A Man in the Open

Billy Milford, Harvard graduate, goes west to seek his fortune. In Addertown he secures a position as stationmaster of the L. & R. Railroad, but is forced out because of his drinking habits. He accidentally meets Gunhild, an emigrant Norwegian girl, as she arrives in Addertown to take up her home with Jan Hagsberg, the town's saloonkeeper. Seeking revenge on the railroad, Milford joins Jim Dorsey in a scheme to hold up the road's paymaster on his way to pay the employees of the company's mine.

Penny arrives in the West by aeroplane. She is considered a suspicious character and thrown into jail. Kurt Walters, a ranch foreman and deputy sheriff, discovers that she is the same girl that his friend, Jo Gary, met in Chicago. Gary fell in love with her, but she confessed she was a thief. Since Penny claims she wants to reform, Walters releases her and sends her to live with Mrs. Kingdon. In spite of her teasing and taunts (or perhaps because of them), Walters finds himself falling in love with Penny.

A boy's father is an unjustly accused fugitive, and the boy's scheming uncle plots to become the youngster's guardian and take over the family fortune.

The only key to a young woman's fortune lies in a marking on the leg of a horse called The Ghost of the Gauchos. But the woman's guardian, her uncle, plots to steal her wealth.

Bruce McLeod returns from the goldfields to find that his wife has left home with another man, taking their child. After the death of the mother, the child is adopted by Cherie, a local dancehall girl ostracized by the community. Cullum, a gambler who earlier seduced Mrs. McLeod, drifts into the town, and failing to win Cherie, he swears vengeance. McLeod, seeking the man who wrecked his home, falls in love with Cherie but scorns her when he discovers that she is a dancer. Ultimately, the child identifies Cullum as the gambler who lured Mrs. McLeod from her home. In the ensuing fight, Cullum is shot by a halfbreed, and Bruce is happily united with Cherie.

Ranchmen try to play a joke on one of their associates by signing his name to a letter addressed to Sarah Smith, who has advertised in a matrimonial journal. A mix-up occurs on the day of the arrival of the lady when a younger woman, sent to buy stock, also appears on the scene and is mistaken for the prospective bride.

A Playboy inherits a Western ranch on the condition that he shall run it properly for 6 months. A villain makes an attempt to distract him from reaching the goal, but he, no longer the wastrel of yore, persists and becomes full owner of the property.

The Desire of the Moth is a 1917 American silent western film directed by Rupert Julian

Following his mother's death, John Gregory becomes the "Eagle," a thief determined to get even with the mining company that stole his family's fortune. Breaking into the company’s head office he discovers that another robber has preceded him and killed the night guard. When he is falsely accused, Lucy the girl he loves, discovers a written confession from the real killer just before John is to be hanged and rides wildly to the jail to save his life.

After being unfaithful to "The Stranger", who committed a murder on her account, Cherry Millard, known as "The Siren", leaves to work in a dance hall in the Western town of Nugget. When Burt Hall arrives in town to deliver a will to the heirs of Bruce McClade, he is captivated by Cherry, who learns of Burt's mission. Discovering that the will dictates that Dr. Langdon, a friend of the family, is to receive $25,000, Cherry decides to impersonate Langdon's daughter Rose and thus gain possession of the money. In the meantime, The Stranger, who has been freed from jail, returns, recognizes Cherry as The Siren and kills her. This frees Burt from her evil spell, and The Stranger, now insane, follows The Siren's spirit into the desert.

Henry Martin receives a letter from Buck Lessen, a convict about to be released from prison, telling him that his time is up and he is going to get him for sending him to prison and marrying his sweetheart, Jane. The Martins and their young daughter move away but Buck learns where they went. Buck is hiding on the porch, planning to ambush Henry when he comes out. Two drunken cowboys ride by firing their pistols. When Henry comes outside he sees Buck's body lying in the grass, shot to death by a stray bullet.