Adam's Rib

Anna Q. Nilsson has been married for nineteen years to Milton Sills and is hungry for romance in the arms of Theodore Kosloff, deposed King of Morania. In order to win her back, Milton bribes Morania to put the monarch back on the throne, but their daughter, Pauline Garon, decides to save their marriage by vamping Theodore, which plays hob with her budding romance with clueless archaeologist Elliot Dexter.

Lots of comedies burlesqued DeMille's epics about how the rich were leading wild, luxurious, unhappy lives, so DeMille decided to get in on the act himself. Unhappily for all concerned, including the contemporary audience, only Milton Sills and Julia Faye seem to have been in on the joke, as everyone else plays it absolutely straight.

DeMille's productions were so over the top anyway, that it's not easy to tell, but the inevitable flashback sequence, usually set in decadent places like ancient Rome or Babylon, takes place among cavemen with Julia Faye capering around. She had apparently consulted with her fellow DeMille mistress, Jeanie McPherson, who had written the screenplay.

Perhaps DeMille did not realize it, otherwise he might have chosen a leading lady or two with better comedy chops -- certainly Bebe Daniels was still working for Paramount. On the other hand, DeMille had a vicious sense of humor and perhaps he thought he could pull it off without telling anyone. Or perhaps he was just getting bored and anxious to get on with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and his other Bible and historical epics.

In any case, once you recognize this is a comedy, it plays pretty well. It's too bad the accompanist for the Grapevine Video release did not seem to notice it. Oh, well.