Behind the Make-Up

Hap, a vaudeville clown, generously takes in the starving artist Gardoni. Using Hap's comedic ideas, Gardoni achieves fame but also steals Hap's girlfriend, Marie, and marries her. Success makes Gardoni miserable, and he starts a ruinous affair that leads to gambling debts and his eventual suicide. In the end, Hap protects Marie's memory of her husband with a lie, sacrificing his own chance at happiness with her.