Why Girls Leave Home

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The opening scene of the film is the study of a minister who has received in his mail a lurid announcement of the production at a local theater that evening of the melodrama, "Why Girls Leave Home." In holy horror he relegates it to the wastebasket, from which it finds its way into the hands of three female members of his household, each of whom is surprised while perusing it by her best fellow; and in each instance a trip to the theater is planned for that evening. Stealing out of the house by different avenues of exit from the hall, where the reverend gentleman sits asleep, three girls, each without the knowledge of the others, leaves her home to find out "Why Girls Leave Home!" After reaching the theater we see them seated, one couple in the orchestra circle, another in the first balcony, while the generously proportioned and aggressive cook with the smaller but equally warlike gardener occupy the front row of the "pit." After the usual preliminary expostulations against the removal of hats, and one or two serious outbreaks on the part of the cook, the curtain raises, the play is on. Act 1. Scene, interior of house. Young girl heroine expectant, false lover enters, ascetic (also anemic and decrepit) father ejects him, girl in convulsions, father obligingly somnolent, villainous lover with cigarette at window, girl in acute attack of emotion, father still slumbering, exit girl through window, villain sardonically puffs cigarette. Curtain descent emphatic. Effect: On circle, grief, silent but sincere; balcony, same but more accentuated; gallery, vociferous, with cook alternately in tears and fighting with her neighbors. Act 2. Scene, street; snow falling spasmodically and in spots. Enter heroine with chee-i-uld, enter villain with cigarette and straw hat, villain chokes heroine by harshly seizing her shoulders, ditto chee-i-uld, villain lights fresh cigarette, exit villain, snowfall now more violent and concentrated, enter policeman, discovery, curtain descent nervous. Effect: On circle, indignation, restrained but intense; balcony, ditto, but more pronounced; gallery in uproar, cook trying to climb over rail to reach stage and, because restrained, gets into another fight. Act 3. Scene, bridge. Enter heroine, despondent, dark waters luring, heroine prays while splash is prepared, splash now ready, ditto heroine, splash anticipates, heroine leaps. Enter hero, wall-eyed with grief, cry of distress, hero removes hat, another cry, removes coat, splash now ready, splash uncontrollable, hero leaps, wall of bridge falls, disclosing hero, heroine, two stage-hands and several buckets of "splash" rescued. Effect: Curtain intoxicated with joy; ditto circle and balcony: gallery in pandemonium with cook in two fights. Act 4. Home of heroine. Heroine at table chee-i-uld on knee, enter villain with a dozen assistants, villain steals chee-i-uld from mother's lap, enter hero, one blow fells thirteen villains, dramatic dissolution of chief villain. Effect: Curtain hilarious; whole house in thunderous applause; cook now on good terms with everybody; exit audience. Reaching home simultaneously, the three girls discover each other's secret after the minister's appearance has interrupted three simultaneous goodnight kisses, but they succeed in getting past him and go to bed satisfied in their knowledge of "Why Girlss Leave Home."