Masterpiece Selection Resonating with the Themes of The Black Box: Cult Guide

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Luke Simms is an honest politician: He is as charitable as he is honest and his greatest pleasure is found in giving excursions to the poor little ones of the slums. The nomination for mayor is refused by Franz Hargraves, on the score that he believes he would be expected to sign away the people's rights in favor of the Electric Company. Simms is nominated and finally elected, after declaring himself in favor of the people. Richard Sears, the leader of the corruptionists, presents a fraudulent bill to the mayor, who refuses to sign it. Sears then decides to get the ordinance passed by working on Simms' weak spot. Calling upon the mayor, Sears learns how the former's sweetheart was killed in trying to avoid running down a child while she was riding in an auto with him. Believing that he has found the mayor's weakness, that of his love of children; Sears returns home and tells his mistress, Florida Everett, that she must get acquainted with Simms and eventually marry him. Florida, a good woman at heart, longs for a decent, wholesome existence, and Sears tells her this is her chance to get it. Plans are laid to entrap Simms. The scheme works and Florida and Simms are married, and are living happily. Meanwhile Sears' stenographer, Nell, whom he has betrayed, gives birth to a child which dies a few days later. Under the assumption that he has now got the honest mayor in his power, Sears again presents the crooked ordinance, but again Simms refuses to sign it. The corruptionist then commands Florida to induce her husband to honor the measure, but she begs to be left alone. Sears threatens to expose her and she tries to get her husband to sign the bill, but he refuses. Learning of her failure, Sears sends her a telegram to meet him that night at Ardsleigh Towers, and signs it Ned Harter, who is secretary to the mayor and brother of Nell, the betrayed girl. Florida finds herself trapped, and she is kept there all night. When the mayor again refuses to sign the bill, Sears threatens to expose his wife. The corruptionist tells the mayor to find out where his wife spent the preceding night. Angered, Simms questions Florida closely, and in her anguish and fear, she begs him not to go to Sears. This decides him and he departs with vengeance in his heart. In the meantime Nell has returned to her brother. Ned drags the truth from her. He steals into Sears' home and, finding a revolver in a table drawer, extracts the cartridges and replaces the weapon, determined that his victim shall not have even a dog's chance. He secretes himself behind a curtain and hears Sears entering, and is about to shoot when the maid comes in. Simms calls and informs Sears to keep his wife's name out of their affairs. A fight starts, and just as Sears is about to stab Simms, who has the empty revolver pointed at the crook and who pulls the trigger, Ned fires unseen by the others and Sears is killed. Simms thinks he has killed him, and giving away to his grief, tries to revive Sears, and does not see the youth steal from the curtain, grab up the empty revolver and leave. Simms is arrested and indicted for murder in the first degree. Against his command, Florida takes the stand and bares her life. She relates how Sears deceived her when she was young and innocent, and of her continued bad life until she met her husband. The jury releases Simms, who, horrified at the thought of being a murderer, resolves to part from his wife, whom he reverences more than before. He does not consider himself worthy of her. Officer Ryan, ambitious for promotion, and suspecting Ned knows more than has been brought out, follows him and learns enough to make him suspicious. Simms has returned home and is preparing to leave. Officer Ryan follows Ned to Simms' house. Ned becomes alarmed and takes to the roof. Just as Simms is leaving, Ned rushes in, wounded and bleeding from the revolver of his pursuer, and confesses that he killed Sears. Ned dies and Florida and Luke are reunited.

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Willie O'Donovan, grandson of Cormack O'Donovan, a retired millionaire contractor, is regarded by his parents as more of a nuisance than an asset. Mr. O'Donovan, Willie's father, is actively engaged in business, while his wife is an enthusiastic aspirant for social recognition. The grandfather, coming to the O'Donovans' home for dinner, enters to find that he has interrupted a domestic row. The grandfather, disliking to have Willie brought up in such an atmosphere, persuades the parents to let him send the boy away to a boarding school. Willie arrives on the school grounds and is made miserable by Peters, one of the other boys. Peters is in love with Mary, a pretty country girl. Willie receives word from Baden Baden, where grandfather had gone for his health, announcing his death. The will he has left with his valet bequeaths his entire fortune to Willie, but naming the person with whom he is living on his eighteenth birthday as the custodian of the fortune until Willie has reached his majority. Willie's parents are overjoyed when they hear of the news. O'Donovan has been losing money rapidly in his business and finds Willie's fortune a necessity. Since the grandfather's departure for Europe they have entered suit for divorce which complicates matters. Each of them decides to beat the other to the possession of the boy before he reaches his eighteenth year. Each of them writes to him to come to them. Willie refuses to have anything to do with them, so each hires a detective to get him. Clews, the father's detective, captures him, but Willie succeeds in giving the detective the impression that he is not Willie. That night Clews breaks into the dormitory, and following directions given him by Willie, gets another boy whom he takes back to the city to the waiting father. Willie's father is enraged at the detective's mistake and orders him back to get the boy. Returning to the school grounds he and Ketchum, the rival detectives, are pitted against each other. But Willie is too clever for them, and evades the detectives each time they plan to get him. School ends and Willie goes to live at Mary's home in the country. But the villains still pursue him. While he and Mary are fishing, Clews manages to capture him and take him back to his waiting auto. Ketchum, however, in the meantime, has learned that Clews is ahead of him. He hurries to the village constable and enlists his aid, insisting that a kidnapping is about to be pulled off. And so, when Clews arrives at the machine he is met by the posse and is arrested. In the confusion, however, Ketchum gets Willie on board a train and starts with him for New York. Ten miles out of town Willie escapes. En route, he runs into a gang of hobos who take his money and clothes. Willie is then forced to hide his nakedness in a sack. O'Donovan gets Clews out of jail and they start for town when they see Willie returning in his sack. They give chase, but Willie beats them to the gardener's cottage, where he gets a suit of clothes and starts for the church where he is to meet Mary. They trail him there and capture him again. Willie, who is wearing the gardener's clothes, begs for permission to return to Mary's for his own clothes. They hurry there and are met at the house by Mrs. O'Donovan, Ketchum, Mary and her mother. When Mary's mother refuses to let either party take the boy without a warrant, they rush off to get said warrants from the town justice of the peace. While they are gone Willie escapes through the window and they return to find him gone. The next day Willie is eighteen, and since he is living with neither of them, the money is to go to charity. They go to the attorney's office to hear the settlement of the will. One minute before the appointed hour, in walks Mary and demands the money. The parents are indignant until she informs them that Willie is living with her. Mother is about to faint when in walks Willie and announces that they are married and on their way to Europe on a honeymoon. The parents make up and decide to forget the divorce.

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Miriam Lee is a young woman in New York who works hard for a living. Her life changes when she meets Joe Valdez, a handsome and ruthless gambler. After the couple is married Valdez opens an elegant gambling house and uses Miriam, who is nicknamed "the queen of the night", as bait to attract rich and gambling customers.

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Young and wild, George Bell lives with his rancher father, Thomas Bell, in Paradise Valley, California. When George sells his father's favorite horse, Mr. Bell turns him out, and George becomes a grain salesman in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Polly Martin lives with her father Bill, an ex-businessman who has sunk to day-labor because of his addiction to alcohol. Bill frequently abuses Polly, and when he falls to his death from a high girder, Polly becomes a nurse in the Salvation Army in St. Louis. George falls in love with Polly after he saves her from the advances of a drunk, but she will not marry him because of his wild past. Instead, she applies for a job in Paradise Valley as a nurse, where she renders aid to Thomas Bell, who has broken his leg. She nurses him back to health at his ranch, and he grows fond of her. Eventually, George learns that Polly is in Paradise Valley and follows her to the ranch. When Thomas discovers that his son loves Polly, he sacrifices his love for George's happiness, and all live together as a family.

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Reverend Eric Norton leaves his position in a fashionable New York congregation to preach in a poor mining town, against the wishes of his wife Cecelia. Disputes rage about the safety of the mines, which have been closed under pressure, but in spite of threats from powerful miner "Bull" Morgan, Eric uses his influence with the owner to reopen the mines. Bored with her drab life, Cecelia deserts her infant son and runs off to Paris with former lover Richard Allen, who eventually leaves her. Penitent, Cecelia decides to return home only to find that her husband, believing her dead after reading about her apparent suicide in a newspaper, has married Edith Jackson, his ward. Bull Morgan attempts to blow up the mines but is buried in the explosion instead. Sneaking into her home for a last look at her son, Cecelia accidentally sets the house on fire. After a brave rescue of the baby, Cecelia begs Eric's forgiveness, then dies.

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Borrowing shamelessly from "A Tale of Two Cities", an American agent, Harvey Birch (Herbert Rawlinson), exchanges places in prison with Henry Wharton (J. W. Pike'), a condemned British officer and brother of a woman,Frances Wharton (Ella Hall he greatly admires, and goes to the gallows. After his death, General George Washington (William Worthington),reveals the true identity of the dead martyr.

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Balentine inherits a fortune from his father. He also inherits a fiancée. He sets out to spend the fortune and would have succeeded had not Vera Morton stepped in. Miss Morton, the fiancée, gets his money away from him, and keeps it until he settles down to earn a living. Jack changes his mind about marrying Miss Morton, when he sees Jane Billon. Vera solves the difficulty by becoming the wife of old Billon. Then she returns Jack's fortune, and he adds to it by acquiring Jane.

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General Stampoff takes control in Kosnovia, and to insure his position as the country's strong man, he installs Prince Alexis Delgrade, the idle son of Prince Michael, as the titular ruler. Alexis surprises everyone, however, and shocks the reactionary Stampoff, by instituting a series of democratic reforms. However, his public success cannot make up for his personal problems, as Alexis is unable to marry his sweetheart, Joan Cameron, because she was born in America and thus could not reign as queen. Then, Alexis discovers that his mother came from Indiana, thereby making him as much an American as a Kosnovian, and also invalidating his claim to the throne. As a result, he abdicates and marries Joan, while Michael, vowing to maintain his son's democratic policies, takes over as king.

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With his only asset being his title, then when Lord Arthur Waring seriously injures Helene Von Gerold in a riding accident, he borrows money from his dishonorable rich younger brother Mark in order to pay for her medical treatment. Mark drives a hard bargain, however, and makes Arthur agree to commit suicide in six months, thus allowing Mark to inherit the title, if he cannot pay back the loan. Toward the end of the allotted time, Arthur still has not been able to raise the money. Then, just as Arthur is about to kill himself, Helen's father overturns a lamp and sets fire to his house, and Arthur, hearing the alarm, rushes to the scene. Mark also hurries to the Von Gerold's house, but he dies en route when he is thrown from his horse. Arthur rescues Helen, and then, having inherited Mark's fortune, he confidently begins a romance with her.

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Young Anthony March, living in London, inherits a considerable amount of money, but his crooked uncle Dr. Manuel Ceneri steals it. When Anthony gets suspicious, Ceneri's partner in crime, Macari, persuades Ceneri to kill him. However, just as they commit the murder a blind man, Gilbert Vaughan, mistakenly enters the house. Anthony's sister Pauline sees the murder, faints and loses her memory. Thinking they have gotten away with the murder, Ceneri and Macari soon find out that they're in for a shock.