The Battle of the Sexes (1928 film)

1928 film by D. W. Griffith

The Battle of the Sexes

lobby card

Directed by| D. W. Griffith
Written by| Gerrit J. Lloyd
(adaptation & titles)
Based on| The Single Standard
by Daniel Carson Goodman
Produced by| Joseph M. Schenck
Starring| Jean Hersholt
Phyllis Haver
Belle Bennett
Don Alvarado
Sally O'Neil
Cinematography| Karl Struss
G.W. Bitzer
Edited by| James Smith
Music by| Hugo Riesenfeld
Nathaniel Shilkret[1][2]
Distributed by| United Artists

Release date

* October 12, 1928 (1928-10-12) (U.S.)

Running time

| 88 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Sound (Synchronzied)
(English Intertitles)
Budget| $750,000[3]

The Battle of the Sexes is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film starred Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado, and Sally O'Neil. It was released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish. Both films are based on the novel The Single Standard by Daniel Carson Goodman; the story was adapted for this production by Gerrit J. Lloyd.[4]

The film was recorded using the Movietone sound-on-film system but discs were made for those theatres that only had equipment to play sound-on-disc sound films. In 2004, the film was released on DVD by Image Entertainment without its original soundtrack. The theme song of the motion picture, "Just a Sweetheart", by Dave Dryer, Josef Pasternack, and Nathaniel Shilkret (recorded versions of which are available, for example, on a commercially issued Paul Whiteman CD[5]) was omitted from the DVD. A completely modern score was substituted which bears no resemblance to the original score.

## Plot[edit]

Marie Skinner (Phyllis Haver) is a gold digger with her hooks out for devoted middle-aged family man J.C. Judson (Jean Hersholt), a portly real estate tycoon, who falls for her when she contrives to meet him. When his wife (Belle Bennett) and grown children, Ruth (Sally O'Neil) and Billy (William Bakewell) discover him dancing with Marie at a nightclub, J.C. leaves home the next day. Ruth seeks out Marie to shoot her, but is interrupted by Marie's boyfriend, jazz hound Babe Winsor (Don Alvarado), who takes a shine to her. When Judson walks in on them he condemns her licentiousness, but is forced to face his double standard when he witnesses a violent argument between Marie and Babe. Full of contrition, J.C. returns to home and hearth and the bosom of his loving family.[6][7][8]

## Cast[edit]

* Jean Hersholt as William Judson, the Father
* Phyllis Haver as Marie Skinner
* Belle Bennett as Mrs. Judson, the Mother
* Sally O'Neil as Ruth Judson, the Daughter
* Don Alvarado as Babe Winsor
* William Bakewell as Billy Judson, the Son
* John Batten as A friend of the Judsons
* Rolfe Sedan as Marie's Barber (uncredited)
* Harry Semels as Mr. Judson's Barber (uncredited)

## Music[edit]

The film featured a theme song entitled "Just a Sweetheart" with music and lyrics by Josef A. Pasternack, Nathaniel Shilkret and Dave Dreyer. Another song featured on the soundtrack was entitled "Rose in The Bud" with music by Dorothy Forster and lyrics by Percy Barrow. Both titles were recorded by Allen McQuhae for Brunswick records and are available on the Internet Archive.

## See also[edit]

* List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Allmovie Production credits
2. ^ Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Shell, Niel and Barbara Shilkret, Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005, pp. 227, 273 and 287. ISBN 0-8108-5128-8
3. ^ "Griffith's 20 Year Record". Variety. September 5, 1928. p. 12. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
4. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Battle of the Sexes at silentera.com
5. ^ Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Shell, Niel and Barbara Shilkret, Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005. ISBN 0-8108-5128-8
6. ^ Plot summary (IMDB)
7. ^ Wollstein, Hans J. Plot synopsis (All Movie)
8. ^ TCM Synopsis Full synopsis

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Battle of the Sexes (1928 film).

* The Battle of the Sexes is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
* The Battle of the Sexes at IMDb
* The Battle of the Sexes at the TCM Movie Database
* Synopsis at AllMovie
* review in The New York Times
* Still at silenthollywood.com
* Cairns, David (2016), The Forgotten: D.W. Griffith's Battle of the Sexes (1928) at mubi.com (with stills)

* v
* t
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Films directed by D. W. Griffith

1908|

* The Adventures of Dollie (1908)
* The Fight for Freedom (1908)
* The Tavern Keeper's Daughter (1908)
* The Black Viper (1908)
* The Red Man and the Child (1908)
* Deceived Slumming Party (1908)
* The Bandit's Waterloo (1908)
* A Calamitous Elopement (1908)
* The Greaser's Gauntlet (1908)
* The Man and the Woman (1908)
* The Fatal Hour (1908)
* For Love of Gold (1908)
* Balked at the Altar (1908)
* For a Wife's Honor (1908)
* Betrayed by a Handprint (1908)
* Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court (1908)
* The Girl and the Outlaw (1908)
* Behind the Scenes (1908)
* The Red Girl (1908)
* The Heart of O'Yama (1908)
* Where the Breakers Roar (1908)
* A Smoked Husband (1908)
* The Stolen Jewels (1908)
* The Devil (1908)
* The Zulu's Heart (1908)
* Father Gets in the Game (1908)
* Ingomar, the Barbarian (1908)
* The Vaquero's Vow (1908)
* The Planter's Wife (1908)
* Romance of a Jewess (1908)
* The Call of the Wild (1908)
* Concealing a Burglar (1908)
* After Many Years (1908)
* The Pirate's Gold (1908)
* The Taming of the Shrew (1908)
* The Guerrilla (1908)
* The Song of the Shirt (1908)
* The Ingrate (1908)
* A Woman's Way (1908)
* The Clubman and the Tramp (1908)
* Money Mad (1908)
* The Valet's Wife (1908)
* The Feud and the Turkey (1908)
* The Reckoning (1908)
* The Test of Friendship (1908)
* An Awful Moment (1908)
* The Christmas Burglars (1908)
* Mr. Jones at the Ball (1908)
* The Helping Hand (1908)

1909|

* One Touch of Nature (1909)
* The Maniac Cook (1909)
* Mrs. Jones Entertains (1909)
* The Honor of Thieves (1909)
* Love Finds a Way (1909)
* The Sacrifice (1909)
* A Rural Elopement (1909)
* Those Boys! (1909)
* The Criminal Hypnotist (1909)
* The Fascinating Mrs. Francis (1909)
* Mr. Jones Has a Card Party (1909)
* Those Awful Hats (1909)
* The Welcome Burglar (1909)
* The Cord of Life (1909)
* The Girls and Daddy (1909)
* The Brahma Diamond (1909)
* Edgar Allen Poe (1909)
* A Wreath in Time (1909)
* Tragic Love (1909)
* The Curtain Pole (1909)
* His Ward's Love (1909)
* The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals (1909)
* The Hindoo Dagger (1909)
* The Politician's Love Story (1909)
* The Golden Louis (1909)
* At the Altar (1909)
* The Prussian Spy (1909)
* His Wife's Mother (1909)
* A Fool's Revenge (1909)
* The Wooden Leg (1909)
* The Roue's Heart (1909)
* The Salvation Army Lass (1909)
* The Lure of the Gown (1909)
* I Did It (1909)
* The Voice of the Violin (1909)
* The Deception (1909)
* And a Little Child Shall Lead Them (1909)
* A Burglar's Mistake (1909)
* A Drunkard's Reformation (1909)
* Trying to Get Arrested (1909)
* The Road to the Heart (1909)
* A Sound Sleeper (1909)
* Lady Helen's Escapade (1909)
* Lucky Jim (1909)
* Resurrection (1909)
* Two Memories (1909)
* Eloping with Auntie (1909)
* The Cricket on the Hearth (1909)
* The Violin Maker of Cremona (1909)
* The Lonely Villa (1909)
* The Son's Return (1909)
* Her First Biscuits (1909)
* The Country Doctor (1909)
* The Cardinal's Conspiracy (1909)
* Tender Hearts (1909)
* The Friend of the Family (1909)
* The Renunciation (1909)
* The Mended Lute (1909)
* The Sealed Room (1909)
* The Little Darling (1909)
* The Hessian Renegades (1909)
* Getting Even (1909)
* Leather Stocking (1909)
* Pippa Passes or The Song of Conscience (1909)
* Fools of Fate (1909)
* The Gibson Goddess (1909)
* Nursing a Viper (1909)
* The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period (1909)
* Through the Breakers (1909)
* The Red Man's View (1909)
* A Corner in Wheat (1909)
* A Trap for Santa Claus (1909)
* In Little Italy (1909)
* To Save Her Soul (1909)
* The Day After (1909)
* Choosing a Husband (1909)
* Bill Sharkey's Last Game (1909)

1910|

* The Rocky Road (1910)
* The Woman from Mellon's (1910)
* The Englishman and the Girl (1910)
* In Old California (1910)
* Faithful (1910)
* The Two Brothers (1910)
* As It Is In Life (1910)
* A Romance of the Western Hills (1910)
* The Unchanging Sea (1910)
* Ramona (1910)
* In the Season of Buds (1910)
* A Child of the Ghetto (1910)
* In the Border States (1910)
* What the Daisy Said (1910)
* A Flash of Light (1910)
* An Arcadian Maid (1910)
* The House with Closed Shutters (1910)
* Wilful Peggy (1910)
* The Modern Prodigal (1910)
* A Mohawk's Way (1910)
* The Oath and the Man (1910)
* Rose O'Salem-Town (1910)
* The Fugitive (1910)
* Winning Back His Love (1910)

1911|

* The Two Paths (1911)
* The Italian Barber (1911)
* His Trust (1911)
* His Trust Fulfilled (1911)
* Fate's Turning (1911)
* Heart Beats of Long Ago (1911)
* What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911)
* Fisher Folks (1911)
* His Daughter (1911)
* The Lily of the Tenements (1911)
* A Decree of Destiny (1911)
* Was He a Coward? (1911)
* The Lonedale Operator (1911)
* The Spanish Gypsy (1911)
* The Broken Cross (1911)
* How She Triumphed (1911)
* The New Dress (1911)
* The Crooked Road (1911)
* The White Rose of the Wilds (1911)
* The Smile of a Child (1911)
* Enoch Arden: Part I (1911)
* Enoch Arden: Part II (1911)
* The Primal Call (1911)
* Fighting Blood (1911)
* The Indian Brothers (1911)
* A Country Cupid (1911)
* The Last Drop of Water (1911)
* Out from the Shadow (1911)
* The Blind Princess and the Poet (1911)
* Swords and Hearts (1911)
* The Stuff Heroes Are Made Of (1911)
* Her Awakening (1911)
* The Making of a Man (1911)
* The Adventures of Billy (1911)
* The Long Road (1911)
* Love in the Hills (1911)
* The Battle (1911)
* Through Darkened Vales (1911)
* The Miser's Heart (1911)
* A Woman Scorned (1911)
* The Voice of the Child (1911)

1912|

* The Eternal Mother (1912)
* The Old Bookkeeper (1912)
* For His Son (1912)
* The Transformation of Mike (1912)
* A Sister's Love (1912)
* Under Burning Skies (1912)
* The Sunbeam (1912)
* A String of Pearls (1912)
* The Girl and Her Trust (1912)
* The Root of Evil (1912)
* The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch (1912)
* The Punishment (1912)
* The Female of the Species (1912)
* Just Like a Woman (1912)
* One Is Business, the Other Crime (1912)
* The Lesser Evil (1912)
* A Beast at Bay (1912)
* An Outcast Among Outcasts (1912)
* Home Folks (1912)
* A Temporary Truce (1912)
* The Spirit Awakened (1912)
* Man's Lust for Gold (1912)
* Man's Genesis (1912)
* The Sands of Dee (1912)
* The Narrow Road (1912)
* The Inner Circle (1912)
* A Change of Spirit (1912)
* An Unseen Enemy (1912)
* Blind Love (1912)
* The Massacre (1912)
* Two Daughters of Eve (1912)
* Friends (1912)
* So Near, yet So Far (1912)
* A Feud in the Kentucky Hills (1912)
* The Chief's Blanket (1912)
* In the Aisles of the Wild (1912)
* The One She Loved (1912)
* The Painted Lady (1912)
* The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
* Heredity (1912)
* Gold and Glitter (1912)
* My Baby (1912)
* The Informer (1912)
* Brutality (1912)
* The New York Hat (1912)
* My Hero (1912)
* The Burglar's Dilemma (1912)
* A Cry for Help (1912)
* The God Within (1912)

1913|

* Three Friends (1913)
* The Telephone Girl and the Lady (1913)
* An Adventure in the Autumn Woods (1913)
* The Tender Hearted Boy (1913)
* A Misappropriated Turkey (1913)
* Brothers (1913)
* Oil and Water (1913)
* A Chance Deception (1913)
* Love in an Apartment Hotel (1913)
* Broken Ways (1913)
* A Girl's Stratagem (1913)
* The Unwelcome Guest (1913)
* Near to Earth (1913)
* Fate (1913)
* A Welcome Intruder (1913)
* The Sheriff's Baby (1913)
* The Hero of Little Italy (1913)
* The Little Tease (1913)
* A Misunderstood Boy (1913)
* The Left-Handed Man (1913)
* The Lady and the Mouse (1913)
* If We Only Knew (1913)
* The Wanderer (1913)
* The Stolen Loaf (1913)
* The House of Darkness (1913)
* The Yaqui Cur (1913)
* Just Gold (1913)
* The Ranchero's Revenge (1913)
* A Timely Interception (1913)
* Death's Marathon (1913)
* The Mothering Heart (1913)
* The Sorrowful Shore (1913)
* The Enemy's Baby (1913)
* The Mistake (1913)
* Two Men of the Desert (1913)
* Madonna of the Storm (1913)
* The Battle at Elderbush Gulch (1913)
* The Conscience of Hassan Bey (1913)

1914–1931|

* Judith of Bethulia (1914)
* Battle of the Sexes (1914, lost)
* Brute Force (1914)
* Home, Sweet Home (1914)
* The Escape (1914, lost)
* The Avenging Conscience: or "Thou Shalt Not Kill" (1914)
* The Birth of a Nation (1915)
* Intolerance (1916)
* Hearts of the World (1918)
* The Great Love (1918, lost)
* Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal (1918, lost)
* The Greatest Thing in Life (1918, lost)
* A Romance of Happy Valley (1919)
* The Girl Who Stayed at Home (1919)
* Broken Blossoms (1919)
* True Heart Susie (1919)
* Scarlet Days (1919)
* The Greatest Question (1919)
* The Idol Dancer (1920)
* Remodeling Her Husband (1920)
* The Love Flower (1920)
* Way Down East (1920)
* Dream Street (1921)
* Orphans of the Storm (1921)
* One Exciting Night (1922)
* The White Rose (1923)
* America (1924)
* Isn't Life Wonderful (1924)
* Sally of the Sawdust (1925)
* That Royle Girl (1925, lost)
* The Sorrows of Satan (1926)
* Drums of Love (1928)
* The Battle of the Sexes (1928)
* Lady of the Pavements (1929)
* Abraham Lincoln (1930)
* The Struggle (1931)

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