A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do.
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation.
A poor amateur cage fighter gets his shot at a professional career, but when his hustler brother betrays a dangerous friend, he is faced with a life changing decision.
Dance-hall girl Dolly Wall invests her life savings in an oil well. A gusher comes in, enriching not only Dolly but her ne'er-do-well socialite sweetheart Royce Wingate.
On a train bound for New York, where she hopes to find work, Honey McNeil captures the appreciative eye of William Ogden, a financier, who offers her a job.
Lane plays two roles: Grand Duke Algy Horseradish De Ketchup of Worcestershire and Newsboy White. The newsboy is hired by Elmer Éclair (played by Lane's younger brother, Walter Lupino) to impersonate the Duke for unstated reasons, and to attend a house party at the Smalls (a last name that leads to several puns) in the Duke's stead.
The film was created as a compilation of footage that was, in some cases, nearly fifteen years old, and included stock footage such as medical reels containing footage of venereal diseases and films depicting white slavery.