The Love Cheat

Last updated
The Love Cheat
The Love Cheat.png
Poster for the film
Directed by George Archainbaud
Written byPeggy McCall
Based onthe play, Le Danseur Inconnu
by Tristan Bernard
Produced by Albert Capellani
Starring June Caprice
Creighton Hale
Cinematography Lucien Tainguy
Production
companies
Albert Capellani Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Pathé Exchange
Release date
  • August 24, 1919 (1919-08-24)(US) [1]
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Love Cheat is a 1919 silent American film written by Peggy McCall and directed by George Archainbaud. It stars June Caprice and Creighton Hale.

Contents

Plot

Henry Calving is a struggling artist in New York City. When a potential client asks to meet him at an upscale hotel, Calving borrows clothes from his friends so that he can look presentable. Wearing a suit, he arrives at the hotel only to find that his would-be client has already left. Despondent, he gets his coat from the checkroom and starts to head out. However, he realizes that he has been given the wrong coat. Checking the pockets, he finds an invitation to a party being held at the hotel. Feeling pangs of hunger, he decides to crash the party so that he can get something to eat. While there he satisfies his appetite, and then meets Louise Gordon, the daughter of the party's host, who is throwing the party for her. The two fall in love at first sight.

He does not tell Louise the truth, instead allowing her to believe him a member of the upper class. As he is leaving, he bumps into a former classmate, William West, who understands his predicament, and offers to loan him money in order for him to pursue Louise. Calving does indeed press his suit with Louise, eventually winning her agreement to marry. However, Louise's former fiancé, Herbert Rand, begins to bemoan the fact that he has lost her. West, who had been hoping to cash in off helping Calving, sees a better opportunity if he throws in with Rand, and shows him the IOU's Calving has given him, making it appear that Calving is scheming to get Louise to marry him so that he can get to her money.

On the eve of the engagement party, Calving has a crisis of conscience, and writes a note to Louise explaining his deception and apologizing for hurting her, and disappears. Louise reads his note, but believes in their love, and does not think that money should be a barrier. She tracks him down to where he is now working in a small curio shop. When they are reunited, they agree to marry.

Cast list

Production

This was the second film produced by Albert Capellani starring June Caprice and Creighton Hale. In July it was revealed that George Archainbaud would helm the picture, and the supporting cast was slated to include Edwards Davis, Alfred Hickman, Charles Coleman, and Katherine Johnson. [2]

Reception

The film was met with mixed reviews. Editor's Herald enjoyed the piece, comparing it to the prior work which starred Caprice and Hale, Oh, Boy! , released earlier that year. They felt it was a good light comedy, but was not the type of film which would elicit laughing out loud moments. They praised the production, direction, and photography of the movie. [3] Motion Picture News felt that the film's plot was extremely thin, leading to the production having to have a lot of filler scenes added. However, they complimented the way in which Capellani handled adding that fluff. They also enjoyed Hale's performance, and while they felt that Caprice also did a good job, she could have done better. The felt that "Hickman's talents were wasted in a saccharine role." Finally, they felt the film relied too heavily on close-ups. [4] Wid's Daily (which later became The Film Daily ) similarly felt the plot was thin and incredibly predictable, as well as having too many close-ups, leading to an overall poor feeling on the direction in terms of moving the film forward, but had a positive overall artistic effect. They felt the cinematography was excellent with first rate camera-work. They were not overly impressed with the acting of the two leads, but felt the supporting cast was adequate. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Love Letters</i> (1945 film) 1945 film by William Dieterle

Love Letters is a 1945 American film noir. The screenplay was adapted by Ayn Rand from the novel Pity My Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It was directed by William Dieterle and stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise. The plot tells the story of a man falling in love with an amnesiac woman with two personalities, who is supposed to have killed his soldier friend.

Creighton Hale American actor (1882–1965)

Creighton Hale was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s.

<i>Orphans of the Storm</i> 1921 film directed by D. W. Griffith

Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution.

<i>The Trap</i> (1922 film) 1922 film

The Trap is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Robert Thornby and starring Lon Chaney and Alan Hale. It was released by Universal Pictures. The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title Heart of a Wolf. One working title for the film was Wolfbreed. The film was re-released in the U.S. in 1926.

George Archainbaud American director

George Archainbaud was a French-American film and television director.

<i>The Mystery of the Double Cross</i> 1917 film

The Mystery of the Double Cross is a 1917 film and one of the few American silent action film serials to survive in complete form. It was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and William Parke, from a story written by Gilson Willets, produced by the Astra Film Corporation and released in weekly chapters by Pathé, starting March 18, 1917.

<i>Cheated Hearts</i> (film) 1921 film

Cheated Hearts is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Hobart Henley and featuring Herbert Rawlinson, Warner Baxter, Marjorie Daw and Boris Karloff. The screenplay was written by Wallace Clifton, based on the novel Barry Gordon by William Farquar Payson. The film's tagline was "All the Exotic Glamour of the East Woven in a Livid Picture of Love". It was shot in Universal City, and is today considered a lost film.

<i>Coming Through</i> 1925 film

Coming Through is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland starring Thomas Meighan and Lila Lee. The film was Sutherland's directorial debut.

<i>The Probation Wife</i> 1919 film by Sidney Franklin

The Probation Wife is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Norma Talmadge. Talmadge served as her own producer with distribution through Select Pictures.

<i>Other Mens Wives</i> 1919 film by Victor Schertzinger

Other Men's Wives is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, Forrest Stanley, Holmes Herbert, Dell Boone, Elsa Lorimer, and Hal Clements. The film was released on June 15, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Bill Henry</i> (film) 1919 film by Jerome Storm

Bill Henry is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Jerome Storm, and written by Julien Josephson and Lois Zellner. The film stars Charles Ray, Edith Roberts, William A. Carroll, Bert Woodruff, Jennie Lee, and Walter Perkins. The film was released on August 17, 1919, by Paramount Pictures. A print of the film is in the Russian Gosfilmofond film archive.

<i>Pegeen</i> (film) 1920 silent film by David Smith

Pegeen is a 1920 American silent drama film based on the 1915 novel of the same name by Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd. It was produced by Vitagraph Studios and directed by David Smith. It stars Bessie Love in the title role. The film is presumed lost.

<i>After His Own Heart</i> 1919 film

After His Own Heart is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film based on a 1919 short story of the same name by Ben Ames Williams. It was adapted for the screen by Albert Shelby Le Vino and directed by Harry L. Franklin. The film stars Hale Hamilton and Naomi Childers and was distributed by Metro Pictures Corp., a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A copy of the film is archived at the Cinémathèque Française under the title Une Cure Merveilleuse.

<i>Mary of the Movies</i> 1923 silent film by John McDermott

Mary of the Movies is a 1923 American silent semi-autobiographical comedy film based on the career of Marion Mack. It was written by Mack and her husband Louis Lewyn, and stars Mack and Creighton Hale. Hale and director John McDermott play fictionalized versions of themselves in the film, which was also directed by McDermott.

<i>This Woman</i> (film) 1924 film directed by Phil Rosen

This Woman is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Louis D. Lighton and Hope Loring, and starring Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez, Louise Fazenda, Frank Elliott, Creighton Hale, and Marc McDermott. Based on the 1924 novel This Woman by Howard Rockey, it was released by Warner Bros. on November 2, 1924.

<i>The Beloved Cheater</i> 1917 film directed by Christy Cabanne

The Beloved Cheater is a 1919 American silent comedy film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Lew Cody, Doris Pawn, and Eileen Percy, and was released on July 30, 1917.

<i>The Barricade</i> 1921 film

The Barricade is a 1921 silent American melodrama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars William H. Strauss, Katherine Spencer, and Kenneth Harlan, and was released on October 2, 1921.

<i>At the Stage Door</i> 1921 film directed by Christy Cabanne

At the Stage Door, also known by its working title Women of Conquest, is a 1921 silent American romantic drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Billie Dove, Huntley Gordon, and Miriam Battista, and was released on December 11, 1921. The film gives a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes reality of life in the New York theater, as seen by a small town girl trying to make it in the big city. The picture received mixed reviews. This was Dove's first time on film, having moved over from the Ziegfeld Follies.

<i>Burnt Wings</i> (1920 film) 1920 film directed by Christy Cabanne

Burnt Wings is a 1920 American drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Josephine Hill, Frank Mayo, and Rudolph Christians. It was released on March 29, 1920.

The Avenging Trail is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Francis Ford and starring Harold Lockwood, Sally Crute, and Joseph Dailey. It was released on December 31, 1917.

References

  1. "The Love Cheat". American Film Institute. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  2. "Second Capellani Film To Be "The Love Cheat"". Exhibitors Herald. July 12, 1919. p. 66. Retrieved September 1, 2021. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "June Caprice and Creighton Hale in THE LOVE CHEAT". Exhibitors Herald. July 12, 1919. p. 62. Retrieved September 1, 2021. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ""The Love Cheat"". Motion Picture News. August 16, 1919. p. 1499. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. "June Caprice and Creighton Hale in "The Love Cheat"". Wyd's Daily. August 10, 1919. p. 17. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg