The Cheat (1915)

Fannie Ward's crazed sort-of heroine

The Cheat is another early film directed by Cecil B. DeMille.  A socialite woman has to spend and spend to keep up with her friends. Her husband cuts her off, but she hatches a plan to "borrow" money from her charity to play the stock market and make a quick buck.  Predictably, the plan goes awry and she is forced to take money from a Burmese businessman to replace the stolen cash.  But what will he want in return?  Can she ever pay off her debt?

I approached this one as a filler movie.  The only virtue it held as far as I knew was that it was available through Netflix Watch Instantly.

Of course, going in with no expectations, I ended up really enjoying it.

It has some issues, but there are two things in the film that kept me hooked.  First, DeMille's camera work is fantastic for its time.  In order to focus the audience's attention at an area of the screen, other directors used "iris shots," which blacked out all but a circular portion of the screen.  DeMille uses lighting here to accomplish the same effect.  It's the first time I have seen this in my movie watching from this era and the impact was striking.

Second, Sessue Hayakawa's portrayal of Haka Arakau brings a completely different style of acting that really grounds his performance as the central villain of the piece.  With subtle movements and glances, Hayakawa exudes menace and lust.  His charisma demands the audience's attention whenever he is on screen.  His style serves as a stark counterpoint to the over-the-top facial contortions that Fannie Ward brings to the Edith Hardy character.

It's a good thing too that Hayakawa is so good here as the ultimate message of the film is very racist in its portrayal of Asians and whites' reactions to them.  It would have been entirely possible for Arakau to be a caricature, but Hayakawa makes him feel like a fully fleshed out person. 

That said, The Cheat still demonstrates a racism that was prevalent in its time.  In exchange for the loan, Arakau demands Edith become his mistress. When her husband comes into some money, she tries to pay off the debt, but Arakau will have none of it. He becomes infuriated and, in the most violent scene I have seen in a film from the early 1900s, he attacks her and literally brands her as his property.

Edith quickly turns the tables and shoots Arakau.  Edith's husband finds the wounded man, deduces what had happened and takes the blame for his wife's actions.  As he is found guilty, Edith comes clean and shows the brand she received.  The crowd in the courtroom, incensed by the actions of Arakau, attempt to attack and lynch him.

The overall story arc here is pretty unsatisfying.  Edith is portrayed as selfish throughout the movie and her husband is a chump she plays like a fiddle.  When the plot resolves at the end, it's hard to muster up sympathy for her.  She stole money, agreed to become a mistress and attempted to kill a man, yet there is no consequence for any of her actions.

Despite the problems with the plot and themes, I would recommend this for DeMille's camera workand especially Hayakawa's amazing presence.  To think, 42 years later he would be nominated for an Oscar for Bridge on the River Kwai.

Watched on Netflix Watch Instantly
Picture from The Dancing Image

Random fact: The movie's villain was originally Japanese in the 1915 release.  This led to protests about the film's racism toward the Japanese.  When it was rereleased in 1918, the villain became Burmese.  Which goes to show, Burma needs a better lobbying organization.