Director: Cecil B. Demille
Cast: Elliott Dexter, Gloria Swanson, Lew Cody, Sylvia Ashton
Have I Seen it Before: Never.
Did I Like It: It was a nearly perfect day at the movies. Catch the morning screening of this, help host two screenings of White Christmas (1954) and manage to fit in another matinee—this time of Eileen (2023)—throughout the day. I had the opportunity to talk to any number of people about the movie, and I’m now beginning to wonder if my views on the silent movies aren’t that oddball after all. Most people would say that they love the slapstick or pantomime comedians of the era, and I would say that form is the one that truly holds up without dialogue.
Only trouble? This film—the first collaboration between Swanson and Demille—leans heavily on the drama side of the comedy-drama spectrum. It was a perfectly pleasant way to spend an hour an a half. It gave me a chance to—as Gene Siskel once identified the one great constant of going to the movies—the opportunity to sit in the dark and eat popcorn. What’s more, it occasionally gave me the opportunity to think about my life and the things I need to do in the course of that activity. If that’s not the kind of endorsement someone should put on a poster, I don’t know what is…
The movie isn’t completely without enjoyment on its own terms. There’s a bit with some salt shakers that—while it didn’t make me laugh, as such—did bring a smile to my face.
And now I’m stuck here trying to come up with thirty more words to wind up the review. If there isn’t that much in the movie, am I still obligated? Shame that some movies from the era have disappeared forever, where still others persist.