Ernst Lubitsch was the master of adult romantic comedy with a twist of sex and a witty flair. Some historians have gone as far as to claim that the German-born filmmaker created the American romantic screen comedy, while most agree he at least redefined it and set the bar for other directors when he arrived in Hollywood in the mid-1920s.
Three Women (1924), the director's third American movie, stars May McAvoy as sunny college girl Jeannie, the daughter of New York socialite Mrs. Mabel Wilton (Pauline Frederick)—a wealthy, middle-aged woman attempting to hold onto youth with frivolous functions and younger boyfriends. That makes her easy prey for the conniving Edmund Lamont (Lew Cody), an opportunistic womanizer who treats romance as a sport and marriage as a tool to finance his lifestyle.
When the 18-year-old Jeannie arrives home from California for a visit and catches the leering eye of her mother's cad of a lover, Mabel's vanity and jealousy flair up, then give way to maternal instincts when he targets the daughter as his next conquest. As the title suggests, there is one more player in this romantic tangle: the other "other woman" is played by Marie Prevost, who costarred in Lubitsch's previous film The Marriage Circle. Pierre Gendron is Jeannie's college sweetheart Fred, who gets his medical degree and follows Jeannie to New York.
Three Women is far from Lubitsch's best work due largely to a contrived screenplay, a simplistic melodrama with oblivious characters, a villain who would twirl his mustache if it grew that long, blackmail, murder, and a courtroom climax with a verdict that could only exist in the movies. But Lubitsch approaches the hoary screenplay with wit and style.
The opening at a high society fundraiser is an imaginative set-piece that transforms a YMCA into a literal playground for the rich, including an adult slide, and his presentation of the frivolous mother takes them from judging her vanity to empathizing with her as she sacrifices her pride and risks her reputation to protect her daughter.
In short, it's a minor work from a major artist, an entertaining romantic melodrama from a particularly rich period of American film history elevated by handsome production values and superb cinematography, and a revealing snapshot of the popular cinema in the silent era.
Long unavailable, the film was restored in 4K by the George Eastman Museum in 2021. Kino presents the new restoration with a new orchestral score by Andrew Erle Simpson. The Blu-ray also features commentary by film historian Anthony Slide.
What kind of film series would this narrative feature fit in?
This could be used in a series on American silent cinema or a series on the changing mores of American society as reflected in the movies.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
It would make a good addition to any expansive library of silent movies and to any film collection of Lubitsch movies.
What academic library shelves would this title be on?
A good pick for library collections for film studies departments focusing on film history and American cinema of the 1920s.
Discover more titles with our list of romance movies.