The Wise Wife

In this acerbic 1927 domestic comedy, Helen (Phyllis Haver) discovers that her husband Carter (Tom Moore) has developed a wandering eye for a younger, vivacious houseguest named Mona (Jacqueline Logan). Rather than resorting to histrionics or a messy divorce, Helen adopts a strategy of psychological attrition. She intentionally invites the rival to stay indefinitely, while she herself adopts the persona of a drab, unappealing martyr. The film follows this high-stakes game of social chicken, where Helen bets that the mundane reality of daily life will eventually strip the glamour from Carter’s infatuation. It is a cold, calculated exploration of marital power dynamics, set against the backdrop of late 1920s upper-class expectations.