The Whispering Chorus (1918)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Jeanie Macpherson (writer)
Perley Poore Sheehan (novel)

Release Date:

28 March 1918 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

John Trimble has embezzled and obtains another identity by having a mutilated body buried in his place...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Raymond Hatton	...	John Tremble
Kathlyn Williams	...	Jane Tremble
Edythe Chapman	...	John Tremble's mother
Elliott Dexter	...	George Coggeswell
Noah Beery	...	Longshoreman
Guy Oliver	...	Chief McFarland
John Burton	...	Charles Barden
Tully Marshall	...	F.P. Clumley
William H. Brown	...	Stauberry
James Neill	...	Channing
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Mocking Face
Walter Lynch	...	Evil Face
Edna Mae Cooper	...	Good Face

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Trivia:

The wedding sequence in which George Coggeswell (Elliott Dexter) marries Jane Trimble ('Kathlyn Williams (I)') was staged at Christ Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. The best man was played by Paramount executive Charles Eyton, who was married to Kathlyn Williams in real life. According to Dexter, Eyton had to be persuaded to allow the use of the couples' actual wedding rings for the scene.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

Worthy of a Remake

DeMille's Whispering Chorus is a haunting masterpiece that was ahead of it's time. The story line is highly creative - how the voices in your head can ruin your life. Basically, one man's degradation due to his cowardliness. This movie will make you think, which is exactly what DeMille intended. All in all, an excellent pre-20's silent film.

Raymond Hatton gives a fine performance as John Tremble. His change from a handsome upstanding man to a dirty tramp on the run is wonderfully done through make up - if compare a still of him from the first section of the film to a still from the end of the picture, he is almost unrecognizable as the same actor.

Kathryn Williams was a very attractive woman, and she portrays the role of Jane Tremble with delicacy. My personal opinion is that at the end of the movie, she acts in a very selfish manner, however, I think this is my 21st century eyes viewing early 20th century morals and is probably not the effect that DeMille, or screen writer Jeanie MacPhearson had in mind.

Thanks to Image entertainment, this 1918 film is available on DVD for new audiences to enjoy.