The Affairs of Anatol (1921)

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This is one of my favourite silent films, very preachy with sly sexual sub-texts as usual from DeMille but with its tongue firmly in its cheek. And with the passage of time it (presently) reflects back to us a dead world, where people seemed to think, talk and behave in strange ways, and where innocence and sublety are intermixed.Man with honourable knight errant tendencies rescues pretty girls and repeatedly gets burned much to his and his faithful wife's disgust, eventually causing her to paint the town red in revenge. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson are perfect in their respective roles of handsome couple Anatol and Vivian, bringing an old fashioned story not only to life but to a credible and dignified level too. Their staunch friend Max seems to have a lot to think of judging by all the gurning asides he pulls. Of the three distinct sections in the film the third with Bebe Daniels as Madame Satan Synne in her quasi-brothel is the most fascinating, the money shots for me being of her introducing Anatol to her startling companion in her bedroom. What a vamp. You will have to draw your own conclusions at the end with the unanswered question but seeing Max's blissful face I know what I think… But it ill behooves me to talk about any of them after all! There's nice camera-work and also nice tinting throughout which usually helps.It's essential to see if you're a silent film fan, and hopefully still enjoyable if you're not but you'll probably be severely puzzled by all of the moralising.

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.

Checked this rare Cecil B. DeMille silent at my local library intrigued by the premise of seeing a Gloria Swanson silent movie in its entirety for the first time. Turns out she's sort of a supporting character since Anatol is actually a man played by Wallace Reid. He's Anatol, a.k.a. Tony, Spencer whose marriage to Vivian (Swanson) is constantly tested by his involvement in three other women: Emile Dixon (Wanda Hawley), Annie Elliott (Agnes Ayres), and Satan Synne (Bebe Daniels). Emile is an old school friend of Tony's who's now in the company of middle aged rich man Gordon Bronson (Theodore Roberts). Annie is the wife of country pastor Abner (Monte Blue) whose church money she unknowingly stole to buy a dress. Ms. Synne is a nightclub entertainer whose World War I veteran husband is enduring a long hospital stay. About Emile: Tony's just wasting his time trying to get her away from pearls which she loves and is too possessive with her on that front especially since he won't do the same about his wife's picture. And his breaking the furniture that HE bought! Tsk, tsk. That segment's too long anyway, though there's some amusement with Raymond Hatton as a violin teacher. About Annie: I can't believe his kissing her after saving her from a drowning which conveniently happens as his wife shows up with a doctor. And it's obviously a pre-Code movie when Annie gets to keep the stolen money with her husband none the wiser! Short enough in my book. About Satan: This was the most touching segment in the movie with Tony intending to really cheat on his wife (not completely realizing vice versa on Vivian's part) and then finding out the truth about Ms. Synne's husband's illness as he then decides to let her keep the $3000 as charity. Also, Polly Moran is briefly amusing as an orchestra leader. Also liked Elliot Dexter as Max Runyon, friend of the Spencers and Theodore Kosloff as Nazzer Singh, a hypnotist who temporarily casts Vivian under a spell. Not a great movie but it certainly has its merits and DeMille provides some great close-ups in the final segment with some wonderful color tints that took my breath away a little. How "happy" the ending is depends on one's view of how trusting the couple really is but it was satisfactory to my tastes. Worth at least a look for anyone interested in old movies. P.S. Ms. Swanson was born in the same town I was: Chicago, Ill. And the writer of the original story, Arthur Schnitzler, would also pen "Traumnovelle" which would be the source of Stanley Kubrick's final work, Eyes Wide Shut.

The plot and an analysis is elsewhere here well done with Ron Oliver's review. Suffice to say that the hand-tinted titles and the sepia-toned film itself, hinting at reds along with its browns are a real joy to behold. Seeing so many luminaries in one film is also a treat - Reid, Swanson, Moran, Daniels, Ayres.However, the film could easily have been a half hour shorter with less wear and tear on the viewer and with virtually little loss in the morality tale or sense of the work. It's all enjoyable but it does drag a bit.Grapevine and Kino both have excellent prints. Important for its director and his non-epic style as well as for the presence of Reid and Swanson, but far from a great or important film.