Lessons in Love

Wealthy Leila Calthorpe (Constance Talmadge) is losing her fortune fast. The house she lives in takes up a lot of the money and her carefree lifestyle doesn't aid matters. She doesn't much care about finances, but her grandfather and uncle do. They try to persuade her to marry into money and even provide the man (Kenneth Harlan) and the fortune. She refuses to marry anyone without her own desire. Her grandfather makes it easy for her by staging his own death to bring his nephew into town, thus giving the two a chance to meet and fall in love. Leila is smart though and decides to test her suitor by pretending to be the maid and by telling him that her old aunt (Flora Finch) is actually Miss Calthorpe. He is less than excited, but he quickly falls for the "maid."

A truly inconsequential movie, Lessons in Love is a fun little movie that can bring a few smiles to your face. It is worth seeing for Talmadge alone whose vivaciousness lights up the screen. The script is well executed, although it could use some polishing here or there to make things run a little more smoothly, especially in the beginning. The scenery is great; the film was shot in Florida at the Deering Estate which still stands today. This digital print from the Library of Congress looks beautiful excepting a few scenes with some major decomposition.