Manslaughter (1922 film)
1922 film / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Manslaughter is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Thomas Meighan, Leatrice Joy, and Lois Wilson. It was scripted by Jeanie MacPherson adapted from the novel of the same name by Alice Duer Miller. Art direction and costumes for the film were done by Paul Iribe.[2]
Manslaughter | |
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Directed by | Cecil B. DeMille |
Written by | Jeanie MacPherson |
Based on | Manslaughter (1921 novel) by Alice Duer Miller |
Produced by | Cecil B. DeMille Jesse L. Lasky |
Starring | Leatrice Joy Thomas Meighan Lois Wilson |
Cinematography | L. Guy Wilky Alvin Wyckoff |
Edited by | Anne Bauchens |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes (10 reels; 9,061 feet) |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Budget | $385,000[1] |
The film portrays its main character, Lydia Thorne, as a thrill-seeking, self-entitled, and wild woman who does not have a reputation of thinking before acting. She acts selfishly by dancing with other men in the presence of her husband and not providing help to her maid who is in dire straits due to her son's health. She is eventually taken to court after she crashes into a motorcycle cop during a high-speed chase. She is then prosecuted by her husband, Daniel O'Bannon, a lawyer, and is imprisoned for manslaughter. After her sentence, Lydia comes out of jail to find her husband has become an alcoholic.
As part of Lydia's wild life, the film was one of the first to depict an orgy, as well as other acts considered debaucherous in upper-class society.[3] Manslaughter is generally cited as being the first American feature film to show an erotic kiss between two members of the same sex.[4]
The novel was adapted again by Paramount in 1930 and 1931 in French.[2]