The Cheat

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

Sessue Hayakawa and Fannie Ward in The Cheat (1915)

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we're celebrating a trio of actors who fearlessly blazed trails in Old Hollywood. On this IMDbrief, we present just a few of the Unsung Asian American Pacific Islander Heroes of Film History.

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Drama Romance

A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.

Director
- Cecil B. DeMille
Writers
- Hector Turnbull
- Jeanie Macpherson
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Cecil B. DeMille
Writers
- Hector Turnbull
- Jeanie Macpherson
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Top cast11

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Fannie Ward

Edith Hardy

Sessue Hayakawa

Hishuru Tori (original release)…

Jack Dean

Richard Hardy

James Neill

Jones

Yutaka Abe

Tori's Valet

Dana Ong

District Attorney

Hazel Childers

Mrs. Reynolds

Arthur H. Williams

Courtroom Judge
(as Judge Arthur H. Williams)

Raymond Hatton

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Dick La Reno

Courtroom Spectator
(uncredited)

Lucien Littlefield

Hardy's Secretary
(uncredited)

Director
- Cecil B. DeMille
Writers
- Hector Turnbull
- Jeanie Macpherson
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews45

Featured review

a shadow from the past

Funny how one can be transfixed by a shadow made nearly ninety years ago. I found myself watching this for handsome Sessue Hayakawa's character, half all-American young-man-about-town, half exotic (and oh yes, evil) Oriental despot. Fannie Ward's character doesn't look much better, a woman so insecure and vain that when her husband cuts off her clothing allowance (four hundred 1915 dollars for a negligee!!), she embezzles Red Cross funds and takes a flyer on the stock market. Indeed, the only character who comes out looking remotely virtuous is her long-suffering husband, who tries to protect his bubble-headed wife by confessing to a crime she committed. Yes, it's a period piece, but as those go, it's not bad.

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Unsung Asian American Pacific Islander Heroes of Film History

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The Cheat (1915) was re-issued by Paramount on November 24, 1918, at which time the character played by Sessue Hayakawa was called Burmese and renamed Haka Arakau. The change of the character's name and nationality were done because Japan was an American ally at the time (during World War I) and the fact not as many Burmese are likely to protest. After the original release, a Japanese newspaper in Los Angeles, Rafu Shimpo, and the Japanese Association of Southern California waged a campaign against the film and heavily criticized Sessue Hayakawa's appearance, calling it "sinister."

Goofs
According to the date on the check, the shooting occurred on September 17th. However, the next day's newspaper which reports the crime is dated April 27th.

Quotes
Edith Hardy: The same old story - my husband objects to my extravagance - and you.

Crazy credits
Fannie Ward's name appears above the title. The other two principal actors (as well as Ward) are credited in inter-titles with their character names as they appear in the movie.

Alternate versions
Re-released on 24 November 1918, with Sessue Hayakawa's character changed from being Japanese with name Hishuru Tori, to Burmese with name Haka Arakau.