Better than it sounds, this film has rare charm like SKINNER'S DRESS SUIT or REMEMBER THE NIGHT.
I too saw this film at the George Eastman House and wish more people could enjoy it! Handsome leading man Jack Mulhall made lots of sweet fun romantic comedies in the late 1920s and then when forgotten he continued to work as a character actor and eventually an extra appearing in over 427 films! His life story would make a great film for Tom Hanks who he kind of resembles.
I compared this subtle, warm film to another little gem SKINNER'S DRESS SUIT because to performances and heart in the characters make the simple story much more than the sum of it's parts.
SPOILERS: Joe Bascom (Jack Mulhill), only son of a widow, lives in a Connecticut village. He loves Elsie Tillinger (sweetie and impossibly cute, Alice Terry), daughter of the deacon (Edward Connelly), the wealthiest man in town; but the deacon forbids Joe to speak to her. Joe leaves home to make his way in the world, but his employer, Mr. Morgan (Eric Mayne), a wealthy racehorse owner, accuses him unjustly of stealing. Actually, Morgan's son, Lester (Rip Ripley), is guilty of the crime, but Joe is sentenced to a prison term; there he becomes acquainted with Mugsy (George Cooper) and Gilly (the great Harry Myers), two crooks. Meanwhile, though courted by young Morgan, Elsie remains faithful to Joe. Mrs. Bascom (Lydia Knott), who makes superlative peach jam from her orchard, is in debt to the Deacon Tillinger, and he intends to buy her orchard and make Lester head of a jam industry. But Joe arrives with his crook friends, outwits the deacon, and takes over the peach orchard. Mugsy and Gilly are reformed by the goodness of Joe's mother and fall in love with Betty (Betty Allen) and Jessie (Margaret Loomis); and after exposing Lester Morgan's deceit, Joe marries Elsie. Keep an eye out for Billy Blethcer as Sammy Martin!
I too saw this film at the George Eastman House and wish more people could enjoy it! Handsome leading man Jack Mulhall made lots of sweet fun romantic comedies in the late 1920s and then when forgotten he continued to work as a character actor and eventually an extra appearing in over 427 films! His life story would make a great film for Tom Hanks who he kind of resembles.
I compared this subtle, warm film to another little gem SKINNER'S DRESS SUIT because to performances and heart in the characters make the simple story much more than the sum of it's parts.
SPOILERS: Joe Bascom (Jack Mulhill), only son of a widow, lives in a Connecticut village. He loves Elsie Tillinger (sweetie and impossibly cute, Alice Terry), daughter of the deacon (Edward Connelly), the wealthiest man in town; but the deacon forbids Joe to speak to her. Joe leaves home to make his way in the world, but his employer, Mr. Morgan (Eric Mayne), a wealthy racehorse owner, accuses him unjustly of stealing. Actually, Morgan's son, Lester (Rip Ripley), is guilty of the crime, but Joe is sentenced to a prison term; there he becomes acquainted with Mugsy (George Cooper) and Gilly (the great Harry Myers), two crooks. Meanwhile, though courted by young Morgan, Elsie remains faithful to Joe. Mrs. Bascom (Lydia Knott), who makes superlative peach jam from her orchard, is in debt to the Deacon Tillinger, and he intends to buy her orchard and make Lester head of a jam industry. But Joe arrives with his crook friends, outwits the deacon, and takes over the peach orchard. Mugsy and Gilly are reformed by the goodness of Joe's mother and fall in love with Betty (Betty Allen) and Jessie (Margaret Loomis); and after exposing Lester Morgan's deceit, Joe marries Elsie. Keep an eye out for Billy Blethcer as Sammy Martin!