The Altar Stairs (1922)

On an island in the South Seas, derelict Tony Heritage is rescued from savage natives by trader and ship captain Rod McLean, but repays him by stealing Rod's money and fleeing to France. There, Heritage marries a young French woman named Joie Malet, but her father, Captain Jean Malet, having discovered his miscreant past, snatches Joie from the altar stairs and takes her to a South Sea island where he has been posted. Tony Heritage follows, but Capt. Malet keeps him away from Joie by giving him a job on another island, helping Rod McLean build a new trading post. In the meantime, McLean has fallen in love with Joie, but withdraws when he learns she is married. Returning to his trading post, McLean is confronted by drunken, angry natives who burned down the local church after Heritage incited them with liquor. John Strickland, the minister, prevents McLean from harming his old nemesis, but when Heritage steals McLean's boat and flees to an outgoing steamship, the incensed trader chases him, and Strickland follows to prevent further mayhem. During the pursuit, a violent storm hits, and Tony Heritage's death allows McLean to return to his island trading post and marry Joie.