''Hypocrites'', also known as ''The Hypocrites'' and ''The Naked Truth'', is a 1915 silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by Lois Weber (1879–1939). The film contains several full nude scenes, and is said to include the first appearance of full frontal nudity in a non-pornographic film by an American actress (Margaret Edwards). The film is regarded as anticlerical, and the nudity was justified by its religious context.

Cast

Courtenay Foote Courtenay Foote (22 November 1878 – 4 May 1925) was an English stage and silent film actor. Born in Yorkshire, England, Foote attended Oxford, studied engineering in Germany, and worked as a civil engineer in Scotland. Friends who heard ...

as Gabriel, the Ascetic / Gabriel, a minister * Herbert Standing as The Abbot / A pillar of the church * Margaret Edwards as Truth * Myrtle Stedman as a nun / A choir singer * Adele Farrington as The Queen / An aristocrat * Dixie Carr as a Magdalen * Nigel De Brulier as a member of the choir / monk * Matty Roubert as Boy kneeling beside cradle * Charles Villiers as the Minister * Vera Lewis as Parishioner ''(uncredited)'' Cast notes: * Margaret Edwards was 17 years old when she was discovered by Lois Weber.

Production

Writer-director Lois Weber attributed

Adolphe Faugeron ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...

's painting ''La Vérité, or The Truth'' as the inspiration for the film. During shooting, production had to be moved three times, due to the lack of a permanent studio. Edwards' scenes, in which she appeared nude, were shot on a closed set, with only Weber, who directed the scenes, Edwards and a cameraman. Dal Clawson devised special photographic techniques for the film, which was shot by George W. Hill. Sometimes six exposures were involved. The use in the film of traveling

double exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

sequences of the woman is considered impressive for 1915. It is thought that Weber may have re-edited the film after early review were published, before its official opening on January 20, 1915 at the Longacre Theater in New York City.

Reception

The film was passed by the British Board of Film Censors. However, because of the full and recurring nudity through the film, it caused riots in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, was

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

in Ohio, and was subject to censorship in Boston when the mayor demanded that the film negatives be painted over to clothe the woman.Lindsay, Kitty (November 6, 2014
"Forgotten Women of Film History: Lois Weber"
''

Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...

'' The film was re-issued in 1916. Most of the film has survived, though some scenes have suffered from some serious nitrate decomposition in places especially at the beginning and cannot be restored. A print of the film is kept in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Further viewing

* * * * * * * * *

References

External links