User Reviews

Today Cecil B. DeMille is probably best known for the overwrought (if thoroughly enjoyable) biblical epic "The Ten Commandments." But during the silent era he made several sophisticated comedies portraying the battle of the sexes such as "Why Change Your Wife," an engaging mixture of bizarre, over the top glamour (the negligee the husband buys his wife is so elaborately constructed I couldn't blame her for looking dismayed when she first saw it) and dead on day-to-day detail about married life—is there a couple who hasn't gotten in each other's way and on each other's nerves when sharing a bathroom? Gloria Swanson plays Beth Gordon, a young wife who cannot resist the temptation to improve her husband, scorning his fox trot records for something called "The Dying Poet." She loses him to the proverbial shop girl, Sally Clark—hilariously played by Bebe Daniels—a character so vulgar she owns a gyrating Kewpie Doll. (This film's frank endorsement of consumerism has often been remarked on, but it rightly acknowledges that what we chose to buy tells as much about our class and character as anything else). The husband soon realizes that he made a mistake, clearly finding Sally's baby talk even more tiresome than Beth's high minded nagging, but it isn't until Beth transforms herself into a sexy knockout wearing the height of pre-flapper fashion that the two reunite.

The movie isn't entirely cynical about romance—it is never really in doubt that Beth and her husband love each other—but it is shrewd enough to recognize that in holding the attention of your partner a little glamour and sophistication doesn't hurt (the husband isn't let off the hook though, and his naiveté in expecting the honeymoon phase to last forever is mocked in a bathroom scene when Sally repeatedly interrupts his attempts to shave just as Beth did earlier).

A side note: All the leading players are engaging, but the violinist (played by Theodore Kosloff) who seduces women by making love to their souls steals every scene he is in.

To sum up, this worldly comedy challenges the common assumption that silent film is little more than slapstick or melodrama.

In 1920, Cecil B. DeMille was already the king of Paramount. Titles would show a DeMille coin and he was the producer and director in charge and already had spectacles under his belt. But he also made romantic comedies that very much are a product of their times. His most famous female star of the late teens to early twenties was Gloria Swanson, who would go on to be a major silent star in her own right during the era.

Thomas Meighan is not so well remembered today except for hard core silent buffs. Few of his films are rarely revived and he died in 1936 after a two year bout with cancer. Another major silent star who did have some successes in sound was Bebe Daniels, probably most famous for singing "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" and breaking her leg in 42ND STREET.

Meighan and Swanson co-starred together in DeMille's MAN AND FEMALE a year previous to this one. Here, they are introduced as husband and wife in a script written by William DeMille, Cecil's brother. While Thomas shaves, Gloria pesters him into buttoning the back of her dress. It's a humorous modern day problem and both leads are funny as they frustrate each other.

She won't even let him listen to HINDISTAN - A FOX TROT on a vintage 78 and forces him to listen to A DYING POET instead. By the way, Hindistan is another name for India. There is throughout a condescending tone to non-whites. but it's not as bad as some other films. In fact, DeMille would be guilty of that throughout his career but I do bear in mind he wasn't alone and many were worse. More fun to watch, though, is what passed for high fashion in 1920. I don't think anyone would be caught dead today wearing what passed for bathing suits back then.

It is at the store where Meighan meets Daniels who gets to play a total vamp, even comically putting a heart size mole on her arm. She literally seduces him on the spot. While they go out, poor Gloria has her violin recital playing A DYING POET without her husband. Later on, straight laced Gloria Swanson reads about their marriage following her divorce. Well, two can play this game. Gloria goes to the store herself and gets herself some outrageous clothes and has several admirers follow her to a rich resort that has a great swimming pool where guests can sit. Somehow, Meighan and Swanson get back together while Daniels gets the violin player.

I really doubt people really lived like this in 1920, but romantic escapist films are made today. A fun little picture.

Why Change Your Wife (1920)

This is a great romp, getting better with every scene. It is not good to women, though, making them out to be selfish and catty. It also makes it seem that a woman's role is to be beautiful for her man, and if she isn't, he practically has the right to leave her. I mean, come on now!

The leads (three of them) are all first rate. The man is a charmer, really convincing and natural, Thomas Meighan. His wife (at first) is Gloria Swanson, a silent screen staple (especially for director Cecil B. de Mille who directed six straight films with Swanson, including the parallel, Don't Change Your Husband (1919). But the third other woman is Swanson's match, Bebe Daniels, and if she isn't as famous, it's only because time is fickle.

Because the three are so well balanced, both in ability and in the way they are given time together (in all three possible combinations, plus all three of them together), the film really builds momentum well. The modernity of flipping wives was probably part of the racy appeal, and it might seem a little staid by our standards, where there is (sometimes) less gravity to a marriage.

Music is key, which might seem odd for a silent film, but by showing us the 78 records being put on, the audience knows what the soundtrack would be. (The actually sound tacked on to my DVD version of this film is a brutal melange of found orchestral pieces that cut in and out, hither and tither.) For those interested in the actual piece called Hindustan that is key in three scenes (and key to the changing sentiments of the women) go to www.archive.org/details/JosephC.SmithsOrchestra-01-07 and you can actually click on piece to hear it (a lively pre-jazz dance type number).

So is this a pertinent film? In a way, it is. It's basic theme of paying attention to what your mate needs, and appreciating their attentions, is pretty timeless. But in other ways the film is sadly, painfully retrograde, and it isn't just because it's 1920. The way the women vie for the man, and the way he lets them, and ultimately the way he treats the Daniels character (who does him no wrong any more than the Swanson one does), is just cheap and tossed around for comedic purposes. Which is how you can take it and enjoy it. More than you'd expect.

Why Change Your Wife was part of Cecil B. DeMille's "marriage trilogy" and is a sly and well-acted 1920 silent film that stars Gloria Swanson as a dowdy and prissy wife whose husband (Thomas Meighan) is bored with. He wants fun and romance! So he trots off to a dressmaker to buy her a negligee to spice up the marriage. But an ambitious model (Bebe Daniels) recognizes him as her mother's old boss and sets out to trap him. Of course he is putty in her hands and she causes a divorce.

After the divorce Swanson overhears two women gossiping about her in the next changing room. She decides to "jazz up her lingerie" and win the husband back. Of course they all end up at the same Atlantic City hotel where the transformed Swanson (what a bathing suit!) catches his eye anew. Through a series of plot twists, including the manic cat fight between the two women with threats of throwing acid, poor Bebe concedes defeat and (after emptying his wallet of cash) leaves him to Swanson.

Good fun and all 3 stars are terrific. Also taking center stage are the women's fashions (hilariously "exotic") and the interior decor. DeMille was the first director to understand the importance of film as a TREND SETTER and basically created the product endorsement mania so prevalent in today's films.

Sylvia Ashton is Aunt Kate, Theodore Kosloff is the violinist, Lucien Littlefeld is the butler, and William Boyd is one of the hotel guests. The hotel is quite a spot, and mention should be made of the cat and dog fight which presages the battle between Swanson and Daniels. The dog is funny, and the cat is named Toodles, which was the name of the home wrecker played by Julia Faye in the preceding "marriage" film: Don't Change Your Husband.

This silly romantic comedy is a premium example of what I call "lifestyle porn." There is a plot to be sure and allegedly a lesson about keeping playfulness within a marriage, but the main focus is on the mansions and the clothes. It isn't for naught that Gloria Swanson was often accused of being a clothes horse in her movies despite boasting fine acting chops. This isn't one of her more interesting roles and DeMille's other society comedies like THE AFFAIRS OF ANATOL or FORBIDDEN FRUIT are far more engaging, but WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE? Is still a fun trifle.

Although the plot is not as absorbing as in his classics "The Affairs of Anatol" or "Male and Female" Cecil B. DeMille makes this romantic piece of fluff intoxicating still, especially if you enjoyed the romantic and sexual tension between Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan in the latter film. "Why Change Your Wife?" was made a year after "Male and Female" and the audience gets to see the two as a married pair: in the first scenes Tommy is shaving and Gloria is getting dressed. The interplay between them is fabulous and funny. She is always interrupting him in front of the bathroom mirror and he can't quite manage to button the back of her dress. So typical and true to life. She lectures him on his personal tastes: "must you have a dog?" and "you should listen to classical music and not tin pan alley" and "you should stop drinking/smoking..." The film shows the affects of nagging upon a marriage, and boy is THAT true to life!

Enter Bebe Daniels. She likes men with curly hair and Tommy Meighan fits the bill. She manages to attract Tommy away from Gloria; even though we know Tommy still loves Gloria, she still needs to be taught a lesson on men and marriage. She learns her lessons the hard way, but therein lies the fun for the audience. The moral of the story here is that wives should remember they are their husbands' sweethearts first, their wives second, and that they should not forget the romance that keeps a couple together and out of the divorce courts.

I don't want to give away more of the plot but see this film. If you are a woman watch it with your husband. You won't regret it.

I bought this film because Bebe Daniels is in it. I may be a little biased since Bebe was my grandfather's aunt, but I think the movie is terrific. The story is so true to life even today! It has a great message and the written narration is so "deep" for the lack of a better word. I was actually more impressed with Gloria Swanson in this particular film though! She was great! She actually "made" the movie! Bebe's part as a vamp was really good too though! She was the perfect one to play this part! I am not gonna give anything away, just order it and watch it for yourself! My husband and I enjoyed it so much! I must confess I ordered all the Bebe movies I could find because there is a definate family resemblance between she and I! But out of my strange interest in this aspect, I actually ended up finding so much more! I love the Silent Classics and discovered Gloria Swanson in the process! Thank you and take care!!!

Swanson changes her style dramatically in the middle of the film (after the divorce), and she becomes really gorgeous. It seems like this film was made just to show her. Comparing with her, Daniels (and other characters) is not so impressive. The film itself has a simple story and maybe it is not so appealing to everyone but still interesting to see.

Why Change Your Wife? is something of a sequel to DeMille's first collaboration with Gloria Swanson, Don't Change Your Husband. As the title suggests however, the roles are now reversed and this time it is Swanson who is rejected by her husband, and must get it together to win him back.

Of course, this being your typical, clichéd battle-of-the-sexes flick, second-rate wives are an entirely different kettle of fish to second-rate husbands. So whereas Elliot Dexter in Don't Change Your Husband had to transform himself from slob into sophisticate, Gloria Swanson's journey is from dowdy frump to sexy siren. It's here that the problems with Why Change Your Wife? begin. It's not that Swanson can't pull off the goody-goody image – she can, even though it's against her usual type. DeMille in fact insults her acting ability by grossly simplifying her character, even giving her glasses - which of course disappear (along with any apparent sight difficulties) after her makeover. And Thomas Meighan, so perfectly cast as Creighton in the previous year's Male and Female, here seems rather bland, so much so that it seems odd that Swanson would want him back. Compare this to Don't Change Your Husband, where we applauded Swanson for dumping her oafish husband, then sympathised with her when her second marriage didn't turn out as planned, finally to route for Elliot Dexter once he had smartened himself up. You don't get any of this in Why Change Your Wife? because the characters are so shallow.

Changes were taking place in the old DeMille style too. Although one or two scenes – notably the opening sequence in the bathroom – are played out with no intertitles, allowing the acting to convey everything, too much of the picture … is annoyingly broken up … with pointless bits of dialogue. It's a shame because DeMille still proves himself able to tell the story visually. In particular his use of point-of-view shots had increased over his last few pictures, and they are particularly apt in these marriage-gone-wrong melodramas which are after all about little more than people ogling or sneering at each other. DeMille's eye for vivid presentation is still top-notch too – for example look at the way he neatly frames Swanson in a symmetrical composition when she begins trying on those "strapless, backless, indecent" dresses.

DeMille's screenwriter/mistress Jeanie Macpherson as usual provides the wordiness, and as those familiar with their silent works will know she had a rather unique style, blending poetic rhythm with a somewhat bizarre take on reality. Why Change Your Wife? features some of the best (or worst) examples of her oddness, at one point beginning a title with "If this were fiction…" My favourite Macpherson-ism of the lot though is the final line of that same title: "It's generally a brick or a banana peel that changes a man's destiny." Classic.

A final fault with Why Change Your Wife? is that it takes itself too seriously. Don't Change Your Husband had a comedy edge which balanced out its dramatic side, and also made the clichés more palatable. The later picture though presents itself more or less as a straight drama, but the storyline and characters are too flimsy to carry it off.

Long before Norma Shearer slapped on those claws that she had two years to grow in The Woman, Gloria Swanson was waging just such a campaign to win back her husband who might have been as stuffy as an old chair, but those things are mighty comfortable and you miss them when they're not around. Where Gloria was doing this was in the Cecil B. DeMille comedy Why Change Your Wife.

Thomas Meighan is the husband doing the changing. He and Swanson irritate each other right down to the family dog which Swanson insists stay outside because of what he does to the furniture. It's no wonder that Meighan falls for the charms of one of those new fangled flapper type girls in Bebe Daniels.

While all this is going on planning his next recital on the Rebound Concerto is Theodore Kosloff who fiddles with wives as much as he fiddles with his fiddle. He sees an opening with Swanson and he's moving in like a jungle cat.

Say Cecil B. DeMille people think massive spectacles with casts of thousands. He did those in the silent days, but he also went in for spirited comedies like Why Change Your Wife and Gloria Swanson was one of his favorite stars. In fact all the players here were used multiple times by DeMille.

Shades of Destry Rides Again, there's one beautiful chick fight toward the end with Gloria and Bebe while an unconscious Meighan is in dream land.

I'd see this one for a glimpse at another aspect of Cecil B. DeMille.

Thomas Meighan (as Robert Gordon) is a is a typical husband, with the matrimonial faults most wives will find in/tolerable; he smokes too much and likes the "Fox Trot". Gloria Swanson (as Beth Gordon) is his virtuous, but bored, wife; she is likes to sew and is concerned for the "starving millions in Europe." Bebe Daniels (as Sally Clark) is an attractive young widow who models for the "Mansion Chic"; she will rock the Gordon marriage!

The cat (as Toodles) and Theodore Kosloff (as the violinist) are fun to watch. Also fun is Ms. Daniels making herself attractive to her old acquaintance (of her father) by putting a heart decal on her shoulder; her pursuit of wavy-haired men is boldly interesting. Ms. Swanson dolling herself up to win back her man, and the women cat fighting, are amusing scenes. You have to sympathize with Mr. Meighan, aghast at the ludicrous fashions on display in this movie; the women's lingerie and bathing suits are freakishly unbelievable! There is nothing terribly outstanding about "Why Change Your Wife", when compared with other DeMille fare from the time period. As a DeMille production, it rises above mediocrity, of course; it was inevitable that more domestic gripes would be filmed, as the box office demanded.

***** Why Change Your Wife (5/21/20) Cecil B. DeMille ~ Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels

Director Cecil B. De Mille and actress Gloria Swanson had a monster hit in 1919 with the slightly comic melodrama DON'T CHANGE YOUR HUSBAND about a tired husband who neglects his wife. The next year De Mille and Swanson were reunited for this film, WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE, which is virtually a remake of the earlier film, only this time the wife is neglectful spouse. This movie is actually a far superior film to the original however because it's played almost entirely for laughs here and Thomas Meighan is a far better actor and more appealing romantic lead than Elliot Dexter in the first film.

Young matron Gloria Swanson is barely 20 but she might as well be 50 the way she dresses and with that nagging, sour attitude of hers. She whines when her husband's dog is indoors, complains about his choice in music, and basically has turned into a fussy aunt. Husband Meighan's attempts at affection are rebuffed and in desperation he decides to buy a sexy gown for her, falling into the lair of vampy clothes model BeBe Daniels. BeBe manages to break up their marriage before Gloria can blink those legendary blue eyes and Meighan scarcely has a moment to breathe before he finds himself in yet another marriage and this one more troublesome than the first.

The cast is terrific here; beautiful, chic Gloria is remarkably believable as the young woman who has gotten old before her time. Thomas Meighan is excellent as the husband who goes from being one wives' puppet to a similar role with the second missus. Silent movie fans who are more familiar with the later silent career of Meighan (actually less than a decade away) when he was a more austere screen presence may be surprised how dashing he was at this point in his career and very much a matinée idol. BeBe Daniels is absolutely delicious as the tramp who ultimately decides "the best thing about marriage is alimony". This delightful romantic comedy stills packs quite a punch after some 90 years.

this movie definitely was different from the silent films i have seen before. I definitely was able to pick up more on what was going on there wasn't to much mystery in the movie. the thing that shocked me was about the whole idea of divorce happening in the 1920's you didn't here of that going on to much. Robert the male lead in this movie i found to be pretty funny. He would try to have his wife try on clothes she didn't like and listen to music she didn't like. He would be all into it. she would act like he needed to grow up.She thought he was cheating on her with another girl and divorces him. then him and the new girl get married and they are acting the same way from his first message. i thought the repetitive acts torturing robert was quiet funny it wasn't until the original two get there act together and realize that your sweat heart is gonna have to do things to make the other happy

Poor Thomas Meighan finds it impossible to have an uninterrupted shave whether he's married to an old-before-her-time Gloria Swanson or a fun but needy girl like Bebe Daniels in this self-consciously sophisticated comedy from Cecil B. DeMille. Swanson's beauty is too aggressive to be contained by the frumpy image she's aiming for, but she makes a game effort before finally transforming into a vampish sex siren following her divorce from Meighan. Her co-star is also likeable as the chump who realises almost too late that there's a reason why the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Only Daniels is short-changed in the part of a blameless character who turns a little too nasty in the final reel.

Today's movie fans think it's inconceivable music could possibly play an important role in silent movies--beside an organ or piano accompanying the film in a theater setting. Paradoxically, music did prove to be a crucial element in a few silent movies. How can that be, one asks? A prime example is in Cecil B. DeMille's April 1920 comedy "Why Change your Wife?" Music, or the choice of musical selections favored by the film's characters, illustrates their identities, personalities and desires within the plot.

Case in point: Gloria Swanson stars as a prim, almost frumpy wife of her normal husband, played by Thomas Meighan. While he enjoys contemporary popular music, she tries to educate him to the more cerebral classics such as 'The Dying Poet' by Louis Gottschalk. He looks for spice in his marriage by going to a lingerie shop to buy her some sheer outfits. She's none too pleased. When an innocent evening out with Bebe Daniels, whom he met in the lingerie store, makes Swanson flip out by the smell of perfume all over his clothes, she files for divorce. Meanwhile, Meighan thinks she's having an affair with an European classical violin player--another musical element.

In short, the taste in music reflects a wide gap between the two in their relationship. When Swanson realizes maybe she's too conservative while the husband marries Bebe, a series of coincidental meetings between the former married couple (he slips on a banana peel and hits his head on the pavement while walking with Gloria) lands Meighan in the hospital. A fierce fight erupts between Gloria and Bebe, which, according to one DeMille biographer, was based on a real life argument between two of the director's mistresses. In the movie, a vial of what Bebe thinks is acid is thrown in the face of Gloria, but in the actual DeMille cat fight, a bottle of ink was splayed over one participant.

Music once again comes into play towards the end to reflect Gloria's taste in compositions has changed, a huge pivot point in the movie's narrative.

Robert is slowly getting bored by his wife Beth, her old-fashioned clothes and her old-fashioned music tastes, and her constant carping at his manners. He makes one last try to change her again into a desirable female being by buying her a pretty daring negligee - but she decides that it doesn't suit her. The next day, when she wants to listen to a classic concert again instead of going to the Follies with him, he just goes out on his own - and 'falls prey' to young Sally, who'd been interested in him for quite a while. They spend the night together; but in the morning, the 'good husband' feels remorse, goes back to his wife and promises never to leave her alone again - but too late: she smells another woman's perfume, and throws him out of the house...

So, they get divorced, and Robert marries Sally - BUT as the inter-title warns us: 'wives will be wives'... So, after a while, Robert gets tired of Sally too - and meets Beth again on a holiday, who in the meanwhile has changed completely: she wears the most extravagant dresses, enjoys herself, has got a lot of admirers... But secretly, she's still in love with HIM - but alas, this time it's Robert who must give her a moral lesson: as she herself had taught him, a man can only be faithful to one woman at a time. Now, in which way will fate intervene this time??

Well - another of Cecil B. De Mille's lessons in morales and decency and destiny: don't break out of your social 'caste' ("Male and Female"), don't change your husband, don't change your wife... OK, all this was around 1920 - but that was JUST the year in which the two greatest Hollywood stars of the time showed to the public that it IS possible - and in no way immoral - to break out of an unhappy marriage to be free to marry and to be happy with the one you love: Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford... So, even for early 20s' standards (and even WITHOUT any Production Code then), Mr. De Mille's ideas were a little bit outdated - although they still were an enormous box-office success; probably most of all due to the great performances of Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson and Bebe Daniels.

This is Cecil B. DeMille's third picture on extramarital relationships, following "Old Wives for New" and "Don't Change Your Husband". I haven't seen the first one yet, but "Why Change Your Wife?" is just like "Don't Change Your Husband", except the roles of wife and husband are somewhat reversed. So, if you like this film or that one, I recommend you watch the other. On the other hand, it's too formulaic, predictable and cheap for me. The light humor is enjoyable, including the witty intertitles, but otherwise it's too fluffy and superficial, just as with "Don't Change Your Husband" and many other DeMille flicks.

An exception to the light mood is the excessive climax. Additionally, Thomas Meighan was lacking as an actor; for instance, in the opening bathroom scene, he glances towards the camera or director. It's too quick to be breaking the fourth wall, so for whatever reason that's in the film, it's a poor reflection upon Meighan and DeMille. As well, Sylvia Ashton plays the wise observer to the play, as she did in "Don't Change Your Husband"--she's our surrogate. And, once again, DeMille expresses his fetish for exotic clothing and lush interiors. For a while, DeMille might have became a good filmmaker (e.g. see "The Cheat" (1915)); he made this picture after that.

Today, many modern day romance drama's are about an average girl who likes a guy, but isn't enough for him. In this movie, Beth, is a very conservative wife to her husband Robert, but she is very controlling about what he does. Instead of balancing their lives together, she has taken total control over his life, making him unhappy. Every time he tries to let her relax and loosen up, does she make a big fuss about how he doesn't like who she is. Then, he meets with an old friend again and they instantly connect and their sparks are flying just like they would in a modern day movie. The music really helps to make the tone of each scene. When Beth decides to kind of "live on the wild side," it just gives the impression that many woman are more likely to change their appearance for a guys attention. But in all respects, not every woman is like that. Its mostly for the affect that writers put that scenario into their plots. All in all it was a decent movie, very dramatic for the 1920s. Slow start, but ended pretty well.

Why Change Your Wife? was a movie about a couple undergoing some problems. Robert keeps trying to please his nagging wife, Beth. He tries to please her without success. He tries several things to please her and she continuously turns it down, refusing to change for him. This leads Robert to go out with another women who works in a negligee shop. Eventually she gets a little saucy to spruce herself up and become more appealing in hopes to win Robert back. I loved the romantic drama and the passion behind this silent film. Though it would have been better with sound, I found it very similar to some of the popular movies out today. It was refreshing to see the humor and romantic scandals that were around back in 1920 and how they haven't differed much from the scandals of today. It was a delight to watch.