Shortly after its premiere, in New Jersey, this film was shown in Pennsylvania, where the State Board of Censors changed the title for screenings around that state to SEX CRUSHED TO EARTH, which is comprehensible for the time, but the work is after being a morality play, with the lead character, Adrienne Renault(Louise Glaum) realizing what the wages of her superficial existence are to be. Adrienne, star of the Frivolity Theatre in New York, enjoys stealing husbands with her major acquisition being Phillip Overman (William Conklin) whose wife she scorns when Mrs. Overman begs for his return; a chorine, Daisy (Peggy Pearce) is impressed by Adrienne's victorious self-absorption, and when the latter disposes of Overman in favor of a millionaire, Dick Wallace (Irving Cummings), the two performers find themselves in competition for him, which buckles the flooring of Adrienne's harsh philosophy. Although baldly a melodrama, SEX has many good moments and effective scenes, is well directed by Fred Niblo, and is a proper showcase for Glaum, who at the time of filming outdistances Theda Bara in the sweepstakes for America's favorite vamp; the titles offer witty art design, editing is smoothly done and Cummings, as a wealthy man about town, gives an outstanding, nuanced performance as the axle of the story.
12 Reviews
What Goes Around Comes Around, Adrienne
TimesSquareAngel2 August 2005
This film was released on VHS by Grapevine Video Inc. in the 1990's but seems to be no longer in stock. The print is a little fuzzy but does not suffer from nitrate decomposition.
Despite the enticingly frank title this is actually a morality tale of a woman who is done to as she has done unto others. The costumes and sets are deliriously bizarre and outré and the direction solid. Miss Glaum, a Theda Bara competitor, is a solid and attractive actress who seems a touch wholesome compared to more recent screen hussies. Whereas Theda Bara seems to have played women who were beyond redemption, Glaum does succumb to the lure of marital contentment only to discover that her former protegé has snagged her rich, indolent playboy husband. Ms. Glaum in her full vamp mode wears a lot of loose, off the shoulder gowns, smokes up a storm and knocks down alcoholic beverages with gusto. Except for some smooching and a few legs on the lap, not much of the titular activity is seen on the screen though heavily implied.
Despite the enticingly frank title this is actually a morality tale of a woman who is done to as she has done unto others. The costumes and sets are deliriously bizarre and outré and the direction solid. Miss Glaum, a Theda Bara competitor, is a solid and attractive actress who seems a touch wholesome compared to more recent screen hussies. Whereas Theda Bara seems to have played women who were beyond redemption, Glaum does succumb to the lure of marital contentment only to discover that her former protegé has snagged her rich, indolent playboy husband. Ms. Glaum in her full vamp mode wears a lot of loose, off the shoulder gowns, smokes up a storm and knocks down alcoholic beverages with gusto. Except for some smooching and a few legs on the lap, not much of the titular activity is seen on the screen though heavily implied.
That Nagging Urge
wes-connors16 September 2007
Louise Glaum (as Adrienne Renault) is a nightclub "Vamp" who enjoys carefree sex with the married men who come to see her dance at New York's gayest midnight frolic club - "The Frivolity". As the film opens, Ms. Glaum is having a satisfying affair with William Conklin (as Philip Overman); he is stepping out on lonely wife Myrtle Stedman (as Mrs. Overman) to see Glaum perform her sensational "Spider Dance". Glaum has taken new "Frivolity" club beauty Peggy Pearce (as Daisy Henderson) under her wing - taking her to parties and sharing her "you only live once" philosophy. Glaum wants Ms. Pearce to avoid "fly-by-nights", and hook up with a wealthy married man. Well - wouldn't you know it, but, very soon, the frivolous Glaum gets that "nest-building" urge! She finds Irving Cummings (as Dick Wallace), and settles down. Men being men, Glaum soon finds herself sitting home alone, while Mr. Cummings steps out to "The Frivolity" and finds a mistress - who can she be?
The luridly titled "Sex" is really an old-fashioned morality story; specifically, it preaches, "The standards of morality eternally demand that the naked soul of Sex be stripped of its falsehoods - which can only be atoned for through bitter tears." Satan even makes a cameo appearance; laughing at Glaum as she parties with Cummings, the devil knows what is in store for the couple! Note, however, that the film offers hope for redemption, as evidenced in its extended coverage of Mr. and Mrs. Overman's storyline.
Glaum is great as the "Partying Mistress" turned "Dutiful Wife" - she is very convincing, in a wide ranging role. Watch for the scene where Glaum discovers the identity of her husband's mistress; it's an expertly performed silent scene. The supporting cast is also effective - Pearce (aka Viola Barry) and Cummings (later, a successful director) playing well opposite Glaum. And, Fred Niblo directed "Sex" with a sure touch. Despite its strengths, however, the styles and situations on-screen make the film seem more like a silent relic than a silent classic.
****** Sex (3/29/20) Fred Niblo ~ Louise Glaum, Irving Cummings, Viola Barry
The luridly titled "Sex" is really an old-fashioned morality story; specifically, it preaches, "The standards of morality eternally demand that the naked soul of Sex be stripped of its falsehoods - which can only be atoned for through bitter tears." Satan even makes a cameo appearance; laughing at Glaum as she parties with Cummings, the devil knows what is in store for the couple! Note, however, that the film offers hope for redemption, as evidenced in its extended coverage of Mr. and Mrs. Overman's storyline.
Glaum is great as the "Partying Mistress" turned "Dutiful Wife" - she is very convincing, in a wide ranging role. Watch for the scene where Glaum discovers the identity of her husband's mistress; it's an expertly performed silent scene. The supporting cast is also effective - Pearce (aka Viola Barry) and Cummings (later, a successful director) playing well opposite Glaum. And, Fred Niblo directed "Sex" with a sure touch. Despite its strengths, however, the styles and situations on-screen make the film seem more like a silent relic than a silent classic.
****** Sex (3/29/20) Fred Niblo ~ Louise Glaum, Irving Cummings, Viola Barry
The Homewreckers
movingpicturegal21 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Interesting morality tale about a vamp named Adrienne Renault (Louise Glaum) who works the "midnight frolic" at a New York nightclub where she performs this season's sensation "the Spider Dance", which begins by her floating down from the ceiling clinging to a giant spider web. When not dressed up in spider attire, this gal is busy running around and attending wild parties at four in the morning with a married "admirer" named Philip, who leaves his poor wife home alone and lonely, and at the same time Adrienne has taken under her wing, Daisy, an innocent, small-town girl who also dances at the club. Adrienne shows "the kid" the ropes, telling her to "grab what she can get" and not worry whether a man is already married. Soon Philip's wife has hired a detective who gives up the dope on hubby's affair and next thing you know, they are divorced. So - Adrienne's got him all for herself - but not for long 'cause she soon has her vampish eyes on yet another rich man! And what goes around comes around - as soon our vamp learns her lesson about stealing husbands and gets her comeuppance the hard way.
This film is quite good, if a slight bit preachy. The wild nightclubs and scenes of frolicsome party-goers are fun to watch and Louise Glaum does a fine job switching from leopard-print kimono wearing, cigarette puffing, ostrich feather fan waving home-wrecker to good girl trying to run her own home. The film has well-done artwork on each title card giving an interesting reflection of the action currently on screen. The print of this on the DVD I saw looked decent, just a bit faded but fairly good as a whole. It featured an appropriate organ score. Worth seeing.
This film is quite good, if a slight bit preachy. The wild nightclubs and scenes of frolicsome party-goers are fun to watch and Louise Glaum does a fine job switching from leopard-print kimono wearing, cigarette puffing, ostrich feather fan waving home-wrecker to good girl trying to run her own home. The film has well-done artwork on each title card giving an interesting reflection of the action currently on screen. The print of this on the DVD I saw looked decent, just a bit faded but fairly good as a whole. It featured an appropriate organ score. Worth seeing.
more classic than relic
kekseksa1 February 2017
I think anyone with an interest in cinema history and also with genuine appreciation of early films (not inclined that is to think in terms, now thankfully outmoded, of waxwork actors and "silent relics") will be impressed with how good this film is and will be surprised it is so little known.
It follows in some ways in the lineage of the classic Theda Bara vamp film of 1914, A Fool There Was, but that film, by contrast, is rather over-rated on account of its historical importance and is a much less believable account of a vamp (Yevgeny Bauer's 1914 Ditya bolshogo goroda/Child of a Big City is a rather better film on the same subject). But both these films portray the "vamp" as a horror (A Fool There Was following Kipling's somewhat mysogynist poem), even if the Bauer, unlike the Bara film, does place the behaviour of the woman in a believable social context.
Glaum's vamp in this film is a much more sympathetic character. She is for a start as much victim as predator, an aspect that had come to the fore in later in more nuanced versions of the vamp (Pastrone's Tigre Real 1916 for instance is already a case in point). In fact Glaum is less like a vamp here and more like the quasi-feminist heroines of some films of the early thirties (the 1933 Baby Face is probably the best) before the more formal enforcement of the Hays Code made it rather more difficult to portray "immoral" women as simply individuals battling to survive in an unequal world (from a point of view both of class and gender).
The film is framed as an "exploitation" film (and the producer Paker Read was already something of a specialist) but this is already a device necessary, particularly in US films, to avoid censorship. Which it did very successfully in this case. The film met with a bit of flack but received rave notices with the papers carefully utilising the supposed "moral" aspect of the film to justify it while at the same time praising the honesty of Read's approach. One can find a very interesting sample of these reviews in the appropriate Wikipedia entry.
Finally praise for the mise en scène which is unusually good for a US film of this period (reminiscent of the more "realist" Italian films of the period). There is a fine scene for instance where Daisy, the vamp's naive protégée, is in the foreground watching events unfold amongst the triangle of main characters deep in the background, two rooms beyond. The copy that I saw is rather poor and this is a film that could certainly do with sympathetic restoration in which case I do not doubt it would be regarded as rather more of a classic than a relic.
As for the ending of the film, it is rather truer to life than those of the thirties films where reform after marriage is its own romantic reward. Here the more melodramatic possibilities are sensibly avoided, the vicious circle is well portrayed and there are worse punishments than being a lonely but wealthy woman cruising around the world.
Fred Niblo is an undeservedly forgotten direct, responsible five years later for quite the best film version of the Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur.
It follows in some ways in the lineage of the classic Theda Bara vamp film of 1914, A Fool There Was, but that film, by contrast, is rather over-rated on account of its historical importance and is a much less believable account of a vamp (Yevgeny Bauer's 1914 Ditya bolshogo goroda/Child of a Big City is a rather better film on the same subject). But both these films portray the "vamp" as a horror (A Fool There Was following Kipling's somewhat mysogynist poem), even if the Bauer, unlike the Bara film, does place the behaviour of the woman in a believable social context.
Glaum's vamp in this film is a much more sympathetic character. She is for a start as much victim as predator, an aspect that had come to the fore in later in more nuanced versions of the vamp (Pastrone's Tigre Real 1916 for instance is already a case in point). In fact Glaum is less like a vamp here and more like the quasi-feminist heroines of some films of the early thirties (the 1933 Baby Face is probably the best) before the more formal enforcement of the Hays Code made it rather more difficult to portray "immoral" women as simply individuals battling to survive in an unequal world (from a point of view both of class and gender).
The film is framed as an "exploitation" film (and the producer Paker Read was already something of a specialist) but this is already a device necessary, particularly in US films, to avoid censorship. Which it did very successfully in this case. The film met with a bit of flack but received rave notices with the papers carefully utilising the supposed "moral" aspect of the film to justify it while at the same time praising the honesty of Read's approach. One can find a very interesting sample of these reviews in the appropriate Wikipedia entry.
Finally praise for the mise en scène which is unusually good for a US film of this period (reminiscent of the more "realist" Italian films of the period). There is a fine scene for instance where Daisy, the vamp's naive protégée, is in the foreground watching events unfold amongst the triangle of main characters deep in the background, two rooms beyond. The copy that I saw is rather poor and this is a film that could certainly do with sympathetic restoration in which case I do not doubt it would be regarded as rather more of a classic than a relic.
As for the ending of the film, it is rather truer to life than those of the thirties films where reform after marriage is its own romantic reward. Here the more melodramatic possibilities are sensibly avoided, the vicious circle is well portrayed and there are worse punishments than being a lonely but wealthy woman cruising around the world.
Fred Niblo is an undeservedly forgotten direct, responsible five years later for quite the best film version of the Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur.
Karma time! It's a decent film but the very end disappoints.
planktonrules7 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Louise Glaum is pretty much forgotten today. Despite a less than glamorous name, she plays the lead--a nightclub performer who LOVES to seduce married men. She seems heartless and selfish. Eventually, however, this vamp marries a very rich man and is surprised to see how much she enjoys domestic life. However, her beloved husband, Dick, begins cheating on her--with one of the dancers that Glaum instructed on how to be an über-vamp! Talk about irony.
All in all, this is a very good silent film with a nice moral lesson. So, despite the very salacious title, the film is actually a nice endorsement of fidelity...though like so many of the Pre-Code films, it takes a long time getting there and glories adultery in the process! Apart from the interesting story, I also really loved the costumes. Seeing Glaum wearing a spidery outfit as she performs was a hoot! My only reservation is the very end--it looks as if perhaps part of the film is missing and they just tacked a very moralistic intertitle card there to try to hide this.
All in all, this is a very good silent film with a nice moral lesson. So, despite the very salacious title, the film is actually a nice endorsement of fidelity...though like so many of the Pre-Code films, it takes a long time getting there and glories adultery in the process! Apart from the interesting story, I also really loved the costumes. Seeing Glaum wearing a spidery outfit as she performs was a hoot! My only reservation is the very end--it looks as if perhaps part of the film is missing and they just tacked a very moralistic intertitle card there to try to hide this.
Dreary!
JohnHowardReid6 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Louise Glaum, who made such a memorable appearance in Hell's Hinges, is the star of Unknown Video's 9/10 DVD of Sex (1920).
Despite the come-on title, however, Sex is the dreariest of dreary movies. True, it has some fascinating night club scenes, but over-rated director Fred Niblo can do little with the clichéd plot.
What's worse, Niblo not only allows Peggy Pearce to steal most of Glaum's scenes, but Irving Cummings to dominate her as well.
So, despite the fact that she has the star role, Miss Glaum does not emerge from the movie at all well. No wonder she retired from the screen in 1921 (although she did make a half-hearted attempt at a comeback in a Hope Hampton vehicle, Fifty-Fifty, in 1925).
Despite the come-on title, however, Sex is the dreariest of dreary movies. True, it has some fascinating night club scenes, but over-rated director Fred Niblo can do little with the clichéd plot.
What's worse, Niblo not only allows Peggy Pearce to steal most of Glaum's scenes, but Irving Cummings to dominate her as well.
So, despite the fact that she has the star role, Miss Glaum does not emerge from the movie at all well. No wonder she retired from the screen in 1921 (although she did make a half-hearted attempt at a comeback in a Hope Hampton vehicle, Fifty-Fifty, in 1925).
It's All About The Title
springfieldrental24 September 2021
Never had a provocative movie title produced such hysteria as well as a huge payoff at the box office as March 1920's "Sex." Yet what the billboard promised and what Thomas Ince's Studio delivered was a common tame melodrama. Sure, sex was the motivating force behind the actions of the film's characters, but the manipulations of the single women behind the scenes of married men carrying on illicit affairs with a morality-play message was the underlying theme of "Sex."
The film by any other name would have been a blip in cinematic history. But its title created such controversy that the buzz behind the marketing before the real details of the movie's plot emerged created long lines at movie theaters. "Sex" was released before a national moral code was introduced by the film industry. The country's strictest state censor board, Pennsylvania, reviewed the movie and didn't see anything wrong with it besides its title. It insisted for the studio change its name to 'Sex Crushed To Earth' before the movie could be shown in that state, which it did.
The film's producer, J. Parker Read, ever the marketeer, defended the motion picture. He wrote in the Los Angeles Times: "Sex has an important part in life either for evil or good, and it is the producers' privilege to show the error of the former and the virtue of the latter. Anybody who would wish to ban sex pictures from the screen, would be simply eliminating a highly important, if not the most important phase of life from the pictures." The trouble with Parker's statement was it was all hype. The plot showcases a married millionaire on the town falling for a stage dancer played by Louise Glaum. The wife finds out about his affair and asks Glaum to stop. She refuses, but by the time the wife files for divorce, the dancer is off onto her next affair with yet another millionaire, whom she marries. Things get sticky when Glaum's friend Daisy, naive about married men before Louise sets her straight on the advantages of such affairs, successfully hones in on Glaum's new husband. Naturally, the irony of Glaum's situation when Daisy refuses to stop with the affair when asked boomerangs on the previous vamp Louise.
The actress Glaum had an interesting life as her movie career ended after acting in a handful of films post-"Sex." She returned to the stage, and with the marriage to a movie theater owner, eventually opened or bought several stage venues in the L. A. area--all which were successful operations.
The film's producer, J. Parker Read, ever the marketeer, defended the motion picture. He wrote in the Los Angeles Times: "Sex has an important part in life either for evil or good, and it is the producers' privilege to show the error of the former and the virtue of the latter. Anybody who would wish to ban sex pictures from the screen, would be simply eliminating a highly important, if not the most important phase of life from the pictures." The trouble with Parker's statement was it was all hype. The plot showcases a married millionaire on the town falling for a stage dancer played by Louise Glaum. The wife finds out about his affair and asks Glaum to stop. She refuses, but by the time the wife files for divorce, the dancer is off onto her next affair with yet another millionaire, whom she marries. Things get sticky when Glaum's friend Daisy, naive about married men before Louise sets her straight on the advantages of such affairs, successfully hones in on Glaum's new husband. Naturally, the irony of Glaum's situation when Daisy refuses to stop with the affair when asked boomerangs on the previous vamp Louise.
The actress Glaum had an interesting life as her movie career ended after acting in a handful of films post-"Sex." She returned to the stage, and with the marriage to a movie theater owner, eventually opened or bought several stage venues in the L. A. area--all which were successful operations.
Glaum goes from glad to glum
scsu197530 November 2022
Adrienne Renault is a stage performer at the Frivolity Theatre in New York City. She is carrying on with Philip Overman, a married man. Daisy Henderson, a young dancer in the act, is naïve in the ways of romantic affairs, so Adrienne takes her under her wing. Overman's wife confronts Adrienne, and while they are talking, Overman shows up to bring Adrienne flowers. The Overman marriage quickly goes into the dumper. Adrienne now sets her sights on rich Dick Wallace. She marries him, and discovers she actually has fallen for him. She is ready to settle down to a life of wedded bliss. Daisy, now a star at the theatre, begins to carry on with Dick. Adrienne finds out, and then takes a good hard look at her life.
This is a pretty entertaining film. There are so many places where this movie could have devolved into parody, but Glaum really holds this together. Her transformation from vamp to the wronged wife is quite remarkable. She gets to wear some nice outfits (not including her spider-woman outfit in the opening scenes of her act), and is very attractive.
In the closing shot, there is little doubt that the audience feels great sympathy for her. I didn't find Irving Cummings (as Dick Wallace) particularly good-looking, but there was certainly nothing wrong with his acting. (Although IMDb lists the character as "Dave," he is clearly listed as "Dick" on the title cards.) It's a shame I could not see a better print. In addition to some scenes being difficult to see, several of the title cards were almost impossible to read. Many of these title cards had some interesting art work on them, to reflect the "mood" of the dialogue or narration - but the art work was barely visible in some cases.
This is a pretty entertaining film. There are so many places where this movie could have devolved into parody, but Glaum really holds this together. Her transformation from vamp to the wronged wife is quite remarkable. She gets to wear some nice outfits (not including her spider-woman outfit in the opening scenes of her act), and is very attractive.
In the closing shot, there is little doubt that the audience feels great sympathy for her. I didn't find Irving Cummings (as Dick Wallace) particularly good-looking, but there was certainly nothing wrong with his acting. (Although IMDb lists the character as "Dave," he is clearly listed as "Dick" on the title cards.) It's a shame I could not see a better print. In addition to some scenes being difficult to see, several of the title cards were almost impossible to read. Many of these title cards had some interesting art work on them, to reflect the "mood" of the dialogue or narration - but the art work was barely visible in some cases.
Strong writing, acting, & visuals vs. more common facets
I_Ailurophile4 April 2023
Even by some of the high standards of the silent era, this movie benefited from some outstanding labor behind the scenes. The sets are gorgeous, the costume design is marvelous (especially women's sartorial arrangements), and the hair and makeup work is splendid. Even the intertitles are graced with lovely, detailed illustrations to add flair. Meanwhile, though the narrative covers some familiar silent territory of a free-spirited woman who plays fast and loose with men's hearts, screenwriter C. Gardner Sullivan fills his screenplay with scenes that frankly exceed what one commonly supposes of early cinema and the rigid censorial standards thereof. We get instances of highly flirtatious interactions between the genders (downright scandalous for the time) well beyond what other pictures dared to get away with, or were allowed to, to say nothing of scenes of otherwise raucous behavior befitting what would become known as "the Roaring Twenties" (the thirty-minute "opening scene" of Damien Chazelle's 'Babylon' comes to mind, though far less extreme). It's to the immense credit of Sullivan, filmmaker Fred Niblo, and his cast and crew that everyone was on board with pushing the envelope of what was commonly deemed acceptable in features at the time - and moreover, that 1920's 'Sex' is such an engaging, entertaining film on its own merits.
Yes, the more provocative elements of the title (including its very name) absolutely help it to stand out among its kin, not least when the essence of the plot boils down to a thrust we've seen time and again. Even setting these aside, however, I think 'Sex' is characterized by terrific work across the board that really leaves its mark. Dialogue as conveyed by intertitles is sharp and biting, with some piercing cleverness. The scene writing at large, even less the most willfully defiant cases, is rich and flavorful - concretely building the tableau piece by piece, but also plainly feeling sufficiently open and undefined to allow the actors and director to explore each moment and make it their own. To be sure, Niblo orchestrates shots and scenes with obvious keen intelligence, sagely capturing some excellent fragments in time - including wonderful, carefully considered close-ups - and to that point, cinematographer Charles J. Stumar is surely to be commended as well. Still, maybe I'm just speculating, but maybe even Niblo's direction is pointedly free and welcoming just like the scene writing; I get a sense that the cast, given an opportunity to let go and truly let the characters and situations take over, revel in the freedom that the production grants.
Thus is Louise Glaum able to embody Adrienne with nuanced foundations of conniving and manipulation, but also stark, outward sex appeal and frivolity, belying more complex emotions to come out in time. Peggy Pearce, in the supporting part of Daisy, is just as delightful in portraying the innocent who Adrienne rather takes under her wing, with predictable results; Pearce is arguably even given an equal chance to shine, given Daisy's dramatic character arc. This is hardly to count out supporting players like William Conklin or Irving Cummings, and given relatively little time on-screen, Myrtle Stedman makes a big impression as beleaguered Mrs. Overman. Not to discount Niblo's expert, delicate guiding hand, but the cast really lean into their roles in the storytelling, and from one to the next all contribute superbly to the weaving of a tale of love, lust, and betrayal. I'd even go so far as to say that the acting is typified by more subtlety and natural comportment than what was often true of the silent era, where exaggerated facial expressions and body language tended to reign supreme (especially in the earliest years).
Despite its most uninhibited dalliances, 'Sex' isn't entirely free of the issues of its contemporaries. The eventual turnabout is absorbing, and a major part of the joy of the narrative as a viewer, but the picture also employs a trope that's as empty and tiresome as they come. Just as fiction generally is obsessed with the idea that a man and a woman appearing in scenes together must necessarily become romantically entangled (sigh), older movies loved to aggravatingly emphasize that love and marriage change a woman (gag me with a spoon), and alter their mindset and priorities (you're kidding me, right?). As much as Sullivan, Niblo, and the ensemble rejoice in resisting cultural strictures in telling their story, in some small measure they nonetheless voluntarily abide by them in a rather sexist way. Unless: might this have been a concession to let the rest of the tale be told as they saw fit? I also think this is imperfect more broadly; the last stretch of the runtime feels slightly overlong, with weaker writing that kind of limply tapers off. For as strong as 'Sex' is for most of its length, it's strikingly meager in its last few minutes - with a finish that's possibly appropriate for the saga, but weirdly heavy-handed, and less than fully convincing as it's sapped of the robust drama that would let it have all due impact.
Yet though the end result may be a tad flawed, such inelegance is quite outweighed by the considerable value the flick has to offer. Some facets are familiar, but any ordinariness and the more deficient aspects of the storytelling are outshone by those ways in which 'Sex' readily grabs one's attention. With vibrant visuals, vivid acting, and vivacious dialogue and scenes front and center more than not, this rises above its less impeccable traits and stands out from similar fare that may possess the same faults, without the same advantages. With all this said, the film still doesn't achieve such heights as to utterly demand viewership; unless you're an avid cinephile and already a devotee of the silent era, you don't need to go out of your way to see this. If you do happen to come across it, however, then I feel it's a cut above many of its brethren, and well worth checking out even with its weaker bits. 'Sex' may not be a revelation, but it's noteworthy, and a fine slice of early cinema.
Yes, the more provocative elements of the title (including its very name) absolutely help it to stand out among its kin, not least when the essence of the plot boils down to a thrust we've seen time and again. Even setting these aside, however, I think 'Sex' is characterized by terrific work across the board that really leaves its mark. Dialogue as conveyed by intertitles is sharp and biting, with some piercing cleverness. The scene writing at large, even less the most willfully defiant cases, is rich and flavorful - concretely building the tableau piece by piece, but also plainly feeling sufficiently open and undefined to allow the actors and director to explore each moment and make it their own. To be sure, Niblo orchestrates shots and scenes with obvious keen intelligence, sagely capturing some excellent fragments in time - including wonderful, carefully considered close-ups - and to that point, cinematographer Charles J. Stumar is surely to be commended as well. Still, maybe I'm just speculating, but maybe even Niblo's direction is pointedly free and welcoming just like the scene writing; I get a sense that the cast, given an opportunity to let go and truly let the characters and situations take over, revel in the freedom that the production grants.
Thus is Louise Glaum able to embody Adrienne with nuanced foundations of conniving and manipulation, but also stark, outward sex appeal and frivolity, belying more complex emotions to come out in time. Peggy Pearce, in the supporting part of Daisy, is just as delightful in portraying the innocent who Adrienne rather takes under her wing, with predictable results; Pearce is arguably even given an equal chance to shine, given Daisy's dramatic character arc. This is hardly to count out supporting players like William Conklin or Irving Cummings, and given relatively little time on-screen, Myrtle Stedman makes a big impression as beleaguered Mrs. Overman. Not to discount Niblo's expert, delicate guiding hand, but the cast really lean into their roles in the storytelling, and from one to the next all contribute superbly to the weaving of a tale of love, lust, and betrayal. I'd even go so far as to say that the acting is typified by more subtlety and natural comportment than what was often true of the silent era, where exaggerated facial expressions and body language tended to reign supreme (especially in the earliest years).
Despite its most uninhibited dalliances, 'Sex' isn't entirely free of the issues of its contemporaries. The eventual turnabout is absorbing, and a major part of the joy of the narrative as a viewer, but the picture also employs a trope that's as empty and tiresome as they come. Just as fiction generally is obsessed with the idea that a man and a woman appearing in scenes together must necessarily become romantically entangled (sigh), older movies loved to aggravatingly emphasize that love and marriage change a woman (gag me with a spoon), and alter their mindset and priorities (you're kidding me, right?). As much as Sullivan, Niblo, and the ensemble rejoice in resisting cultural strictures in telling their story, in some small measure they nonetheless voluntarily abide by them in a rather sexist way. Unless: might this have been a concession to let the rest of the tale be told as they saw fit? I also think this is imperfect more broadly; the last stretch of the runtime feels slightly overlong, with weaker writing that kind of limply tapers off. For as strong as 'Sex' is for most of its length, it's strikingly meager in its last few minutes - with a finish that's possibly appropriate for the saga, but weirdly heavy-handed, and less than fully convincing as it's sapped of the robust drama that would let it have all due impact.
Yet though the end result may be a tad flawed, such inelegance is quite outweighed by the considerable value the flick has to offer. Some facets are familiar, but any ordinariness and the more deficient aspects of the storytelling are outshone by those ways in which 'Sex' readily grabs one's attention. With vibrant visuals, vivid acting, and vivacious dialogue and scenes front and center more than not, this rises above its less impeccable traits and stands out from similar fare that may possess the same faults, without the same advantages. With all this said, the film still doesn't achieve such heights as to utterly demand viewership; unless you're an avid cinephile and already a devotee of the silent era, you don't need to go out of your way to see this. If you do happen to come across it, however, then I feel it's a cut above many of its brethren, and well worth checking out even with its weaker bits. 'Sex' may not be a revelation, but it's noteworthy, and a fine slice of early cinema.
Louise Glaum Appears in a Vampish Spider Costume!!
kidboots8 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Louise Glaum was one of the few actresses who posed a threat (however small) to vamp Theda Bara but she had more strings to her bow than that. She popped up a few times in William S. Hart westerns, usually playing the town bad girl with names like Poppy or "the Firefly" etc, before that she had played "the girl" in the bulk of the "Universal Ike" shorts released by Universal. A 1912 edition of Photoplay predicted a brilliant future for her and prior to her association with J. Parker Read she produced her own films for Paralta. Paralta Plays sprang up in March 1917 and wound down in May 1918 and, aside from Louise Glaum, it's big stars were Henry B. Walthall and Bessie Barriscale as well as two up and coming youngsters - Leatrice Joy and John Gilbert. Even though critics were favourably disposed to Paralta Films, by the end of 1918 the company had vanished, being taken over by Paramount.
Always wanted to see Louise in that spidery creation and finally got the chance when as Adrienne Renault, star attraction at the Frivolity Club - "New York's gayest Midnight Frolic", she makes her sensational entrance from a glittering web doing the Spider Dance - "the sensation of the season". Away from the footlights she is hard boiled and takes Daisy Henderson (Peggy Pearce) under her wing - a young innocent who still blushes at the "mash notes" she receives from married men. Daisy is invited to a wild party (girls dancing on table tops etc) at Adrienne's and next day overhears a heated argument between Adrienne, Phillip (her current flame) and Phillip's wife who has come to confront the pair over their secret affair. There is a divorce and while Adrienne thinks it's a hoot, Phil's heart isn't in the mad whirl anymore and it isn't long before she falls for millionaire businessman Dick Wallace (future director Irving Cummings) who desperately wants to marry her.
It may have had a salacious title but "Sex" is just the age old story with a slight twist. Marriage turns Adrienne into a love struck stay at home wife but Dick is still living like a carefree bachelor and, what's more, is having a fling with Daisy. Once sweet and innocent, Daisy is now a gold star gold digger having had lessons from Adrienne, the Master, who once told Daisy that the wife was the last person to consider when you were out for fun!!! The ending shows Adrienne, on a sea cruise trying to forget and then being confronted with the sight of Phillip and his wife away on their second honeymoon!!
Peggy Pearce might not even be a memory now but back in the 19 teens she was often featured in movie magazine articles such as a 1917 Motion Picture Magazine one about freakish pets. Peggy would have the public believe that she couldn't bear to be separated from her pet billy goat and Louise Glaum was in the same article, drooling over her pet monkey Pete.
Always wanted to see Louise in that spidery creation and finally got the chance when as Adrienne Renault, star attraction at the Frivolity Club - "New York's gayest Midnight Frolic", she makes her sensational entrance from a glittering web doing the Spider Dance - "the sensation of the season". Away from the footlights she is hard boiled and takes Daisy Henderson (Peggy Pearce) under her wing - a young innocent who still blushes at the "mash notes" she receives from married men. Daisy is invited to a wild party (girls dancing on table tops etc) at Adrienne's and next day overhears a heated argument between Adrienne, Phillip (her current flame) and Phillip's wife who has come to confront the pair over their secret affair. There is a divorce and while Adrienne thinks it's a hoot, Phil's heart isn't in the mad whirl anymore and it isn't long before she falls for millionaire businessman Dick Wallace (future director Irving Cummings) who desperately wants to marry her.
It may have had a salacious title but "Sex" is just the age old story with a slight twist. Marriage turns Adrienne into a love struck stay at home wife but Dick is still living like a carefree bachelor and, what's more, is having a fling with Daisy. Once sweet and innocent, Daisy is now a gold star gold digger having had lessons from Adrienne, the Master, who once told Daisy that the wife was the last person to consider when you were out for fun!!! The ending shows Adrienne, on a sea cruise trying to forget and then being confronted with the sight of Phillip and his wife away on their second honeymoon!!
Peggy Pearce might not even be a memory now but back in the 19 teens she was often featured in movie magazine articles such as a 1917 Motion Picture Magazine one about freakish pets. Peggy would have the public believe that she couldn't bear to be separated from her pet billy goat and Louise Glaum was in the same article, drooling over her pet monkey Pete.
Lavish, Sensational and Definitely Worth a Look!
jery-tillotson-110 February 2022
We film buffs who delight in silent movies are always delighted when we find a complete print of a popular title from 1920. SEX is one that thrilled me because the print I saw from Grapevine Video and its appropriate musical sound track, was a real revelation on many levels. The black and whites and grays were ideal and the titles delightfully witty and wise.
I had watched only one of the handful of movies made by Theda Bara's main competitor--Louise Glaum--THE TIGER WOMAN and was impressed with her screen personae and talent.
In SEX, she has a starry, meaty role as Adrienne Renault, the sensational star of the Frivolity Club where she brings down the house nightly when she does her Spider Dance.
She also has an army of male admirers and is having a strong affair with a married man while his wife stays home nightly. Louise runs the gamut of emotions as the entertainer but she also captivates. Although she may give off the impression of being jaded and world-weary, there's a sweetness to her, too, although she does offer her protogee, Daisy, played very effectively by long-forgotten Peggy Pearce, on how to snare a sugar daddy.
Fred Niblo brilliantly directs this fast-moving, witty and very lavish production, with numerous interiors, shots of audiences, backstage life, and some striking costumes for its femme cast members. Louise's Spider Dance is wonderfully modern and very watchable even today.
In watching this entertainment, I often thought of how incredibly fast the art of movies had progressed by 1920--from movie-olas to short features, to full length features by 1915.
SEX is slick, lush, beautifully photographed and edited with a colorful script and knock-out performances by its cast, but especially the enchanting Louise who faded into obscurity by the early 1920s. She's remembered by some film historians for her "special mannerisms" in using her hands. You can see her doing this in several scenes when her hands convey certain ideas and emotions very effectively.
I've read she became a drama teacher over the decades and a popular social matron. A real tragedy is that these early silent screen stars were never interviewed in later years or given televised one-on-one's like Robert Osbourne did on TCM. What a wealth of stories and details on how these early movies were made!
It would be wonderful if SEX had a restoration, promoted so that a new generation of film buffs can see what movie-goers were being treated to in 1920 and beyond.
By the way, SEX was not surprisingly, a great movie title to bring in the crowds and they did come, according to records. But in some cities the moralists demanded the title be changed. So it was but it still didn't stop patrons from mobbing the ticket office.
I had watched only one of the handful of movies made by Theda Bara's main competitor--Louise Glaum--THE TIGER WOMAN and was impressed with her screen personae and talent.
In SEX, she has a starry, meaty role as Adrienne Renault, the sensational star of the Frivolity Club where she brings down the house nightly when she does her Spider Dance.
She also has an army of male admirers and is having a strong affair with a married man while his wife stays home nightly. Louise runs the gamut of emotions as the entertainer but she also captivates. Although she may give off the impression of being jaded and world-weary, there's a sweetness to her, too, although she does offer her protogee, Daisy, played very effectively by long-forgotten Peggy Pearce, on how to snare a sugar daddy.
Fred Niblo brilliantly directs this fast-moving, witty and very lavish production, with numerous interiors, shots of audiences, backstage life, and some striking costumes for its femme cast members. Louise's Spider Dance is wonderfully modern and very watchable even today.
In watching this entertainment, I often thought of how incredibly fast the art of movies had progressed by 1920--from movie-olas to short features, to full length features by 1915.
SEX is slick, lush, beautifully photographed and edited with a colorful script and knock-out performances by its cast, but especially the enchanting Louise who faded into obscurity by the early 1920s. She's remembered by some film historians for her "special mannerisms" in using her hands. You can see her doing this in several scenes when her hands convey certain ideas and emotions very effectively.
I've read she became a drama teacher over the decades and a popular social matron. A real tragedy is that these early silent screen stars were never interviewed in later years or given televised one-on-one's like Robert Osbourne did on TCM. What a wealth of stories and details on how these early movies were made!
It would be wonderful if SEX had a restoration, promoted so that a new generation of film buffs can see what movie-goers were being treated to in 1920 and beyond.
By the way, SEX was not surprisingly, a great movie title to bring in the crowds and they did come, according to records. But in some cities the moralists demanded the title be changed. So it was but it still didn't stop patrons from mobbing the ticket office.
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