Male and Female (1919)

Lady Mary Lasenby is a spoiled maiden who always gets her way until shipwrecked with her butler, then learns which qualities are really admirable in a person.

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Jeanie Macpherson, J.M. Barrie (by: "The Admirable Crichton")

Stars:

Thomas Meighan, Theodore Roberts, Raymond Hatton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Meighan	...	William Crichton - The Butler
Theodore Roberts	...	Lord Loam
Raymond Hatton	...	Honorable Ernest Wolley
Robert Cain	...	Lord Brockelhurst
Gloria Swanson	...	Lady Mary Lasenby
Lila Lee	...	Tweeny - the Scullery Maid
Bebe Daniels	...	The King's Favorite
Julia Faye	...	Susan - Maid #2
Rhy Darby	...	Lady Eileen Duncraigie
Mildred Reardon	...	Lady Agatha Lasenby
Mayme Kelso	...	Lady Brockelhurst
Edmund Burns	...	Treherne
Henry Woodward	...	McGuire - Lady Eileen's Chauffeur
Sydney Deane	...	Thomas
Wesley Barry	...	Buttons - the Boy

Storyline

Lord Brockelhurst, his unwilling betrothed Lady Mary, his butler Crichton and scullery maid Tweeny are on Lord Loam's yacht which is wrecked leaving them all to cope on a desert island. Class distinctions fall apart for the time being.

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Plot Keywords:

butler | maid | yacht | class distinction | romantic rivalry | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

Férfi és nő

Filming Locations:

Channel Islands National Park, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 116 min (1997 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The leopard, which Thomas Meighan is carrying in the movie, was actually a real, living leopard. It had killed a man in a nearby zoo, and was to be put to sleep, but De Mille refused to have it killed. They then drugged the Leopard with chloroform, and let the actor act out a scene, carrying the leopard on his shoulder.

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Connections

Featured in Cinerama Adventure (2002)

User Reviews

A charming tale of class relationships

Male and Female is a delightful tale of class relationships mixed with a little Gilligan's Island. The story is an old one that shows the relationship between birthed aristocracy and the peasants or in this case the servants.

The story starts off showing how shallow and frivolous the family that owns the manor are. The head off the family is a bumbling father type Lord Loam (Theodore Roberts) and his two daughters Marry (Gloria Swanson) and Agatha (Mildred Reardon) both pampered and spoiled and the many servants the two main ones being William Chrichton (Thomas Meighan) and Tweeny (Lila Lee).

^The film shows the relationships of the masters and servants with Marry getting ready for her bath and the having breakfast and complaining that nothing is done correctly while Chrichton just stands there and takes it, Tweeny has a real eye for Chrichton but he looks at Marry a relationship that could never be in proper London.

Well the family takes a sea voyage on their private yacht and the become shipwrecked. This island is more like Gilligan's Island then a real south seas island. On the Island Chrichton shows himself able to survive and find food, The manor family meanwhile refuses to work until hunger drives them to Chrichton and they are humbled and he assumes a role as leader. In the meanwhile Marry falls in love with Chrichton and this id OK with the more egalitarian social structure of the island. Well the group is rescues and things revert back to the way the were.

Cecil B. DeMille did a fine job directing this film. The film has high production value and is well acted and photographed. The story while simplistic is delightful to watch the acting is will done and the characters say a great deal through emoting. This movie gets a grade of B