The Cheat is a 1931 American pre-code drama film directed by George Abbott and starring screen legend Tallulah Bankhead, Irving Pichel and Harvey Stephens. This is the remake of the 1915 film directed by Cecile B. DeMille and is just as good.
Elsa Carlyle (Tallulah Bankhead, Lifeboat) is a gambling addict and likes to spend money freely. Her husband Jeffrey (Harvey Stephens, Beau Geste) tries to convince Elsa to avoid fruitless spending as he is making investments to provide for their future. Unfortunately, she made large bet for $10,000 and lost, putting herself in a hefty debt. Hardy Livingston (Irving Pichel, Dracula’s Daughter), a rich, money is no object lady’s man, has his eyes set on Elsa and ever so opportunistic, gets a chance to trap her into an affair by giving her the money she owes, if she sleeps with him. What follows must have been shocking for 1931.
I just love The Cheat. Tallulah Bankhead absolutely shines in this film and gives one of her most amazing performances. The whole cast is fantastic, but this is Tallulah’s film, and she hands in a superior performance with the looks of guilt and torment after what she’s done and not wanting to explain it to her husband. Irving Pichel is also superb as Hardy Livingston with his sinister looks and a smile that you just want to wipe off with a hard punch! For me these are some unforgettable roles for both actors. There are scenes where there is no music, which adds more to the suspense.
The Cheat debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The 1080p transfer looks excellent with solid black levels, bright whites, and a balanced greyscale. The picture is rich in details to both the scenery and clothing that the actors wear. There is also plenty of depth shown in various close-ups, the boost in contrast certainly improves the viewing of it. Film grain is present throughout the presentation. I saw no damages to the image. This easily surpasses the Universal DVD.
Kino uses their usual English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack, and it also is also excellent with dialogue and other noises coming in crisp and clear. I detected no audio drop-offs or hissing. English subtitles are available for this release.
The Blu-ray has a couple of features including an audio commentary with Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams. It is worth a listen as he discusses The Cheat in detail. There are theatrical trailers for Lifeboat, Love Me Tonight, The Sign of the Cross, The Song of Songs, Supernatural, and Death Takes a Holiday as well.
Kino Lorber has done a fantastic job with this release. With a substantial improvement in the audio and video quality, to go with a commentary for this release, I can easily recommend The Cheat. Pre-code film fanatics should pick this one up!
The Cheat (1931)
Director- George Abbott
Cast- Tallulah Bankhead, Irving Pichel, Harvey Stephens
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date – 11/12/21