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Popular German leading man Conrad Veidt made his Hollywood film debut (through the auspices of his friend John Barrymore) in Universal's A Man's Past. Veidt is cast as Paul La Roche, a doctor who is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to a brutal penal colony. During a medical crisis, La Roche saves the life of the colony's commanding officer Lt. Destin (Arthur Edmund Carewe), who promises to secure the doctor's freedom. But the ungrateful Destin reneges on his agreement, forcing La Roche to escape from the colony on his own. Upon returning to the mainland, La Roche remains in the shadows as the "assistant" of Dr. Fontaine (Ian Keith), who is slowly going blind. To save his job, Fontaine persuades La Roche to cover for him in the operating room, in exchange for not turning the escaped convict over to the police. When Fontaine loses his sight completely, he agrees to allow LaRoche to take his name and his place at a prestigious hospital in Algiers. It is here where LaRoche inevitably comes face to face with his old nemesis, Lt. Destin. Before the story comes to its excessively melodramatic conclusion, La Roche finds himself in the untenable position of being in love with Yvonne Fontaine (Barbara Bedford), the woman who is supposed to be his own sister.