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Film star Dorothy Phillips courageously tackled one of the most complex roles ever written when she starred in this 1917 adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's The Doll's House. That Phillips was not quite up to the challenge was readily apparent to the critics, but fans of the actress were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Retaining all the cynicism and bleakness of the stage original, the film charts the progress of the long-suffering Nora Helvsted (Phillips) as she matures from "trophy wife" to Her Own Woman. The film's highlight, like the play, was the climax, when Nora literally and symbolically slams the door on her dunderheaded, patronizing husband Torvald (William Stowell). The film's best performance was delivered by Lon Chaney Sr. as the blackmailing Nils Krogstad.