Male And Female (1919) :
Brief Review -
Thy created humans, all equal, humans created class, all differ. DeMille's early days' Classic is all about a powerful message rather than his trademark grandeur. I have known Cecile B DeMille for his grand films like "Cleopatra" (1933), the undeserving Oscar winner "The Greatest Show On Earth" (1952), and Biblicals like "Samson and Delilah" (1949) and "The Ten Commandments (1956, my all time favorite). But I never knew that this man had made so many silent films towards the end of the 1910s and throughout the 1920s. For me, the major boss of the silent cinema of the 20s was and always will be DW Griffith, despite the other 50+ classics I have seen from the same decade. Somehow, Male and Female came into the watchlist because of Gloria Swanson, and I'm happy about that. This film has surprised me. It has surpassed my expectations, but more importantly, it has taught me a lot. Imagine me watching the film after 103 years and still saying this. Then imagine what impact it would have left on the audience who watched it at the time of its release. Cecile DeMille's directorial doesn't have her trademark grandeur, but it has all the content you'd expect from a heartfelt and educational film. Lady Mary Lasenby is a spoiled maiden who always gets her way until shipwrecked with her butler, then learns which qualities are really admirable in a person. That tragic ending adds a cherry on top, and let me remind you again that it was 1919. Such endings were called classics in the 40s too (Casablanca), and even today, so you can imagine how it must have felt in the 1910s decade. The chemistry between Thomas Meighan and Gloria Swanson will have you hooked and leave you with some thoughts. From social injustice to class differences, human nature, Babylon references, influential cliches (love story being the most common) to equality, this film is a learning experience for many reasons. Strongly recommended!
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.
