A Fighting Heart

Jack Melford, the prize hurdler at a small college, wins a big race and learns immediately afterward that his father is near death. He returns home to find his father dead and himself penniless, his father having left everything to Dr. Dehli, the foreign specialist who treated him. Jack later discovers that the same Dr. Dehli is caring for Julia Cunningham, the aunt of his orphaned sweetheart, Rae Davis. Jack eventually exposes the doctor as a charlatan, revealing Dehli's plans to hypnotize Rae's aunt and force her to disinherit the girl. Jack also rounds up the crooks who worked with Dehli, winning for himself the love of Rae and the gratitude of her aunt.

Directed by Jack Nelson, A Fighting Heart leans on a strong ensemble — Frank Merrill, Margaret Landis, Milburn Morante — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about action titles of 1924.