The Primitive Lover

The Primitive Lover
Lobby card
Directed by Sidney Franklin
Written by Frances Marion (scenario)
Based on The Divorcee
by Edgar Selwyn
Produced by Constance Talmadge
Starring Constance Talmadge
Harrison Ford
Cinematography David Abel
Distributed by Associated First National
Release date
  • May 1, 1922
Running time
 68 minutes; 7 reels
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Primitive Lover is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by and starring Constance Talmadge and distributed by Associated First National (later First National Pictures). Sidney A. Franklin served as the director of the movie and Frances Marion wrote the scenario based on a play, The Divorcee, by Edgar Selwyn. This film survives and has been released on DVD.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Phyllis Tomley (Talmadge), a romance-stricken young woman, has grown tired of her prosaic, practical husband Hector (Ford) and mourns the loss of the popular author Donald Wales (Harlan), who supposedly died in South America. Wales returns and rushes to Phyllis' arms, not knowing she has married Hector. Wales accuses Hector of taking advantage of his absence, and Phyllis rushes to get a divorce in Nevada. Hector follows and becomes acquainted with an attractive grass widow. Reading Wales' book The Primitive Lover, Hector decides to put its methods into practice. He kidnaps Phyllis and Wales and in a cabin in the mountains Phyllis sees how helpless Wales is. From a Native American guide, Hector learns how to subdue an unruly wife, and he tries it on Phyllis with complete success. She apparently likes the rough treatment, and is happier still when the Nevada judge denies her requested divorce.

Cast