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The Toilers Synopsis

The scene is set in the Pennsylvania petroleum region. Oil worker William Brett has used his scanty hoard of savings to send his daughter Jane to the city to secure a higher education. Completing her course as a trained nurse, Jane visits her old home. Amid the settlement's corroding influence, her brother becomes a thief. Jane's sister Annie falls a prey to the blandishments of a tempter from the city. Fired with indignation against the injustice of affairs, Jane devotes herself to the double mission of avenging and of righting the wrongs of which her family and the community in general have been subjected. Her father is seriously hurt in an accident at work, and his pay is stopped. Jane hastens to the city, determined to make an effort to awaken William Jameson, the millionaire owner of the oil field, to a realization of the wrongs imposed upon the workers. She arrives at a time when the millionaire's son John Jameson, who glimpsed the light of uplift, is vainly pleading with his father to listen to his plans for the betterment of the workers' conditions. Jane is compelled to force her way into the Jameson mansion during the progress of a bal masque given in aid of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She accosts William Jameson in his study, and wild with anger and further maddened by the millionaire's gibes, she tries to kill him and is arrested by detectives. Although she and young Jameson have not met, the latter is instrumental in obtaining her release. Jane goes back to the workers and a secret strike is formed, Jane being the ring-leader. They determine to fire the wells to teach Jameson a lesson. It is at this time that John Jameson comes to the oil wells to investigate conditions. His identity is not known by anyone except the superintendent. Morgan, the ringleader of the workers, is in love with Jane, and on the eve of the firing of the wells he learns of Jameson's identity by breaking into his cottage. The same evening, to save the property, young Jameson goes to Jane, confesses his identity, and pleads with her to help him save the property. Jane is in a quandary. She has fallen in love with the man, whom she believed to be a workman, and he with her. Finally, when she goes to the meeting place of the strikers and pleads with them to hold off, Morgan, who has just broken into Jameson's hut, rushes in, and accuses her of being a traitor. There is a fight. They trample over Jane and rush to the wells. Jane, realizing that they will turn to her unsuspecting lover and try to kill him, drags herself to him and just in time throws herself in front of him as the strikers rush to kill him. However, John Jameson bares himself to the strikers, asks them to listen to him, and proves to them that he is there on their behalf. He then goes to his father and forces him to give in to the strikers, and all ends happily.

The Flames of Johannis Synopsis

The picture opens in Pennsylvania 25 years ago, during the winter of terrible drought. Vogel, the village's most prosperous farmer, is called to his only brother's bedside to take charge of his 4-year-old nephew George. On his way home from the suicide's house, Vogel finds an old gypsy woman carrying an infant almost frozen to death. Vogel takes the infant home with him and the next day adopts her with George. The old gypsy is paid a sum of money to give up all claim of the child on condition that she will not interfere in the future. She accepts and departs. Marika and George are known in the town as the calamity children. Three years later, a daughter, Gertrude, is born to Vogel. The family is returning from her christening when the old gypsy woman suddenly seizes Marika and caresses her. The crowd drives off the old woman, the the incident makes an impression on Marika's young mind. Marika and George become childhood sweethearts, and when George is 12, he and Marika plant a little tree in the garden behind the house and call it their sweetheart tree. Seeing this, Vogel chides George for being so sentimentally silly, and orders him to get to work filling the grain bins. George resents Vogel's manner, and Vogel angrily flings out that George's father was a suicide who left Vogelto pay all his debts and bring up his son. George runs away, vowing that he will not return to the village until he can repay Vogel in full. Years pass and Marika and Gertrude are grown to young womanhood. Marika, with the memory of George ever in her heart, learns that he has prospered and is about to return to the village. Vogel, who hears this news, decides that George is the man to marry his daughter Gertrude. George returns, and is hailed with delight by all except Marika, who, actuated by a motive of gratitude because of all Vogel has done for her in the past, stifles the call of her own heart and keeps her love for George locked within her own breast. Later George asks Marika why she avoids him, but she's evasive, and he, in a fit of pique, proposes to Gertrude. When she hears of this, Marika insists upon fitting up the new home which George and his future bride are to occupy in a neighboring village. This necessitates her making frequent trips at night, returning to her home the following day. On one of these trips Marika again meets the old gypsy woman, who seizes her and calls her her daughter. Marika rushes to her home and later, as she hears the family discussing the incident of meeting the gypsy years ago, she realizes for the first time that the old hag is her own mother. It is St. John's Eve, two days before the wedding of George and Gertrude, and Marika is to make her last trip to the couple's new home. The family have retired and George has remained up to keep Marika company until train time. As she realizes that George is soon to go out of her life forever, Marika is unable to restrain the pent-up passion of years, and she begs George to take her in his arms. This action is seen through the window by the old gypsy, who realizes that from now on she can secure money from George to keep the facts of what took place from the public. As the day dawns George begs Marika to let him go to Vogel and tell his love for her, but she, knowing that the shock would kill Gertrude and break her foster parents' hearts, refuses. Later she silently looks on with breaking heart as George and Gertrude are married. During the wedding ceremony the old gypsy enters Vogel's house and is found by the returning guests in the cellar, intoxicated. She is arrested and taken to jail. Marika learns of this and goes at once to her mother, and finds her very ill. She dies in delirium. The next morning Pastor Hoffman, who has always loved Marika, comes to the cell and finds his beloved bending over the body of her mother. He takes her into his arms and she leaves the prison with him.