''The Old Homestead'' is a surviving 1915 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by James Kirkwood, Sr. and written by Hugh Ford and

Denman Thompson Henry Denman Thompson (October 15, 1833 – April 14, 1911) was an American playwright and theatre actor. Biography Rufus Thompson, a carpenter, and his wife Anne Hathaway Baxter moved in 1831 from West Swanzey, New Hampshire to Girard, Pe ...

. The film stars

Frank Losee Frank Losee (June 12, 1856 – November 14, 1937) was an American stage and screen actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage he began in silent films in 1915. Often he played the father of Mary Pickford, Pauline Frederick and Marguerite Clark. Car ...

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

, Denman Maley,

Louise Huff Louise Huff (November 14, 1895 – August 22, 1973) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Huff was a descendant of former President of the United States, President James Knox Polk. She began her acting career at the age ...

, Mrs. Corbett and Horace Newman. The film was released on December 26, 1915, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The movie is based on the popular 19th-century play of the same name by Denman Thompson. The play revolved around the character Joshua Whitcomb, a folksy New England farmer created and often portrayed on the stage by Thompson. In this film, however, the character is called Josiah Whitcomb.

Plot

Cast

as Josiah Whitcomb *

as Reuben Whitcomb *Denman Maley as Jack Hazzard *

as Ruth Stratton *Mrs. Corbett as Aunt Tildy *Horace Newman as Cy *Tom Wood as Seth *

Margaret Seddon Margaret Seddon (November 18, 1872 – April 17, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. Biography She appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1951. Her most memorable role was perhaps as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a come ...

as Rickety Ann * Russell Simpson as Sheriff

Preservation status

*A copy is preserved by Lobster Films. The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''..The Old Homestead''
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References

External links

* 1915 films 1910s English-language films Silent American comedy films 1915 comedy films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by James Kirkwood Sr. American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1910s American films {{1910s-comedy-film-stub