Where's My Wandering Boy Tonight? (1922)

Garry Beecher, forgetting his mother and sweetheart, Lorna, falls in love with Veronica, a chorus girl, and heads for the city; finding her with a millionaire, he returns home and robs his former employer, then returns to Veronica and begins a career of reckless spending. When he is unable to pay for a diamond necklace, Garry is threatened with arrest and is betrayed by Veronica; he is convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. To assuage the broken heart of Garry's mother, Lorna sends her letters ostensibly written by him. In prison, Garry saves the warden from an attack by one of the prisoners, but when a wholesale break is perpetrated, Garry follows the prisoners aboard a speeding locomotive and rescues the warden just as a freight train is sighted coming in the opposite direction. As a result, the grateful warden secures a pardon for Garry, who returns home to his mother and sweetheart.