''The Love Expert'' is a surviving 1920 American silent

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 ...

film directed by

David Kirkland David Kirkland (1878–1964) was an American actor and film director of the silent and early sound eras. He was cast as Dr. Dopem in the Snakeville comedy series and directed several Keystone Studios comedy films. He was a pallbearer at Virgi ...

and produced by and starring

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 ...

. It was an early distribution release by the First National Exhibitor's Company.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Babs (Constance Talmadge) is sent home from boarding school because she persists in carrying out her fanciful love researches instead of studying her lessons. Continuing these experiments at home, her father, the influential and stern John Hardcastle (Lucy), punishes her by sending Babs to stay with Aunt Cornelia (Spaulding) in Boston instead of taking her to Palm Beach. However, in Boston Babs finds fertile ground for her experiments. Aunt Cornelia has been for six years engaged to Jim Winthrop (Halliday), but a wedding seems remote as Jim has two unmarried sisters and an elderly aunt to look after. Something has to be done, so Babs sends a fake

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

which results in her going to Palm Beach accompanied by her troupe of Bostonians, much to the amazement of her father. Romance after romance follows in the wake of her experiments. Then comes the news that Aunt Cornelia, who was left behind in Boston, has married a college professor. That news does not break Jim's heart, for the "love expert" uses one of her unfailing remedies.

Cast

Preservation

A print of ''The Love Expert'' is preserved in the

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 ...

collection and the British Film Institute National Film and Television Archive.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Love Expert''
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References

External links

* * 1920 films American silent feature films First National Pictures films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1920 romantic comedy films Surviving American silent films 1920s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent American comedy films {{1920s-romantic-comedy-film-stub