Pride and the Man

The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and the great showman’s singular cinematic bag of tricks, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent—part Gospel, part Technicolor epic.

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.

A Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.

A feud over boundaries between the McKinstry and Harrison families, both from Kentucky, but squatting in California in search of gold, has caused Cressy McKinstry to show disdain for Joe Masters, a cousin of the Harrisons, even though she secretly loves him.

Mary Carlton, who lives with her invalid father on a cotton plantation, receives a letter from Bob, her brother, in New York, stating that he faces death in the electric chair for a crime of which he claims to be innocent. Determined to save him, she goes there, learns of his association with an underworld gang, and begins to suspect Handsome Joe of a connection with the crime.

A rich man who finds that there is nothing in life worth living for, is worse off than is a poor man in similar circumstances, for the poor man may he stricken with ambition, and in a last effort to attain fame and fortune, redeems himself. But what is a man to do if he has wealth, health, all the fame he desires, and yet looks at life through blue spectacles?

High school students led by the Girl and Boy turn from Christianity toward secret atheistic meetings. When a girl is accidentally killed by a stairway collapse, the Girl and Boy go to reform school where they are treated brutally.

Mary Maddock works as a seamstress to bring home money while her husband Steve, unemployed, has no real prospects of earning money. Mary's employers, are trying to strike an oil related business deal with a rich man by the name of Nelson Rogers. The deal does not seem to be on the table, as Mr. Rogers is leaving town shortly and does not have the time to work out the details of such a deal. In an order to entice him to stay, Mrs. Mallory - wife of Mr. Mallory who is proposing the business deal - convinces Mary to be her guest at a dinner party with the intent of making Mr. Rogers fall for her and thus stay long enough for Mr. Mallory to make him agree to a business deal.

Pampered debutante Betty Baylock buys a wishing rug from a peddler and wishes for a dark-haired, blue-eyed man, hoping to rid herself of three annoying suitors. However, her wealthy stockbroker father, Robert Baylock, decrees that Betty must choose one of the young men immediately, and she defies him by dismissing them all. Robert's aggravation compounds when Betty falls in love with Jack Grey, who is penniless after squandering a $100,000 fortune. Robert orders Jack to earn back the money he has lost before he can marry Betty. Jack goes into the laundry business and discovers that Robert writes stock tips on his shirt cuffs. He copies the notations and corners a stock, earning $100,000 at Robert's expense. Admitting defeat, Robert gives the young couple his blessing.

Ronald, heir to Lord Earle in Earlescourt, England, secretly loves Dora Thorne, a desirable but working-class woman. When Lord Earle hears of the relationship, he brings Valentine Charteris to the estate to distract his lovesick son. True to his love, however, Ronald refuses Valentine and marries Dora. After emigrating to Italy, Ronald earns a modest living as a painter, and Dora gives birth to twins. When Ronald receives a generous commission to paint a portrait, he asks Dora to pose for him, but overly preoccupied with the children, she refuses. Wounded by the rejection, Ronald calls on Valentine Charteris and quickly becomes infatuated with her, forcing Dora to return to Earlescourt with the twins.

On a desolate beach near a lifesaving station, Ira, the youngest member of the lifeguard crew, rescues a baby girl from a wreck. The child is cared for at the station, where the men christen her Periwinkle. Living near the station are Ephraiam Rawlins and his childless daughter Ann, a widow with maternal longings. Joyously, Ann takes charge of Periwinkle and raises the girl as her own. Grown to adulthood, Periwinkle is the bright spot for the men at the station. One day, Richard Langdon Evans, a dissolute, wealthy young New Yorker, is cast ashore from the wreck of his yacht. Periwinkle, aiding the lifesavers, helps bring him back to life. Her innocent goodness and faith transform Dick from a carousing society ne'er-do-well to a man of noble ambitions. Thus rehabilitated, Dick wins Periwinkle's hand in marriage.

A dog named Thunder, the weakling of his brood, is born in a lumber camp in the North Woods, operated by Anita Baker. The cowardly dog is cast out of the camp and adopted by forest ranger Allen Gregory. Meanwhile, Bill Martin, the brutal camp superintendent, covets both Anita and her property. When Bill attacks Anita, Thunder comes to the rescue and proves his courage by warding off the villain.

Manhattan model Marion Buckley hesitates to accept a marriage proposal from wealthy upstate department store owner Warren Rogers, a widower with two daughters, because of her previous affair with her employer Leon Kessler, who had promised to marry her.

Bessie Wheaton returns from Europe to find her nouveau riche family has adopted and magnified the worst characteristics of the upper class. Her father spends all of his time at the club, her mother cultivates snobbishness, and her sister thinks only of marrying into royalty. To shake them out of their aristocratic poses, Bessie decides to reflect all of their faults, becoming as lazy as her father and as status conscious as her mother. She even rejects her own sweetheart, Allan Shelby, to lure Count d'Orr away from her sister. Finally, the members of the family confront Bessie, and she angrily tells them that she was only mirroring their behavior. Bessie then runs away, but Allan, with whom she quickly reconciles, brings her back, just as her family acknowledges its recent burlesque of the upper crust.

An Austrian military officer and rogue attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront each other in a test of abilities that ends surprisingly.

Though Judge Benton unhesitatingly sentences laborer Joe Martin to a year in prison for beating his wife, he thoughtlessly abandons his own faithful wife to the attentions of an artist and demands a divorce when he suspects her of wrongdoing. Through coincidence Barbara Benton and Mrs. Martin become friends, and Barbara learns of Joe's desire for revenge.

Snobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife due to his drinking and his airs at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. In search of the thief, Steele is attacked and left for dead. He is rescued by a kindly couple, but suffers from amnesia.

Count Ferdinand, a submarine commander and secret pacifist refuses to torpedo a defenseless passenger ship during wartime. His submarine is sunk in the following fracas. In the spirit world, Christ commends the captain, and returns to earth in the commander's body to promote His message of peace.

Directed by Norman Dawn. With Arthur Jasmine, Marcia Manon, Laska Winter, Charles Reisner.

Young Celeste Janvier ( Bessie Love ) lives in an East Side tenement with her immigrant grandfather, a humanitarian and socialist. Like her kindly grandfather, Celeste also has a kindhearted soul, and her friendly nature has earned her the nickname, " the little sister of everybody."

To maintain order aboard the Southern Cross, Bull Dorgan, its fierce captain, beats Pedro, a trouble-making sailor, who swears revenge as he steers the boat toward the wild Barbary Coast.

Hartley, fascinated by the vampish Leonie, steals and serves a term in prison. Not satisfied with this downfall, Leonie again works her womanly charms upon Dr. Gerald, who is engaged to Johanna, the adopted daughter of Dr. McLean. Learning of the woman's designs on the young doctor, Hartley denounces her in Gerald's presence. In response, Gerald foolishly renounces Johanna and his friendship with Dr. McLean. However, when Leonie discovers that Johanna is her own daughter whom she had deserted as a child, she becomes conscience-stricken, gives up the young man and begs forgiveness.

Although Kenneth Carmont and Esther Saunders, criminal Bert Saunders' sister, love each other, Esther marries detective Elwood Collins, who agrees to stop pursuing Bert if she accepts his proposal. One night, Kenneth and Esther hide Bert, who has escaped from the police. The same night, Kenneth's father is murdered. The evidence implicates Kenneth, who cannot supply his whereabouts at the time of the crime, as that would give away Bert. Esther cannot clear Kenneth for the same reason, and because it would let her husband know that she was with her former sweetheart.

Finding himself penniless, Lawrence Ashmore, whose late father was ruined on the stock exchange, obtains a position as a reporter. Ashmore is assigned to investigate the reported fatal illness of Jesse Craven, one of Wall Street's financial monarchs.

The wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O'Brien. Although Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts to go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas.

Murderous bandits shoot up a town and kill the sheriff. But before he dies, the lawman leaves behind a list of the men responsible for his murder. Twenty-five years later, his son, Buck Marston has grown up and followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a sheriff.

Outlaw Sam Hemp attempts to induce homesteader Lang Rush, faced with foreclosure due to drought, to rob the bank as restitution. The exchange escalates into a gunfight leaving Sam and his wealthy friend, Drayton, dead. Fleeing to the mountains and the refuge of a deserted shack near Singing River Lang prospects for silver. Another former homesteader, Bert Condon, trails Lang in the hope of collecting a $5,000 reward, but befriends the fugitive and assists in filing Lang's claim when he strikes ore. On his return to town, Lang rescues the sheriff's daughter, Alice Thornton, from Hemp's gang and defeats their leader, L. W. Bransom, in a fistfight. He then clears himself of the murder charge and wins Alice.

When John Harlow loses his sweetheart Jenny Larkin as a result of poverty, he vows never to be broke again and leaves town. He moves to the city, and several years later, after pinching his pennies, he becomes financially successful. One night, while at a dance hall, he runs into Jenny who is now employed as a dance hall hostess. Jenny decides to fleece John and sets him up with Laura, one of her colleagues. Laura is innocent of the scheme, and she and John fall in love. Jenny becomes jealous and attempts to reclaim John by telling him that Laura is having an affair with Richard Crane. John believes her until he discovers that Crane has just married Laura's mother. He proposes to Laura, and she accepts on the condition that he relinquish his spendthrift ways.

Veteran action hero William Russell starred opposite his offscreen wife Helen Ferguson in this typical Fox oater about a miner who finds himself up against a master swindler (George Webb).

Kingston Hollister admires Bernice Cleveland from afar. He asks Officer Callahan, the policeman on the beat, about her and mistakenly believes she is a lady's maid. So the wealthy Hollister disguises himself as the cop so he can meet her.

They were the model engaged couple at the summer resort until, well, until they quarreled. They were members of a crabbing party, and May caught the biggest one that had ever been seen at Cape May, but Jack foozled with the landing net and fell overboard.

Bing Howard a former stockbroker, is called the "Night Wind" because he is a fugitive from justice, persistently being trailed by Clifford Rushton, a private detective who has framed Howard on a bond robbery. Rushton's failure to catch Howard forces the chief to turn the case over to Detective Katherine Maxwell, alias "Lady Kate," whose brother was sent to prison for bond robbery on the same evidence Rushton has brought against Howard.

The wealthy Van Dyke family are constantly in the media for outrageous behavior, much to the frustration of the patriarch, Dan Van Dyke. His self-centered wife has a fondness for foreign imports, including "pet projects" like dancers and such and his spoiled children Tony and Carol have constant run-ins with the law. When Dan himself ends up in the clink for five years for tax evasion, he becomes bunk-mates with ex-bootlegger Joe "Spots" Ricardi. Ricardi lectures him on being such a push-over for an out-of-control family, so a dying Dan makes Ricardi his estate trustee once he is released from prison. Ricardi is then thrust into high society and must do everything he once nagged Dan to do.

The boys are stowaways on a train box-car filled with furniture bound for Hollywood where they hope to break into movies and become stars. Arriving at the Carnation Pictures Studios. Fuller Rath, the studio general manager, receives a telegram from the home office telling him that a certain "Mr. Smith and his two assistants" will arrive to take over the supervision of the studios. He mistakes the Stooges as the executives and gives them free reign over the studios, where they proceed to disrupt and destroy the production of a romantic drama.

Nina, engaged to a French captain, and Nancy, engaged to a doctor who runs an insane asylum on an island, are friends. When the doctor catches Nancy kissing the captain, known for kisses with a "heavenly kick," he breaks the engagement. In an effort to win back the doctor for Nancy, Nina pretends to be a bit "off" and becomes an inmate of the sanitarium.

Small town politician and banker Brent Warren is responsible for a murder, but only George Roan is sent to the gallows for it. Roan, however, is resuscitated after he is hung and proceeds to secretly haunt Warren's life. District attorney Cullen Grant is sure that Warren was behind the killing and has him arrested. Warren's fiancee, Dare Keeling, also happens to the Grant's ex-sweetheart, and she believes in his innocence. Her brother, Larry, however, isn't so sure and he goes to work as Warren's secretary.

A young man's journey into adulthood, love, and ambition, inspired by a serial by George Randolph Chester exploring themes of love, ambition, and self-discovery, set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties.