Rip Van Winkle (1921 film)

Last updated

Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle poster.jpg
Lobby poster
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Written byEdward Ludwig (adaptation)
Agnes Parsons (scenario)
Based on"Rip Van Winkle"
by Washington Irving and "Rip Van Winkle" (play)
by Dion Boucicault and Joseph Jefferson
Produced by Ward Lascelle Productions
Starring Thomas Jefferson
Milla Davenport
Cinematography David Abel
Distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation
Release date
  • October 2, 1921 (1921-10-02)(USA)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
lobby card Rip Van Winkle lobby card.jpg
lobby card

Rip Van Winkle is a 1921 American silent fantasy film, directed by Edward Ludwig. Starring Thomas Jefferson and Milla Davenport in the oft-filmed 1819 Washington Irving short story about Rip Van Winkle who falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. [1] [2] It was made famous in the 19th century as a play by Thomas Jefferson's father, Joseph Jefferson, and Dion Boucicault. T. Jefferson had starred in a 1914 feature-length version of the story, which was re-released in 1921 just as this film was premiering. However, the two should not be confused as the same film, they are two different films starring the same actor.

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [3] after swearing off drinking time and time again and familiarly discounting the next drink after each resolution, Rip Van Winkle (Jefferson) is finally driven out of the house by his wife Gretchen (Davenport).

Movie still Rip Van Winkle (1921) - 8.jpg
Movie still

On his journey into the hills, he meets a little man from the Catskill Mountains who is carrying a keg. After drinking the strange concoction, Rip's slumber for twenty years follows. When he returns to his village, everything and everyone has changed. His wife has married the unscrupulous Derrick Van Beckman (Sosso), who has designs on the Van Winkle's property. Rip arrives just in time to prevent a forced marriage of his daughter Meenie (Daisy Jefferson) to Derrick's nephew, and reclaims his land. Rip and Gretchen are reunited and she promises him that he can become tipsy as often as he pleases in the future. Meenie marries her childhood sweetheart, who has returned after being believed to have been lost at sea.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip Van Winkle</span> 1819 short story by Washington Irving

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their strong liquor and falls deeply asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Jefferson</span> American actor and author (1829–1905)

Joseph Jefferson III, often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians. Beginning as a young child, he continued as a performer for most of his 76 years. Jefferson was particularly well known for his adaptation and portrayal of Rip Van Winkle on the stage, reprising the role in several silent film adaptations. After 1865, he created no other major role and toured with this play for decades.

<i>When the Clouds Roll By</i> 1919 film by Victor Fleming, Theodore Reed

When the Clouds Roll By is a 1919 American comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Victor Fleming and Theodore Reed. After decades of not being seen by the public, the film was finally released in 2010 on DVD by Alpha Video with an original score by Don Kinnier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film Booking Offices of America</span> American film studio of the silent era

Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-American import-export company. Robertson-Cole began distributing films in the United States that December and opened a Los Angeles production facility in 1920. Late that year, R-C entered into a working relationship with East Coast financier Joseph P. Kennedy. A business reorganization in 1922 led to its assumption of the FBO name, first for all its distribution operations and ultimately for its own productions as well. Through Kennedy, the studio contracted with Western leading man Fred Thomson, who grew by 1925 into one of Hollywood's most popular stars. Thomson was just one of several silent screen cowboys with whom FBO became identified.

<i>Rip Van Winkle</i> (operetta) Operetta by Robert Planquette

Rip Van Winkle is an operetta in three acts by Robert Planquette. The English language libretto by Henri Meilhac, Philippe Gille and Henry Brougham Farnie was based on the short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) and "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) by Washington Irving after the play by Dion Boucicault and Joseph Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milla Davenport</span> American actress

Milla Davenport was an American stage and film actress who first appeared with the repertory company of her husband, actor Harry J. Davenport (1870-1929), for fifteen years.

<i>Cheated Hearts</i> (film) 1921 film

Cheated Hearts is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Hobart Henley and featuring Herbert Rawlinson, Warner Baxter, Marjorie Daw and Boris Karloff. The screenplay was written by Wallace Clifton, based on the novel Barry Gordon by William Farquar Payson. The film's tagline was "All the Exotic Glamour of the East Woven in a Livid Picture of Love". It was shot in Universal City, and is today considered a lost film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Egan</span> American actress (1900–1985)

Gladys Egan was an early 20th-century American child actress, who between 1907 and 1914 performed professionally in theatre productions as well as in scores of silent films. She began her brief entertainment career appearing on the New York stage as well as in plays presented across the country by traveling companies. By 1908 she also started working in the film industry, where for six years she acted almost exclusively in motion pictures for the Biograph Company of New York. The vast majority of her screen roles during that period were in shorts directed by D. W. Griffith, who cast her in over 90 of his releases. While most of Egan's films were produced by Biograph, she did work for other motion-picture companies between 1911 and 1914, such as the Reliance Film Company and Independent Moving Pictures. By 1916, Egan's acting career appears to have ended, and she no longer was being mentioned in major trade journals or included in published studio personnel directories as a regularly employed actor. Although she may have performed as an extra or in some bit parts after 1914, no available filmographies or entertainment publications from the period cite Egan in any screen or stage role after that year.

<i>A Kiss for Cinderella</i> (film) 1925 film by Herbert Brenon

A Kiss for Cinderella is a 1925 American silent fantasy film taken from the 1916 stage play by James M. Barrie. The film stars Betty Bronson and Tom Moore and was made at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens. The play had starred stage actress Maude Adams in the Bronson role.

Rip Van Winkle is a 1912 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about Rip Van Winkle. It was arguably Australia's first fantasy film.

<i>The Brat</i> (1919 film) 1919 film by Herbert Blaché

The Brat is a 1919 American silent drama film produced by and starring Alla Nazimova and directed by Herbert Blache. The film was released by Metro Pictures, who had Nazimova under contract, and is based on Maude Fulton's 1917 Broadway play in which she starred. It was remade as the 1931 film The Brat with Sally O'Neil in the lead role. The film is lost.

<i>Rip Van Winkle</i> (1903 film) 1903 American film

Rip Van Winkle is a 1903 American short black-and-white silent compilation film written and directed by William K.L. Dickson. It is adapted from the play by his friend and investor Joseph Jefferson with Dion Boucicault based on the 1819 story of the same name by Washington Irving.

<i>Social Briars</i> 1918 American silent comedy-drama film

Social Briars is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. The story was by Jeanne Judson, and it was filmed under the working title of "The Greater Call." As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.

<i>The Home Town Girl</i> 1919 film by Robert G. Vignola

The Home Town Girl is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Robert G. Vignola, written by Oscar Graeve and Edith Kennedy, and starring Vivian Martin, Ralph Graves, Lee Phelps, Carmen Phillips, Stanhope Wheatcroft, and Herbert Standing. It was released on May 11, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Rip Van Winkle</i> (1910 film) 1910 American film

Rip Van Winkle is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film is an adaptation of Washington Irving's 1819 short story "Rip Van Winkle" with some differences in the plot. The film focuses on the title character whose idle life is made difficult by his cantankerous wife. Winkle heads into the mountains and encounters spirits of Henry Hudson's men. Upon partaking of their alcohol, Winkle falls into a slumber for twenty years. He returns home and has difficulty proving his identity and must save his property from an unlawful accusation by his rival. After he proves his identity, he is reunited with his family. The title character was played by Frank H. Crane, but the production credits are largely unknown. The film was released on December 6, 1910, and met with positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.

<i>Rips Dream</i> 1905 French film

Rip's Dream is a 1905 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès.

The Man from Lost River is a lost American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and released in 1921. It stars House Peters, Fritzi Brunette, and Allan Forrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Jefferson (actor)</span> American silent film actor

Thomas Lockyer Jefferson was an American film and stage actor in mostly silent films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy Jefferson</span> American actress

Daisy Jefferson was an American actress on stage and screen whose work includes leading roles in several silent films. She appeared with her husband Thomas Jefferson in Rip Van Winkle.

<i>Doctor Neighbor</i> 1916 movie by Lloyd B. Carleton

Doctor Neighbor is a 1916 American silent feature film black and white melodrama. The film was directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. It stars Hobart Bosworth and pairs Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson in leading roles.

References

  1. "Rip Van Winkle". AFI.
  2. "Rip Van Winkle (1921)". Nuray Pictures.
  3. "Reviews: Rip Van Winkle". Exhibitors Herald. New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company. 14 (4): 53. January 21, 1922.