The Cheat

Cecil B. DeMille, United States, 1915

FEATURING
Fannie Ward
Jack Dean
Sessue Hayakawa
James Neill

One of the most visually elegant silent films ever made, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat was initially banned in several states due to its shocking subject matter. A society lady (Fannie Ward) gambles away Red Cross funds and borrows from a wealthy Japanese man (Sessue Hayakawa) on the implied promise of becoming his mistress. The Cheat set standards of acting, decor, frame composition, and lighting that were not surpassed for years, even by DeMille. But it is, above all, the first modern film in terms of its sexually charged content.

Where Are My Children?
(Where Are My Children?)

Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley, United States, 1916

FEATURING
Tyrone Power Sr.
Helen Riaume
Juan de la Cruz
Rena Rogers

Throughout the silent period, Lois Weber, a social worker turned film director, produced brilliant but controversial “missionary pictures” in which anti-Semitism, opium smuggling, capital punishment, and alcoholism were addressed with candor and dramatic prowess. Where Are My Children?, codirected with her husband, Phillips Smalley, manages a curious balance, defending birth control while condemning abortion. The film focuses on a district attorney with an interest in eugenics as a curative for social ills. Please note that no complete prints of this film exist.