Men Who Have Made Love to Me

Men Who Have Made Love to Me is a 1918 American silent biographical film starring Mary MacLane, based on her book I, Mary MacLane (1917), and directed by Arthur Berthelet.[1][2] The film was produced by early American filmmaker, George K. Spoor.

Men Who Have Made Love to Me
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Directed byArthur Berthelet
Produced byGeorge K. Spoor
Written byE. C. Lowe
Mary MacLane
Based onI, Mary MacLane
by Mary McLane
StarringMary MacLane
Ralph Graves
Paul Harvey
Production
company
Perfection Pictures / Essanay Film Manufacturing Company
Distributed byGeorge Kleine System
Release date
  • February 1, 1918 (1918-02-01)
Running time
70 minutes (7 reels)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Cast
  • Mary MacLane as Herself
  • Ralph Graves as The Callow Youth
  • Paul Harvey 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.[3]

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.[4] 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,[5] and Men Who Have Made Love to Me is now thought to be a lost film.

References
  1. From Baltimore to Bohemia: The Letters of H.L. Mencken and George Sterling. Madison NJ [u.a.]: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press. 2001. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-8386-3869-9.
  2. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:Men Who Have Made Love to Me
  3. MacLane, Mary (January 1918). "The Movies—and Me". Photoplay. Vol. 13 no. 2. Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company. pp. 24–25.
  4. https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-mary-maclane/
  5. Progressive Silent Film List: Men Who Have Made Love to Me at silentera.com


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