silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
written by
Hanns Kräly
Hanns Kräly (January 16, 1884 – November 11, 1950), credited in the United States as Hans Kraly, was a German actor and screenwriter. His main collaborations were with director Ernst Lubitsch, and they worked together on 30 films between 1915 ...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
stars
Constance Talmadge
Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge.
Early life
Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor par ...
and
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...
.
Plot
American millionaire Samuel C. Adams brings his daughter Dorothy to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to see a specialist about her heart trouble. So that she will not be hounded by the press and fortune hunters, Dorothy makes herself up to look extremely plain. Impoverished Lord Paul Menford spies her without the hideous disguise and falls in love with her immediately. When he is mistaken for his uncle, the heart specialist Adams seeks, he goes along in order to meet her. Meanwhile, his agent sells the Menford family estate to Adams. When Menford finally admits the ruse, Dorothy sends him away.
Later that night, he gets drunk and goes home, only he has forgotten that he no longer lives at the Menford estate. He crawls into his old room, only to find Dorothy there. Frightened, she makes him leave and barricades the door for good measure. However, he just reenters the room through another door. When she faints, he picks her up and carries her into another bedroom. The butler, his old former servant, sees him do this.
The next morning, Dorothy comes down for breakfast, and is annoyed to find the butler has put out ''two''
table setting
Table setting (laying a table) or place setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware—such as eating utensils and for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. It is also the layout in which th ...
s. When one of Paul's friends shows up unexpectedly and finds them dining together, Paul introduces Dorothy as his wife to avoid a scandal. The butler overhears, and soon the joyous "news" has spread to the village. Dorothy's father arrives. When the villagers gather outside to loudly wish the newlyweds well, Mr. Adams believes that his daughter has married as well. Paul eventually tries to clear things up, but Adams thinks he is just joking. Adams is finally convinced when he finds Paul preparing to sleep in a different bedroom from his "wife".
Having gotten over her initial dislike for Paul, she agrees to his suggestion that they get married for real. However, when she overhears Joe Diamond congratulating Paul for landing a wealthy heiress and demanding 10% as promised, the wedding is off. Paul sadly leaves.
Dorothy's father sees that she is heartbroken without Paul. Paul returns, having received a letter from her, apologizing for her behaviour and asking him to come see her before he leaves for Paris. She is puzzled (but secretly overjoyed), as she did not write it. While Paul packs some of his belongings, she goes to consult her father, who confesses that he is responsible. She begs him to do something to keep Paul from leaving. He has Paul's car sent away and creates a fake rainstorm using a hose. Paul is taken in at first, but then sees that it is only raining on one side of the house. Realizing Dorothy still loves him, Paul kisses her.
Cast
Reception
In his review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...