Unjustly obscure, this picture examines gender roles and double standards in post-WWI America. Director William de Mille creates a funny, heartbreaking story of a single woman deemed a “spinster” by the residents of her small town.
Lois Wilson is ideal in the lead, Theodore Roberts chews scenery as the buffoonish patriarch and Milton Sills hangs up his he-man badge and plays a bookish schoolteacher who is quietly in love with the title character. Easily one of my favorite silent films, this picture deserves to be seen.
How does it end? Hover or tap below for a spoiler.
Lulu stands up for herself, breaks away from her abusive family and wins Milton.Read my full-length review here.
If it were a dessert it would be: Root Beer Float Marshmallows. Traditional flavors presented in a whole new way. Light, sweet and memorable.
Availability: On DVD as an extra on the out-of-print Image release of Why Change Your Wife? Also available on DVD and Bluray from Grapevine. The original novel is in the public domain and can be read here.
Movies Silently 
I agree. I’m very fond of Miss Lulu Bett!
Lovely film!
The Bluray of this film is excellent- highly recommended! So…movie night on a Monday chez Roget featuring Miss Lulu Bett? Heck, yes 🙂
Will pair it with shorts Falling Leaves and Rescued by Rover (Go, Blair!).
Huzzah!
I saw this quite awhile back and enjoyed it, now I want to view it again.
It’s so good!
Bought this from KINO during a sale. Excellent film.
Yay!
This is one of my favorite “domestic” silents–another being “The Blot.” The characters are credible & sensitively developed: even the man at the ticket office has a distinct & appealing personality. And as a bonus, the background interior sets are carefully designed, as are those in “The Blot”–great windows into middle class life in the early 1920s.
The wonderful kitchen scene sums up the quiet virtues of this film & sets it apart dramatically from his brother’s bedroom/bathroom comedies–which I also enjoy mind you! The Mont Alto Orchestra on the Image disc provides top-notch accompaniment.
It’s a lovely picture.