''The Beloved Cheater'' (originally titled ''The Pleasant Devil'') is a 1919 American silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, directed by

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) started his career on stage as an actor and director. He a ...

. It stars

Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...

Doris Pawn Doris Pawn (born Doris Alice Pahn; December 29, 1894 – March 30, 1988) was an American silent era film actress. Early life Pahn was born on December 29, 1894, to Louise Marie Hasse (1867–1925) and Martin Pahn. She had three sister ...

, and

Eileen Percy Eileen Percy (August 1902 – 29 July 1973) was an Irish-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1917 and 1933. Biography Born in Belfast in August 1902, Percy lived in Brooklyn, New York, briefly ...

, and was released on December 6, 1919.

Plot

Kingdon Challoner is in love with and engaged to Eulalie Morgan. The problem is that Eulalie is of the belief that kissing and petting are forbidden prior to marriage. Beside himself, Bruce enlists the help of Bruce Sands, a renowned playboy. The two concoct a plot whereby Sands will have the opportunity to seduce Eulalie, with her believing it is Kingdon. The plan is successful with the exception of Eulalie realizing it is not Kingdon who has seduced her. She breaks off her engagement with Kingdon and proclaims her love for Bruce. However, when Eulalie goes to Bruce's place to let him know the good news, she finds a woman in his bed. Believing the woman to be Bruce's lover, she flees the scene. The woman is not a lover, but Bruce's sister, who is staying with him. When Kingdon arrives, he believes that Bruce has stolen Eulalie away from him. Bruce calms Kingdon down, getting him to understand that he has no design on Eulalie. He instructs Kingdon on how to properly seduce a woman. Kingdon pursues Eulalie, the two are reconciled and move forward with their plans for marriage.

Cast list

as Bruce Sands *

as Dorothy Sands *

as Eulalie Morgan *

Jack Mower Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower move ...

as Kingdon Challoner *

Alice Fleming Alice Fleming, (August 9, 1882 – December 6, 1952) was a character actress in many films who also enjoyed considerable success on Broadway. She is best remembered as the Duchess, Wild Bill Elliott’s aunt in the Republic Pictures' Red Ryder ...

as Mrs. Thorndyke-Brook *

Frederick Vroom Frederick Vroom (11 November 1857 – 24 June 1942) was a Canadian actor of the silent film era. Vroom appeared in more than 70 films between 1912 and 1939, mostly in supporting roles and bit parts. He played featured roles in Buster Keaton' ...

as Mr. Challoner *

Andrew Robson Andrew Michael Robson Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 1964) is an English professional Contract bridge, bridge player, writer and teacher. He is a British and English international. Robson is the bridge columnist for ''The Times'' and ...

as Mr. Morgan * James Wang as himself *

Kathleen Kirkham Kathleen Kirkham Woodruff (April 15, 1895 – November 7, 1961) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. Career Kathleen Kirkham was born on April 15, 1895 to Mrs. L.B. Kirkham, who was a stage actress prior to her marriage. Kirkh ...

Production

In July 1919, it was announced that Lew Cody's first film for Astra Film would be entitled ''The Beloved Cheater''. The film was produced at Gasnier's studio in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. In conjunction with the release of the film, the Robertson-Cole Exchange conducted a "love-letter" campaign, which offered $500 to the best love letter submitted. There were also monetary prizes for second, third, fourth and 5 fifth places. By the time of the picture's release, the studio had received over 3,500 entries from all over the United States. The film was in post-production, with the finishing touches being put in place by September 20, 1919, and by mid-October the film was ready for release. It was shown for the first time at a preview in the

Astor Hotel Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Shubert Alley, ...

on October 6, 1919. Robertson-Cole purchased the rights to distribute ''The Beloved Cheater'', along with five other upcoming Lew Cody films, in mid-October 1919. The film premiered in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

on December 29, 1919, at the Criterion Theatre. Fifteen hundred movie-goers braved a snowstorm standing in line for the film's opening.

Reception

Pre-release critiques of the film called it "strikingly original". ''The Film Daily'' gave the film a positive review, calling it a "pleasing and very satisfying production". They complimented the performances the entire cast, and specifically highlighted those of Cody and Percy. They also found the title cards unobtrusive, the sets done with elegance and taste, and the overall production quality excellent. While they did take issue with a thin plot, they found the overall script contained "very interesting character studies in situations that at times are quite dramatic and always interesting.

Notes

The film spawned a hit popular song, "That Beloved Cheater of Mine", which was distributed by Gilbert & Friedland.

References

External links

Announcement for the film
in ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

''
Ad for the love letter promotion for the film
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beloved Cheater, The Film Booking Offices of America films Films directed by Christy Cabanne American silent feature films American black-and-white films Silent American comedy films 1919 comedy films 1910s American films