The story of Lois Weber is one of the saddest in all of early American cinema. One of two prominent women producer-directors to emerge during the silent era (the other Alice Guy Blache’ has a very similar story), she was at one time considered to be the equal of D.W. Griffith and by 1916 was actually the highest paid director in the world. She had total control over her films tackling such inflammatory material as religious hypocrisy, drug addiction, birth control and abortion. Along with her husband Phillips Smalley she ran her own studio where THE BLOT was filmed. By 1921 when this film was released her career was in decline (this was her last independent production) and the studio system with its old world patriarchal attitude began to take hold creating the Hollywood of legend where most women could be stars but little else.
Very few of her films survive but this is one of the best (only the social comedy TOO WISE WIVES which anticipates Lubitsch is better in my opinion) as it shows how Weber approached filmmaking. THE BLOT’s emphasis is on story and character as opposed to action or spectacle and features solid work from Claire Windsor and Louis Calhern as the young couple with a finely detailed performance from Margaret McWade as the mother. The film is well photographed with sophisticated editing for maximum impact. The bittersweet ending is well handled and stays with you long after the film is over.
By the end of the decade Weber had lost her studio, her husband, and the opportunity to direct. She died in 1939 at the age of 60 and within a few years was completely forgotten along with virtually all of her films. Only in the past few years has a proper reevaluation begun to take place with three of her films coming out on video. THE BLOT remains her best known feature and is given a first class DVD release thanks to the restoration efforts of Photoplay Productions and Milestone Films. It’s the least that this pioneer woman director deserves. Give it a try along with anything else you can find by her and discover why Lois Weber was once known to her contemporaries as “the female D. W. Griffith” then ask yourself why you haven’t heard of her.
The Capsule Critic 