Manslaughter (1922 film)
Encyclopedia
Manslaughter is a 1922 silent drama film
directed by Cecil B. DeMille
and starring Thomas Meighan
, Leatrice Joy
and Lois Wilson.
According to Leatrice Joy, the filming of the car chase scene was extremely nerve-wrecking because she herself had to drive the car, which had been fitted with a platform to support two cameramen and the director, plus equipment. Their safety depended entirely upon her skills as a motorist. Joy did most of her own driving, though in some shots the car was driven by stunt double Leo Nomis. During the shooting of a prison sequence, Joy burned her hand accidentally with soup in a prop cauldron; assistant director Cullen Tate had neglected to inform her that the soup was scalding hot.
notes that Joy and Wilson "both give far better performances than the film deserves." "It is hard to believe that such a crude and unsubtle film could come from a veteran like De Mille," said a 1963 Theodore Huff Society program note for the film, "harder still to believe that this came from the same year that Orphans of the Storm
, Down to the Sea in Ships
", and Foolish Wives
. The amateurish and crudely faked chase scenes that start the film are of less technical slickness than Sennett
had been getting ten years earlier. Manslaughter is exactly the kind of picture that the unknowing regard as typical of the silent film - overwrought, pantomimically acted, written in the manner of a Victorian melodrama, the kind of film that invites laughter at it rather than with it."
When a print was screened by William K. Everson
for Joy's daughters birthday, the star of the film attended and saw it for the first time in forty years. According to Kevin Brownlow, "Miss Joy thought it hilarious."
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and starring Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 a week....
, Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the early silent film era.-Early life and career:...
and Lois Wilson.
Plot summary
A wild, wealthy woman is brought to heel by a sermonizing district attorney after she accidentally hits and kills a motorcycle cop.Cast
- Leatrice JoyLeatrice JoyLeatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the early silent film era.-Early life and career:...
- Lydia Thorne - Thomas MeighanThomas MeighanThomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 a week....
- Daniel J. O'Bannon - Lois Wilson - Evans (Lydia's maid)
- John Miltern - Gov. Stephan Albee
- George FawcettGeorge FawcettGeorge Fawcett was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. On stage he appeared in such plays as Ghosts with the controversial Mary Shaw, The Squaw Man with William Faversham, The Great John Ganton with an up-and-coming actress Laurette Taylor in the cast and Getting A Polish with...
- Judge Homans - Julia FayeJulia FayeJulia Faye was a motion picture actress from Richmond, Virginia.-Career overview:Faye had resided in St. Louis, Missouri prior to coming to Hollywood in 1916, to visit friends. She visited one of the film studios and was introduced to Christy Cabanne. The two reminisced about St...
- Mrs. Drummond - Edythe ChapmanEdythe ChapmanEdythe Chapman , was an American stage and silent film actress from Rochester, New York. As early as 1898 she appeared in New York, New York in the Charity Ball. Edythe performed at the Shubert Theater in Brooklyn, New York in a production of The Light Eternal in 1907...
- Adeline Bennett - Jack MowerJack MowerJack Mower was an American film actor. He appeared in 526 films between 1914 and 1962.He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Destination Tokyo...
- Drummond (policeman) - Dorothy CummingDorothy CummingDorothy G. Cumming was an actress of the silent film era. She appeared in 39 American, English, and Australian films between 1915 and 1929, notably appearing as the Virgin Mary in Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 film The King of Kings and the jealous wife in Lillian Gish's 1928 The Wind. She also appeared...
- Eleanor Bellington - Casson FergusonCasson FergusonCasson Ferguson was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 54 films between 1917 and 1928.He was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
- Bobby Dorest - Michael D. MooreMichael D. MooreMichael D. Moore is a Canadian-born American film actor and director.Born Michael Sheffield in Victoria, British Columbia, both he and his brother Patrick were Hollywood child actors. At the age of five he appeared in his first film under the stage name "Mickey Moore". He appeared in two dozen...
- Dicky Evans (as Mickey Moore) - James NeillJames NeillJames Neill was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 113 films between 1913 and 1930. He was buried in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery. His wife, and frequent costar on stage and screen, was Edythe Chapman. In 1902 the couple starred on Broadway in the play The Red Knight...
- Butler - Sylvia AshtonSylvia AshtonSylvia Ashton was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 134 films between 1912 and 1929. She was born in Denver, Colorado and died in Los Angeles, California...
- Prison matron - Raymond HattonRaymond HattonRaymond William Hatton was an American movie actor who appeared in almost five hundred movies, including a stint of being paired in 1920s comedies with Wallace Beery....
- Brown - Mabel Van BurenMabel Van BurenMabel Van Buren was an American stage and screen actress from Chicago, Illinois. She had dark hair, brown eyes, and was five feet three inches tall. She enjoyed riding horses and swimming....
- Prisoner - Ethel WalesEthel WalesEthel Wales was a Passaic, New Jersey-born American actress, who appeared in 130 films between the years 1920 and 1950. She had one son named Wellington Charles Wales.- Selected filmography :* Miss Lulu Bett * Manslaughter...
- Prisoner - Dale FullerDale Fuller (actor)Dale Fuller was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 67 films between 1915 and 1935.She was born in Santa Ana, California and died in Los Angeles County, California.-Selected filmography:...
- Prisoner - Edward MartindelEdward MartindelEdward Martindel was an American stage and film actor. He appeared on Broadway and in 89 films between 1915 and 1946....
- Wiley - Charles OgleCharles Stanton OgleCharles Stanton Ogle was an American silent film actor.-Biography:Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Ogle first performed in live theatre, making his first appearance on Broadway in 1905. He embarked on a career in film with Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1908, appearing in The Boston Tea Party...
- Doctor - Guy OliverGuy OliverGeorge Guy Oliver was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent era motion pictures and 27 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at least 600. He directed three movies in 1915.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Oliver began his career as a...
- Musician - Shannon DayShannon DayShannon Day was a silent film actress who appeared in supporting parts in numerous productions. She also performed on the Broadway stage as a teenager. Her career did not survive the sound era. Her first film was Cecil B...
- Miss Santa Claus - Lucien LittlefieldLucien LittlefieldLucien Littlefield was an American actor in the silent film era...
- Witness
Production
To get a better understanding of the experience of a woman in prison, screenwriter Jeannie MacPherson arranged to 'steal' a fur piece from a friend, and to be arrested for the theft. MacPherson was 'apprehended' in Detroit and spent three days in prison before the hoax was revealed.According to Leatrice Joy, the filming of the car chase scene was extremely nerve-wrecking because she herself had to drive the car, which had been fitted with a platform to support two cameramen and the director, plus equipment. Their safety depended entirely upon her skills as a motorist. Joy did most of her own driving, though in some shots the car was driven by stunt double Leo Nomis. During the shooting of a prison sequence, Joy burned her hand accidentally with soup in a prop cauldron; assistant director Cullen Tate had neglected to inform her that the soup was scalding hot.
Reaction
Manslaughter is thought of by historians as one of De Mille's lesser efforts as a director. Historian Kevin BrownlowKevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
notes that Joy and Wilson "both give far better performances than the film deserves." "It is hard to believe that such a crude and unsubtle film could come from a veteran like De Mille," said a 1963 Theodore Huff Society program note for the film, "harder still to believe that this came from the same year that Orphans of the Storm
Orphans Of The Storm
Orphans of the Storm is a drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late 18th century France, before and during the French Revolution.This was the last Griffith film to feature Lillian and Dorothy Gish, and is often considered Griffith's last major commercial success, after boxoffice hits such as Birth...
, Down to the Sea in Ships
Down to the Sea in Ships
Down to the Sea in Ships is a 1922 American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family. Directed by Elmer Clifton, the film stars William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, and Clara Bow.-Plot:...
", and Foolish Wives
Foolish Wives
Foolish Wives is an American drama silent film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. Although uncredited, Irving Thalberg, aged 22, was in charge of production and would go on to become one of the most famous studio heads of all time at...
. The amateurish and crudely faked chase scenes that start the film are of less technical slickness than Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
had been getting ten years earlier. Manslaughter is exactly the kind of picture that the unknowing regard as typical of the silent film - overwrought, pantomimically acted, written in the manner of a Victorian melodrama, the kind of film that invites laughter at it rather than with it."
When a print was screened by William K. Everson
William K. Everson
William Keith "Bill" Everson was an English-American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector and film historian. He often discovered lost films.-Early life and career:...
for Joy's daughters birthday, the star of the film attended and saw it for the first time in forty years. According to Kevin Brownlow, "Miss Joy thought it hilarious."