Craig’s Wife

In Rye, Walter Craig parties with Fergus Passmore while Harriet is away visiting her sick sister. Their friend Billy cancels his engagement because his father arrives unexpectedly, setting the scene for a tense domestic balance. The mood is one of social appetite rather than familial duty.

Harriet decides her sister will recover more quickly if left alone and boards a train back home with her niece Ethel Landreth. The trip establishes Harriet's view that she must control the household and its rules. The arrival also introduces the tension of a woman asserting independence within a marriage.

Upon arriving home, Harriet dismisses romantic love and proclaims she married Walter for her own independence. She immediately resumes controlling the house, supervising the domestics with strict routines. This marks a shift toward a power imbalance in the marriage.

Harriet sends Ethel to bed and returns to supervising the household. She maintains rigid rules for staff and carefully manages every domestic detail. The atmosphere thickens with Harriet's insistence on order and obedience.

Harriet finds a message on a table and tries to contact Levering 3100 through phone operators. The operators refuse to reveal the information, hinting at hidden connections and possible surveillance. Her actions show her willingness to pry into others affairs to protect her control.

Walter returns and reconnects with Harriet, who questions him about the flowers left by their neighbor Mrs. Frazier. In the process, Harriet's curiosity appears to mask deeper tensions. A search of the phone directory reveals Levering 3100 as Fergus's address.

Aunt Ellen Austen arrives and criticizes Harriet's domineering behavior. She warns Walter about his wife's control, but Walter refuses to believe the charge, defending the marriage as a matter of choice. The scene underscores the couple's fragile balance.

The next morning, Fergus and his wife are found dead in a murder suicide, and Detective Catelle informs Harriet that Walter is under suspicion. Harriet denies knowing who had called, while Walter confronts the possibility of being implicated. The atmosphere shifts from suspicion to estrangement.

Walter returns, but Harriet forbids him from telephoning, and he deduces that Harriet herself made the call. The confrontation exposes the growing rift between them and ends with a sharp argument. Their marriage lies strained under suspicion and control.

The next morning, Ethel's fiancé Gene Fredericks arrives and they leave together, removing a potential domestic complication. This departure symbolically empties the house of its younger occupants. Harriet's isolation continues as the family unit fragments.

Mrs. Harold, the housemaid, retires and leaves for a vacation, signaling an end to the familiar domestic routine. Meanwhile, Walter learns he has been cleared of suspicion as police verify Fergus and his wife died in a murder–suicide. The truth shifts the emotional balance within the household.

Walter leaves the keys to the house and vows not to return, declaring Harriet has married a house and not him. Shortly after, Harriet receives a telegram informing that her sister has died, leaving her alone in a pristine, silent house. The film closes with the line that People who live to themselves are generally left to themselves.