Florence Lawrence

An unprecedented anthology of never-before-told true stories by and about some of Hollywood's most interesting stars, legends, and wannabes, and takes readers inside Hollywood's inner sanctum to show how casting decisions are made, who makes them, and who has the final word.

The careers of D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin are chronicled culminating in the formation of United Artists and 1919.

Hard-working, henpecked Ambrose Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match with catastrophic consequences.

A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son.

The Great McGonigle and his troupe of third-rate vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors and the sheriff.

In the 1860s, Mary Marlowe defies her father's wishes to marry a British lord and runs away with clerk John Carlton as he heads West to make his fortune. Mary and John endure the difficult journey and settle into a small cabin, then face the hostilities of a cattle rustling gang, as well as the tragic loss of their only son. With Mary's help, John defeats the gang, which propels him to political power that, over the years, gradually erodes the once-happy marriage.

Wealthy widow Mrs. Bramson notices that her maid is distracted, and when she learns the girl's fiancé, Danny, is the reason, she summons him in. Mrs. Bramson's niece Olivia takes a liking to Danny, and comes to believe that he may have been involved in the disappearance of a local woman.

A New York fashion model finds herself being pursued by a poor but honest garage mechanic and a rich philanderer.

A small textile factory down south is run by a cruel foreman that bullies and fires on whim the workers, especially the office girl who starts a day nursery for their children. He's also a part owner in the business. His methods usually scare away the man hired as the plant manager, until a replacement (secretly one of the other owners) arrives.

Bank clerk Vincent Forrest loses his savings in a gambling den run by Madame Zoe and her provider, Van Merton. Forrest's wife Ann begins an affair with Merton when she discovers that Forrest is infatuated with Madame Zoe. Ann loses heavily gambling, but Vincent soon realizes what is happening in time to save his wife and to restore her happiness.

When a fireman rescues his long-lost sister-in-law he mistakes her for his wife when she dies, and contemplates suicide until he learns the truth.

A spurned suitor threatens to kill Margie's sweetheart if she does not give him up.

Aunt Jane's nieces and nephews bicker over an anticipated legacy.

A rejected suitor rebuffs the woman he loves after the death of her husband.

A philandering husband arranges an ill-planned rendezvous at the same restaurant his wife and daughter are dining at.

The film follows a, love triangle in a Maine fishing village, where a girl named Rosie (Lawrence) gives a rose to two brothers who are vying for her hand. The plot involves jealousy, a fight at sea for a rose, a near-death experience, and a final resolution where the younger brother gets the girl.

An escaped mental patient assumes the identity of a society girl's dead father and threatens her marriage.

A young doctor is jealous of one of his patient's romantic interest in his nurse.

One man squanders a fortune and loses his house and sweetheart to another who strikes it rich.

A society woman gambles at cards.

A society girl changes places with her maid for an adventure.

Early movie star Florence Lawrence appears in this dramatic farce, in which the police pay a famous burglar to save the life of a child thought to be trapped inside a bank’s time-lock safe. Also stars King Baggot and Owen Moore (Mary Pickford’s first husband).

A silly and extravagant wife must learn to curb her wild ways before her husband is willing to take her back.

A young governess catches the eye of an aristocrat and romance blossoms.

Jane thinks she has witnessed a murder and the suspect is arrested; she later learns the truth and saves him from hanging.

A female mail carrier is injured on her route and recovers at a bachelor's lodge.

A young soldier is shipped overseas after a hasty marriage; when he returns he doesn't recognize his wife who has changed from the tomboy he married to a sophisticated young woman.

During the American Revolution, a young soldier carrying a crucial message to General Washington is spotted and pursued by a group of enemy soldiers. He takes refuge with a civilian family, but is soon detected. The family and their neighbors must then make plans to see that the important message gets through after all.

Biographical drama, adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

A haughty politician, on seeing a satirical cartoon in a newspaper, rushes to the paper's offices to shoot the cartoonist. On discovering the cartoonist is a pretty woman, he falls instantly in love and wastes no time in trying to woo her.

Mr. Jones at the Ball is a 1908 American silent short comedy film, part of the once-popular Biograph series centered around the titular Jones and his long-suffering wife. In this film, Jones rips his suit pants and chaos ensues.

Daniel Boone is captured by Indians when he tries to rescue his abducted daughter.

Adaptation of a poem written by Thomas Hood.

A man arrives home late and drunk as usual. His wife reminds him that he's supposed to take their daughter out to a play. While watching the play, he's faced with his own drinking evils and how his life would be without them.

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

George Redfeather, the hero of this subject, returns from Carlisle, where he not only graduated with high honors, but was also the star of the college football team. At a reception given in his honor by Lieut. Penrose, an Indian agent, the civilized brave meets Gladys, the lieutenant's daughter, and falls desperately in love with her.

A short film based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was the first film to dramatize the ill-fated romance between Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt.

A mother works as a dancer to support her ill daughter. One night while performing, the mother has a vision of her child dying. She rushes home, but it is too late.

After overhearing Jones mocking her, the lady book agent slips a suggestive note into Jones's pocket. A jealous Mrs. Jones finds the note, and a huge quarrel erupts.

A royal woman rejects her arranged marriage. The cardinal hatches a plan: the suitor will shave and change clothes. He arranges with 4 clowns to stage an attack on the princess which he easily repels. It works; the princess falls for him, especially when the cardinal arranges his arrest.

Mrs. Wharton, a dashing widow, gives a party at her beautiful villa in honor of the presentation to her of a handsome diamond necklace by her fiancé. During the evening bridge participated in by a number of the guests, among whom is Myrtle Vane. Miss Vane is playing in wretched luck, and is advised several times by Mrs. Wharton to desist, but she still plays on in the vain hopes of the tide of fortune turning, until at last, in the extreme of desperation, she stakes her all and loses. Shame and disgrace stare her in the face. What can she do to recoup her depleted fortune? As one of the guests there is Professor Francois Paracelsus, the eminent palmister, who of course, was called upon to read the palms of those present. Sheets of paper were prepared and each imprinted their hand on a sheet to be read by the erudite soothsayer at his leisure, and so were left on the drawing room table.

"Fine feathers make fine birds", and handsome gowns make handsome women. Hence it is when Isabelle appears on the scene clad in a gown that is a masterpiece of the dressmaker's art she easily fascinates the male contingent, among whom is Enrico, the sweetheart of Veronica, a street singer. Enrico is so enraptured at the sight of Isabelle in her resplendent attire that he becomes her abject slave, casting aside the poor, peasant-clad little Italian street singer, who has loved him devotedly. Crushed almost beyond endurance the poor girl stands sobbing at the entrance of the park where the inconsistent lever left her. Her tears attract the attention of a wealthy young couple who happen to pass. In answer to their queries she tells them how contemptibly her sweetheart acted, and all because of the fascinating influence of a gown.

A girl from the New York slums falls in with crooks. After her love is arrested following a barfight turned deadly, her life seems directionless-- that is, until she's saved from the streets by a band of Salvationists. She enrolls, and soon afterward encounters her former love in the same bar. Her faith is real, and strong, and her former love doesn't like this.

House painter Jim Brooks thinks his wife is cheating on him with his best friend John West. The intrigue is in fact a birthday surprise.

Out-of-work, Tim steals a sandwich, then knocks out the policeman who chases him. He changes into the policeman's uniform, and is approached by a wife who needs help with her drunken husband.

Pretty Miss Chrysanthemum has but little to say as to the disposal of her heart, at least, such is the custom in Japan. Her parents attend to that for her. However, pretty little O Yama Sum had a will of her own, and casting tradition to the winds, insisted upon making her own choice. The Grand Daimio has long loved the pretty O Yama and presents himself before her mother in quest of her hand. His offer is scorned by O Yama, for she loves another, a low-born but worthy warrior.

A woman is scarred in an accident and refuses to stand in the way of her lover's marriage to another.

Mons. Flamant, a typical roué of the French nobility, is surrounded by all the pleasures and pastimes his fabulous wealth can procure. In a quest of diversion he visits the art rooms, just as a young girl enters with a magnificent piece of sculpture and places it on sale. The roué is so impressed with the work and the girl that he purchases it at once and follows her to the atelier, where he learns that she is the maid of the sculptress, whom he sees and at once falls passionately in love with her, but when he learns that she is totally blind, his feelings change to one of deepest pity.

Ruthless bandit Bill Preston rules a terrorizing frontier gang. Frontier girl Nellie Carson loves him despite his cruelty, but he abandons her wounded after a dispute. When a kind mountain girl who offered Nellie aid is kidnapped by Bill, Nellie rescues her from his camp out of jealousy and pity. During their escape, a dropped gun alerts the gang. As they flee on one horse, Nellie shields the mountain girl and takes multiple bullets. A sympathetic bandit kills Bill, stopping the pursuit. Nellie tragically dies from her wounds just as they reach safety at the mountain cabin.

Manuella, a wealthy Mexican girl, rejects the honest cowboy Renaldo to marry Gonzales, a dashing but greedy musician. Upon finding her marriage-box empty of money, a furious Gonzales abandons Manuella for a life of dissipation. He later returns to violently rob her of her jewelry for drink money. Learning of the abuse, Renaldo confronts Gonzales in a destructive tavern brawl. Renaldo defeats the villainous husband but spares his life at Manuella’s request, ultimately rescuing her.

A young female boarding house tenant becomes an unwanted object of male attention.

A tramp tricks a cook into leaving her wealthy employer's house. While the clubman's house is empty the tramp makes himself at home, starting by helping himself to a good meal, then going upstairs for a bath and a new set of clothes. Attired in the clubman's clothes, the tramp walks around town, where he is continually mistaken for the clubman.

Jones's mother-in-law prohibits his smoking and drinking, so he takes her out for the evening and gets her drunk.

A mother punishes her son for eating a plate of cream puffs, unaware that the daughter really did it. As the daughter watches the punishment, she feels guilty, and confesses her misdeed.

Soon after their engagement, Bill goes to sea, and Emily vows to stay true until his return. Unknown to her, Bill marries another woman from a different port. Emily waits faithfully for six years, finally becoming dangerously ill. When Bill suddenly appears in town with his family, Joe, who has loved Emily all along, forces Bill to make Emily's final moments happy by pretending he has returned to marry her.

A few of us have had the chance to read our own obituary notice, but it fell to the lot of John Goodhusband the rare privilege of viewing his own elegiac cinerary floral offerings, and at the time John was anything but a "dead one."

The amateur dramatic society chooses the Joneses' residence as the location of its next meeting, and both Joneses catch 'the acting bug' in this split-reel subject.

Sisters guarding their house from a burglar set upon stealing their daddy's money.

A bored Lady Helen goes slumming as a domestic in a boarding house. There she falls in love with a sensitive young musician. The other women in the house are jealous, and accuse her of trying to steal the musician's violin. Lady Helen retreats to her own home, and arranges a position for the musician which allows them to be together.

A group of collegiates decide to go for a splash. A lunatic, having escaped from a nearby asylum, heads for the surf, brandishing a knife. Innocent seaside fun becomes a struggle against a maniac on the water.