Male and Female

11/23/19191h 56m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ CECIL B DE MILLE'S SUBLIME MIRROR OF LIFE ~

Overview:

When an aristocratic family and their servants are shipwrecked, the butler becomes their ruler.

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

butler
castaway
maid
class distinction
demille

Cast

Thomas Meighan

~ as ~

William Crichton, the butler

Gloria Swanson

~ as ~

Lady Mary Lasenby

Lila Lee

~ as ~

Tweeny, the scullery maid

Theodore Roberts

~ as ~

Lord Loam

Robert Cain

~ as ~

Lord Brockelhurst

Raymond Hatton

~ as ~

Honorable Ernest 'Ernie' Wolley

Bebe Daniels

~ as ~

The King's favorite

Julia Faye

~ as ~

Susan - Maid #2

Mildred Reardon

~ as ~

Lady Agatha Lasenby

Mayme Kelso

~ as ~

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
5
Sir J.M. Barrie was still very much alive and kicking when this well crafted adaptation of his "Admirable Crichton" (1902) story was made and I wonder if he ever saw it... It is the story of the "Earl of Loam" (Theodore Roberts) who decides to take his entirely spoiled, aristocratic family on his yacht for a cruise on the South Seas. It's up to the butler "Crichton" (Thomas Meighan) to organise it all before the mollycoddled bunch all set sail... It's all, well, plain sailing until their boat runs aground on a desert island and their whole, nicely ordered, lives are thrown asunder... In order to survive, let alone thrive, in this outwardly hostile place, they must forget the protocols and deferences that bound their hitherto formal relationships and it isn't soon before roles are reversed and the butler is in charge... The original story offers a whimsical swipe at the landed gentry - amiably exemplified here by Roberts, Robert Cain ("Lord Brocklehurst") and the feisty "Lady Mary" (Gloria Swanson) - but it is also a bit of a love story that demonstrates how their lives might progress without the social restrictions placed on them - indeed, until the timely arrival of a rescue ship - their new meritocracy might just have prevailed!. The characters are exactly that, they add a richness to the story that is well developed here by the likes of the delightful scullery maid Lila Lee and "Lady Agatha" - who has about as much common sense as a teabag (Mildred Reardon) as well as Mayme Kelso ensuring due propriety at the end... This is a thoroughly enjoyable film that looks great, flows well and makes us all think, just a little about the things we all take for granted.