Originally titled Du Skal Aere Din Hustru, Master of the House was also released as Thou Shalt Honor Thy Wife. By any title, the film was arguably the most successful Scandinavian film of the silent era, playing to turn-away business throughout Europe. Based on a play by Sven Rindon, the film centers upon Johannes Meyer, an insensitive bully who browbeats his wife and children beyond all reason. The big jerk is taught a lesson by his own nanny, now an aging crone, who begins giving him a dose of his own medicine. This humiliating experience enables Meyer to stage a warm reunion with his wife, who had previously walked out on him. It may seem like basic sitcom material, but Master of the House apparently struck a nerve in the chauvinistically inclined Europe and Denmark of 1925.
