The Blot

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The Blot is a social problem film directed by Lois Weber with her husband Phillips Smalley in 1921. The film tackles the social problem of genteel poverty, focussing on the family of a college professor who are honest and hardworking, yet are starving on their meagre income. Cast includes Claire Windsor, Louis Calhern and Marie Walcamp.

An unconventional film, especially in its day, Weber filmed in real locations, using as much natural lighting as possible. Many supporting roles were given to non-professionals. Along with its bleak and unglamorous settings, the ending of the film ends on an ambiguous downbeat note, in which unrequited love, convenience, and even characters' desperation all factor in. If this is a universe where people live in real, cramped houses with thread-bare carpets, then their need for security and desire for comfort supersedes their want for true love. The film also suggests that something greater than charity is needed to aid the impoverished. Scenes were filmed on location around Los Angeles, particularely at the old University of Los Angeles campus, now Los Angeles City College.

The Blot, now largely regarded as a unduely neglected classic of the silent era, was restored by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill for British television. Brownlow also singles out the film for praise in his book Behind the Mask of Innocence (1990). The Blot is currently available on DVD and video.