Synopsis
A love triangle drama, based on a novel by Robert W. Chambers, who is better-known for weird fiction (which is not noticeable in this story.)
The Restless Sex
1920 Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, Leon D'Usseau
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Theatrical
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USANR
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USA
12 Nov 1920
- TheatricalNR
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Filled to the brim of that Marion Davies charm, but the whole experience feels kinda hollow.
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When I think about Marion Davies I think about her blonde curls and that big headpiece in Blondie of the Follies (1932). Seeing her in these early silent movies is almost like looking at another actress.
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Well, if you're looking for evidence of Marion Davies not being as convincing in melodramas as she was in comedies, then this is as good an example as any. And it's maybe not even her fault either, the melodramas of this era are usually kinda dreadful in general.
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Marion Davies in her 9th film is a bit off her mark here in a dreadfully boring film about a girl named Steve who is in love with her foster brother, Jim. When Jim goes away for 2 years to see the world, Steve becomes close to Oswald, a painter, but when the two of them are found in a suggestive (although innocent) situation, they are forced by crazy 1920 laws to get married on the spot... When brother Jim hears of the marriage he comes home and tries to get her for himself.... weird movie and premise, and it's funny at the end because (SPOILER) Oswald ends up killing himself by jumping off a train so the foster siblings can be together no problem. Don't watch this unless you, like me, are in love with Marion Davies.
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My review: thefilmediary.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/the-restless-sex-1920-review/
Excerpt:
The Restless Sex can be appreciated in some ways and not in others. It clearly is the sort of thing that makes the most sense with actors in their early 20s; however, Ralph Kellard as Jim Cleland and Carlyle Blackwell as Oswald Grismer look too old to be college students. Both actors are in their mid-30s. It’s strange no one got early 20s for these characters that just left college. This is essentially a “coming of age” movie, but it’s hard to take it seriously as such due to the older actors. That being said, both give decent performances. You could do better or you could do worse. Oswald periodically has issues which cause him to… -
An entertaining silent melodrama, marred only by a pretty wacky twist at the ending. Otherwise good. Much preferred this to ENCHANTMENT. Supposedly Norma Shearer is an extra in the "Ball of the Gods" sequence. There's like 300 people in that scene - good luck!
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There is eventually a compelling melodrama here, but it just takes way too long to materialize. Marion Davies (Stephanie) finds herself married to Oswald, but she really loves Jim. Things are complicated since Jim is her nonbiological brother, and Jim never thought of her that way—until it was too late.
A large portion of the film is dull and rudderless, mostly because Jim is absent from too much of it. In a classic case of “show don’t tell,” the intertitles tell us that his feelings are beginning to change. We sure don’t see it at the time. There’s some weak storytelling moments too. One scene with Stephanie and Oswald ends with a man showing up to talk to them. What…