"Her Man 'O' War" is one of 50+ films released under the DeMille studio banner between late 1925 and early 1928. To fund his own studio, DeMille had negotiated a production supervision arrangement where DeMille would make one film a year and then supervise 50-odd films over a three year period with Producer's Distributing Corporation. The result was that his own films took a year to make, and a lot of "programmers" like this film were made to keep a product flowing out of the studio into those theatres not owned by studios which would exhibit independent studio films. DeMille had taken several top stars with him from Paramount when he left, including Goudal. The temperamental actress proved a problem right away when F.W. Murnau wanted to borrow her for "Seventh Heaven" and DeMille refused. Goudal then looked for a way to break her contract. Able to only find a minor financial foul-up, she received a settlement, but not a release. DeMille would not direct her in a film after this and she was cut from the release version of "King of Kings" as well. Similar personal problems existed between DeMille and his other two leading stars, Leatrice Joy and Rod LaRocque, so that the films they made for the DeMille studio were not directed by him, minimizing the potential publicity and promotional value of the combination of director and stars.
William Boyd is the male lead of this film and he is not up to the task, although frankly, the writing doesn't require that he do much. Goudal vacillates from impish gamine to heavy dramatics not unlike Nazimova in "War Brides". Her overplaying and Boyd's underplaying don't assist this film. It's basic plot is sound, but the romance between the two principals is less interesting than the military mission which is at the film's core. In comparison to "The Big Parade", a contemporary of this film, "Her Man 'O' War" seems weak and clichéd.
William Boyd is the male lead of this film and he is not up to the task, although frankly, the writing doesn't require that he do much. Goudal vacillates from impish gamine to heavy dramatics not unlike Nazimova in "War Brides". Her overplaying and Boyd's underplaying don't assist this film. It's basic plot is sound, but the romance between the two principals is less interesting than the military mission which is at the film's core. In comparison to "The Big Parade", a contemporary of this film, "Her Man 'O' War" seems weak and clichéd.
