''The Romance of Old Bill'' is a 1918 British silent

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 ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

directed by George Pearson and starring

Charles Rock Charles Rock (30 May 1866 – 12 July 1919) was a British actor. He was born Arthur Charles Rock de Fabeck. Rock also wrote at least one play: ''The Ghost of Jerry Bundler'', adapted from W. W. Jacobs' story ''Jerry Bundler''. It was cast at the ...

Arthur Cleave Arthur Cleave (9 April 1884–2 December 1939) was a British actor. He died in London aged 55 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery in London. Selected filmography * ''The Romance of Old Bill'' (1918) * '' The Lady Clare'' (1919) * '' Garry ...

and Hugh E. Wright. It was made at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

. It is based on the play ''

The Better 'Ole ''The Better 'Ole'', also called ''The Romance of Old Bill'', is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot, music by Herman Darewski, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon charac ...

'', with the setting updated to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Goble p.21

Cast

as Old Bill *

as Bert * Hugh E. Wright as Alf *

Mary Dibley Mary Dibley (21 February 1883 in London – 11 September 1968) was a British film actress. She was married to the actor Gerald Ames. Selected filmography * '' The Christian'' (1915) * '' The Shulamite'' (1915) * '' The Folly of Desire'' (1915) * ...

as Maggie Busby *

Hayford Hobbs Hayford Hobbs (25 August 1890 - 10 January 1957) was a leading British film actor of the silent era and later became a film director. He was born in London, England, in 1891. He made his first screen appearance in the 1915 film ''The Third Gener ...

as Jim *

Lillian Hall-Davis Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films. Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London ...

as Lil * Alfred Phillips as Spy * Michelin Potous as Victoire *

Marguerite Blanche Marguerite Blanche was a Danish actress notable for her starring roles in British silent films. She was born in Copenhagen as Margaret Jessen, but emigrated to Britain where she made twelve films for director-producers such as Cecil Hepworth and S ...

as Suzette * J.M. Wright as Singer * Sid Jay as Juggler * Mansell Fane as Grouser *

Frank Adair Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

as Colonel *

Meggie Albanesi Margherita Cecilia Brigida Lucia Maria Albanesi (8 October 1899—9 December 1923) was a British stage and film actress. Life and career She was born in London on 8 October 1899. Her father was Italian-born Carlo Albanesi (1856-1926), a piani ...

as Waitress *

Mercy Hatton Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

* Micrommelynck as Colonel * Fernand Leone as Peasant

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1918 films 1910s war comedy films British silent feature films British war comedy films 1910s English-language films British World War I films Films directed by George Pearson Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios British films based on plays British black-and-white films 1918 comedy films 1910s British films Silent war comedy films {{UK-silent-comedy-film-stub