The Cheat & The Golden Chance

UCLA Film & Television Archive is proud to celebrate the legacy of storied producer and director Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959).  At the heart of this retrospective are restorations of 10 DeMille features performed by the Archive throughout its own history.  A founding figure of American cinema, Cecil B. DeMille was one of filmdom’s most influential and durable titans throughout a remarkable career spanning four decades, and with an influence still felt within the American filmmaking tradition.  Famed as a director of spectacular entertainments, often dramatizing historic subjects, DeMille was also a frequent commentator on modern experiences and mores.

The Cheat  (1915)

Edith Hardy, a social climbing stockbroker’s wife, is bored by her husband’s frugality, and complains of the same to wealthy Japanese importer Hirushu Tori, a member of her glittering social circle.  Treasurer of a charitable fund, Edith rashly sinks $10,000 in an investment which quickly goes south.  Seeking help from Tori, Edith luridly falls under his influence until the scandal blows wide open.

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co., Inc.  Director: Cecil B. DeMille.  Screenwriter: Hector Turnbull, Jeanie Macpherson.  Cinematographer: Alvin Wyckoff.  Cast: Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Dean, James Neill, Hazel Childers.  35mm, b/w, silent, 59 min.

The Golden Chance  (1915)

Seamstress Mary Denby sews to survive, taking up the slack left by her unemployed and alcoholic husband, Steve.  Mary is invited by her wealthy employer to masquerade as a society girl to attract the attention of a wealthy businessman, Roger.  Learning of the scheme, Steve plots to exploit Roger or kill him.  The violent outcome vaults Mary to a new world, fraught with moral complexity.

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co., Inc.  Director: Cecil B. DeMille.  Screenwriter: Jeanie Macpherson.  Cinematographer: Alvin Wyckoff.  Cast: Cleo Ridgely, Horace B. Carpenter, Edythe Chapman, Wallace Reid, Ernest Joy.  35mm, b/w, silent, 74 min.