A House Divided
About A House Divided
Gerald Hutton (Fraunie Fraunholz) gets a squirt of sample perfume on his lapel from a salesman at the office. At home, Diana (Marian Swayne) has set aside a pair of gloves she found. She smells the perfume and decides he has been after his secretary. He sees the gloves and decides she had a caller while he was out. Their lawyer has them sign a separation and go on living in the same house without speaking. The mix-up comes out, they make it up, and the lawyer is the one left disappointed.
Cast & crew
More about A House Divided
Alice Guy-Blaché produced and directed it. Solax number 279 was shot in April 1913 at the Fort Lee studio and released on 2 May 1913 through Exclusive Supply Corporation. It was not registered for copyright.
Themes
Background
Solax was still working in Fort Lee in 1913, before most American production had moved to Los Angeles.
Making
One reel, shot in a month between the April dates at Fort Lee and the 2 May release. The gag is built from a perfume sample, a pair of gloves, and notes the couple pass once they have stopped speaking.
Reviews
The Moving Picture World closed a short notice by saying the film "will make some fun in some houses."
Preservation
A print is in the Library of Congress, in the American Film Institute collection.
Notes
- The Moving Picture World, reviewing it briefly, said it "will make some fun in some houses.
- Moving Picture News printed a plot summary in April 1913, before the release.
- A close-up shows the separation agreement already signed, then the couple are shown signing it.
- Channel 4 broadcast it in January 1985 in a series on women directors.
- It was screened on 29 March 2019 at the Diputación de Málaga for International Women's Day.
- The print is in the public domain in the United States.
Scenes
- A salesman squirts perfume on Gerald's lapel, and Diana later smells it.
- Gerald finds the gloves and decides Diana had a caller.
- They sign the lawyer's separation and start passing notes instead of talking.
- The reconciliation leaves the attorney sour.
Also available
- Library of Congress (American Film Institute collection)
