Plot

Sam, a young man in a small town, is accused of being a thief. Unable to prove his innocence--and not knowing that he's being framed by a local villain to keep him away from pretty young Mary, the town beauty whom the villain wants for himself--he leaves town and goes to Hollywood to become an actor. He eventually returns home to town as a star, but once again finds himself the victim of the town villain, who this time abducts sweet young Mary. Sam must use all his acting skills to track down the villain and save Mary.—[email protected]

Sam Smith is a small town church sexton, engaged to Mary Brown. Sam's villainous rival is J. Wellington Jones. Sam receives a fan photograph of actress Marcelle Mansfield, which Jones uses as an excuse to claim Sam is engaged to two women. Sam is run out of town. He ends up in a movie studio, and performs miserably in big productions. When he receives a "Dear John" letter from Mary, he decides to kill himself. The opportunity presents itself when a famous dramatic actor refuses to jump off a bridge while making a film. Sam takes his place, hoping to be killed. He is forced to do a retake when the director's cap covers the camera lens. He does the stunt so successfully that he is given the leading role in a melodrama. He then stars in a western, which is a hit, opposite Marcelle. Sam returns home, rich and famous, and attends the local theater to watch himself on screen, in the western. When Mary's father accidentally shoots himself, Sam is accused of attempted murder. He is jailed, and the townspeople threaten to lynch him. Sam escapes, and engages in a fight with Jones in order to save Mary. Sam is captured again, and is about to be strung up. But Sam is cleared when a note is discovered, written by Mary's father, explaining the accident.—scsu1975