"Male and Female" (1919) is now available from Alpha in a 57 minutes version. Well, actually it's not what you would call a version. My guess is that some collector or library had a pristine 16mm copy, but somehow managed to mislay reel two. So, in the Alpha version we get a sudden cut of the yacht sailing away from merry England to a scene in ancient Babylon. So although we encounter the lions all right, we miss all the stuff about the shipwreck, the arrival on the island and the sorting out of who's-in-charge. But we do see the rescue and all the back-in-England scenes. Enough of the film survives at Alpha to sustain our interest and appreciate all the fine acting from Thomas Meighan (a subtle, well-shaded performance), Gloria Swanson (in her vampish element here), Lila Lee (as the entrancing Tweeny) and most particularly Rhy Darby – in her only movie appearance – as the lovely, titled lady who wants to marry her chauffeur (played with just the right blend of lower-class charisma by Henry Woodward).
Review of Male and Female
