Peggy Does Her Darndest

Amidst the gilded excess of Edward Ensloe's nouveau-riche estate, a collision of Edwardian propriety and proto-feminist vigor unfolds when Hugh Wentworth arrives from England bearing the 'Star of Sussex' diamond. While society-obsessed eldest daughter Eleanor deploys calculated femininity to ensnare the aristocratic visitor, her tomboyish sister Peggy dismantles conventions through jujitsu throws and detective manuals. Director John S. Robertson crafts a subversive ballet where Peggy's ink-stained correspondence courses prove deadlier than champagne flutes, culminating in her daring impersonation of a housemaid to thwart burglar 'Lonesome Larry' Doyle – a sequence blending physical comedy with startling athleticism. The diamond's salvation becomes secondary to the film's true revelation: Peggy's unapologetic competence rewriting the rules of romance.