German actress Lena Malena starred in this lavishly budgeted and potentially intriguing melodrama about the influence of a valuable gem on its owners.
Historically significant as Universal's first 100% all-talkie, the production suffered from having a tight shooting schedule. Carl Laemmle was only able to rent the Fox Movietone sound-on-film recording system for one week, having to be filmed at night while the Fox Studio was closed down for the evenings.
A 15-chapter Western serial. The serial involves the mystery of the murder of William Stillman (Wells) and the finding of the heir to his fortune. Silent Joe (Farnum) arrives in an effort to discover the murderer and prove that he is the true heir. He and the heroine Lou (Anderson) have their adventures in the mountainous terrain with its "vanishing trails." They are aided by The Shadow (Orlamond), a demented scientist with his trained dog, and several remarkable, death-dealing inventions.
James Wadsworth sets his sights on the lovely society girl Anna Dalton and determines to marry her. To achieve that goal, he follows her everywhere she goes, including on a ship to South America. He comes up with a plan to make her love him-he throws her overboard, follows her over the side and swims with her to a deserted island. His somewhat unorthodox method works and he wins over Anna, but problems arise when Richard Towne, Anna's fiancé who has been searching for her, finds the island and discovers the two.
Secretly engaged to Bernice, Albert becomes infatuated with the gypsy Mina. The rich and jealous Renard is in love with Mina enticing her father to take revenge on Albert. A scuffle ensues during which Renard accidentally stabs Mina's father but allows everyone to believe Albert guilty of the crime. Bernice hears of the events and breaks off her engagement to Albert. He is pursued by the police until a last-minute confession saves him.
While touring Algiers, Mrs. Osborne and her daughter, Winnifred, make the acquaintance of Schuyler Van Norden, a young American banker. At a little booth, Mrs. Osborne purchases "The Moonstone of Fez." On their way to their hotel, Winnifred and her mother are accosted by a beggar, who seizes Mrs. Osborne's hand and insists upon telling her fortune. The following night they retire in adjoining rooms. In the morning, Winnifred is frightened to find her mother has mysteriously disappeared.
The heroine had little time for romancing newspaper reporter Walter Jameson, what with Doctor X, alias Marcus Del Mar, threatening American democracy in general and master detective Craig Kennedy's designs for a new torpedo in particular. Whenever Doctor X has Elaine or Jameson in his grasp, they are inevitably saved in the nick of time by a mystery figure garbed in black.
A British beachcomber who lives on a Dutch colonial island in the South Seas. He is banished after missionaries claim he corrupts the native women, but he later tries to save them during a typhoid outbreak.
Vallery Grove is in love with Don Warren but her mother opposes the match because he is poor and has no social standing. Don decides to terminate his engagement to Vallery after attending a party where he meets a spoiled rich girl who is interested in him.