The Golden Chance (I) (1915)

Mary Denby becomes a seamstress after her husband Steve wastes their money on booze. Her employer provides her as an escort to accompany millionaire Roger Manning. Her husband tries ... See full summary »

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Cecil B. DeMille (story), Jeanie Macpherson (story)

Stars:

Cleo Ridgely, Wallace Reid, Horace B. Carpenter

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cleo Ridgely	...	Mary Denby
Wallace Reid	...	Roger Manning
Horace B. Carpenter	...	Steve Denby
Ernest Joy	...	Mr. Hillary
Edythe Chapman	...	Mrs. Hillary
Raymond Hatton	...	Jimmy The Rat

Storyline

Mary Denby becomes a seamstress after her husband Steve wastes their money on booze. Her employer provides her as an escort to accompany millionaire Roger Manning. Her husband tries blackmailing Manning and is later killed by the police, leaving Mary free to wed the millionaire.

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Plot Keywords:

melodrama

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 1915 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$18,711 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min 74 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of "Mary Denby" was first assigned to Edna Goodrich, and a good portion of the film was in the can when her drinking problem became so severe that Cecil B. DeMille fired her and shut down production long enough to find a new star, Cleo Ridgely. DeMille was then forced to continue directing The Cheat during the day while directing the re-shoots of this movie at night.

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Connections

Remade as Forbidden Fruit (1921)

User Reviews

Early Cinema at its Best

In watching this early DeMille work, it was once again reinforced to me that early DeMille is far superior to late DeMille. His attention to use of light within scenes is remarkable. His pacing is very good, enabling much to be told in the space of an hour or so. It is a pity that he wasn't as intuitive about the style of his later sound films as he seemed to be in his silent films.

This was the first film in which I had seen Cleo Ridgely. She was remarkable, quite restrained and yet conveyed a broad spectrum of emotions.

The ending is wonderful.