Himself
Filmmaker Peter Brosnan digs up the set of the 1923 film 'The Ten Commandments', long buried in the sands of California's Central Coast.
Joe Applebaum - a Child
An out-of-work pants presser starts an umbrella business and makes a fortune. His daughter is set to marry the nephew of a rich neighbor until the nephew is accused of stealing money from his uncle--but the money was really stolen by the rich man's son.
Jimmy Armstrong
Alcoholic playboy Wallace MacDonald (as Bruce Armstrong) would like to sober up and become more responsible, after a drinking accident causes him to cripple little brother Pat Moore (as Jimmy Armstrong). Still, the lure of liquor makes him to sneak drinks at home, and go out partying with carefree showgirl Clara Bow (as Marilyn Merrill). He's promised Ms. Bow he'll quit drinking and gambling. Further complicating Mr. MacDonald's life are the bad checks he's been accumulating. Nasty Stuart Holmes (as Tom Canfield) and Tom Santschi (as "Big Joe" Snead) force MacDonald to join their diamond smuggling racket, in lieu of payment.
Charles Deburau (age 10)
The Lover of Camille was a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by Harry Beaumont, and starring Monte Blue. The film was based on the French novel Deburau by Sacha Guitry, which was also adapted into a Broadway play by Harley Granville-Barker.
Bobby Allen - age 8
Ignoring the advice of her husband, a mother indulges her son's every wish and demand all throughout his childhood. By the time she realizes her treatment of her son has spoiled him almost beyond belief, he is on trial for manslaughter.
The Son of Pharaoh - Prologue
The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
Amos as a Child
A young man raised in the American South discovers he is an Indian prince whose throne was taken by usurpers.
Johnnie as a Child
(survived only 10 minutes) As young men, the squire (Marshall) and the village blacksmith (Walling) are in love with the same woman (Boardman), whom the blacksmith marries. This angers the squire. Years later, the squire's son Anson (Yearsley) dares the blacksmith's son Johnnie (Hackathorne) to climb a tree, from which he falls and is crippled. As adults, Anson and the blacksmith's daughter Alice (Valli) fall in love, which angers the blacksmith, who chastises his daughter. The blacksmith's other son Bill (Butler) returns from college and is injured in a train accident. Anson steals $480 from a church fund which is currently in Alice's possession. Alice is struck by lightning. The blacksmith take Anson and the squire to church where they both repent.
Lance Bellew, Jr. (age 6)
Lance Bellew ignores his wife, Betty, for his mistress, Naomi Templeton, but becomes so enraged when he finds Betty in the company of Jerry Woodruff that he shoots this family friend.
Micky O'Shaunnessey
Hilda lives in a tenement apartment with her aunt, Mrs. Brady, and her crippled younger brother Micky, and works in a department store where her boss lusts after her. But happiness comes into her life when she meets artist Emery Gray. Gray's wife deserted him long ago, leaving him with their daughter Susan (Mary Jane Irving) to raise. While Susan and Micky become playmates, Hilda restores Gray's faith in womanhood.
Tommy Lee
Country girl Annabel Lee has big dreams of being a famous artist. Her widowed mother encourages her to go to the city so she can study. Annabel works hard, but she sells only one painting. She discovers that a renowned artist is spending the summer at a nearby resort, so she sends him her best work for a critique. A friend recommends that she see him in person, so Annabel pawns a piece of jewelry and heads for the resort. The artist informs her that she doesn't have enough talent to achieve much.
The Boy
Actress Mignon is the toast of Paris until she marries young American engineer John Stanley. He is commissioned to go to work in the Sahara desert, and Mignon accompanies him with their baby. But it isn't long before she is lonely and horribly bored. When a wealthy Russian, Baron Alexis, passes through the camp, he offers to take her away to Cairo. She goes with him, and he surrounds her in luxury. Years pass, but the situation does not bring her happiness.
Little Tony
Italian potter Tony adopts an Italian waif, little Tony, and takes him from New York to the West to realize a long-held dream of owning a ranch.
A welcome guest of the French aristocracy, Monsieur Picard having been awarded the Croix De Guerre, is also a master thief who baffles the Parisian police. One night, while Picard watches an Apache dance, he learns that one of his three adopted children is seriously ill. When his car breaks down, Picard politely forces Helen Deprenay to loan him her auto, and leaves his cross as security. The next day, the police pursue Picard to the Deprenay home where the prefect warns Helen about Picard. Helen writes to the entreating Picard, and refuses to see him until he proves himself of worth to society. Disguised as Scotland Yard agent Armand DuBois, Picard is present at the Deprenay home when a necklace is stolen. After Helen covers for him, Picard catches the thief in an attempt to swindle the entire community in a stock market scheme. He informs the police that Picard no longer exists, and escapes with Helen to a new life.
Little Hal
Framed for embezzlement, an English nobleman flees to America, eventually finding romance in Wyoming with a young Native-American. This is the 1918 remake of the 1913 original, the first feature length Hollywood film. It is considered to be a lost film with only one reel still extant.
Boy
Dr. Hugh Loring, whose hobby is heredity, has evolved the theory that physical or mental peculiarities of children reveal the parents. The doctor's intense desire for children is only equaled by his wife's aversion. On the occasion of the doctor admonishing his wife for being friendly with an admirer she leaves him, and when her child is born she swears Ruth Carden, an employee of her husband's, who has accompanied her, to secrecy, so that she may keep from the doctor his greatest joy. Mrs. Loring dies, and Ruth returns to the doctor's office, leaving the child in the care of the nurse. Three years later the nurse finds it necessary to give up the child, and the doctor, who has fallen in love with Ruth, is stunned, for he believes that the child is hers.