The Cheat
Initially banned in several states, The Cheat was not particularly successful in the U.S., but was the object of no little adoration in Paris due to its shocking subject matter. A society lady (Fanny Ward) gambles away Red Cross funds and borrows from a wealthy Japanese man (Sessue Hayakawa) on the implied promise of becoming his mistress. This she refuses, and he brands her with a red-hot iron from his collection. He is killed by the woman's husband, who then faces trial for murder. The husband is acquitted only when his wife bares her brand in court.
“The Cheat set standards of acting, decor, frame composition, and lighting which were not surpassed by years, not even by De Mille. Above all, it was the first modern film in content.... Hayakawa quickly became a bigger star than is generally remembered (thanks to the Second World War, and Paramount's refusal to reissue such once famous films as The Bottle Imp and Forbidden Paths)." --“Treasures from the Eastman House”
• Directed by Cecil B. De Mille. Written by Hector Turnbull. Photographed by Alvin Wyckoff. Art Direction by Wilfred Buckland. With Fanny Ward, Jack Dean, Sessue Hayakawa, James Neill. (1915, 62 mins, silent, Print courtesy of Division of Special Programs)

Broken Blossoms
One of the most beautifully photographed films of all time (which we will be showing in a color-tinted print taken from the Museum of Modern Art's 35mm Nitrate), Broken Blossoms is D.W. Griffith's broken hearted farewell to the flower of femininity (as personified by Lillian Gish) destroyed by a changing, sordid world. Set in the Limehouse district of London, it is the story of a waterfront waif who escapes a tyrannical father by turning to the chaste love of an idealistic “Chinaman” (played by Richard Barthelmess).
• Directed by D.W. Griffith. Written by Griffith, based on the story “The Chink and the Child” by Thomas Burke. Photographed by G.W. Bitzer and Hendrick Sartov. With Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp. (1919, 102 mins, silent, color tinted, Print from Museum of Modern Art)

Shivers
“When Harry Langdon learns that he has Chinese blood in his veins, he immediately begins to speak fluent Chinese - and his wife thereupon refuses to sleep with him! A bizarre and black comedy.” --William K. Everson
• Written and Directed by Arthur Ripley. With Harry Langdon. (1934, ca. 20 mins, Print Courtesy of WKE)