How Could You, Jean?

How Could You, Jean? is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, starring Mary Pickford, directed by William Desmond Taylor, and based on a novel by Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd. Casson Ferguson was the male lead; Spottiswoode Aitken and a young ZaSu Pitts had supporting roles.

How Could You, Jean?
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Desmond Taylor
Produced byMary Pickford
Written by
StarringMary Pickford
CinematographyCharles Rosher
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 20, 1918 (1918-06-20)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

This is a lost film, with no known surviving prints.[1]

Plot
July 5, 1918 advertisement for How Could You, Jean?.

The plot involves a young socialite pretending to be a cook, who falls in love with a man she thinks is a hired hand, but he is actually a millionaire. The film was not well received by critics, who generally found it pleasant but dull,[2] although The New York Times called it "a funny, extremely well-produced comedy".[3]

Cast

Film with similar plot

A novel by Norwegian writer Sigrid Boo, Vi som går kjøkkenveien (We Who Enter Through the Kitchen) has an almost identical plot to Brainerd's original book. Boo's novel was adapted for the American film Servants' Entrance (1934) starring Janet Gaynor, which had an identical plot to the 1918 film. As The New York Times commented, "apparently, the old Pickford comedy was already forgotten, and no copyright infringement suit was filed."[3]

See also

References
  1. Progressive Silent Film List: How Could You, Jean? at silentera.com
  2. A list of reviews is included in Bruce Long's Taylorology
  3. "How Could You, Jean? (1918)". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
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