Mothers of Men

Mothers of Men is a 1917 silent film directed by Willis Robards, promoting woman's suffrage. The seven-reel drama is considered lost.[1] A five-reel re-edited version also directed by Robards was released in 1921—following ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment—under the title Every Woman's Problem.[2] This version survives through a single 35mm print preserved by the British Film Institute. The 1921 re-release was restored in 2016, in a collaboration between the BFI and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.[3]

Sheet music

The courtroom drama stars Dorothy Davenport as a judge who wins election as Governor of California. A moral issue arises when her husband is sentenced to death, and she must choose whether to pardon him.

Mothers of Men
Dorothy Davenport as Clara Madison

Mothers of Men was produced by the Robards Film Company of Santa Cruz, and released in November 1917.[4] The story and scenario were written by actor-playwright Hal Reid, father-in-law of the film's star, Dorothy Davenport.[5]

Cast
  • Willis Robards as Worthington Williams
  • Dorothy Davenport as Clara Madison
  • Hal Reid as Jack Scanton
  • Mrs. Hal Reid as Mrs. Madison
  • Katherine Griffith as Maida
  • Arthur Tavares as Giuseppe
  • Billie Bennett
  • Marcella Russell
  • Harry Griffith
  • Grace Blake
  • George Utell

Every Woman’s Problem

In the hands of editor Martin G. Cohn, the 1917 film Mothers of Men was trimmed from seven reels to five for the 1921 release Every Woman’s Problem, produced by Plymouth Pictures Corporation. The screenplay by Jack Natteford is based on the original scenario by Hal Reid. Titles were revised, and additional filming was done in Santa Cruz, California. Plymouth Pictures secured permission for Dorothy Davenport to be billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid. The film premiered in Paterson, New Jersey, the week of April 10, 1921.[2][6]

Cast
  • Mrs. Wallace Reid as Clara Madison
  • Willis Robards as Grant Williams
  • Maclyn King as Big Bill Deavitt
  • Wilson Du Bois as Dan Channing

See also

References
  1. "Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films 1912–1929" (PDF). American Silent Feature Film Survival Database. Library of Congress. February 4, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  2. "Every Woman's Problem". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  3. "Mothers of Men". San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  4. Fleming, E. J. (2013-11-08). Wallace Reid: The Life and Death of a Hollywood Idol. McFarland. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7864-7725-8.
  5. "Mothers of Men". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  6. "Every Woman's Problem (1921)". BFI. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.


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