Kitty, the pretty young wife of a Texas businessman, feels neglected and unwanted as her husband pays more attention to his business interests than he does to her and spends more and more time away from home. A handsome young neighbor notices her emotional state and decides to try to take advantage of it. In her confused and lonely condition, Kitty finds herself attracted to the man and begins to think about running away with him.

A waitress at the Warner Brothers commissary is anxious to break into pictures. She thinks her big break may have arrived when actors Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan agree to help her.

A young, beautiful prostitute named Sadie Thompson arrives on the South Pacific island of Pago Pago looking for honest work and falls for Timothy O'Hara, an American sailor who is unfazed by her unsavory past. However, Mr. Davidson, a missionary who arrived on the island at the same time, aims to "save" Sadie from her sinful life and petitions to have her separated from her beau and deported back to San Francisco.

Part of a 7-part series exploring all aspects of Hollywood.

John Stafford is unjustly arrested on the eve of his marriage for the murder of an old gentleman whose body was found in his guardian's library. The young man is taken to the penitentiary, but eludes his guards and escapes. His sweetheart engages a noted detective who finds a small Hindu image in the hand of the dead man.

Nettie is beloved by all the boys in the mining camp. Magoon, a big, jovial miner, loves her most of all, however, and asks her to become his wife. Nettie is in love with Colter, a young Easterner, and though it pains her to do so, tells Magoon of the fact. Magoon leaves town to become sheriff of the adjoining county. A murder is committed in the mining camp, and Colter is unjustly accused. Nettie rescues him from jail and sends him to Magoon. The sheriff with admirable self-sacrifice hides his rival, and, when the posse arrives, points out what Nettie has done for the boys of the mining camp. Colter is released, and all the boys escort him back to Nettie.

In 1972 and '73, film critic Richard Schickel made an 8-part series for American public television: 'The Men Who Made the Movies'. Each episode featured a prominent Hollywood director discussing his career in an on-camera monologue (actually an interview, with Schickel's questions edited out), interspersed with generous clips from his most famous films, accompanied by somewhat overwrought narration (written by Schickel and spoken by Cliff Robertson). It's regrettable that Schickel did not include Fritz Lang, William Wyler and John Ford in this series: all three were alive at the time, although Ford was quite ill.

Mabel Mack's mother is deserted by her father and the mother dies. All that Mabel retains of her family history is a group photograph of her father, mother and herself, in a locket which she always wears.

Sierra Jim, wounded and desperate, flees from the sheriff and is given refuge in the cabin of a young girl, the sweetheart of the pony express rider.

Helen and Joe are in love. He receives a letter from his uncle offering him a good position in his law office. He shows Helen the letter and she shows him one from the Standard, also a check for a short story. They have a quarrel over a slight thing and he leaves for his uncle's place. Six years go by and Helen is now a very successful writer on a large daily.