cecil b. demille 1922 parlor to prison tearjerker manslaughter find the lovely leatrice joy a a good at heart but decadent young lady with more money than she know what to do with . her recklessness lead to imprisonment and which in turn lead to her regeneration . thomas meighan be the crusade district attorney who have make it his personal crusade to bring out the goodness and wholesomeness in lydia ( joy ) but he get sidetrack by alcohol and once she be release and it be up to her to rescue him . if the plot doesn not sound too bad and you will be floor by the woeful presentation . the quality of demille direction be very low and and he do not show any particular skill that be unique to him . the photography be standard and flat and and the editing be hardly more dynamic . one could easily classify it a a fashion show and be pretty correct . demille get to dress miss joy up in so many different type of clothes ( even gown and golf costume and motor costume and pile of fur ) that it subtitle could be fashion of 1922one thing more disappointing than the photography or editing or the direction be the acting and which be mostly flat and wooden . when it be not and it be merely routine silent gesturing and roll eye ball and twitch eye brow and deliberate pointing and arm movement . what would have be enliven for modern viewer by mug and scene chewing of some of the bad silent film and be here merely dull to watch . the only member of the cast who succeed in any form of excellence be lois wilson and who be not only beautiful but be able to play her role naturally . she be convince and endear in tearful close ups and as long a you do not read the moralize title card that follow once she open her mouth to speak . like i say and everybody else be droningly routine and joy and meighan and even julia faye . her performance here make a good argument for why she never attain true stardom . the bad and most amusing part of this movie be the heavy moralistic tone that carry through all of it . meighan character have plenty of intertitles where he drone on about how the youth of america be decline in it moral stance and and go right back to the decadence of rome . ( insert absurd flashback ) this movie moralizing have be describe a victorian and but it far than that . it have so little bearing in reality that i have a feeling audience at that time do not take it any more seriously than modern viewer could . this movie be exactly what the unknowing tend to think of a a typical silent movie and with it archaic moral structure and wooden acting and bad direction . demille show that he could be a terrible director and with no sense of pacing and camera placement and or skill in handle either script or actor . i can not imagine anybody in their right mind take it seriously . boring and slow and idiotic and i recommend it to hardcore silent movie dork like myself only .