
''Mothers of Men'' is a 1917
silent film directed by Willis Robards, promoting
woman's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
. The seven-reel drama is considered lost. A five-reel re-edited version also directed by Robards was released in 1921—following ratification of the
Nineteenth Amendment—under the title ''Every Woman’s Problem''.
This version survives through a single 35mm print preserved by the
British Film Institute. The 1921 re-release was restored in 2016, in a collaboration between the BFI and the
San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
The courtroom drama stars
Dorothy Davenport
Fannie Dorothy Davenport (March 13, 1895 – October 12, 1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer.
Born into a family of film performers, Davenport had her own independent career before her marriage to the film a ...
as a judge who wins election as Governor of California. A moral issue arises when her husband is sentenced to death, and she must choose whether to pardon him.
''Mothers of Men''

''Mothers of Men'' was produced by the Robards Film Company of Santa Cruz, and released in November 1917. The story and scenario were written by actor-playwright
Hal Reid, father-in-law of the film's star, Dorothy Davenport.
Cast
* Willis Robards as Worthington Williams
* Dorothy Davenport as Clara Madison
* Hal Reid as Jack Scanton
* Mrs. Hal Reid as Mrs. Madison
*
Katherine Griffith as Maida
*
Arthur Tavares as Guiseppe
*
Billie Bennett
* Marcella Russell
* Harry Griffith
* Grace Blake
* George Utell
''Every Woman’s Problem''
In the hands of editor
Martin G. Cohn, the 1917 film ''Mothers of Men'' was trimmed from seven reels to five for the 1921 release ''Every Woman’s Problem'', produced by Plymouth Pictures Corporation. The screenplay by
Jack Natteford is based on the original scenario by Hal Reid. Titles were revised, and additional filming was done in Santa Cruz, California. Plymouth Pictures secured permission for Dorothy Davenport to be billed as Mrs.
Wallace Reid
William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver.
Early life
Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...
. The film premiered in Paterson, New Jersey, the week of April 10, 1921.
Cast
* Mrs. Wallace Reid as Clara Madison
* Willis Robards as Grant Williams
* Maclyn King as Big Bill Deavitt
* Wilson Du Bois as Dan Channing
See also
*
Women's suffrage in film
References
External links
*
*
*
*
American silent films
1917 films
1921 films
Media about women's suffrage in the United States
1910s American films
1920s American films
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