''Remodeling Her Husband'' is a 1920 American silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

that marked the only time

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

directed a film.

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

is stated in some sources as co-director or perhaps had limited input as the production was filmed at his

Mamaroneck, New York Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of M ...

production facilities. Lillian Gish wrote the story and scenario incognito as ''Dorothy Elizabeth Carter'' with

Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...

writer

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

supplying the intertitles. Thus the movie was nearly an all-woman produced movie with the exception of the cameraman. The film, currently classified as lost, stars Lillian's sister

Dorothy Gish Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898June 4, 1968) was an American actress of the screen and stage, as well as a director and writer. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great s ...

and Dorothy's husband at the time James Rennie.''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-1920'' by The American Film Institute (1988) George W. Hill, who is the cinematographer, later directed classic films at MGM like '' Tell It to the Marines'' (1926) and '' The Big House'' (1930).

Plot

As described in film publications, Janie (Gish) gets married with the goal of reforming her husband Jack (Rennie), but he still has the eyes for other women. He promises to reform, but says he is ashamed because she lacks the style of a

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

. All goes well until he meets a pretty woman with a heavy suitcase. He helps her into a taxi cab and takes her home. Janie sees him as she rides by on a bus. That affair gets him into wrong, but he manages to square it with his wife. Then a good looking manicure girl comes into his life, and again Jack falls. Once again Janie is on the job at the psychological moment. This time she leaves him in haste and goes home to her mother. Janie tries to forget Jack by taking a job in her father's office. Jack, who loves her sincerely, is filled with remorse and despair. He calls upon her to beg her forgiveness and, since she still loves him, she yields. But when he attempts to lay down the law to her, she presses a button on her desk and he finds himself being escorted from the office. He threatens suicide, and this is too much for Janie. She comes back to him and they live together happily.

Cast

as Janie Wakefield * James Rennie as Jack Valentine *

Marie Burke Marie Burke (born Marie Rosa Altfuldisch, later Holt, 18 October 189421 March 1988) was an English actress of stage, cinema and television. She appeared in over 40 films between 1917 and 1971, and appeared in TV series between 1953 and 1969. B ...

as Mrs. Wakefield *Downing Clarke as Mr. Wakefied *Frank Kingdon as Mr. Valentine *Leslie Marsh as Flower Girl *Mildred Marsh as Bridesmaid *Barden Daube as Flirting Woman

Review

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' published the following review of the film on June 11, 1920 (pp. 33-34): :This feature will be liked by film fans but not particularly because of the story or the picturization of it, but through the exquisite comedy Dorothy Gish offers. :The picture seems to be a real Gish family affair, with Dorothy starring and Lillian directing. Much is made of the latter in a title leader, which sets forth that this day is one where woman is asserting herself in all the arts, and therefore it is time she undertook the direction of pictures. :But Lillian does not qualify as a particularly strong directress in this production. The story may have had something to do with that. It is not a world beater but with the action that Dorothy supplies it gets by with laughs. :James Rennie, who plays opposite the star, is the only member of the supporting cast who seems to have more than a ‘bit’ to do. The others while acceptable fail to show often enough to get a line on them. It is a picture that is Dorothy Gish, hook, line and sinker, and it would sink if it weren’t for her.

Preservation status

''Remodeling Her Husband'' is now considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

.Remodeling Her Husband at TheGreatStars.com; Lost Films Wanted
Wayback Machine)..Retrieved July 21, 2018

References

External links