For Better, for Worse

Elliott Dexter and Tom Forman are best friends. Both love Gloria Swanson. Wanda Hawley loves Tom. Gloria loves Elliott. However, when Elliott turns down a commission as an Army surgeon during the war to do his duty as a pediatric surgeon, Gloria throws him over and marries Tom.

Tom goes off to war and loses his right hand and half his faces. He sends back word that he is dead. Meanwhile, Gloria runs over Mae Giraci. When Elliott turns out to be the only doctor in New York who can restore her legs, Gloria comes to realize that Elliott is not a coward and their love rekindles. Plastic surgeons restore Tom's face; he returns just in time for the party at which the lovers will announce their engagement.

This Demille film has a serious message about courage and duty. Almost all his movies had a serious core. However, as he so often did, he allowed the melodrama and pageantry his audience loved to overwhelm the message. It's a good show, with the occasional over-the-top touches that kept his audience happy. The result is a bit sub-prime for Demille, but still very watchable for the era.

Miss Swanson has a fairly complex role as the sort of high-minded woman who thinks that everyone needs to live up to her ideals, but can always find a fine excuse for doing what she wants. She acquits herself well, as do the others in their less complex roles, but even so, don't make this a great movie.