
Margot Hughes is a butterfly society girl who sells herself to the highest bidder. Her husband does not press his ownership "by right of purchase," and she misunderstands his delicacy and she things that love is lost to her.
Harry O. Hoyt, Margery Land May
United States

The first time we see Margot Hughes she is reflected, not once but thrice, in the bevelled mirrors of a Fifth-Avenue boudoir: a kaleidoscope of pearls, powder, and predatory smiles. Norma Talmadge lets the camera gorge on that spectacle—eyelids half-mast, mouth poised between yawn and invitation—until the gilt frame ...

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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

Charles Miller

Charles Miller
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" The first time we see Margot Hughes she is reflected, not once but thrice, in the bevelled mirrors of a Fifth-Avenue boudoir: a kaleidoscope of pearls, powder, and predatory smiles. Norma Talmadge lets the camera gorge on that spectacle—eyelids half-mast, mouth poised between yawn and invitation—until the gilt frame itself seems to purchase her. Thus By Right of Purchase announces its thesis: every transaction leaves a scar, even when the currency is affection. Yet the picture’s true engine i..."


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