The Affairs of Anatol (1921)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This film is great fun, and often -- and I think intentionally, as in the 'Satan Synne' segment -- very funny: "an extravagant story that never by any chance could be taken seriously," as one contemporary reviewer approves. It's hard to sympathise with spoiled wife Vivian at first (a hard-edged performance by Gloria Swanson), but as the film goes on we start to realise that she does have a point.This being a de Mille film, the costumes are of course fantastic; although it's actually not Swanson, the famous 'clothes-horse', who gets the best dresses here. Production values are elsewhere very high, as well, extending into beautifully-drawn title cards (in one case, with a live-action car actually driving across it!) and a lot of sacrificed furniture, while frankly, those jewelled flowers look almost worth losing a lover over...But it's not all gloss and enjoyable silliness. There's some fine acting on display as well, not least from Wallace Reid as the well-meaning 'Tony' whose halo begins progressively to slip -- and, in a couple of telling little scenes, from Elliott Dexter as the overlooked best friend. (The little scene over the chessboard is a perfect illustration of the power of the silent screen: everything made explicit without a word.) The picture's stage heritage shows up mainly in a few over-long title cards, where plot points are conveyed in one long 'speech'; at almost two hours in duration, it's also unbalanced in the direction of the first half, which could almost stand as a film on its own without its briefer 'sequels'. If Emilie is not to have a film of her own, there is perhaps a little too much time devoted to her.But "The Affairs of Anatol" is well worth seeing -- not least, as an eye-opener for those like myself who associate C.B. de Mille with vast Biblical epics. This piece of froth and frivolity has more of the charm of a Harold Lloyd movie minus the slapstick; one can really see why 'handsome Wallace Reid' was a star; and there are just enough well-judged moments of genuine feeling among the spectacle and satire to make us care about the various minor players.

The other reviews provide a lot of information (I did not know Reid was so close to death in this film and that is tragic indeed) so I will just add that the film is visually dazzling with it's super saturated color tints and color cards. There are two brief scenes that appear to be early two strip Technicolor. I gather they are actually colored in some way but they look amazing nevertheless.The shot of Fan Nightclub exterior and the interior scene when Reid dances with the flapper is glorious use of color and stage design. The Synne scenes (including leopard) are fun.This is a fun film to have. The restoration of super saturated color and full color title cards is amazing and the music is very good. If anyone wants to see a silent film and be surprised they should check out this film! J E F

"The Affairs of Anatole" is another marriage infidelity film from Producer/Director Cecil B. De Mille. Its a white washed story of a socialite's affairs with three women told in three separate stories.Wealthy socialite Anatole DeWitt Spencer...now there's a moniker (Wallace Reid) has been married to his wife Vivian (Gloria Swanson) for a mere ten weeks and feels that the "honey" is gone from the honeymoon and grows restless.While night clubbing with Vivian and his close friend Max Runyon (Elliott Dexter) he sees an old school sweetheart, Emilie Dixon (Wanda Hawley) in the company of a rich old playboy, Gordon Bronson (Theodore Roberts). Feeling that he needs to "save her soul", he tells Vivian that he must save Emilie from herself. Anatole sets her up in an apartment and tries to turn her into a socialite...a sort of "My Fair Lady" scenario. He tries to get her to throw away the jewelry that Bronson had given her, but she hides the jewels from him. Once a gold digger, always a gold digger, Emilie goes back to Bronson and ..............Anatole goes back to Vivian and the two decide on a second honeymoon. A farmer's wife, Annie Elliot (Agnes Ayres) has just stolen church funds from her husband Abner (Monte Blue) that he had been keeping for the local church. As luck would have it, the despondent Annie is just jumping from a bridge in a suicide attempt as Anatole and Vivian's boat is rowing under the bridge. Anatole saves the woman and brings her ashore to administer first aid. While Vivan goes for help, Annie sees her chance to redeem herself by stealing Anatole's fat wallet that has fallen conveniently to the ground. Playing up to him, she steals the wallet and.............Next Anatole meets "vamp" Satan Synne...there's another name (Bebe Daniels) who is a thinly disguised prostitute whom Anatole decides to save. Satan in reality is Mary Deacon who is living the life to get money to finance her war veteran husband's many operations. Complete with an octopus' tentacled cloak, she puts her coils around Anatole to obtain the $3,000 required for her husband's latest operation and.....................Repentant, Anatole returns to Vivian yet again only to find that she is on an "all nighter" with his best friend Max and...................Even though De Mille tries to paint each of these ladies as pure of heart, there's no doubt what is REALLY going on. The fact that Vivian keeps taking Anatole back after each affair is a little hard to believe. But hey, this was 1921.Wallace Reid was now a major star as was the diminutive Gloria Swanson. Reid, a life long alcoholic, was now addicted to morphine resulting from an accident in 1919. This combination proved lethal and Reid died prematurely at the age of 31 in 1923. Bebe Daniels was just coming into her own as a star after years in Harold Lloyd comedies. Agnes Ayres received a measure of immortality, as the girl carried off by Rudolph Valentino in "The Shiek" (1921).Others in the cast include Theodore Kosloff as an Indian mystic, Raymond Hatton as a music teacher, Polly Moran as an orchestra leader and William (don't call me Hoppy) Boyd as a party guest at the apartment of Emilie.Interesting but..........

In the era from 1910-1928, there were a lot of very melodramatic morality tale movies. The audiences loved them, but to today's viewers, they might seem a bit predictable and silly. As for me, I've seen so many of them that after a while they tend to blend together in my mind. They all seem to involve a husband who begins to wander and ultimately, they return to their good wives by the end of the film.While this one appears to be such a film, at first the husband (Wallace Reid) seems to have the purest of intentions. He meets an old girlfriend from 8th grade and tries to pull her away from a life where she is being supported by rich men. The problem is, she LIKES this sort of life and Reid is already married to Glroia Swanson and his wife naturally resents this! However, because this IS basically a formulaic film, you also know that despite the eventual breakup of the marriage, you know by convention that they MUST be reunited by the final frame! That is my biggest problem with the film--it was generally too predictable and too telegraphed and obvious. For example, when the husband TRIES to be unfaithful, he goes to the home (more of a lair, actually) of Madame Satan Synne (played by Bebe Daniels) to be vamped! This part left me with mixed feelings actually, as the over-the-top home and the octopus outfit she worse was really funny and that deep down she WAS a good woman! But, it all still seemed rather formulaic at the core. Yep,...despite falling in her clutches, only a few minutes later he was back to Gloria.