Combat (1916)

Synopsis
In this complicated melodrama, Muriel Flemming (Anita Stewart) secretly marries Graydon Burton (Richard Turner) before he heads West to make his fortune. Later, when he is about to board a train to return to his wife, he is accused of a murder that was actually committed by crooked attorney Herman Slade (Winthrop Mandrell). The train wrecks and Muriel receives word he has been killed, when the truth is that he wasn't on the train at all and had run away from his murder trial. Her mother (Virginia Norden) is in dire financial straits, so Muriel marries successful lawyer Philip Lewis (John Robertson). But Slade reappears and threatens to blackmail her about her first marriage, just as Burton also appears. The two men struggle, and when Slade tries to stab Burton, Muriel shoots him dead. Burton is arrested, and Lewis, who has discovered his wife's first marriage is prosecuting attorney. Not surprisingly, he makes sure a guilty verdict is given, and Burton is scheduled to be executed. But Lewis is elected governor, and Muriel somehow convinces him to pardon Burton, and to allow her to divorce him so that she can be with the man she loved in the first place. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide