Don't Change Your Husband (1919)

Cecil B. DeMille's picture that pushed a twenty year old Gloria Swanson into super-stardom, Don't Change Your Husband is a fun, little film that shows to continuing progression of DeMille and his storytelling skills in motion pictures.

The picture shares a little moral as two people learn how they must pay attention to one that love and how a relationship is a two-way road that both must share. Gloria Swanson plays Leila Porter, the loving wife of James Denby Porter (Elliot Dexter), a millionaire for being the "glue king." Leila does everything that a loving wife could for her husband, as well as has everything she needs, except for one thing, the mutual love and respect of her husband. Don't get me wrong James loves Leila very much, he is just a bit careless. He comes home to his lovely wife and simply puts on his slippers and reads while smoking his cigars, not using an ash tray mind you, while Leila wants a little more attention and for him to be a little neater. But she still loves him, for he is the same man she fell in love with, but when she goes in for a kiss she discovers his breath reeks of onions, his favorite snack. (Yeah, I don't know how to feel about that, but I guess it serves the story.) She forbids from kissing him until he stops from eating onions. He chooses... onions.

Well, all of this eats up inside of Leila. How could her husband not make himself presentable to his wife? Has their marriage become cold? Does he not care for her enough? Leila is worried, but then she discovers a smooth talking man that is one snappy dresser. He says all the right things and looks the part. This puts Leila into a day-dream scene that is rather creative by DeMille, as Swanson is pictured a Babylonian queen and a wood nymph among other things in some very visually creative shots. Leila falls for this new man, and gets a divorce to marry her new dreamy Romeo of a man. James is broken, he still loves her, very much so, and realizes that he just didn't try hard enough to keep her. He changes his ways to become a better, more presentable person. He dresses nicer, is more polite, uses ash trays, and swears off onions. By chance the two meet again, James obviously misses Leila, but is not one to try to steal her love away from another man. Leila is impressed and happy for James, while seeing that special man she loved before.

Leila new life turns downward as her new husband squanders her money by gambling and the new husbands interest in other women. He's a gold digger! All of a sudden Leila realizes that maybe her old husband wasn't worth leaving, especially when her new husband steals Leila's diamond ring (from her marriage to James, and hold great sentimental value to her) to pay debts. James finds the ring and gets it back so he could give it to Leila again. Of coarse, Leila knows who she really loves in the end.

The film is an interesting, moral tale of how two people both having issues with their relationship and how their poor decisions hurt them. James didn't pay close enough attention to his loving wife and her simple needs until it was too late and she left him. Leila saw what she wanted to see in another man, but did it with the idea that her fairytale dreams clouding her judgment when a smooth talking man promises the world to her. One didn't hold on tight enough, while the other was grabbing for something that was never really there. In the end they find that they need each other all the more.

The inner struggles of relationships is manifested by DeMille very nicely. Once again this shows the skills of Cecil B. DeMille, especially in this silent era.

So all this time I just needed to swear off onions! Gosh, I wish I saw this film years ago!