Brutal rental agent Joseph McGuire demands that Molly-O marry McGuire's son Denny, lest her family be thrown out of their humble shack. But Molly-O prefers the company of carriage driver Larry O'Dea, who unfortunately is just as broke as she is. Or is he?
A jazz-mad Nancy Burrard is a young matron easing her boredom by flirting with married men.
Caroline Rogers, a spirited young girl with a taste for highly romantic novels, comes home from boarding school to attend her sister Ethel's wedding. Having read a particularly lurid novel entitled Twin Souls recently, she arrives at the rehearsal wearing a daring gown in the hope of ensnaring a "soul mate." Because of his poetic name, Caroline becomes involved with Reginald Van Alden, a married fortune-seeker. On the morning of the wedding, she abandons her old sweetheart, Bob Worth, to take a ride with Reginald, but when he takes her to a disreputable roadhouse, she escapes and then tries to commit suicide by drinking cologne.
Young Celeste Janvier ( Bessie Love ) lives in an East Side tenement with her immigrant grandfather, a humanitarian and socialist. Like her kindly grandfather, Celeste also has a kindhearted soul, and her friendly nature has earned her the nickname, " the little sister of everybody."
The Dawn of Understanding is a lost 1918 American silent Western comedy film produced by The Vitagraph Company of America and directed by David Smith. It stars Bessie Love in the first film of her nine-film contract with Vitagraph.
Marcus Down makes only $15 a week. He has always paid spot cash for everything, until he meets Mamie New and they are wed. Then Mamie shows him how simple it is to get things on the easy payment plan. At first everything is rosy and matters go very smoothly for the young couple. Then the collectors begin to get busy and finally Marcus has nothing left, not even his bride, for the parson comes to take her for his fee, which had been arranged for on a ten cents a day basis.
One day Coventry Petmore leaves his wife and child to go out in the world and fight the social evils of divorce and loveless marriage. Circumstances lead him to the home of Judge Mitchell, where the judge's son, a minister, and his wife Beatrice reside. The minister does not believe in expressing affection to his wife, and Beatrice becomes enamored of her chauffeur Larry Price.
Twins Nelson and J. Barrington Drake return home for the celebration of their parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Barrington is a wealthy oilman, but Nelson is a pastor in a small rural church, who is struggling to increase his ever-shrinking flock, Barrington tells him that his problem could be solved with the right type of salesmanship, and proceeds to map out a plan to do just that. However, a case of mistaken identity-and a scheme by two of the church's deacons to take over all of the church property-throws a wrench into his plans.
Perla Quaranta, a half-starved "daughter of Little Italy," is given the place in Carlo Bruni's "Butterfly Act" that is vacated by a chorus girl who has become overweight. Although Perla becomes friendly with Krug, the wire-man, she rejects him as a suitor, and in revenge Krug causes Perla's wire to break.
Fernie Schmidt (Colleen Moore) lives with her parents in the rear of their delicatessen. The smells of the business - cheeses, sausages, garlic and pickled herrings - repulses Fernie, who dreams of leaving this environment and moving into a life that's more rarified. Her father, Pop Schmidt (Jean Hersholt) has plans for his daughter to marry Peter Halitovsky (Arthur Stone), a sausage salesman, but Fernie is repulsed by the idea. At a dance, Fernie meets Jack Dugan (Malcolm McGregor), who tells her that he is in stocks, a paper-counter, and she falls for him. Because of her rejection of her father's chosen candidate for matrimony, Pop puts Fernie out of the house.
Gold digging blonde Lorelei and her brunette friend Dorothy are searching for rich husbands. This film is believed lost.