Henry King

Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.

In March 1916, Pathé released a short feature entitled Little Mary Sunshine, starring a four-year-old Marie Osborne. This was one of the first features ever directed by King and it was so successful that Pathé asked the original production company, Balboa, for five more features with the same child wonder. All were produced during the second half of 1916, and only three of them survive today – one being Twin Kiddies, which shows the amazing progress King had made since the first film in the series. Of course, the story is thin, the ending quite abrupt, and the opening sequences rather long. Yet, the direction is much more subtle, alternating between shots of different size, suggesting that King was mastering the art of composition.

To track an elusive mountain still, Secret Service agent Dorothy Madison goes undercover as an artist, faking an injury to infiltrate the home of a handsome moonshiner named Dave. There, she must maintain her cover while dealing with Dave's suspicious mother and Nell, a hostile, rifle-toting local girl.

Who Pays? was a series of twelve three-reel dramas, released between March and July 1915. Henry King and Ruth Roland starred in each episode, playing different roles each time, with a variety of supporting players who varied from one episode to another. Each episode told a complete and individual story, but they were all inter-related by a uniform theme. Although there were no cliff-hanger endings, each episode did, in fact, end with a challenge to the audience: Who was responsible for the misfortune of the principal characters? The titles of the twelve episodes were: #1: The Price of Fame; #2: The Pursuit of Pleasure; #3: When Justice Sleeps; #4: The Love Liar; #5: Unto Herself Alone; #6: Houses of Glass; #7: Blue Blood and Yellow; #8: Today and Tomorrow; #9: For the Commonwealth; #10: Pomp of Earth; #11: The Fruit of Folly; #12: Toil and Tyranny.

Having served ten years at hard labor, Robert Richards, Convict No. 832, regains his freedom from prison. Resolved to start life anew, he seeks employment, but the world looks askance at him, and failure meets his persistent efforts.

Harry Wentworth is the profligate son of a ranch owner. His father is tired of Harry's irresponsible drinking and gambling and banishes him from home. Harry becomes a sailor, but right away gets in trouble with the captain. The hard work does him good, however, and when he feels he's had enough of the captain's brutality, he escapes overboard with a couple of friends, whom he takes to his father's ranch. Back home he discovers that his father is in danger of losing his ranch to scheming lawyer Jim Martin. Martin is in love with Ethel Crandall, the sister of gambler Ralph Crandall.

James Sterling, wealthy bachelor, is told by his doctor that he must go up into the mountains if he would recover the health lost in his midnight parties. He goes, leaving behind Clarice Driscoll, a society girl whom he loves. In the mountains he meets Lucy Bingham. Away from the city influences, he falls in love with this maid of the wilds

Just after Bob's fiancée breaks off their engagement, he meets young Mary, whose mother has just died, and the two of them comfort each other.

Shouts of joy and the clapping of many tiny hands welcomed the arrival of the big birthday cake. For this was Little Mary's birthday. To celebrate all Mary's little friends had been invited and the big event which preceded the supper and the cutting of the cake was a performance of Cinderella and the affair of the glass slipper. Little Mary forgot to leave at the hour of 12, and when she was called away by the fairy she dropped her glass slipper on the stair. Of course, to every one's amazement, when the Prince went looking for the owner of the slipper, the only one whom it fitted was Little Mary.

After a lover's quarrel, writer Grace Hunt goes vacationing to a seaside resort where she decides to swap identities with a student.

Tom Milford, foreman of the Hayden ranch, and Sylvia Hayden, daughter of the ranch owner, are in love. Hayden has been notified that Archie Hollister, son of an old friend in the east, is coming to visit the ranch. Just before Hollister arrives, a cowboy brings word to the ranch that Simms, a troublesome neighbor, has been illegally interfering with the ranch supply of water.

Arnold Truesdell, a rich invalid, requests his secretary, Robert Sheridan, to summon his lawyer. Truesdell is the foster father of Marion Robertson, the child of his bosom friend who died some time ago. His happiness with the little girl was soon dissipated, for she was kidnapped by a gypsy whose enmity he had aroused.

Wealthy diamond collector Larry Hanrahan is given the opportunity to assist the beautiful, jewel-bedecked woman he admires in a Broadway café when she and her guardian are attacked by robbers. Larry is invited to visit the grateful pair, Col. Paul Gascoyne and his ward Adrienne, at the colonel's laboratory, where he is introduced to Wintermute, a chemist who produces imitation diamonds. In return, Larry asks them to view his priceless diamond collection. Although he has fallen in love with Adrienne, Larry is forced to believe that she is a thief when he is robbed by a woman wearing Adrienne's scarf. Larry finds his jewels in Gascoyne's house, but before he can escape, a group of thugs overpowers him. Adrienne assists him in contacting the police, who arrive in time to capture Gascoyne and his gang. Badly wounded, the colonel confesses that Adrienne has been his innocent dupe, whereupon Larry happily takes her to his heart.

Leona Stafford receives a legacy of $1000 and invests it in a scheme to catch a rich husband. After purchasing a new wardrobe, Leona goes to a fashionable resort hotel where she poses as a widow with a mysterious past. She arouses the suspicions of the hotel clerk, a correspondence school sleuth, who suspects that she has kidnapped Captain Cromwell, a wealthy aviator who has been missing for several days. Desperate, Leona appeals for help to Tubbs, whom she believes to be an idle tramp. Tubbs wins her love before he discloses himself as the missing aviator, causing Leona to heave a sigh of relief that her search for a husband has ended.

A man neglects his wife to be with a dance hall singer. When the truth of his infidelity reaches his wife and the truth of his marital status reaches his lover, both women are heartbroken.

A father's strict upbringing of his beautiful but innocent young daughter may backfire on him when he finds she is being pursued by a lecherous cad who is determined to take her virtue.

A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.