Don't Change Your Husband

For the Chinese silent film, see Don't Change Your Husband (1929 film).

Don't Change Your Husband
Ad for the film from a 1919 issue of Film Daily
Directed by	Cecil B. DeMille Sam Wood (asst. director)
Story by	Jeanie MacPherson
Produced by	Jesse L. Lasky
Starring	Elliott Dexter Gloria Swanson
Cinematography	Alvin Wyckoff
Edited by	Anne Bauchens
Production companies	Famous Players-Lasky Artcraft Pictures Corp.
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	January 26, 1919 (1919-01-26)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)
Budget	$73,922.14 [1]
Box office	$292,134.10 [1]

Don't Change Your Husband is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gloria Swanson. ^{[1] [2] [3]} A Chinese silent film, Don't Change Your Husband (1929), used the same English title, and a similar plot arc. ^[4]

Plot

Don't Change Your Husband (1919)

Based upon a description in a film magazine, ^[5] 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
• Gloria Swanson as Leila Porter
• Lew Cody as Schuyler Van Sutphen
• Sylvia Ashton as Mrs. Huckney
• Theodore Roberts as The Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Thornby
• Julia Faye as Nanette aka Toodles
• James Neill as Butler
• Ted Shawn as Faun
• Irving Cummings as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
• Clarence Geldart as Manager of Gambling Club (uncredited)
• Raymond Hatton as Croupier at Gambling Club (uncredited)
• Jack Mulhall as Member of Gambling Club (uncredited)
• Guy Oliver as Mr. Frankel, Dressmaker (uncredited)
• Sam Wood as Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Preservation and Availability

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

• George Eastman Museum, on 35 mm ^[6]
• Cinémathèque Québécoise, on 35 mm
• Cinematheque Royale de Belgique
• Swedish Film Institute
• Archives du Film du CNC
• Library of Congress, on DVD. ^[7]

The film was released on DVD by Image Entertainment with The Golden Chance. ^[8]

References

1. Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. p. 135. ISBN   0-813-12324-0.
2. I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies. Random House Digital, Inc. 2013. p. 14. ISBN   978-0-307-26916-4.
3. "Don't Change Your Husband". afi.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
4. Rea, Christopher (January 21, 1929). "Don't Change Your Husband 情海重吻 (1929) - Chinese Film Classics %". Chinese Film Classics. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
5. "Advertising Aids for Busy Managers: Don't Change Your Husband". Moving Picture World. 39 (6). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Company: 810. February 8, 1919. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
6. "Progressive Silent Film List: Don't Change Your Husband". Silent Era. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
7. "American Silent Feature Film Database: Don't Change Your Husband". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
8. "Silent Era Films on Home Video: Don't Change Your Husband". silentera.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

External links

• Media related to Don't Change Your Husband at Wikimedia Commons
• The full text of Don't Change Your Husband (1919 film) at Wikisource
• Don't Change Your Husband at IMDb