After the death of his corrupt father, young Matty Burns enrolls in law school, not to seek justice but to learn how to represent criminal organizations while remaining within the law. He graduates with roommate Bill Whitaker, a judge's son, and is invited to come live at the Whitaker farm, where June Whitaker finds herself attracted to her brother Bill's friend. With a federal agent named Evans keeping a close eye on his activities, Matty becomes the legal mouthpiece of Jim Ramsey, a racketeer.
Colorado sheriff Nolan Sharpless becomes drawn into a pursuit of a notorious criminal after the kidnapping of a Swiss tourist. Combining tabloid-style media and reality television elements, the film follows his search for the mysterious Birdseye against the backdrop of American society around the turn of the millennium.
When bank robber Dakin Barrolles is on the run from the police, he manages to sneak into the house of respectable Sir John Lasher and his wife Sandra. He finds the drunken Sir Lasher in the course of verbally abusing his wife, fearing his upcoming military service. Barolles tells the banker off, then robs the couple of their car and a special locket with pictures of the couple inside.
The movie is loosely based on the story of a town in Oklahoma that had to be moved as a result of the construction of a dam creating Lake Keystone. There is a local legend about a train carrying gold in the 1800s which overturned. The gold is said to have rolled off the mountain pass into the valley, which is now at the bottom of the lake.
Alan Herriot is the secretary to prominent politician Sir Julian Weyre, and seeks to clear the name of his deceased father, who was unjustly imprisoned. Thinking that Sir Julian's wife Avril has relevant information, Alan takes her to hotel, on the pretext of a furtive affaire. When he forces Avril to write a confession, she dies from a heart attack.
In Kings Cross, Sydney, three friends end up being hunted by every thug and killer when they incur the wrath of a mob boss after they break into the entertainment business.
As described in a film magazine, recently released convict 'Swagger' Barlow (O'Brien) is mistaken for Lord Birmingham (O'Brien) and is feted and dined, while the true nobleman is held by a scheming band of crooks. He falls in love with Peggy (Mansfield), the daughter of his host Parker Winton (Cook). Through the actions of Barlow, Lord Birmingham is released.
Robert Brierly is falsely accused of passing forged banknotes after being framed by his love rival, the murderous criminal known as the Tiger. After he is given a ticket of leave (a form of early parole), he faces scrutiny and discrimination as a former convict. Still in love with Brierly's fiancé May Edwards, the Tiger seeks to have Brierly locked in prison for life.
This original story marries three different elements into one plot. Alex Stokes (Andrew Roth) is a self-destructive, down-on-his-luck investigator who takes cases wherever he can. When a mysterious man offers him a healthy sum to follow his beautiful wife Claire (Melantha Blackthorne), Alex can't resist.
While a houseguest at an upper-class gathering, the wealthy Jew Ferdinand de Levis is robbed of nearly £1,000 with evidence pointing towards the guilt of another guest, Captain Dancy. Instead of supporting De Levis, the host attempts to hush the matter up and then sides with Dancy and subtly tries to destroy de Levis's reputation. When Dancy is later exposed and commits suicide, de Levis is blamed for his demise.
Joyce (Ellen Drew) and Fred (Robert Paige) are convicted of murder. He is sentenced to the electric chair; she to prison. She escapes and sets out to prove their innocence with the aid of Assistant DA Marlin (John Miljan).
Small-time crook Radley returns after a long absence to discover his wife Barbara has remarried, believing him killed in the Blitz. Finding her happily married to wealthy publisher John Everton, Radley begins blackmailing Barbara for £500 to keep their previous marriage quiet. When Radley kills a jeweller in a robbery, he is blackmailed by his roommate, so in turn threatens to also blackmail John Everton for £500.
A Treasury agent on the trail of an international gang of counterfeiters joins forces with Inspector Jeff MacAllister, a visiting officer from Scotland Yard.
Marian Radcliffe and William Mortimer (her lawyer) help Joan Lane, who was wrongly convicted, escape from police custody after a train wreck. Radcliffe then uses Lane in a scheme to have her marry Ronald Stanhope; so Marian can avoid having to declare bankruptcy after she lost heavily in the stock market.
Sisters Jane and Edie Baird are arrested for vagrancy, having no place to sleep. They are later released from jail and immediately contacted by the local pimp gangster, Tap Manson, who wants them to work as hostesses for a company called "House by the side of the road, Inc.". It is a franchise of motels by the highway roadsides.
Boston Blackie's wealthy friend, Arthur Manleder, purchases an upscale bookstore from aged Wilfred Kittredge, but retains his services as a book expert. However, when Kittredge becomes ill just before an important auction he was to conduct, Blackie proves that he can impersonate him, fooling everyone, including Police Inspector Farraday. With the assistance of store employee Gloria, Blackie runs the auction without a hitch.
The plot concerns an amateur detective Simon Gale who races against time to clear the name of his cousin, who is accused of murdering her husband. Simon meets the murdered man's daughter, Jill, who had earlier promised her stepmother that she would continue to try to prove her innocence, and Simon offers to help. He begins questioning local people, and learns that the husband was a thoroughly unpleasant man who enjoyed holding people's secrets over their heads, not for monetary gain, but for the pleasure of seeing them squirm – and several local people had secrets.
