''Down to Earth'', also known as ''The Optimist'', is a 1917 American comedy romance film starring

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

and

Eileen Percy Eileen Percy (August 1902 – 29 July 1973) was an Irish-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1917 and 1933. Biography Born in Belfast in August 1902, Percy lived in Brooklyn, New York, briefly ...

, and directed by John Emerson. Most of the principal photography was filmed in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

Synopsis

Bill Gaynor (Fairbanks) follows Ethel (Percy), the girl he loves, to a sanitarium she is staying to recuperate from a nervous break down. Ethel had previously refused his proposal in favor of a socialite, Charles Riddles ( Charles K. Gerrard). Bill hatches up a plan to save Ethel and the other hypochondriacs from the sanitarium, taking them on his yacht through the ruse of a smallpox scare. The yacht crashes onto an island, where Bill makes the invalids work for their own food and where they all overcome their illnesses. Two months later, Charles discovers that Palm Beach is actually in the valley below them, and he escapes the camp. Charles meets up with a friend to complain about his Ordeal and with his friend's encouragement, they return to the camp and try to "kidnap" Ethel. Bill (Who was not taking his usual siesta) catches them in the act, and tying one arm behind his back, kicks Charles' ass. Bill admits to Ethel that they are not on an actual desert island, but she tells him that she has known that for a month. As the two float away in a row boat, the other patients comment that they should return to their siestas because the story is over.

Cast

as Billy Gaynor *

as Ethel Forsythe *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

as Dr. Jollyem * Charles McHugh as Dr. Samm * Charles K. Gerrard as Charles Riddles *William H. Keith as Mr. Carter *Ruth Allen as Mrs. Fuller Jermes *Fred Goodwins as Jordan Jinny *Florence Mayon as Mrs. Phattison Oiles *

Herbert Standing Herbert Standing (13 November 1846 – 5 December 1923) was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children, many of whom had careers in theatre and cinema. Toward the ...

as Mr. SD Dyspeptic *David Porter as Mr. Coffin *

Bull Montana Lewis Montagna (born Luigi Montagna; May 16, 1887 – January 24, 1950), better known as Bull Montana, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, boxer and actor. Biography Born in Voghera, Italy, into a poor country family — and at a ti ...

as Wild Man

References

External links

*
allmovie/synopsis; ''Down to Earth''
1917 films 1917 romantic comedy films Articles containing video clips American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by John Emerson 1910s American films English-language romantic comedy films Silent American romantic comedy films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-comedy-film-stub