''Men Who Have Made Love to Me'' is a 1918 American silent biographical film starring

Mary MacLane Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – ''c''. August 6, 1929) was a controversial Canadian-born American writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional style of autobiographical writing. MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of Butte".Wat ...

, based on her book ''I, Mary MacLane'' (1917), and directed by

Arthur Berthelet Arthur Rolette Berthelet (October 12,1879September 16, 1949; credited as Rolette Bertheletto, Arthur Berthelet, and Arthur R. Berthelet) was an American actor, stage and film director, dialogue director, and scriptwriter."California Death Index, ...

. The film was produced by early American filmmaker,

George K. Spoor George Kirke Spoor (December 18, 1871 – 24 November 1953) was an early film pioneer who, with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907. He was a founding partner of V-L-S-E, Incorporated, a film distr ...

Cast

as Herself *

Ralph Graves Ralph Graves (born Ralph Horsburgh; January 23, 1900 – February 18, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and actor who appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves had already ...

as The Callow Youth *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as The Literary Man (as R. Paul Harvey) * Cliff Worman as The Younger Son * Alador Prince as The Prize Fighter * Clarence Derwent as The Bank Clerk * Fred Tiden as The Husband of Another

Plot

The story of six affairs of the heart, drawn from controversial feminist author Mary MacLane's 1910 syndicated article(s) by the same name, later published in book form in 1917. None of MacLane's affairs - with "the bank clerk," "the prize-fighter," "the husband of another," and so on - last, and in each of them MacLane emerges dominant. Re-enactments of the love affairs are interspersed with MacLane addressing the camera (while smoking), and talking contemplatively with her maid on the meaning and prospects of love.

Technical Innovations

This film represents the earliest recorded breaking of the fourth wall in serious cinema, as the enigmatic authoress - who portrays herself - interrupts the vignettes onscreen to address the audience directly. This film is also the first in which writer, star, narrator, and subject are unified.

Preservation status

It is not known whether the film currently survives,Progressive Silent Film List: ''Men Who Have Made Love to Me''
at silentera.com and ''Men Who Have Made Love to Me'' is now thought to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

References

External links

*
Mary MacLane's Silent Film Men Who Have Made Love to Me
- The Mary MacLane Project 1918 films American silent feature films American biographical drama films American black-and-white films 1918 drama films 1910s biographical drama films 1910s American films Silent American drama films {{1910s-drama-film-stub