Business Is Business (1915/I)

A Broadway favorite, Nat C. Goodwin was never quite able to transfer his appeal to the screen, though he gave a game try in such film vehicles as Business is Business. Adapted from a story by Octave Mirabeau, the story is set in France, where self-made financial wizard Isadore Lechat (Goodwin) tries to buy his way into High Society. Part of Lechat’s strategy is to marry off his daughter (Mlle. Marguerite) to the son of a nobleman, even though she is in love with the family gardener. Inevitably, Lechat’s wheeling and dealing results in nothing but tragedy for himself, his children and his beloved mistress Celeste (Gretchen Lederer). If the “Money Can’t Buy Happiness” message didn’t come through loud and clear, it was no fault of director Otis Turner, whose approach was about as subtle as a volcano.