Film Forum

U.S., 1921
Directed by William C. de Mille
Based on the play by Zona Gale, the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Starring Lois Wilson, Milton Stills, Theordore Roberts
Silent with live piano accompaniment
Approx. 71 min.

“Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by women’s rights champion Zona Gale about an acquiescent young woman callously exploited by her own family, MISS LULU BETT was called ‘one of the finest adaptations in the history of the photoplay’ by Motion Picture News. Restored from a nitrate print, this marks the first in a dedicated run of collaborations between director William de Mille and scriptwriter Clara Beranger.” – San Francisco Silent Film Festival

MISS LULU BETT is a 2026 Restoration from Artcraft Pictures. Based primarily upon a 4K scan by Library of Congress harvested from the original Nitrate studio work picture. Footage missing from the Nitrate was taken from a 35mm safety dupe. About six shots are from a 16mm reduction negative, struck before Nitrate decomp did extensive damage. The 16mm material has been composited to alleviate any decomp problems. The new score was created and performed by Rodney Sauer and the Mont Alto Orchestra.

Presented with support from The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

A RIALTO PICTURES RELEASE

Reviews

“An altogether admirable piece of work. In adapting Zona Gale’s novel to the screen, Mr. DeMille has shown a vast amount of good taste, and, more than that, of good sense.”  
– TIME Magazine (1922)