Miss Lulu Bett (1921)

Wlliam deMille produced and directed "Miss Lulu Bett," a film of extraordinary conviction and insight. It was then often the custom for unmarried women to lodge with family; thus we discover Miss Lulu in a boring Midwestern town, an exploited household drudge for her sister and overbearing brother-in-law. In the course of the story (based upon the Pulitzer Prize play and novel by Zona Gale), Lulu evolves from slavery into an attractive and self-assured woman prepared to make her own life. Revealed through wonderful performances and clever use of props, the characters are extraordinarily solid and involving.