tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post2198005076145117884..comments2024-03-23T21:46:50.843-04:00Comments on the passionate moviegoer: cinema obscura: Cecil B. De Mille's "The Cheat" (1915) and George Abbott's "The Cheat" (1931)joe baltakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-78954624199905086142008-02-26T19:14:00.001-05:002008-02-26T19:14:00.001-05:00Over the years, i've had occasion to see both vers...Over the years, i've had occasion to see both versions of THE CHEAT, and i have to say both are fascinating, certainly for the technical aspects (the lighting and the sets of the DeMille silent are justifiably famous in all history books on American cinema; the orientalism of early '30s Paramount art direction, reaching its zenith in Von Sternberg's 1932 SHANGHAI EXPRESS, is fairly overpowering in the 1931 version), and as a fascinating glimpse into racial fantasies (which ran rampant in Frank Capra's 1933 THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN). <BR/><BR/>But there are many such movies which aren't seeing the light of day, and i think these films deserve to be seen as a glimpse into American attitudes towards Asian cultures. Plus they're so over-the-top in their melodramatic contrivances, they're very amusing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-66387353235985730592008-02-26T19:14:00.000-05:002008-02-26T19:14:00.000-05:00Over the years, i've had occasion to see both vers...Over the years, i've had occasion to see both versions of THE CHEAT, and i have to say both are fascinating, certainly for the technical aspects (the lighting and the sets of the DeMille silent are justifiably famous in all history books on American cinema; the orientalism of early '30s Paramount art direction, reaching its zenith in Von Sternberg's 1932 SHANGHAI EXPRESS, is fairly overpowering in the 1931 version), and as a fascinating glimpse into racial fantasies (which ran rampant in Frank Capra's 1933 THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN). <BR/><BR/>But there are many such movies which aren't seeing the light of day, and i think these films deserve to be seen as a glimpse into American attitudes towards Asian cultures. Plus they're so over-the-top in their melodramatic contrivances, they're very amusing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com