The Affairs of Anatol (1921)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Writers:

Arthur Schnitzler (suggested by play of the same name)
Jeanie Macpherson (written by)

Release Date:

25 September 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Socialite Anatol Spencer seeks a better relation that he has with his wife. He sets up the friend of...

Plot Keywords:

Photograph | Nurse | Nightclub | Suicide Attempt | Morality

Cast

Wallace Reid	...	Anatol Spencer
Gloria Swanson	...	Vivian Spencer (Anatol's wife)
Wanda Hawley	...	Emilie Dixon
Theodore Roberts	...	Gordon Bronson
Elliott Dexter	...	Max Runyon
Theodore Kosloff	...	Mr. Nazzer Singh (Hindu hypnotist)
Agnes Ayres	...	Annie Elliott
Monte Blue	...	Abner Elliott
Bebe Daniels	...	Satan Synne

Also Known As:

A Prodigal Knight (UK)
Five Kisses (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:117 min (1999 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Trivia:

Arthur Schnitzler's original one-act play, "Anatol," was written in 1893. Harley Granville-Barker's English adaptation opened in New York City on 14 October 1912 with John Barrymore in the title role, and it lasted 72 performances.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the flashback sequence where Emilie is on a swing and two mirrors are set up to give repeated reflections of the action, the cameraman bending over his camera is visible a few times when the swing moves out of the way.

Quotes:

Anatol Spencer: Let's not kiss any more, dear, until after breakfast.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Don't Tell Everything (1921)

pretty good silent film,...it does have its moments

In the era from 1910-1928, there were a lot of very melodramatic morality tale movies. The audiences loved them, but to today's viewers, they might seem a bit predictable and silly. As for me, I've seen so many of them that after a while they tend to blend together in my mind. They all seem to involve a husband who begins to wander and ultimately, they return to their good wives by the end of the film.

While this one appears to be such a film, at first the husband (Wallace Reid) seems to have the purest of intentions. He meets an old girlfriend from 8th grade and tries to pull her away from a life where she is being supported by rich men. The problem is, she LIKES this sort of life and Reid is already married to Glroia Swanson and his wife naturally resents this! However, because this IS basically a formulaic film, you also know that despite the eventual breakup of the marriage, you know by convention that they MUST be reunited by the final frame! That is my biggest problem with the film--it was generally too predictable and too telegraphed and obvious. For example, when the husband TRIES to be unfaithful, he goes to the home (more of a lair, actually) of Madame Satan Synne (played by Bebe Daniels) to be vamped! This part left me with mixed feelings actually, as the over-the-top home and the octopus outfit she worse was really funny and that deep down she WAS a good woman! But, it all still seemed rather formulaic at the core. Yep,...despite falling in her clutches, only a few minutes later he was back to Gloria.