The Cheaters: 'I want you to be my wife!'

A scene from the Australian silent film The Cheaters (1929) featuring the flapper-style 1920s sequined evening dress worn by Paula Marsh (played by Isabel McDonagh, credited as Marie Lorraine).

Paula Marsh has been sent to a fancy hotel by her father who heads an embezzling gang to rob wealthy guests. She becomes sidetracked by the dashing Lee Travers (Josef Bambach), the adopted son of her father’s nemesis, with whom she falls deeply in love. 

In this scene, a tearful Paula realises that her romance must end soon and that she will have to return to her true life as a cheater (thief). Lee asks Paula to be his wife, and she is torn by love and loyalty. 

Actress Isabel McDonagh wears an exquisite sequined flapper dress which had been purchased in Paris in 1925 by a close school friend of the McDonagh sisters, Kathleen Coen. Isabel borrowed it for the wardrobe of her character in the film.