Male and Female is a 1919 American silent adventure/drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/M/MaleAndFemale1919.html Progressive Silent Film List: Male and Female] at silentera.com Its main themes are gender relations and social class. The film is based on the 1902 J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton.{{cite book|last=Birchard|first=Robert S. |title=Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood|year=2004|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-813-12324-0|page=144}}{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/17455-MALE-AND-FEMALE |title=Male and Female |work=afi.com |access-date=April 5, 2024}}

A previous version was filmed the year before in England as The Admirable Crichton.

Plot

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.

Production

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.

Kenneth Macgowan stated in his 1965 history of film Behind the Screen that the title was changed because Paramount was concerned that audiences would confuse the words "admirable" and "admiral" and "stay away because 'sea pictures weren't very popular'".Behind the Screen, by Kenneth Macgowan; chapter 23, "The Search for Story Material"; p. 339; published 1965 by Delacorte Press

Cast

Lila Lee as Tweeny, the scullery maid
Theodore Roberts as Lord Loam
Raymond Hatton as Honorable Ernest 'Ernie' Wolley
Mildred Reardon as Lady Agatha 'Aggie' Lasenby
Gloria Swanson as Lady Mary Lasenby
Thomas Meighan as Crichton, the butler
Robert Cain as Lord Brockelhurst
Bebe Daniels as King's Favorite
Julia Faye as Susan, 2nd Maid
Rhy Darby as Lady Eileen Duncraigie
Edmund Burns as Treherne
Henry Woodward as McGuire, Lady Eileen's Chauffeur
Sydney Deane as Thomas
Wesley Barry as Buttons, the Boy
Slats the Lion

Preservation

Prints of Male and Female are held by:

Cinematheque Royale de Belgique
Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna
Filmoteka Narodowa in Warsaw
George Eastman Museum, on 35 mm
Museum Of Modern Art
Cineteca Nazionale in Rome, on 35 mm
Library of Congress, on 35 mm and DVD
UCLA Film and Television Archive, on 16 mm
Academy Film Archive{{cite web |url=https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.622/ |title=American Silent Feature Film Database: Male and Female |access-date=April 5, 2024 |publisher=Library of Congress}}

DVD release

Male and Female was released on Region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video on January 28, 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.oldies.com/product-view/7292D.html |title=Alpha Video - Male and Female |access-date=2014-01-30}}

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline|Male and Female (1919 film)}}
{{Wikisource-inline|single=yes}}
{{IMDb title|id=0010418|title=Male and Female}}
[https://archive.org/details/MALEANDFEMALE1919GloriaSwansonThomasMeighanLilaLeeDir.ByCecilB.DeMille Male and Female] available for free download at [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive]

Category:1919 films

Category:1910s adventure drama films

Category:English-language adventure drama films

Category:American silent feature films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:Famous Players-Lasky films

Category:American films based on plays

Category:Films based on The Admirable Crichton

Category:Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille

Category:Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents

Category:Films set in London

Category:Films set on uninhabited islands