The Enemy Sex

The Enemy Sex
The Enemy Sex
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Cruze
Written by	Harvey F. Thew; Walter Woods
Based on	The Salamander; by Owen Johnson
Produced by	Adolph Zukor; Jesse L. Lasky
Starring	Betty Compson
Cinematography	Karl Brown
Production; company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	August 25, 1924;
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Enemy Sex is a 1924 American silent drama film starring Betty Compson and directed by her husband James Cruze. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is taken from the 1914 novel The Salamander by Owen Johnson.^[1]^[2]

Plot

When showgirl "Dodo" Baxter is invited to a party hosted by the millionaire Albert Sassoon, she meets five wealthy, worldly men who try every means to add her to their list of conquests; however, she eludes their attempts and declines their offers of riches and assistance with her show business career, choosing instead to dedicate herself to helping a drunkard, Gary Lindaberry, regain his health.

Cast

Betty Compson as "Dodo" Baxter
Percy Marmont as Garry Lindaberry
Sheldon Lewis as Albert Edward Sassoon
Huntley Gordon as Judge Massingale
Kathlyn Williams as Mrs. Massingale
DeWitt Jennings as Harrigan Blood
Edward Faust as Comte de Joncy (credited as Ed Faust)
William H. Turner as Blaineey
Pauline Bush as Miss Snyder
Dot Farley as Ida Summers
William Austin as Joe's Friend (uncredited)
Dorothy Dwan as Showgirl (uncredited)
Pauline French as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)

Censorship

Films during that period were subject to censorship by state and city censor boards. The Board of Motion Picture Review of Worcester, Massachusetts, banned the showing of The Enemy Sex and the novel upon which it was based was also removed from circulation in the city library.^[3]

Preservation

A complete print of The Enemy Sex is held by the Library of Congress^[4] at its Packard Campus.^[5]

References

↑ Progressive Silent Film List: The Enemy Sex at silentera.com
↑ "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Enemy Sex". afi.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
↑ "Worcester Review Board Bans Pictures". The Exhibitor. 8 (5). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 15. October 1, 1924. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
↑ "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Enemy Sex". memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2026. Cite error: Unknown parameter "loc" in <ref> tag; supported parameters are dir, follow, group, name (see the help page).
↑ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artist Collection at The Library of Congress, c.1978 by The American Film Institute

External links

The Enemy Sex at IMDb
The Enemy Sex at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
Still with Dorothy Dwan at gettyimages.com
Book cover of Owen Johnson's book The Salamander (Yesterday's Gallery & Babylon Revisited, rare books)

[1] Progressive Silent Film List: The Enemy Sex at silentera.com

[afi-2] "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Enemy Sex". afi.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.

[3] "Worcester Review Board Bans Pictures". The Exhibitor. 8 (5). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 15. October 1, 1924. Retrieved August 15, 2024.

[4] "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Enemy Sex". memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2026. Cite error: Unknown parameter "loc" in <ref> tag; supported parameters are dir, follow, group, name (see the help page).

[5] Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artist Collection at The Library of Congress, c.1978 by The American Film Institute

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Films directed by James Cruze
1910s	From Wash to Washington (1914) Too Many Millions (1918) The Dub (1919) Alias Mike Moran (1919) The Roaring Road (1919) You're Fired (1919) The Love Burglar (1919) The Valley of the Giants (1919) The Lottery Man (1919) Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (1919) An Adventure in Hearts (1919)
1920s	A Full House (1920) Terror Island (1920) Mrs. Temple's Telegram (1920) The Sins of St. Anthony (1920) What Happened to Jones (1920) Food for Scandal (1920) Always Audacious (1920) The Charm School (1921) The Dollar-a-Year Man (1921) Gasoline Gus (1921) Crazy to Marry (1921) One Glorious Day (1922) Is Matrimony a Failure? (1922) The Fast Freight (1922) The Dictator (1922) The Old Homestead (1922) Thirty Days (1922) The Covered Wagon (1923) Hollywood (1923) Ruggles of Red Gap (1923) To the Ladies (1923) Leap Year (1924) filmed 1921 The Fighting Coward (1924) The Enemy Sex (1924) Merton of the Movies (1924) The City That Never Sleeps (1924) The Garden of Weeds (1924) The Goose Hangs High (1925) Waking Up the Town (1925) Welcome Home (1925) Beggar on Horseback (1925) Marry Me (1925) The Pony Express (1925) Mannequin (1926) Old Ironsides (1926) The Waiter from the Ritz (1926) never completed or released We're All Gamblers (1927) The City Gone Wild (1927) On to Reno (1928) The Mating Call (1928) The Red Mark (1928) Excess Baggage (1928) The Duke Steps Out (1929) A Man's Man (1929) The Great Gabbo (1929)
1930s	Once a Gentleman (1930) She Got What She Wanted (1930) Salvation Nell (1931) Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) If I Had a Million (segment "Death Cell", 1932) Racetrack (1933) Sailor Be Good (1933) I Cover the Waterfront (1933) Mr. Skitch (1933) David Harum (1934) Their Big Moment (1934) Helldorado (1934) Two-Fisted (1935) Sutter's Gold (1936) The Wrong Road (1937) Prison Nurse (1938) Gangs of New York (1938) Come On, Leathernecks! (1938)