The Social Secretary (Silent)

A pretty secretary makes herself look unattractive in order to land a new job. Includes short subject "T'was Henry's Fault" with Harry Depp.
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Format:  DVD-R
item number:  WES9
Made-on-Demand

DVD-R Details

  • Rated: Not Rated
  • Run Time: 1 hours
  • Video: Black & White
  • Encoding: Region 0 (Worldwide)
  • Released: January 3, 2012
  • Originally Released: 1916
  • Label: Alpha Video

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring &
Directed by
Screenwriting by

Entertainment Reviews:

Description by OLDIES.com:

Fleeing the sexual advances of her employer, pretty Mayme is forced to quit another job in the big city. Disguising herself with bookish glasses and frumpy hair, she answers millionaire matron Mrs. Peabody - De-Puyster's ad for a social secretary that is "unattractive to men." She is hired on the spot and is soon an indispensable member of the household. When daughter Elsie De-Puyster becomes engaged to a scoundrel, Mayme risks her job to expose him as a lecherous womanizer.

Beautiful Norma Talmadge, a model since age 14, was recruited by studio heads at Vitagraph for a small role in The Household Pest in 1910. She had her greatest success in a series of films produced by her husband, producer Joseph M. Schenck, most notably Panthea (1917), The Wonderful Thing (1921), Eternal Flame (1922) and The Song Of Love (1923). In this Triangle Film production, she is joined by a young Erich Von Stroheim playing a sleazy scandal sheet reporter.

BONUS: T'was Harry's Fault (1919, Silent): Betty saves up the grocery money and buys a broken down Model T Ford. Husband Harry is not impressed when she pulls up to his office in the rickety pile of scrap metal. Starring Henry Depp, Elinor Field; Directed by Scott Sidney.

Product Description:

Norma Talmadge plays a pretty young secretary who must dress dowdily to avoid the licentious overtures of her male employers. She takes a job as the social secretary to a wealthy woman, whose daughter is about to marry a nasty foreign count. Talmadgepulls a few strings to set the daughter on the right course. Out of gratitude, Talmadge's employer grants permission for the girl to marry her handsome son. A straightforward, unadorned comedy-drama, THE SOCIAL SECRETARY is of interest today for the presence of Erich von Stroheim, cast as one of Talmadge's predatory former bosses (he should have played the count).

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This product is made-on-demand by the manufacturer using DVD-R recordable media. Almost all DVD players can play DVD-Rs (except for some older models made before 2000) - please consult your owner's manual for formats compatible with your player. These DVD-Rs may not play on all computers or DVD player/recorders. To address this, the manufacturer recommends viewing this product on a DVD player that does not have recording capability.

Movie Lovers' Ratings & Reviews:

Customer Rating:
Based on 563 ratings.
Write an online review to share your thoughts with other customers.
Flirtatious Norma!! Movie Lover: from BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND AU -- April, 13, 2014

With an intricate script by a young Anita Loos
and superior acting by an equally young Norma
Talmadge, this is a sparkling film which shows
Norma as Mayme, a secretary who is desperate
to find a job where she doesn't have to wrestle
with over amorous bosses!! When she finds an
ad where "being unattractive to men" is a
requirement, with a little help from some horn
rimmed glasses and a "granny" dress she not
only secures the job but makes herself
invaluable to the family. Enter the Count, young
Elsie's fiancée and a distinguished family friend
but Mayme knows him as a former employer,
an exporter and always on the look out for the
main chance!!
Norma Talmadge is just fantastic in her role,
as a young actress she handles the subtleties
of her role that has her changing from frump
to flirt extraordinarily well.
Also on this Alpha DVD is a short from 1919
"'Twas Henry's Fault" - I don't quite know why
it was Henry's fault but it is a cute little movie,
obviously one of a series in the married life of
Harry and Betty, showing the pitfalls that can
happen when dealing with a new automobile!!


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Product Info

  • Sales Rank: 19,087
  • UPC: 089218669698
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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