Mothers-In-Law (1923)

One of the opening titles to this drama was "A mother-in-law is just a mother with another child to love" -- rather an unusual take on mothers-in-law (see Harold Lloyd's Hot Water for a difference in opinion). Edith Yorke portrays the mother-in-law heroine. When Vianna Courtleigh (Ruth Clifford) and her pals are caught in a storm, they find shelter in the home of a farmer, Newton Wingate (Josef Swickard). The young people have a jazz party and invite Wingate's son David (Gaston Glass) to join in. David falls for Vianna and in spite of his father's stern disapproval, they marry and move to the city. David goes to work for Vianna's father, and after Wingate's death, his widow (Yorke) comes to live with them. She finds that her son and his wife are having a hard time adjusting to married life -- he's serious, while she still wants to continue her frivolous ways. Even though she has a baby, Vianna is carrying on a flirtation with Alden Van Buren, a former sweetheart (Crauford Kent). To teach her a lesson, Mom Wingate steals the baby and takes it home to the farm. This act stops Vianna from running off to Paris with Van Buren and saves her marriage to David. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi