We have yet to determine the fate of a certain man.
One year after serving The Penalty, director Wallace Worsley and star Lon Chaney re-teamed to bring a second Gouverneur Morris pulp novel to the screen. This time it was The Purple Mask, which reached audiences under the title The Ace of Hearts in 1921. Divvied up into ten chapters (with titles like "The House of a Certain Brotherhood," "The House of the Other Man's Felicity," and "The Man Who Had Lived Too Long"), it's about a group of anarchists that plots the deaths of men in high places. Among its members are painter Farallone (Lon Chaney) and waiter Forrest (John Bowers), both of whom are in love with the Cause's lone female supporter, Lilith (Leatrice Joy), who believes in it so fervently she's willing to marry Forrest when he's dealt the Ace of Hearts, which he has reminded her "may mean death, not only for the man who has been condemned to die, but for his executioner."
Farallone's heart broken, he winds up holding vigil outside Forrest's house all night, which means he's there the next morning when the newlyweds awake and begin to have second thoughts about the plan, which involves Forrest planting a bomb in the restaurant where he works. (Hey, what's a little collateral damage as long as they get the fat cat they wanted, right?) It's only after they've found love in each other's arms that they discover there's more to being in a secret society than wearing the ring and knowing the knock.