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

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

that marked the only time

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...

directed a film. D. W. Griffith 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 Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2 ...

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 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 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 prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

. 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

* Dorothy Gish as Janie Wakefield * James Rennie as Jack Valentine * Marie Burke 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'' 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 film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

.(Wayback Machine)..Retrieved July 21, 2018

References

External links