''Rip Van Winkle'' is a 1921 American silent

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

, directed by

Edward Ludwig Edward Irving Ludwig (October 7, 1899 – August 20, 1982) was a Russian-born American film director and writer. He directed nearly 100 films between 1921 and 1963 (some under the names Edward I. Luddy and Charles Fuhr). Ludwig was also one ...

. Starring

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and

Milla Davenport Milla Davenport (February 4, 1871 in Zurich – May 17, 1936) 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. Davenport then began a ...

in the oft-filmed 1819

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

short story about

Rip Van Winkle "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 liquor and falls aslee ...

who falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. It was made famous in the 19th century as a play by Thomas Jefferson's father,

Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), 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 comedia ...

, and

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

. 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.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, 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). On his journey into the hills, he meets a little man from the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

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

as Rip Van Winkle *

as Gretchen Van Winkle *Daisy Jefferson as Meenie Van Winkle *

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

as Meenie Van Winkle, as a child *Pietro Sosso as Derrick Van Beckman * Max Asher as Nick Vedder * Francis Carpenter as Hendrick Vedder

References

External links

* * *
Rip Van Winkle
' available for free download at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

(incorrectly labeled as a 1914 film) 1921 films Films based on Rip Van Winkle 1920s fantasy films Silent American fantasy films Films directed by Edward Ludwig American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation 1920s American films {{silent-film-stub