
Mothers of Men is a 1917silent film directed byWillis Robards, promotingwoman's suffrage. The seven-reel drama is considered lost.[1] A five-reel re-edited version also directed by Robards was released in 1921—following ratification of theNineteenth Amendment—under the titleEvery Woman's Problem.[2] This version survives through a single 35mm print preserved by theBritish Film Institute. The 1921 re-release was restored in 2016, in a collaboration between the BFI and theSan Francisco Silent Film Festival.[3]
The courtroom drama starsDorothy Davenport as a judge who wins election as Governor of California. A moral issue arises when her husband is sentenced to death, and she must choose whether to pardon him.

Mothers of Men was produced by the Robards Film Company of Santa Cruz, and released in November 1917.[4] The story and scenario were written by actor-playwrightHal Reid, father-in-law of the film's star, Dorothy Davenport.[5]
In the hands of editorMartin G. Cohn, the 1917 filmMothers of Men was trimmed from seven reels to five for the 1921 releaseEvery Woman’s Problem, produced by Plymouth Pictures Corporation. The screenplay byJack Natteford is based on the original scenario by Hal Reid. Titles were revised, and additional filming was done in Santa Cruz, California. Plymouth Pictures secured permission for Dorothy Davenport to be billed as Mrs.Wallace Reid. The film premiered in Paterson, New Jersey, the week of April 10, 1921.[2][6]
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