''Don't Change Your Husband'' is a 1919 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 ...

directed by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

and starring

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...

. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gloria Swanson. A Chinese silent film, ''Don't Change Your Husband'' (1929), used the same English title, and a similar plot arc.

Plot

Based upon a description in a film magazine, Leila Porter (Swanson) has grown tired of her husband James Denby Porter (Dexter), the glue king, as she is romantic but he is prosaic. Moreover, he is careless of his personal appearance, gets cigar ash in the carpet, and eats green onions before he tries to kiss her. She obtains a divorce and then marries James' friend Schuyler Van Sutphen (Cody), but discovers that Van Sutphen is a real beast. When she later discovers that her ex-husband has changed as a result of the divorce, still loves her, and would be happy to have her back, Leila divorces once again in order to remarry James.

Cast

* Elliott Dexter as James Denby Porter *

as Leila Porter * Lew Cody as Schuyler Van Sutphen *

Sylvia Ashton Sylvia Ashton (January 26, 1880 – November 18, 1940) was an American film actress of the silent film era. Ashton was born in Denver, Colorado. She bore a heavyset resemblance to Jane Darwell and like Darwell was playing mother and grand ...

as Mrs. Huckney *

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disap ...

as The Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Thornby * Julia Faye as Nanette aka Toodles * James Neill as Butler * Ted Shawn as Faun *

Irving Cummings Irving Cummings (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy (play), Diplomacy''. His Broadway theatre, Broadway, p ...

as Undetermined Role (uncredited) * Clarence Geldart as Manager of Gambling Club (uncredited) * Raymond Hatton as Croupier at Gambling Club (uncredited) *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Member of Gambling Club (uncredited) * Guy Oliver as Mr. Frankel, Dressmaker (uncredited) *

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as ''A Night at the Opera (film), A Night at the Opera'', ''A Day at the Races (fi ...

as Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Preservation and Availability

Complete prints of ''Don't Change Your Husband'' are held by: *

George Eastman Museum The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...

, on 35 mm *

Cinémathèque Québécoise The Cinémathèque québécoise () is a film conservatory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its purpose is to preserve, document, film, and television footage and related documents and artifacts for future use by the public. The Cinémathèque's coll ...

, on 35 mm * Cinematheque Royale de Belgique *

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swed ...

* Archives du Film du CNC *

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, on DVD. The film was released on DVD by Image Entertainment with The Golden Chance.

References

External links

* * * {{Cecil B. DeMille , state=collapsed 1919 films 1919 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille 1910s American films Rediscovered American films Surviving American silent films 1910s rediscovered films 1910s English-language films English-language comedy films