Not exactly "Lysistrata," "Petticoat Camp" is still a charming battle-of-the-sexes story that is quite remarkable for 1912.
For one thing, it is extremely well acted and well directed and well photographed.
Unfortunately, except for stars Florence La Badie and William Garwood, no one else is known, not even here at IMDb.
"Petticoat Camp" is a product of the Thanhouser studio of New Rochelle, New York, a surprisingly prolific company that existed only a few years during the silent era.
There is a documentary film about Thanhouser, produced by a grandson of the founders, and made with love and hope.
The hope is that more than the fewer-than-200 Thanhouser films now known to exist, out of more than 1,000 produced, will be discovered, somewhere, somehow.
I join in that hope. Of the three films I've seen, all are exceptionally good, especially considering I had never heard of the people involved, except one James Cruze, an actor (not in "Petticoat Camp") who went on to become one of the best and best-known directors of the silent and early sound era.
The other, unknown, players are probably stage-trained actors because Thanhouser had made a point to use trained and professional performers, and their obvious abilities are indeed obvious.
"Petticoat Camp" was the second of three Thanhouser films shown on 5 July 2015 by Turner Classic Movies.
The women get tired of doing all the work while the men have all the fun, hunting and fishing and eating the women's cooking.
When the women go on strike, naturally then the men realize what pigs they've been.
But these women aren't so mere (to quote Walt Kelly), and they are not swept off their feet by tricks or measly begging.
"Petticoat Camp" is an amazing and enthralling discovery. And it is a very enjoyable film. Be on the alert. Next time it's available, drop everything to see it.