Maisie's marriage.

Date:
1923
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About this work

Also known as

Married love.

Description

The main character in this melodrama and morality tale is Maisie Burrow, who lives in 'Slumland'. She is a waitress in a tea house, and the eldest child of a boorish father and a careworn mother who has a large number of children - right through from babies to teenagers. We discover that Maisie is a strong willed-women as she fends off the unwanted attention of a number of male customers in the tea shop - as a result of one encounter she meets a beau; a local fireman. Their relationship blossoms (they go cycling together, although there isn't even one chaste kiss onscreen - instead they shake hands). Dick asked Maisie to marry him but she has already turned him down, he is advised by his mother to carry on wooing her - but all Maisie can think about is the drudgery associated with getting married and having children. Her father throws her out and in her confusion amongst the bright lights of London, a couple of 'good time' girls persuade her to go to a jazz club to dance her woes away. She is seated next to a married man who buys her champagne; he tells her his troubles - his wife clearly loves her dogs more than she loves him! Maisie resists his advances which results in a punch-up. Pausing by the river briefly, she contemplates suicide and jumps in. She is rescued but taken to court for her actions. She then receives a two month custodial sentence. Her rescuer interjects and asks whether her sentence can be mitigated if they care for her; the judge refuses and Maisie berates him. Upon release, her rescuers give her a position as a maid in their house. She observes the upper middle-class family at play (cricket in the garden) - they only have 3 children and a nanny. Maisie offers to look after the children - they have awakened her maternal feelings. When Mrs Sterling refuses, they talk about Maisie's aspirations and Mrs Sterling tells her the parable of two men with rose bushes... by pruning the bush, the buds were better carried for and created perfect roses (a baby's face is superimposed onto the image). Unfortunately, Maisie's brother decides to look for her as he is down on his luck. Meanwhile Maisie's ex-fiance is packing his trunk for his job overseas. Maisie's brother turns up unannounced asking for money and marches in - meanwhile the children are playing in the nursery - one child places a lit candle by the door which sets light to the door curtain. The fire brigade become alerted to the fire - the children jump to safety. One child goes to rescue their cat and her kittens and is lost to in the smoke. Dick's dog rescues the child and he rescues Maisie. They get married.

Publication/Creation

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1923.
UK : G. B. Samuelson, 1923.

Physical description

1 DVD with BITC (95:55 min.) : silent, black and white, PAL.
1 DVD without BITC (95:55 min.) : silent, black and white, PAL.

Notes

DVD copies obtained from the BFI; clean copy (without BITC) was purchased for the Wellcome Library 'Pathways' project.
This film is a fictionalised story based on Marie Stopes' famous marriage guidance book 'Married Love'. Due to problems with the BBFC (British Board of Film Censors), it could not be released under that name and so was distributed with the title 'Maisie's Marriage'. Stopes asserted her literary rights to be recognised as the (co-)author of the screenplay (with Captain Walter Summers); she understood her intellectual property rights and fought hard to be properly accredited. In Wellcome Collection, there are her letters to all the constabularies in England (see https://wellcomecollection.org/works/hcqckarv) which needed prior notice of the films that were going to be distributed in their jurisdiction (to anticipate any public order problems); Stopes became convinced that there was a conspiracy regarding denying the film a fair release. Evidence in the archive does not bear this out, although it was the case that the BBFC dragged their heals granting the film a certificate.

Creator/production credits

Directed by Alexander Butler. Cast: Lillian Hall-Davis as Maisie Burrows, Rex Davis as Dick Reading, Sydney Fairbrother as Mrs. Burrows, Sam Livesey as Mr. Burrows, Roger Livesey as Henry Burrows, Mary Brough as Mrs. Reading, Bert Darley as Mr. Sterling and Gladys Harvey as Mrs. Sterling.

Copyright note

Various

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    5388D BITC
  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    5388D

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