In 1810, Edmund Kean, the famous British actor, is at the peak of his career when he falls in love with the Countess Toeroek, wife of the Hungarian ambassador. However, the Prince of Wales, Kean's friend and patron, is also pursuing the countess. Alice Doren, a wealthy young English girl who is being forced by her guardian to marry the impoverished Lord Melvill, solely to acquire his title, becomes romantically interested in Kean, and a false rumor is spread that she and Kean have eloped to America. Later, at a dinner party given by the ambassador and his wife, Kean pointedly relates a story about how an actor, who wanted the wife of a prominent person to visit him, told her that a certain theater box had a door leading backstage to his dressing room and thus a rendezvous was arranged. The countess takes the hint and promises to visit Kean. After he rescues Alice from the clutches of Lord Melvill, Kean promises to help her to become an actress and arranges for her to appear as "Ophelia" to his "Hamlet" in a benefit performance of scenes from his most famous plays. Just before the performance, the countess visits Kean's dressing room, but she has to leave hurriedly when her husband and the Prince of Wales are announced, and forgets her fan. The count recognizes it and takes it with him. In a private audience, the prince forbids Kean to see the countess again. Kean becomes very angry and slightly demented, to the extent that his portrayal of "Hamlet" is a disaster. He mumbles, forgets his lines, and has to be prompted, then finally rushes down to the footlights and wildly denounces the prince, seated in the royal box, as being a false, perfidious friend. As a result, the prince withdraws his patronage and banishes the actor from London. As bailiffs remove Kean's furniture for non-payment of debts, the countess asks to have some letters returned. Kean informs her that her husband has found her fan in his dressing room. However, the prince arrives with a duplicate of the fan, which he gives to her, and they leave together. Even Alice abandons Kean, preferring to continue her theatrical career in London. Ten years later, Kean, now a shabby, bent old man, encounters a young actor who has no knowledge of the great actor.
