Leap Year (1924 film)

Last updated

Leap Year
Directed by Roscoe Arbuckle
James Cruze
Written by Sarah Y. Mason
Walter Woods
StarringFatty Arbuckle
Cinematography Karl Brown
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • April 27, 1924 (1924-04-27)(Finland)
  • 1981 (1981)(USA)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

Leap Year is an American silent comedy film directed by and starring Roscoe Arbuckle and James Cruze. [1] Though produced in 1921, the film was not released in the United States due to Arbuckle's involvement in the Virginia Rappe death scandal; it received its first release in Finland in 1924. [2] The film finally saw an American release of sorts in 1981. [3] Prints are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and Library of Congress. [4] [5]

Contents

Plot summary

Roscoe Arbuckle plays Stanley Piper, heir to his uncle’s millions. He lives at Piper Hall. His valet is Mumford. Inside the house, Jeremiah Piper, Stanley’s uncle, who is gouty, grouchy and a girl-hater, is being looked after by his nurse, Phyllis Brown. He decides to send Stanley on a fishing trip to keep him away from women as he falls in love with every woman he meets. The ‘fool nephew,’ stutters when he’s excited and is relived only by drink (water). Nurse Brown is upset to hear this news. Stanley brings flowers for Nurse Brown only to be told by his uncle that she’s been fired. He catches her as she’s about to leave the house. She tells him what his uncle has said about Stanley falling in love with every woman he meets. Stanley is unable to state is case, his stutter making him momentarily speechless until Mumford gives him water when he tells her it’s a base falsehood and he can prove it. If he can prove it, she decides, they can be together. While he’s trying to prove his love for Nurse Brown, he inadvertently ends up engaged to three different women and must extricate himself from all three engagements by pretending to be seriously ill and suffering from fits. When this doesn’t work, fate intervenes, and the three women find welcome distractions in the form of the other characters.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roscoe Arbuckle</span> American actor (1887–1933)

Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $1,000,000 a year.

<i>The Skin Game</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

The Skin Game is a 1931 British drama film by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the 1920 play by John Galsworthy and produced by British International Pictures. The story revolves around two rival families, the Hillcrists and the Hornblowers, and the disastrous results of the feud between them.

<i>Big Night</i> 1996 comedy-drama film

Big Night is a 1996 American comedy-drama film co-directed by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci. Set in the 1950s on the Jersey Shore, the film follows two Italian immigrant brothers, played by Tucci and Tony Shaloub, as they host an evening of free food at their restaurant in an effort to allow it to gain greater exposure. The film's supporting cast includes Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, and Allison Janney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Rappe</span> Silent film actress and model (1891–1921)

Virginia Caroline Rappe was an American model and silent film actress. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al St. John</span> American film actor (1892–1963)

Al St. John was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on screen. St. John was employed by Mack Sennett and also worked with many other leading players such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mabel Normand. His film career successfully transitioned from the silent era into sound, and by the late 1930s and 1940s he was working predominantly in Westerns, often portraying the scruffy comedy-relief character "Fuzzy Q. Jones". Among his notable performances in that role are in the "Billy the Kid" series of films released by the Producers Releasing Corporation from 1940 to 1946 and in that company's "Lone Rider" series from 1941 to 1943.

<i>Cruel, Cruel Love</i> 1914 film

Cruel, Cruel Love is a 1914 American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie Chaplin.

<i>His New Profession</i> 1914 film by Charlie Chaplin

His New Profession is a 1914 American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie Chaplin. The film involves Chaplin taking care of a man in a wheelchair. It is also known as "The Good for Nothing".

These are the films of the American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Films marked with a diamond (♦) were directed by and featured Arbuckle. He used the name William Goodrich on the films he directed from 1924 onward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucien Littlefield</span> American actor (1895–1960)

Lucien Littlefield was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men before he was of voting age.

<i>Good Night, Nurse!</i> 1918 American film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle

Good Night, Nurse! is a 1918 American two-reel silent comedy film written by, and directed by, and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Buster Keaton. The action centers in a sanitarium where Arbuckle's character is involuntarily brought to by his wife to be operated on by Keaton's character for alcoholism.

<i>The Round-Up</i> (1920 film) 1920 film

The Round-Up is a 1920 American silent Western film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Wallace Beery. The movie was written by Edmund Day and Tom Forman, directed by George Melford, and based on Day's play that was a huge hit for Roscoe Arbuckle's older cousin Macklyn Arbuckle and Julia Dean on the Broadway stage in 1907. It was Macklyn in the play who created the famous phrase used in advertisements of the film, nobody loves a fat man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Arbuckle (actor)</span> American actor

Andrew Arbuckle was an American stage and film actor. He was the brother of Macklyn Arbuckle and cousin of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

<i>Fatty at San Diego</i> 1913 film

Fatty at San Diego is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.

<i>The Waiters Ball</i> 1916 film

The Waiters' Ball is a 1916 American silent short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. Arbuckle's nephew Al St. John has a memorable role as Roscoe's rival. The film is extant.

<i>The Fighting Dude</i> 1925 film

The Fighting Dude is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed and written by Fatty Arbuckle as William Goodrich. Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges.

Home Cured is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle. Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges.

Fool's Luck is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle as William Goodrich. Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges.

<i>The Red Mill</i> (film) 1927 film

The Red Mill is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle that starred Marion Davies and was produced by King Vidor. Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Schilling</span> American actress (born 1984)

Taylor Jane Schilling is an American actress. She is known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She made her film debut in the 2007 drama Dark Matter. She also starred as Nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan in the short-lived NBC medical drama Mercy (2009–2010). Her other films include Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), the comedy Take Me (2017), and the science-fiction thriller The Titan (2018).

<i>Miss Brewsters Millions</i> 1926 film by Clarence G. Badger

Miss Brewster's Millions is a 1926 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Clarence G. Badger directed and the ever-popular Bebe Daniels starred. It was based on the 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon and a 1906 play adaptation of the same name by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley, which had been filmed before in 1921 with Roscoe Arbuckle.

References

  1. "Leap Year | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. "Leap Year | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  3. "Progressive Silent Film List: Leap Year". silentera.com. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  4. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress page 101 by The American Film Institute, c.1978
  5. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Leap Year
  6. "Leap Year | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.