The Battle of the Sexes (1928) on

The Battle of the Sexes (1928) was directed by D.W. Griffith and features Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver and Sally O’Neil. The title was lifted from Griffith’s 1914 film to grab attention for this late comedy-drama effort which was adapted from The Single Standard by the man who helped develop the language of silent cinema.

Hersholt is exceptional as a middle-aged real estate developer who is lured by a blonde golddigger (Haver) into distancing himself from his family and throwing himself into her jazz baby arms. Her smarmy boyfriend (Don Alvarado) is intent on selling the fool bogus bonds for a quick sting. There is the heartbreak of the discovery of retrayal and deceit, but — surprisingly — it is a story without retribution.

In the late twenties, it was perceived that Griffith was losing touch with the times and that his films were old-fashioned — a persistent perception today. Certainly this was true for Griffith films like Sally of the Sawdust (1925) and The Sorrows of Satan (1926), but this straight-forward tale has the pacing and humor of many other comedy-drama films from 1928. What can be said truthfully is that it is a minor film in Griffith’s oeuvre. A handful of Paramount directors could have produced a similar film, which benefits in no small part from contributions by designer William Cameron Menzies and cinematographer Karl Struss. — Carl Bennett

This film, which was released on VHS videotape by Kino International earlier in 2000 and later in the year on DVD, was touted this as its first release on home video. The film had been available on VHS from public-domain distributors before (usually transferred from 16mm reduction prints). We stress that this is the first time 35mm materials have been used for transfer and released by a quality home video company.

A slightly windowboxed digital video transfer was made from a first-generation 35mm nitrate positive struck from the original domestic negative. There are a few minor print flaws in the form of speckling, dust, processing flaws and a little print damage. However, the viewing results are exceptional on standard televisions, and hold up well on high-definition monitors with upscaling capabilities.

The film is accompanied by an excellent music score compiled by Rodney Sauer and Susan Hall, and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. A separate disc menu identifies the musical pieces and their composers and allows audio access to each music cue.

Still a good-looking disc for its age, we highly recommend it for its high-quality picture and outstanding music.

USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.
Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca.

Other D.W. Griffith films available on DVD home video:
The Adventures of Dollie (1908)
America (1924)
As It Is in Life (1910)
At the Altar (1909)
The Avenging Conscience (1914)
The Awakening (1909)
Balked at the Altar (1908)
The Battle (1911)
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch (1914)
Betrayed by a Handprint (1908)
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
The Broken Locket (1909)
The Burglar’s Dilemma (1912)
A Calamitous Elopement (1908)
The Cardinal’s Conspiracy (1909)
A Child of the Ghetto (1910)
Confidence (1909)
The Cord of Life (1909)
Corner in Wheat (1909)
The Country Doctor (1909)
The Cricket on the Hearth (1909)
The Curtain Pole (1909)
Death’s Marathon (1913)
Dream Street (1921)
A Drunkard’s Reformation (1909)
Edgar Allan Poe (1909)
Enoch Arden (1911)
Faithful (1910)
Father Gets in the Game (1908)
Fools of Fate (1909)
Friends (1912)
The Fugitive (1910)
Getting Even (1909)
The Gibson Goddess (1909)
The Golden Louis (1909)
Her First Biscuits (1909)
Her Terrible Ordeal (1910)
His Trust (1911)
His Trust Fulfilled (1911)
The House with Closed Shutters (1910)
The Idol Dancer (1920)
In the Border States (1910)
Intolerance (1916)
The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals (1909)
The Last Drop of Water (1911)
The Lesser Evil (1912)
The Light That Came (1909)
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909)
The Little Darling (1909)
Lonely Villa (1909)
The Love Flower (1920)
Lucky Jim (1909)
The Lure of the Gown (1909)
The Massacre (1914)
The Miser’s Heart (1911)
Money Mad (1908)
The Mothering Heart (1913)
The Mountaineer’s Honor (1909)
The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
The New York Hat (1912)
One is Business, The Other Crime (1912)
Orphans of the Storm (1920)
The Painted Lady (1912)
Pippa Passes; or, The Song of Conscience (1909)
A Politician’s Love Story (1909)
The Renunciation (1909)
Resurrection (1909)
The Rocky Road (1910)
The Romance of a Jewess (1908)
A Romance of the Western Hills (1910)
Sally of the Sawdust (1925)
The Sealed Room (1909)
1776; or, The Hessian Renegades (1909)
Song of the Shirt (1908)
The Son’s Return (1909)
A Strange Meeting (1909)
The Sunbeam (1912)
Swords and Hearts (1911)
Those Awful Hats (1909)
True Heart Susie (1919)
The Unchanging Sea (1910)
An Unseen Enemy (1912)
The Usurer (1910)
The Violin Maker of Cremona (1909)
The Voice of the Violin (1909)
Way Down East (1920)
The Way of Man (1909)
What Drink Did (1909)

Collections and boxsets that include silent era D.W. Griffith films:
Biograph Shorts (1908-1914)
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 1 (1908-1909)
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 2 (1909)
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 3 (1909)
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 4 (1909)
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 5 (1909-1910)
D.W. Griffith, Years of Discovery (1909-1913)
Griffith Masterworks (1908-1921)
Griffith Masterworks 2 (1909-1931)

About D.W. Griffith:
D.W. Griffith: Father of Film (1993)

Other silent era Jean Hersholt films available on DVD home video:
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)
Hell’s Hinges (1916)
Stella Dallas (1925)
Tess of the Storm Country (1922)