Grace Miller White

Fourth reworking of the classic Grace Miller White novel, this time updated to the 60s, with young Scottish lassie Tess (Diane Baker) becoming embroiled in a conflict about a toxic chemical plant near her new home in Pennsylvania.

When Captain Howland decides that his daughter Tess is getting a bit to old to continue to go to sea with him, they move into a small cottage on the coast of Maine, but not for long. A local millionaire, Frederick Garfield, lays a false claim to the property and has them evicted. Later, when Tess saves a young man about her age from drowning, she is a bit dismayed to learn that he is Garfield's son. But when her father is jailed on a false-accusation charge of murder, the younger Garfield comes to their aid and proves he himself.

Anna Moore, a poor orphaned country girl, and her little brother, Tommy, live with hypocritical Squire Simpson, who conspires with his son to acquire the inheritance due the girl.

Wealthy Elias Graves builds his home on the top of a hill, where a group of squatters have taken up residence at the bottom. Many of the men in the squatters' village have their eyes on young Tess, and one of them, Ben Letts, frames Tess's father for murder. While maintaining her father's innocence, Tess must keep her love for Graves' son a secret, while caring for Elias' daughter's illegitamate child.

A rich young boy has to prove his worth to the gang he has just joined by during all sorts of hardships, including a kidnap attempt, before they'll accept him. -from IMDB.com

Polly Hopkins belongs to a family of squatters living in Silent City. The poor squatters are constantly at odds with the wealthy "hilltoppers," but Polly's grandmother has gone against popular opinion by teaching Polly to love everybody. Polly keeps the faith, even when her sister's husband is railroaded into jail.

Judy, an orphaned waif, lives with Grandpap Ketchel, a cruel and often brutal man. The sole protector of little Denny, Ketchel's grandson, Judy is forced to accept the attentions of Jim Shuckles, whom she abhors and who has compromised her sister Olive.

Thomas Singleton broke down when his wife died giving birth to their daughter. He eventually recovered, but his half-brother Morse kept him locked up at the asylum. After seventeen years, Singleton escapes and tracks down his daughter, Virginia, who is due to inherit a fortune on her eighteenth birthday. Convinced that his half-brother will try to trick Virginia out of her inheritance, Singleton sends her to live with his former gardener......

A 1917 film directed by Charles Miller.

A young girl, squatting on a wealthy man's land fights for her fellow squatters' right to stay.