Almost top-billed in Cecil B. DeMille's Joan the Woman (1916) – only Geraldine Farrar in the title role is billed above him – diminutive Raymond Hatton (who turns in a great performance in Joan the Woman), gets his chance to shine bright as star number one in DeMille's The Whispering Chorus (1918). Unfortunately, the script for this one is none too convincing and Hatton emerges as more of a liability than an asset. Because of his diminutive stature, it seems incredible that none of the other characters can connect him with the "murdered" man. He looks the same to me, even though he does discard his beard – and an obviously false beard it is at that! Also, all this stuff about the whispering chorus does not play an important part in the story and could easily have been jettisoned. Its sole purpose is obviously to dress up a hackneyed plot and distract our attention from its highly improbable chain of events in which a wanted man just stumbles upon a body of exactly the right build and stature, thus enabling him to quickly and convincingly assume the dead man's identity. Admittedly, this all occurred before 1935 so there was no question of problems with Social Security, but it's just totally incredible nevertheless. But wait, there's more: The fugitive's destitute wife works her way up the ladder and marries the governor of the state! Boy, oh boy! Wait! There's more! Lots more! But I won't spoil the movie for you by telling you what happens next. As director/producer Cecil B. DeMille himself would say: "If you can persuade audiences to swallow a gnat, they won't have any trouble digesting a camel." Available on an excellent Alpha DVD.
Review of The Whispering Chorus
