La marca del fuego

Funny how one can be transfixed by a shadow made nearly ninety years ago. I found myself watching this for handsome Sessue Hayakawa's character, half all-American young-man-about-town, half exotic (and oh yes, evil) Oriental despot. Fannie Ward's character doesn't look much better, a woman so insecure and vain that when her husband cuts off her clothing allowance (four hundred 1915 dollars for a negligee!!), she embezzles Red Cross funds and takes a flyer on the stock market. Indeed, the only character who comes out looking remotely virtuous is her long-suffering husband, who tries to protect his bubble-headed wife by confessing to a crime she committed. Yes, it's a period piece, but as those go, it's not bad.

Given that the film came out in 1915, it's a brilliant film despite its MANY deficiencies. The story was complex, featured excellent (for the time) production values and was quite entertaining---and was a heck of a lot better than the average feature-length film of the day. Unfortunately, it is also filled with stereotypes that would no doubt offend people. While not as bad as his glorification of slavery in BIRTH OF A NATION (also 1915), the image of the Asian in the film is quite vile--though at least DeMille does have an actual Asian actor play the part--something very unusual in Hollywood through the first half of the 20th century.

A well-to-do man is frustrated at his shallow and awful wife, as she spends far in excess of what he earns. She is constantly trying to keep up with her rich society friends and MUST have all the latest fashions. Despite her being told by him that they can't afford it, she spends and spends and the audience no doubt comes to hate the woman. Later, she gets an idea to take money entrusted to her as treasurer of the Red Cross Relief Fund and invest it--thereby getting enough to keep buying herself clothes and returning the money, no one the wiser. Unforuntately for this idiot, her investment tanks and she now owes the fund $10,000!! Not wanting to get caught, she goes to her Asian friend (Sessue Hayakawa) to borrow the money.

Shortly after this, the lady's husband announces that his investments paid off handsomely and they are now rich enough for her to afford all her extravagances. So, she takes $10,000 and tries to pay off Hayakawa--who then tells her he does NOT want the money. Instead he announces that he owns her and is going to brand her to prove she's his property!! This leads to an intense, frightening and violent fight scene where he ultimately brands his mark on her shoulder! In retaliation, she grabs a gun, shoots him (non-fatally) and runs. Her husband then finds the bleeding man and is accused of having tried to kill him. Why Hayakawa doesn't tell the truth is beyond me and the innocent and stupid husband goes on trial. I say "stupid" because he knows his wife did it, but he decides to take the rap instead. Now had she NOT been a selfish fool, I might have understood this, but in this case he just seemed like a chump. I would have let the court hang her had she been my wife!

When the hubby is found guilty by the court, the wife jumps up and announces her own guilt--showing the judge the brand on her shoulder. The judge dismisses the case and the couple is left to live happily ever after. However, at this point, every "decent white man" in the courtroom attempts to kill the evil foreigner and the film ends as a riot ensues!!!

Technically speaking, this is a wonderful and entertaining film. The implication that Asian men are "white slavers", that wives can be shallow idiots and that it's up to decent white men to ignore the law and beat the Asian guy to death is pretty sick--and pretty indicative of the times. That same year brought Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION, in which the "good white men" in the film can't get justice from the courts so they resort to forming the KKK and teaching the Blacks a lesson, and in this one they don't even bother with the robes--they try to kill the man right in the courtroom!!!

UPDATE: I just watched the 1931 remake of the film and was not the least bit impressed. The silent is clearly a better film--mostly because the crazy plot worked better in the old days. By 1931, it seemed very dated and a lot less scandalous...and a bit silly. So who says that talkies are always better than silents?!

Granted I haven't seen too many De Mille silents, but I just watched my new Kino edition of The Cheat, and it has now become my favorite De Mille silent! Very bizarre and dark story that must have had undertones of some hidden fantasies that were going on at the time. I assume this because I have never seen another silent like this one! Sessue Hayakawa was the embodiment of those fantasies, very menacing and naturalistic in his acting style. His every thought played across his face with seemingly minimal effort! He really stole the show from Fannie Ward, whose acting I considered over the top until the last courtroom scene, where it became quite effective in showing her outrage over trying to be possessed like an object by an Asian man. In this scene, she did an excellent job of conveying her affront and humiliation.

The lighting was used to great advantage, immersing the character in a single source of side lighting, which made me think of later movies by some of the German masters. Robert Israel's score was perfect as usual.

A melodrama, but with a twist that makes it fascinating to watch!

The Cheat (1915)

America was not at war yet, even though WWI was well under way in Europe. So there is a detached charm to the events--Red Cross charities, parties, men heading out for a game of golf. And the characters, part of an early Long Island set: a stock broker happily trying to make money, his rich wife who isn't rich enough (she wants more gowns!), and an Asian ivory merchant. The wife is played with early frank energy by Fannie Ward, pretty well known in her day, and in fact married to the man playing her husband.

More eccentric is the Asian man, legendary Japanese actor Kintaro Hayakawa. The title cards originally had him as a Japanese merchant, but when Japan protested (they were allies with the US in wartime), it was altered in the 1918 release to a Burmese merchant. This is a little stretching it because he is so obviously Japanese (the tatami mats, the paper sliding doors, etc.) but since he's really just a Long Island eccentric it works out okay.

At just under an hour, the movie never has a chance to catch its breath, which is great. There are nice sections tinted yellow/orange or blue. (The second time I watched this it was all black and white, which was not as satisfying, if you have a choice.) The score is a bland small orchestra accompaniment, neither here nor there (this is what the Netflix streaming copy has). The plot is slight, in reality, with money lost and a desperate and sometime scandalous effort to get it back. A shocking moment two thirds of the way is its famous climax, a bit early maybe, followed by a trial. The movie didn't cost much to make (the same year as the hugely expensive "Birth of a Nation"), but it went on to great success, and is well preserved.

The title implies more than the movie lets on internally, but the implications are realized in some double crossing. The heroics of the leading man are important even if he's an unlikable stockbroker. In fact, one of the weaknesses here is the fulcrum of the emotional twists and turns-a stock deal gone bad. But as the movie goes, it gathers complexity. If director DeMille is known for his grandiose blockbusters later in life, this is one of his silent dramas (from before about 1923) where he has a great feel for content, human drama, and fast plot. You might even say there is a soap opera excess here-in the best sense. That's what keeps these movies alive. Improbable at times, and certainly about people leaving large, the plots of each, including in this one, are great to watch. The leading female here, Fannie Ward, is good in this kind of role without nuance. More interesting at times is the larger scenes, like the angry crowd at the trial (a wonderful moment involving a huge number of actors).

See it, yes. A great, straight up entry into silent films about domestic upper class problems, and therefore without historical or exotic quirks that would otherwise dominate. An early Cecil B. De Mille film.

It's notable that right away 'The cheat' establishes use of stereotypes to build the foundations of the narrative. Richard (Jack Dean) is obsessed with his work, portrayed as somewhat neglecting his wife in the process, while Edith (Fannie Ward) is a spendthrift insistent on maintaining her status. I understand there was some controversy as well in Sessue Hayakawa, prominent early Japanese-American actor, depicting an antagonistic figure, thus leading to a change of the character's nationality in the interstitial cards - as if that meaningfully alters the criticism.

The story on hand is simple and of a slant not unfamiliar to contemporary audiences, but duly compelling for the intrigue at hand. There is an issue in my mind that the pivotal crux of this tale - the nature of the bargain - is not actively recounted in interstitial cards, or otherwise presented plainly on-screen. It's expressed only through nuance of body language - easy to miss altogether unless one is already familiar with the plot - or discerned by reading between the lines that are between the lines. As a result 'The cheat' feels less cohesive than it is otherwise, and this flaw also gives the writing the appearance of a significant plot hole. This is unfortunate because all that was required to lift this film out of that mire would have been more clarity.

If you can look past its faults, however, 'The cheat' is quite enjoyable. Set design and decoration, and costume design, are commendable, and complete the setting well. More importantly, the film makes use of lighting in ways that seems advanced for cinema in 1915. There's substantial emphasis on shadows, and spotlighting in generally dimly lit scenes, that does much to bolster the film.

And the performances are pretty great. This is true for all the cast, but goes most of all for Hayakawa, whose deft subtlety of facial expression is essential to his character. And Ward, as Edith, showcases a detail of emotional range that defies the presumptive limits of film-making equipment of the time. These two in particular carry the picture, leading into the dramatic and genuinely exciting climax. Putting aside an ineffectively articulated story beat, the narrative writing is broadly capable.

'The cheat' isn't a perfect movie, but its problems don't outweigh its ability to entertain. The technical craft of the film and the performances are most eye-catching of all, and help to paint over the blemishes. I wouldn't necessarily say one should go out of their way to find 'The cheat', but it's a worthwhile view if you come across it.