A Tangled Affair

Pauline Hathaway is informed on her 18th birthday by the family lawyer that she will inherit half a million dollars, provided that her behavior meets with his approval; otherwise, the money will revert to her aunt. With new clothes Pauline sets out to visit her mother's friend, Mrs. Brewster. Framed en route by a pickpocket, she is sentenced to a reformatory for 30 days. In court, however, she has been seen by Bruce Reynolds, an amateur investigator and nephew of Mrs. Brewster who is convinced of her innocence.

Strong-willed Kathleen O'Hara, believes in equality of sexes, makes a pact with her sweetheart, Jim Donahue, when they become joint owners of a California gold mine. According to the agreement, Donahue will do the housekeeping while Kathleen runs the mine; the first to call for help loses his share of the mine.

Jack Howard, through hard work, has at last placed himself in a comfortable position and finds himself with his dear little wife, Mabel, located in a little apartment with all the comforts of home. He is now ready to enjoy married life; the strain has been too great, however, and he is almost on the verge of nervous prostration, sick and irritable. Mabel tries to cheer and comfort him; she waits on him and is a truly good and faithful wife, very much concerned about her hubby. She insists he must take a vacation.

Amos Kerran and his wife live a traditional, old-fashioned life on a Connecticut farm, while their son and daughter, Arthur and Maybelle, are successes in New York society. The children want to invite their parents to the city at Christmastime but are ashamed of their unrefined appearance.

Luke attempts to sell books to a businessman and his wife.

When the painter Christopher Bean dies, some unscrupulous art dealers try to get several of his paintings cheaply from a family who have no idea of their value.

Four heirs to a family fortune are summoned to appear at the family estate for the reading of the will, where they meet the estate's staff, which includes a nurse, a crazed doctor, and a sinister handyman.

Sonny Boy's parents are in the midst of a bitter divorce when the boy's mother talks her sister into kidnapping him because she is terrified that her husband will take the boy out of the country after the divorce.

Sweedie, the cook, reads an ad in the newspaper for a maid to give her services in exchange for college tuition. She applies and is accepted.

Adopted by the Kellys from an orphanage, Nancy is reared in dreadful surroundings and mistreated as the household drudge. She accidentally makes the acquaintance of Jack Halliday, son of a wealthy city family who is fishing near her home. When Mrs. Kelly beats Nancy for accepting the attentions of her husband, the girl escapes into the woods and conceals herself in the rear of Jack's car as he drives into the city.

Aspiring newsreel camera girl Pat Clancy, is hired by her father, a publisher, to work on The Sun and causes Scoop Morgan, the paper's best cameraman, to quit in protest of the hiring of a woman. The Mercury hires Scoop, and there begins a heated rivalry between him and Pat. Pat gets a few lucky breaks and manages to get a beat on Scoop during her brief career. After she exposes the theft of a jewel from the turban of a visiting maharajah, she and Scoop are kidnapped by Clayton, the thief, and taken aboard his yacht. Rescued, she and Scoop find love and happiness.