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Vintage original 8 x 10 in. US single-weight matte photograph from the teens silent film drama, MALE AND FEMALE, released in 1919 by Paramount Pictures and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. 
 
The image depicts an interior shot inside the Library of the Lasenby mansion as William Crichton, the Butler (Thomas Meighan), gives cleaning instructions to Tweeny, the scullery maid (Lila Lee). It is in fine- condition with random light waviness.

 

*"Male and Female is a 1919 American silent adventure/drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan. Its main themes are gender relations and social class. The film is based on the 1902 J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton. A previous version was filmed the year before in England as The Admirable Crichton.

 

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

  • An early scene depicts Gloria Swanson bathing in an elaborate setting, attended by two maids, lavishing her with rosewater and bath salts, silk dressing gown, and luxurious towels.
  • Toward the end of the film, a fantasy sequence about ancient Babylon shows Swanson posed as Gabriel von Max's famous painting The Lion's Bride, which involved her being photographed with an actual lion

The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2002 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions."

*(source: Wikipedia)

 

*"Elliott Dexter was originally slated to play Crichton, but he suffered a nervous breakdown and did not take the role. Some scenes were shot on the Santa Cruz Islands, CA. According to ETR, the film's length is 8,709 feet, while Wid's reports it as 8,860 feet. Major Ian Hay Beith worked with DeMille and Macpherson to help make the atmosphere correctly British. According to modern sources, the film editor was Anne Bauchens. According to an interview with Mitchell Leisen, he designed costumes for only the Babylonian sequence. According to an interview with James Wong Howe, he was the third assistant cameraman on this film.

 

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."

*(source: AFI Catalog of Feature Films)

 

YM3RB

MALE AND FEMALE (1919) US 8x10 Photograph 01

SKU: CS-MALE-S01
$65.00Precio
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