Why Change Your Wife?
As described by director Cecil B. De Mille in his autobiography, Why Change Your Wife? stars Gloria Swanson as an exceedingly prim and proper wife "whose virtues are her only vices" and whose efforts to impose her tastes and perfectionism upon her husband cause her to lose him to another, more attractive woman, until at last the wife learns that being virtuous does not mean being dowdy and that being cultured is not inconsistent with being human. One of De Mille's "marital trilogy" (the others, Old Wives for New and Don't Change Your Husband, are also on DVD from Image Entertainment), the film not incidentally preaches the virtue of consumerism, displaying an immense collection of ravishing fashions and the latest in 1920 interior decoration, including a signature De Mille bathroom! Why Change Your Wife? was written by Cecil's brother William, who is sometimes thought to be the more talented sibling, although without Cecil's flamboyance and sense of showmanship.
Miss Lulu Bett
William De Mille produced and directed Miss Lulu Bett, a film of extraordinary conviction and insight. It was then often the custom for unmarried women to lodge with family: thus, we discover Miss Lulu (Lois Wilson) in a boring Midwestern town, an exploited household drudge for her sister (Mabel Van Buren) and her overbearing brother-in-law (Theodore Roberts). In the course of the story, which is based upon the Pulitzer Prize play and novel by Zona Gale. Lulu evolves from slavery into an attractive and self-assured woman, prepared to make her own life. Revealed through wonderful performances and clever use of props, the characters are extraordinary solid and involving.
This excellent double feature from 1920-1921 reflects the "new woman," who proved herself a capable worker by covering for men called to World War I., got voting rights for the first time in the 1920 elections, and began to emerge from domestic captivity into assertiveness and independence. Both film are tinted, in excellent condition, and supported by new music scores performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
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