture World, October 20, 1917

A District Attorney's outspoken stand on abortion lands him in trouble with the local community.