Male and Female (1919) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
CECIL B DE MILLE'S SUBLIME MIRROR OF LIFE
When an aristocratic family and their servants are shipwrecked, the butler becomes their ruler.
Cast
Popular reviews
DeMille's Americanized version of Barrie's Admirable Crichton was the biggest hit of 1919, but in retrospect, swanning Swanson's dark beauty was the main attraction. She thrills in what amounts to a lush stepping stone towards greater heights for all concerned.
Barrie's play is turned away from its focus on class to make room for comic gender essentialism and biblical flourishes. Crichton on his island is no longer governor, he is now King of Babylon, allowing for a wild fantasy sequence which puts Swanson into multiple outrageous outfits, and leaves her at the mercy of some real lions. (Swanson later claimed one of them killed a man only two weeks after filming.)
Lila Lee's Tweeny is robbed of some dignity as…
I love a good jungle film, especially when the main characters are shipwrecked on a deserted island. For the most part, this was enjoyable. Glamorous Gloria Swanson still looks gorgeous in tattered clothes, maybe more-so. Crichton (Thomas Meighan) and Tweeny (Lila Lee) play servants to Swanson's rich family, and their characters were the most entertaining. Best of all, is Bebe Daniels in a small part during a sort of daydream sequence. Daniels costume is phenomenal.
If you came here because it's a Demille and Swanson picture -- it's exactly what you'd expect. Whether you like that or not, it's up to you (I had fun).
The desert island sequences are underpinned by BDSM in Victorian fancy dress, seasoned with a touch of blasphemy. And then of course in the last reel de Mille pivots to upholding middle-class middle American virtues.
the original Triangle of Sadness
As comédias de DeMille apresentam todas o mesmo esquema e a mesma lição: um casal desajustado se torna um casal compatível quando a mulher começa a compreender que o seu destino – e a sua felicidade – consiste na sua submissão ao homem. Não se trata somente de que a mulher seja bela e virtuosa; é necessário que ela o seja de acordo com o ideal do homem. Essas relações entre homem e mulher são tratadas por DeMille em um tom divertido, sarcástico, por vezes dramático – nunca trágico. O trágico, nesse âmbito, só intervém quando se tenta acreditar na igualdade dos sexos. DeMille não acreditava nela. Ele vê a mulher como inferior e superior ao homem em mil pontos,…
Deeply reactionary, even while it pretends to be something else; this is a textbook example of how you can forestall attempts at critical thought by limiting the range of ideas available to be discussed.
It's cute, though; the surface elements of romcom and social satire are engaging and skillfully crafted (even if I think Gloria Swanson's Italian-diva posturing was the wrong note to be striking in the second half).
Dolly De Leon hive rise up.
Cecil B. DeMille strands a wealthy family and servants on a desert island, seemingly with the purpose of undermining class divisions. Seemingly.
Well, who knew Triangle of Sadness was a remake of a Cecil B. DeMille picture?
And while I am often fairly cold on DeMille, I actually really liked the first half of this film, and it might be the most entertaining stuff I ever found in the man's filmography. It's too bad it all starts to fall flat when everyone is stranded on the desert island, as the payoff here is not nearly as engaging as the setup was.
could've been done in half the time. some animals definitely harmed.