The Impossible Mrs. Bellew

1922 film

October 22, 1922 (1922-10-22)

Running time

80 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The Impossible Mrs. Bellew is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson. The film is based on the 1916 novel of the same name by David Lisle.^[1]^[2]

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[3] Lance Bellew likes his mistress better than his wife Betty. This is resented by Jerry Woodruff, a friend of the family. Lance becomes suspicious of the relations between Jerry and his wife, and in a fight he shoots Jerry. A clever lawyer, by working on her love for her little son, gets Betty to testify for her husband. Lance is acquitted on the basis that the killing was justified. To humiliate her, Lance divorces his wife and obtains custody of the child. Mrs. Bellew finds how hard it is to get along with a ruined reputation. With a new friend who is a constant help to her, she overcomes her difficulties and her child is restored to her.

Cast

Gloria Swanson as Betty Bellew
Robert Cain as Lance Bellew
Conrad Nagel as John Helstan
Richard Wayne as Jerry Woodruff
Frank Elliott as Count Radistoff
Gertrude Astor as Alice Granville
June Elvidge as Naomi Templeton
Herbert Standing as Rev. Dr. Helstan
Michael D. Moore as Lance Bellew, Jr. (age 4)
Pat Moore as Lance Bellew, Jr. (age 6)
Helen Dunbar as Aunt Agatha
Arthur Stuart Hull as Attorney Potter
Clarence Burton as Detective

Preservation

With no prints of The Impossible Mrs. Bellew located in any film archives,^[4] it is a lost film.

References

^ White Munden, Kenneth, ed. (1988). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced In the United States, Part 2. R. R. Bowker. p. 375. ISBN 0-520-06301-5.
^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Impossible Mrs. Bellew
^ "Tried and Proved Pictures: The Impossible Mrs. Bellew". Exhibitors Trade Review. 15 (10). New York: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation: 43. January 26, 1924. Retrieved August 2, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Impossible Mrs. Bellew