theda bara

Stevens, the bank clerk, is ambitious. His great desire is to become a lawyer. He stays at the bank at night to study, but is unable to take a course at college owing to his poverty. He handles immense sums of money every day and is strongly tempted to steal some, but fights off the desire till one evening when a belated customer comes late to the bank with a deposit of several thousand dollars. He sees a way for his ambition to be gratified and takes the money. His wife refuses to go with him, so he deserts her and his small daughter and goes away. Some time later we see him in a strange town living under an assumed name. His ambition has been gratified and through the good will of the political boss he has been made a judge. He falls in love with the daughter of his friend, the boss, but is deterred from marriage by the thought of his wife whom he had deserted. In the meantime Mrs. Stevens has become destitute and unable to support her daughter. She takes her daughter to an orphan asylum and releases all claim on her. Mrs. Stevens is unable to obtain work and at last is found unconscious and taken to a hospital. Her handbag, containing her identification papers, is lost and picked up by another woman who is in the last stages of exhaustion. The woman succumbs to the cold and on being found is thought to be Mrs. Stevens. Her death as Mrs. Stevens is reported to the papers. Judge Harding (formerly Stevens) sees the report of the death and marries the daughter of the boss. The boss decides to run Judge Harding for governor of the state, but his choice is attacked very strongly by a young lawyer, Norris. The boss and Harding try to buy Norris, but finding that he cannot be reached they decide to "frame up" his sweetheart in order to break his determination to prevent the election of Harding. They get her into trouble and Judge Harding is appointed to try the case. He is conducting the case in a very severe manner with a decided feeling against the prisoner. The superintendent of the orphan asylum has followed the course of the little girl's life and comes to the city to see her. She recognizes Mrs. Stevens as the woman who left the child at the orphanage and takes her to see the trial. As Mrs. Stevens enters she recognizes in Judge Harding the man who deserted her so many years ago. While the jury have retired to settle the case Mrs. Stevens accuses Judge Harding. The sudden excitement causes an attack of heart failure just as the jury return with a verdict of "Not Guilty."

A married diplomat falls hopelessly under the spell of a predatory woman.

Miriam, a young Russian girl, has an unfortunate love affair and is threatened with disgrace by having a child out of wedlock. Her father induces Gregor Randor, a young musician, to marry her, by paying him a sum of money. The couple migates to the United States, where they are later followed by Miriam's family, including her younger sister Celia. A love affair develops between Gregor and Celia, and despite their efforts at secrecy, Miriam learns about it. Torn between her outraged pride and her love for her young son, she confronts her cheating husband and her sister--to no avail. So she decides to wreak vengeance on them.

When Caroline Knollys goes to tell her husband Husband they they are expecting, she finds him in the arms of another woman. She leaves him, not telling him of her pregnancy, and runs off to Europe where she has the baby and becomes the toast of European society. Then she returns to settle with her husband once and for all.

Marie Bernais possesses a wonderful voice which her father believes is a gift from the devil. Raoul Nieppe loves her, but fears marrying below his social status, and his rejection results in a suicide attempt by Marie.

A woman detained in Germany attempts to escape so she can reunite with her American lover.

Blanchette Dumonde is known as "the wickedest woman in Paris" because she cavorts with her wealthy lover Chabin rather than join in the war effort. When she meets sculptor Etienne Desechette, he requests that she pose for him because he is haunted by the great soul that he sees hidden in her face. Although Chabin angrily refuses for her, Blanchette, moved by Etienne's words, attempts to become a nurse, but is rebuked by a hospital authority. Furious, she goes with Chabin to an Apache club, where she flirts with Auchat, the roughest of the dancers, and takes him home when the den is raided. After Chabin finds them and fights Auchat, Blanchette sees Etienne returning from the war, blind. She takes him to a country cottage where she nurses him and poses as he sculpts her image by touch. When Auchat comes to kill Etienne, Blanchette kills Auchat. Chabin arrives and, seeing Blanchette's happiness, tells the police that he killed Auchat, who was attempting to rob the house.

Maria Valverde, a young Spanish woman whose father has settled in the Philippines, arrives home from the convent where she received her education and is soon approached by Diablo Ramirez, a local plantation overseer who hopes to win her heart. Having met the handsome American army captain, Paul Winter, in Manila, Maria scorns Diablo's advances, and later, he is forcefully escorted from the house. Furious, Diablo organizes a group of rebels, who kill Maria's father and hold her a prisoner in her own home. When Captain Winter hears of the revolt, he rushes to Maria's aid but is himself captured. Reinforcements soon arrive from the American army post, and in the fighting, the house is set ablaze. Diablo is about to grab Maria when Captain Winter enters and shoots the rebel down. The Americans finally emerge victorious, and Maria wins her dashing captain.

Bavahari, a half caste Indian girl, renounces her oath as a sacred dancer to the worship of Buddha. The High Priest, who secretly loves the girl, is enraged and vows vengeance. Bavahari marries an English army officer, and they move to Paris where she becomes a sensation as a dancer. After she deserts her husband, he kills himself at her feet. The High Priest, discovering that Bavahari is in Paris, announces his presence by marking the "Sign of Death" on her dressing room door. He then disguises himself as a Buddha idol. As Bavahari dances on stage, the High Priest kills her in front of the audience.