The Admirable Crichton (1918)

Sub-Genres - Adventure Comedy, Satire  |   Run Time - 88 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

This silent British production was the first of several movie adaptations of James M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton. Basil Gill stars as Crichton, the resourceful butler who enables his aristocratic employers to survive and flourish after they're shipwrecked on a tropical island. Mary Dibley plays Lady Mary, who falls in love with Crichton, only to honor her obligations to her class once the castaways are rescued. Barrie's pointed satire of the rigid British social structure remains intact, though by necessity his witty dialogue is absent (as are his delightful parenthetical stage directions). Made in 1918, The Admirable Crichton was overshadowed by Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille's 1919 version of the Barrie play, which was retitled Male and Female.

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Keywords

disaster, survivor, Britain, butler, family, forbidden-love, shipwreck, stranded