Male and Female (1919)

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Male and Female is a delightful tale of class relationships mixed with a little Gilligan's Island. The story is an old one that shows the relationship between birthed aristocracy and the peasants or in this case the servants.The story starts off showing how shallow and frivolous the family that owns the manor are. The head off the family is a bumbling father type Lord Loam (Theodore Roberts) and his two daughters Marry (Gloria Swanson) and Agatha (Mildred Reardon) both pampered and spoiled and the many servants the two main ones being William Chrichton (Thomas Meighan) and Tweeny (Lila Lee).^The film shows the relationships of the masters and servants with Marry getting ready for her bath and the having breakfast and complaining that nothing is done correctly while Chrichton just stands there and takes it, Tweeny has a real eye for Chrichton but he looks at Marry a relationship that could never be in proper London.Well the family takes a sea voyage on their private yacht and the become shipwrecked. This island is more like Gilligan's Island then a real south seas island. On the Island Chrichton shows himself able to survive and find food, The manor family meanwhile refuses to work until hunger drives them to Chrichton and they are humbled and he assumes a role as leader. In the meanwhile Marry falls in love with Chrichton and this id OK with the more egalitarian social structure of the island. Well the group is rescues and things revert back to the way the were.Cecil B. DeMille did a fine job directing this film. The film has high production value and is well acted and photographed. The story while simplistic is delightful to watch the acting is will done and the characters say a great deal through emoting. This movie gets a grade of B

Very solid Cecil B. DeMille production of JM Barrie's play, "The Admirable Crichton" with a few DeMille flourishes.Crichton (Thomas Meighan) is a very proper butler in a staid British home. Of course he has a distant crush on Lady Mary (Gloria Swanson), a very pampered and spoiled young lady. Tweeny the household maid (Lila Lee) has a crush on Crichton.The family, headed by a silly old man (Theodore Roberts) decides to take a sailing trip to the South Seas and gathers up a party of family and friends. Of course they run the yacht into a rock and are washed ashore on a deserted island. The rich are all nitwits and haven't a clue how to do anything for themselves. They assume Meighan and Lee will continue to wait on them. Wrong.Slowly it occurs to everyone that there is a new order on the island. The crafty and self-sufficient Meighan sets out to build a shelter, a fire, harvest food, etc. while the rich sit and watch. Their attempts to copy him are sadly disastrous. Eventually they "join" the former butler's group with Meighan as a sort of king.Among the items that have washed ashore after the wreck is a book of poems that talks about a Babylonian king. In a typical DeMille moment, Swanson daydreams about her life in a Babylonian court. The sequence that follows ranks among the most famous in silent film history as Meighan becomes the Babylonian king who sentences the reluctant maiden (Swanson) to the lions' den as his jealous courtesan (Bebe Daniels) gleefully watches. The scene is much shorter than I remembered as the fabulously gowned Swanson walks in among the lions. The famous scene of the bare-backed Swanson with the roaring lion atop her was very real (no double).And so the merry band of islanders, under King Crichton, goes on for a few years until, just before the marriage of Swanson and Meighan), they are "rescued" and returned to their former lives (and stations).Meighan and Swanson are terrific. Roberts is funny as the old man. The supporting cast includes Julia Faye (as a maid), Robert Cain (as Swanson's boring suitor), Edmund Burns (as the vicar), Raymond Hatton (as the silly ass Ernie), Mildred Reardon (as Lady Agatha), and Rhy Darby (as the pitiful Lady Duncraigie who marries her chauffeur).Logic aside, this is a stylish and solid film and features a ravishing 20-year-old Gloria Swanson in one of her first big hits for DeMille. Another famous scene is early in the film as Swanson prepares to taker her morning bath, a ritual that includes several maids, gallons of rose water, and another of DeMille's groundbreaking interior designs.A must see for fans of silent films.

Thomas Meighan (as the admirable Crichton) is head butler for an aristocratic British family; he is obviously quite taken with luscious Gloria Swanson (as Lady Mary Lasenby), but unable to cross class barriers. The household's scullery maid Lila Lee (as Tweeny) is in love with Crichton. The threesome, and some others, go out yachting; when cross currents hit, the ensemble is shipwrecked! Turns out, the servant class has far more advanced survival skills. Who knew? Ms. Swanson is the film's main attraction; her bathing and showering scenes, near the beginning of the film, helped clean-up at the box office. Note that whenever there is nakedness afoot, DeMille has an object cover-up Swanson's figure, however. Though not as famed, Swanson's later wet spot, when she is nearly drowned in the bowel of the sideswiped yacht, is far superior. Swanson and Ms. Lee perform well, actually, with the material given. Loved the "upper crust" lady complaining about limp toast! Mr. Meighan delivers the movie's finest performance; the other players have moments, but Meighan is outstanding in the pivotal role of Butler Crichton. From the moment he checks the mansion for dust, he is delightful; the actor makes the movie even more interesting when the suppressed desire for Swanson begins registering on his face. A couple of smaller roles are noteworthy: Wesley Barry is great as the peeping Buttons, indicating what Cecil B. DeMille's "Male and Female" is really all about (more or less). You should also keep an eye on Bebe Daniels during the "King of Babylon" imaginary sequence; she is terrific as Meighan's right-hand lady. Silent film veterans Guy Oliver and Clarence Burton inexplicably disappear, after the shipwreck. Theodore Roberts and Raymond Hatton are around much longer, thankfully.The film is recommended, and DeMille obviously expert - but it's one of the more ludicrously-themed silent era classics preserved for modern scrutiny. Apparently, in adapting "The Admirable Crichton" for DeMilledom, the director substituted sex for satire. AND, he gets his titillating re-title "Male and Female" from no less than God Himself! quoting, "So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God created He him: Male and Female created He them." There is also a oddly placed bow to the good ol' U.S.A. With all its oddities, it's still a fun film. ******** Male and Female (11/23/19) Cecil B. DeMille ~ Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson, Lila Lee

"Male and Female" is another of Producer/Director Cecil B. De Mille's comedy/dramas. This one is about role reversal and makes one think of "Gilligan's Island" the farcical TV series that was popular in the 60s.The Loam family is a group of spoiled upper crust British nobles which include Lord Loam (Theodore Roberts), his daughters Lady Jane Lasenby (Gloria Swanson) and Agatha Lasenby (Mildred Reardon) along with Agatha's husband or suitor (I'm not sure which) The Honorable Ernest Wolley (Raymond Hatton). They are served by the butler Crichton (Thomas Meighan) and maid Tweeney (lila Lee). Crichton is secretly in love with Lady Jane but despises her spoiled antics ("The toast is too soft, Crichton"). Tweeney is in love with Crichton and so it goes.Lady Jane becomes engaged to marry the stuffy Lord Brockelhurst (Robert Cain) much to the dismay of Crichton. The family plans a south seas cruise and brings along Crichton, Tweeney and a young minister named Treherne (Edmund Burns). The party is ship wrecked on a remote island. Being of the spoiled upper class, the family is unable to cope with living in the wilderness. Crichton steps up and gradually takes command of the situation.The family at first rejects the idea of taking orders from their servant, but soon hunger and the need for shelter prevail. The family members gradually pitch in and learn to live off the land. Crichton seems to enjoy the role reversal where Lady Jane and Agatha are now forced to serve him. Two years pass.After Crichton rescues Lady Jane from a leopard, we are transported in Crichton and Lady Jane's imagination to ancient Babylon where Crichton is the King and Lady Jane a Christian. The King has a favorite (Bebe Daniels) who languishes at his feet in a web like head dress. When the Christian refuses to be a slave to the king, she walks into the lion's den and is eaten.Cut back to the present where Crichton and Lady Jane plan to be marries by Treherne. Just as the ceremony is being performed, Tweeney spots a passing ship and the party is rescued. They return to England where..............................................................Its hard to imagine that no hanky panky went on during the party's two year odyssey but that's what we're supposed to believe. The flashback sequence though lavishly staged is really unnecessary.The performances are generally good. Gloria Swanson was born to play the spoiled rich girl and looks lovely doing so. Lila Lee is equally beautiful as the love lorn Tweeney. Theodore Roberts and Raymond Hatton are mere cartoon characters. But it is Thomas Meighan who stands out. Being head and shoulders taller than the diminutive Ms. Swanson, he exudes leadership, authority and male virility as Crichton.It's not a bad movie but I challenge you not to think of "Gilligan's Island" when watching it.