The Talk of the Town

The Talk of the Town is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Allen Holubar and featuring Lon Chaney, William Stowell and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was written by Allen Holubar, based on the novelette "Discipline of Genevra" by Harold Vickers. Talk of the Town is considered a lost film. By the time this film was released, Chaney had already quit working for Universal Pictures over a salary dispute, and was preparing to appear in the Paramount Pictures western Riddle Gawne. Plot Genevra French (Phillips) has been raised strictly by her father Major French, without knowledge of worldly affairs. Using ideas she finds in a book "How to Attract the Opposite Sex", Genevra convinces a family friend, Lawrence Tabor (Stowell), to marry her and then later tells him that she has married him only so that she may be free of her prison-like upbringing and get a taste of Life. Lawrence is saddened that his wife doesn't love him deeply, but since he loves her, he continues on with their loveless marriage. She becomes attracted to a worthless playboy named Jack Lanchome (Lon Chaney) and asks her husband to introduce him to her. Lawrence refuses to introduce his wife to such a ne'er-do-well, but Lanchome secretly invites Genevra to have dinner with him alone in a seedy cafe. After they eat, Lanchome locks the door and attempts to rape her, but her husband arrives just in time to save her from the scoundrel's amorous advances. Genevra is impressed by her husband's courage and suddenly she realizes that she really does love him. She begs her husband to take her home and swears she will be a good wife from now on, and never disobey him again.