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The Grim Comedian Synopsis

Musical comedy star Marie Lamonte, the mistress of Harvey Martin, has her daughter, Dorothy, reared in a convent school. Realizing that the daughter is about to come home, Marie gives up her luxurious life with Martin and in maternal devotion retires to humble lodgings. There she is happy with Dorothy, who is in love with young artist Geoffrey Hutchins. Martin, however, lavishes Dorothy with gifts and persuades her to elope with him; learning that Martin has fascinated Dorothy, Marie goes to his apartment to plead with him to give up the girl, who meanwhile is concealed in an adjoining room. Martin refuses, and in desperation Marie shoots at him. In admiration of her courage, Martin changes his mind, telling Dorothy that he never intended to marry her; and when the girl is united with Geoffrey, Marie is at last happy.

The Tongues of Men Synopsis

Rev. Dr. Penfield Sturgis, of fashionable St. Martins-in-the-Lane, finds himself face to face with Jane Bartlett, a grand opera prima donna whose opera he has denounced on grounds of morality, and who comes to his very vestry room to make him "eat his sermon word for word." Out of the encounter a strange acquaintance develops, Jane Bartlett interested through vindictive reasons, the rector through the challenge to his church. She prevails upon him to visit the notorious opera, which but deepens his previous convictions, but meanwhile he discovers a surprising humanity in the woman herself. Just as it is beginning to dawn upon him that maybe he takes himself a shade too seriously, word comes that the Mayor has closed "Zaporah" on the strength of his own condemnatory sermon. Repentant, Sturgis decides to apologize in an open letter to the newspapers, at which his vestry and congregation, already perturbed by the ascendancy of the Bartlett woman, are up in arms. To preserve her dignity the young rector offers to marry her, and she accepts him, thus at last making him "eat his sermon word for word," as she had set out to do. But her vanity appeased, Jane Bartlett proceeds to make peace between her young rector and Georgine Darigal, daughter of the rector emeritus and formerly his fiancée, and the reconciliation assured, Jane Bartlett gracefully withdraws.