The Cheat is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, and Jack Dean (1874-1950), Ward's real-life husband. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.br This is the story of a spoiled society woman (Ward) who steals money from the Red Cross. She then loses the money, and in order to repay it agrees to take money from a wealthy Japanese man Hishuru Tori (Hayakawa) in exchange for favors.