Silk Husbands and Calico Wives (1920) DVD-R

Starring House Peters, Mary Alden, Mildred Reardon, Edward Kimball, Sam Sothern
Directed by Alfred E. Green

Print: black/white
Runtime: 52 min.
Genre: drama

As can easily be gathered from the title, this is the story of an upwardly mobile husband and a plain homebody of a wife. When lawyer Deane Kendall (House Peters) wins a big case, he goes to work in the big city. This awakens his social ambitions, while his wife Edith (Mary Alden), a former court stenographer, prefers comfy domesticity. Georgia Wilson (Eva Novak), an amoral society miss, decides that she wants Kendall and sends architect Charles Madison (Vincent Serrano) after Edith. Kendall rather priggishly denounces his wife's new friendship, which she views innocently. But when Madison invites her to his place and makes a pass at her, she leaves in a huff. She also leaves a note for her husband, saying that she knows that he's unhappy with her and has decided to return to the small town they left. Kendall finally realizes how much she means to him, and they reconcile.