"An American Tragedy" (1931) A Josef von Sternberg Photoplay

Clyde Griffiths, bellhop #7 at a hotel in Kansas City, is the neglected son of street evangelists. Yearning for a place in society, he is dating one of the hotel's maids. One night, he and some friends are involved on a drunken driving accident where a little girl is killed. They all flee, and Clyde eventually ends up as a bellboy in a large hotel in Chicago.

While working there, he crosses paths with his wealthy uncle, Samuel Griffiths, who gives Clyde a job in his shirt factory in (fictional) Lycurgus, New York. Clyde does well and is promoted to foreman of the collar stamping department, staffed only by women. Fraternization is strictly prohibited, but Clyde, frustrated by being shut out of his uncle's social circle, soon begins seeing Roberta Alden, one of the employees.

Their secret relationship flourishes during spring and summer, where they spend their week-ends outdoors, but when winter comes, Clyde pressures "Bert" to allow him to meet with her in her room, and he seduces her. In the meantime, Clyde has met the beautiful debutante Sondra Finchley, and quickly falls for her, spending less and less time with Bert.

When Bert discovers she is pregnant, she begs Clyde to marry her to spare her the shame of a child born out of wedlock. He puts her off, suggesting she return home, claiming he will marry her later. Sondra, meantime, promises Clyde she will marry him as soon as she comes of age in October.

When Clyde reads about an accidental drowning, he sees an opportunity to rid himself of Bert. He invites her for a weekend in the Adirondacks, where he claims they will marry. Once they are out on a lake in a canoe, Clyde tells Bert he had planned to drown her, but that he's changed his mind and wants to marry her. A physical struggle ensues, and the canoe overturns. Bert starts screaming, but Clyde swims ashore and lets her drown.

Investigating the incident, police find love letters from Bert that mention Sondra Finchley, and Clyde is arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A lengthy trial follows, nationally publicized, in which Clyde staunchly insists he is innocent. But, despite his attorneys' best efforts to claim his last-minute change of heart proves him innocent, Clyde is convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair.

While awaiting his execution, Clyde is visited by his mother, who begs him to tell her the truth. He tells her that, while didn't kill Bert, neither did he save her, though he could have, because he wanted her dead. His mother, heartbroken, says it's her fault for bringing him up in evil surroundings, neglecting him while working to save the souls of others. The movie ends with Clyde being embraced by his mother through the bars of his cell.