After the old-books shop closes, portraits of the Strumpet, Death, and the Devil come to life and amuse themselves by reading stories--about themselves.
This film combines four short films under the title Bits Of Life. The Bad Samaritan is taken from a story in Popular Magazine in which the son of a Chinese father and a white mother is sold into slavery by his father. The boy becomes a criminal and a cunning but cruel thief. The one time he stops to help a lady in distress he is thrown in jail. Wesley Barry is the young boy and Lon Chaney the grown-up criminal.
在他的第一部独立制作的故事片《布斯特》中讲述了三个历史时代：石器时代、罗马时代和现代的爱情和浪漫。
《三个时代》是一部1923年由喜剧演员布斯特·基顿和华莱士·比里主演的美国黑白故事片。基顿创作、导演、制作和主演的第一部影片（不像《萨普黑德》（1920年），他只演过这部影片），基顿将这部电影结构成三部跨切的短片。该结构还作为对D.W.格里菲斯1916年电影《不容忍》的讽刺。这部电影是以这种方式拍摄的，作为工作室的一种保险。虽然基顿在短片媒体上取得了成功，但他还没有证明自己是一个长篇大论的明星。如果项目失败，这部电影就会被分成三部短片，每部都涵盖其中一部《时代》。
保罗·莱尼拍摄于1924年的《蜡人馆》被普遍认为是表现主义的最后一部作品。这部作品采用了与《疲倦的死神》相类似的叙事结构，讲述一个蜡人馆的老板请来一位作家为自己的蜡像人物编故事。作家编写了三个故事：哈里发的故事、伊凡雷帝的故事和“恐怖杰克”的故事。其中第一个几乎完全脱胎于《疲倦的死神》，第二个则是有关俄罗斯历史上的暴君，第三个更是诡异离奇，基本上是英国近代史上两个杀人狂魔“弹簧腿杰克”和“开膛手杰克”的结合体，这两个杰克都是历史上的悬案，传说他们是地狱的使者，在人世间嗜血如命、杀人如麻。在影片的最后，连作家本人也被杰克追杀。我想，现在那些有关连环杀人犯的恐怖电影，其源头恐怕得追溯到这里。
A crazed scientist murders his wife, walls her up, then flees. A reporter sets out to track him down. Remake of Unheimliche Geschichten (Richard Oswald, 1919).
Three stories about art stages. "Film City", "Drama Group" and "Dance Class".
演员保罗·奥尔曼偶然得知，他订做的燕尾服受到过诅咒，但凡是穿过它的人都会碰上厄运。在接下来连续发生的四个关于燕尾服和它的主人们的故事中，所谓的“厄运”似乎往往将事物真实的一面向人们揭示开。
Anthology film of three tales of the supernatural. The first story is set at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The second involves a psychic who predicts murder. The third is about a man who literally meets the girl of his dreams.
本片以一个鬼怪故事为骨架，叙述了五个鬼故事。建筑师沃尔特·格兰杰到郊外一个农庄去洽谈业务。他感到农庄像旧地重游，原来他做过一个可怕的怪梦，屋里所有的人都在梦里出现过的。当他向客人谈及这怪事时，范医生发表自然怀疑论的看法，从而引出每个客人叙述了—段自己亲身经历的鬼故事。
Five crime stories connected by the narration of police superintendent Bartosek.
An anthology of four abbreviated operas: "William Tell" by Rossini, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart, "Don Pasquale" by Donizetti, and "Carmen" by Bizet. Filmed in Italy with major opera stars, and accompanied by English narration.
Somerset Maugham introduces four of his tales in this anthology film: "The Facts of Life," "The Alien Corn," "The Kite," and "The Colonel's Lady."
本片第一段描写一名女子透过电话跟一个已不爱她的男人之间纠缠不清的感情故事。整部影片几乎都是在女子的卧室演独脚戏。第二段描述一名头脑简单的村姑，在山边被路过的陌生人诱奸，她以为这个男人是使徒圣约瑟。。不久，村姑发现自己怀孕了，村民都耻笑她，但她却坚信这是神迹，她肚子里怀的婴孩就是耶稣。最后她爬上山顶的草棚把孩子生了下来，微笑着给婴儿吸吮她的乳房。
Anthology comedy/romance film
W. Somerset Maugham introduces three more of his stories about human foibles.
本片根据歌剧“霍夫曼的故事”改编而来，然而它并不只是舞台上的表演，它戏剧化了将一位诗人的三个伟大的爱情故事。故事描述了艺术家在爱情与工作时间的斗争。最终，他虽然失去了每个他所心爱的女人，但取而代之的，他得到了作诗的灵感——把痛苦经历转化为艺术的能力。
Adapted from the TV and radio series of the same name, the producer of said show reads letters from three woman providing the framing story for this melodrama anthology film. The tales focus on parenting and family struggles.
Comprised of eight unrelated episodes of inconsistent quality, this anthology piece of American propaganda features some of MGM Studios' best directors, screenwriters and actors; it is narrated by Louis Calhern. Stories are framed by the lecture of a university professor. In one tale a Boston resident becomes angry when the census forgets to record her presence. Another sketch chronicles the achievements of African Americans while still another pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to Texas.
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".