Her Beloved Villain (1920)

When Louis Martinot, an aristocratic young French lawyer, is called away on business, he asks his friend Paul Blythe to investigate the background of Susanne Bergomat. If her family seems suitable, Paul is to tender a proposal on Louis' behalf. Blythe, after seeing Susanne, finds himself so in love that he proposes to her himself and lies to Martinot that her mother is a cabaret singer and her father a drunkard - a trait that Susanne has inherited. Thus informed, Martinot loses interest, and Blythe marries Susanne, taking her to live in another city. A year later he finds himself in a predicament when Martinot comes to visit. Attempting to hide his wife from his friend, Blythe arranges for Dr. Poulard, an elderly business partner, to take Susanne to visit her parents. After a series of comic misadventures, Martinot meets Susanne in Nice, and upon discovering the contents of Blythe's report, she determines to teach her husband a lesson. Returning home, she feigns a flirtatious drunken spree, which reduces her husband to tears. Finally, Susanne decides that her beloved villain has been punished enough and informs him that her behavior was all a hoax.