''The Marriage Cheat'' is a 1924 American 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

John Griffith Wray John Griffith Wray (August 30, 1881 – July 15, 1929) was an American stage actor and director who later became a noted Hollywood silent film director. He worked on 19 films between 1913 and 1929 that included ''Anna Christie'' (1923) and '' Huma ...

and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars

Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Early life Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler. She at ...

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor whose career spanned both silent films and talkies. He became a leading man during the 1920s, known for his debonair and sophisticated screen presence. He was no ...

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later re ...

Laska Winter Laska Winter (August 28, 1905 – August 8, 1980) was an American film actress active during the silent and early sound era. She was also known by the stage name Winter Blossom. Although she often played exotic roles, Winter was not Asian or Pac ...

, Henry A. Barrows, and

J. P. Lockney John P. Loughlin, known professionally as John P. Lockney, was an American actor of the silent film era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.. Partial filmography * '' The Bride of ...

. The film was released on April 5, 1924, by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Octavia leads an unhappy life with her dissipated husband, Bob Canfield, who is a millionaire. While cruising in the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, most commonly refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. The term South Sea may also be used synonymously for Oceania, or even more narrowly for Polynesia or the Polynesian Triangle ...

, she leaps overboard. Paul Mayne, a young missionary, finds her on an island beach. Her baby is born before her husband discovers her. In the interval she has learned to love Mayne, but yields to her marital duty's call and prepares to rejoin Canfield. In a storm the yacht is wrecked and the wretched husband drowns. Paul fights his way through the surging waves in a frail canoe and rescues the young mother and her baby. With the death of Canfield, Paul and Octavia face a happy future together.

Cast

Production

Finances and cash flow were always a concern of the independent film studios. When ''The Marriage Cheat'' was set for filming on location at Palm Springs and Palm Canyon,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in November 1923, the Thomas H. Ince Corporation was able to borrow $200,000 from the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...

at an interest rate of 7 percent using the film negative as security.

Preservation

With no copies listed for any film archives,Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Database: ''The Marriage Cheat''
/ref> ''The Marriage Cheat'' is a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

References

External links

*
Still
at silenthollywood.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Marriage Cheat, The 1924 films 1920s English-language films Silent American drama films 1924 drama films First National Pictures films Films directed by John Griffith Wray American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1920s American films English-language drama films