Somebody’s Widow (1918) A Silent Film Review

When a ditzy writer and his secretary are the only men at the beach, the young ladies who are frolicking there take it personally when they are completely ignored. The boldest one decides to pose as a widow to capture some interest…

Home Media Availability: Stream courtesy of EYE.

The Widow’s Walk

Silent comedy is often immediately associated with slapstick but there was a demand for something a bit more subtle and studios saw a way to both sell tickets and add to their brand prestige. The Vitagraph company built its brand around domestic comedies from stars like John Bunny and Flora Finch, and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew.

The Mutual Film Company had the biggest comedy star, Charlie Chaplin, on their payroll but every studio needed smaller program pictures to fill out their roster in between the star vehicles. Anyway, Chaplin was heading toward independent production. The one-reel Strand Comedies were a Mutual side hustle for comedy producer Al Christie, who also released under his own brand, and were announced with full-page ads in the trade press.

“These are polite comedies, enacted by young people—fresh—lively—clean—free from suggestiveness.” At the head of this new, fresh, lively, and clean series from Mutual was comedienne Billie Rhodes.

The main players in Somebody’s Widow are Billie, a young lady enjoying a beach holiday with her longsuffering Boston Terrier, and Jack Random (Cullen Landis), a scenario writer who is trying to finish up his latest serial with the help of his secretary (Billy Bevan).

Billie and her friends are having fun on the beach but there is one conspicuous ingredient from a summer holiday that is missing: men. The beach is a hen party. Meanwhile, Jack and Billy are ironing out the kinks in their serial, which is populated by a daring heroine, a two-fisted hero, gun-toting gangsters, the works. A fantasy sequence showcases the kind of rootin’-tootin’ action that is the Random stock in trade.

Jack and Billy take a walk on the beach to discuss the next plot twists and they walk right by the young ladies in swimwear without a second glance. Billie isn’t about the take that lying down and decides to make herself more interesting to the ditzy writer by posing as a widow with a tragic, sea salt-infused tale of woe. She bets her friend that she will win the heart of Jack Random or pay up in cash.

By this time, Jack has finished his serial chapter and is considerably less distracted, which makes him all the more susceptible to the poor weeping widow whose husband is lost at the bottom of the sea. Billie’s plan is working beautifully but she is about to be double-crossed. All’s fair in love and small gentlewomen’s bets, so Billie’s friend decides to let Jack’s secretary know exactly what her game is…

Well, that was fun! Billie Rhodes is refreshingly natural as the leading woman—comedy of this type frequently descends into mugging for the camera (and not just in the silent era) but Rhodes is lively yet understated as the mischievous heroine. Cullen Landis is likewise good-natured as the ditzy author who doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it.

Billy Bevan is probably the biggest name in this picture for modern fans of silent comedy and he is fun as both the overly ethusiastic secretary and Billie’s dead husband back from the dead to claim her. This sequence leads to a comical chase that dances on the edge of cartoonishness, but that’s not a complaint.

Billy chases Billie, Jack chases Billy, all of Billie’s friends watch as the trio zip back and forth across the resort, reminiscent of the animated Alice in Wonderland, before joining the chase themselves. It’s all very zany and the picture ends with laughter and embraces. Oh, and Billie is a sport and pays her debt despite being tricked herself… but then Jack makes a move of his own, so it looks like her payment was premature.

Somebody’s Widow was met with favorable reviews when it was released. The trade magazine Moving Picture World described it as a pleasing comedy that was “nicely directed by Scott Sidney.” Motion Picture News predicted that the comedies would be well-received by any audience. Indeed, a theater owner in Nebraska was enthusiastic and reported in response to Somebody’s Widow that “Billie Rhodes comedies are very classy and an asset to any program.”

(The trade coverage of the film was based heavily on Mutual publicity materials and in most cases, the Cullen Landis character is referred to as the Bumptious Young Scenario Writer or B.Y.S.W. for short. This fact has no bearing on the film itself, I just thought it was a fun example of the jaunty publicity of the period and wanted to share it.)

However, further information is a bit thin on the ground, as was typical for comedy shorts and western programmers of the silent era. They were viewed as disposable trifles meant to be enjoyed but not necessarily preserved. As a result, while Chaplin’s Mutual comedies have been safely archived—hell, we even have his Mutual outtakes—the rest of the studio’s output has an abysmal survival rate.

This is a pity because, between this picture and Cupid in Quarantine, I am completely sold on the Strand brand. I like my silent comedies on the quieter side with the scenario building to a climax rather than the constant frenzy that can be present in some slapstick.

By the way, for all the declarations of cleanness and freedom from suggestiveness, director Scott Sidney made sure to include lingering shots of the young women frolicking on the beach, albeit in prim pantaloons and not the sleek silk bodystockings sometimes donned in Sennett fare.

Still, this comedy is, well, nice. It’s not moralizing the way a lot of self-consciously clean entertainment can be. It’s just a feather-light bit of entertainment with incredibly low stakes and everyone has a few laughs and we are all entertained for about ten minutes.

In fact, I think this comedy could have actually been extended out to two reels with Billie trying to keep up her farce long enough to win her bet and her friends scheming against her all the while Cullen Landis and Billy Bevan dream up more action scenes for the novel. However, I suppose it’s better for a movie to leave the audience wanting more rather than wearing out its welcome.

Somebody’s Widow is cute, fresh entertainment very much in line with what we can expect from the Christie brand.

Where can I see it?

Stream courtesy of EYE. Dutch intertitles with optional English subtitles.

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