Male and Female

Male and Female

Gloria Swanson in Male and Female
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Produced by Cecil B. DeMille
Jesse L. Lasky
Written by Jeanie Macpherson
Based on The Admirable Crichton 
by J. M. Barrie
Starring Gloria Swanson
Thomas Meighan
Music by Sydney Jill Lehman (1997 version)
Cinematography Alvin Wyckoff
Edited by Anne Bauchens
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • November 23, 1919 (1919-11-23)
Running time
116 minutes
Country United States
Language Silent Film
English intertitles
Budget $168,619.28[1]
Box office $1,256,226.59[1]
Male and Female

Male and Female is a 1919 American silent adventure/drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan.[2] Its main themes are gender relations and social class. The film is based on the J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton.[1]

A previous version was filmed the year before in England as The Admirable Crichton.

Plot

The film centers on the relationship between Lady Mary Loam (Swanson), a British aristocrat, and her butler, Crichton (Meighan). Crichton fancies a romance with Mary, but she disdains him because of his lower social class. When the two and some others are shipwrecked on a deserted island, they are left to fend for themselves in a state of nature.

The aristocrats' abilities to survive are far worse than those of Crichton, and a role reversal ensues, with the butler becoming a king among the stranded group. Crichton and Mary are about to wed on the island when the group is rescued. Upon returning to Britain, Crichton chooses not to marry Mary; instead, he asks a maid, Tweeny (who was attracted to Crichton throughout the film), to marry him, and the two move to the United States.

Production

The film contains two famous scenes, indicative of de Mille's predilections as a filmmaker.

Cast

DVD release

Male and Female was released on Region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video on January 28, 2014.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. p. 144. ISBN 0-813-12324-0.
  2. Male and Female at SilentEra
  3. "Alpha Video - Male and Female". Retrieved 2014-01-30.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Male and Female (1919 film).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.