While D.W. Griffith (with muse Lillian Gish) was creating the historical epic with such landmark movies as The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, Cecil B. De Mille was busy developing Hollywood sophistication, decadence and glamour in a series of 'bedroom' dramas he made with star Gloria Swanson during the late teens and early twenties. One such movie is The Affairs of Anatol.

 The De Witt Spencers, a young, newly married, upper-class couple (Gloria Swanson as Vivian and Wallace Reid as Anatol) enjoy an evening out atThe Green Fan, a glitzy Manhattan nightclub. Unfortunately the kindhearted Anatol runs into Emilie Dixon, his childhood sweetheart from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, who is now the flapper-toy of an older rich man. He soon puts his marriage at risk by trying to 'save' the girl from a life of sin. When his social experiment ends in disaster the De Witts try to patch things up by taking a second honeymoon in the country. Anatol is soon up to his old tricks, this time getting involved with the suicidal wife of a self-righteous preacher. Finally he decides to give everything up for a life of hedonism in the arms of Satan Synne (the wickedest woman in New York) only to discover that she is a closet sentimentalist trying to raise money for her invalid husband. He rushes back to Vivian but is it too late? Has she already fallen for the charms of best friend Max?

 Never before had the American public seen glamorous people living in such opulence. Never before had they seen independent women drinking, smoking and showing off so much skin. The sets are magnificent, some of the scenes are meticulously hand-tinted and the costumes are more extravagant than anything seen since. Emilie wears a beaded headband; Satan Synne sports a tiara and cape of pearls in the shape of an octopus, and Gloria Swanson as the pouty, spoiled Vivian demonstrates why she was known for her stylish ability to wear anything.

 Silent movies rarely had all-star casts. The studios considered it foolish to 'waste' more than one star on a single movie. The Affairs of Anatol is a happy exception to this rule. Although Swanson is the only one remembered today Wallace Reid, Agnes Ayres, Bebe Daniels, Monte Blue and Theodore Kosloff (who appears intermittently as a Hindu hypnotist) were all big name stars at the time.

 De Mille's moralizing is certainly dated, and the movie runs at least twenty minutes too long, still it is worth watching for the elegant stars of yesteryear in extravagant scenes of epic debauchery as only one of cinemas two greatest geniuses could have created.

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This is a tale of morality. Anatol is a pious moron. He wants to save these different women, but he does it at the expense of his wife. It ends up being he who learns a lesson, and not the women.

At two hours, this silent drama is a chore to watch. Swanson is the big star here, but she gets far less screen time than Reid, who is not a great actor. He poses and pouts, and comes across as an ignoramus. I actually wanted to see him fail.

There is one funny scene. After pulling a girl from a river, Swanson and Reid make ridiculous attempts at administering first aid. Neither has a clue what they are doing.

As Patrick wrote, the sets and costumes are all detailed and elaborate. According to the book, "The Movies," by Richard Griffith and Arthur Mayer, Simon and Schuster, 1957; the sets from DeMille's movies, as well as Swanson's clothes and hair, were very influential to the styles of the time.

The legacy of this movie is not at all about the entertainment value, but it's historical importance. It shows what was considered fashionable and in style then. It also shows how morals have changed. Then, a poor girls affection could be bought with lots of expensive jewelry. Today, rich girls like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, porn themselves out for a little fame.

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