(Ernst Lubitsch, US 1924, 83 min., 35mm)
The comedy of The Marriage Circle gives way to this dramatic interpretation of another complicated series of affairs among the upper crust. Beseiged by creditors, Edmund Lamont (Lew Cody) presses an affair with wealthy widow Mabel Wilton (Pauline Frederick) but transfers his affections to her daughter, Jeanne (May McAvoy). After marrying Jeanne, Lamont continues an affair with Harriet (Marie Prevost), a flapper. Meanwhile, Jeanne is in love with young doctor Fred Armstrong (Pierre Gendron), but Lamont refuses her a divorce, forcing the three women of the title to a decision. This silent and enormously rare masterwork by Ernst Lubitsch, was preserved by the George Eastman Museum’s Moving Image Department.
Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip Carli.
