The Social Code

German actress Lena Malena starred in this lavishly budgeted and potentially intriguing melodrama about the influence of a valuable gem on its owners.

Mary Alden and her brothers Matthew and George have extremely different political views. Matthew is a committed pacifist, and is constantly giving speeches against war. George is notified that his draft number, 258, has been called and to report for induction, but he refuses. Mary, on the other hand, is intensely patriotic and comes up with a plan to shame him into reporting for induction. Meanwhile, Matthew is being set up for a patsy by a gang of German secret agents, led by Van Bierman, who are planning to blow up an airplane factory.

Overcome with guilt after having an affair with her best friends husband, Clorinda hopes to escape her past by moving to Europe, where she meets Malcolm, a decent man who falls in love with her.

Idalene Nobbin attends a village dance but, due to the constant nagging of her mother, she believes herself to be a constitutional wallflower. By great luck she gets a dance with college football star Roy Duncan, although Roy has eyes for the village belle Prue Nickerson.

Young mother Mary Gordoon is too poor to take care of her infant daughter, Ann, and leaves the child at an orphanage. Ann grows up with a crippled leg in the orphanage, and has fallen in love with a fellow orphan, Jimmy.

Hard-working insurance company bookkeeper John Carter, comes home Easter eve to his suburban cottage with a potted lily for his loving wife and two daughters. The Carters live happily until cashier Charles Ryder is murdered by the night watchman, a "coke sniffer" in need of money, and Carter is accused because he worked with Ryder that evening.

Lilly Meany has grown up amongst charlatans, including her father. She decides to become a faith healer, and her first victim, a rich hypochondriac woman, is easy enough to "cure." In fact, the woman's so happy with Lilly, now calling herself Vashti Dethic, that she recommends her to her nephew, Judah, Lord Asgarby, who has a crippled sister, Eve. The little girl gives Lilly so much innocent trust and love that she actually is able to walk for the first time ever.

Young Irish boxer James Carabine arrives in New York from Ireland, his way having been paid by Peggy Nolan, a girl from his hometown who's sweet on him. Unfortunately, James falls for the trampy Marcolina, who hooks up with him when her boxer husband loses a fight due to the shady doings of friends of fighter Blanco Johnson. Peggy sets out to rescue him from the bad crowd he's hanging with and get him back into prime boxing form.

Artist model Margot uses her “Power of Decision” to choose between two men she loves, after much distress of course!

Twins Nelson and J. Barrington Drake return home for the celebration of their parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Barrington is a wealthy oilman, but Nelson is a pastor in a small rural church, who is struggling to increase his ever-shrinking flock, Barrington tells him that his problem could be solved with the right type of salesmanship, and proceeds to map out a plan to do just that. However, a case of mistaken identity-and a scheme by two of the church's deacons to take over all of the church property-throws a wrench into his plans.

Unrequited love rules the day as both wealthy Judith Sylvester and her invalid aunt pine for men who got away, but happiness lays ahead for one while hopeful dreams sustain the other.