Rip Van Winkle (Silent)

This strange silent fantasy is played largely for laughs, as our hero stumbles onto a race of creepy bearded ale drinking elves, falls asleep for twenty years, and awakens to find his family doesn't recognize him. A light-hearted version of the famous story.

When nineteenth century theatergoers thought of Rip Van Winkle, they pictured him as actor Joseph Jefferson. Rip was Jefferson's signature role, and later on his son, Thomas Jefferson took up where he left off and starred in the film version. It remains true to the story -- Rip's love for a drunken good time infuriates his wife Gretchen (Milla Davenport). He runs afoul of some mountain gnomes who give him a libation that puts him to sleep for 20 years. When he awakes he discovers that his wife married the man who wanted his property, and no one in the village recognizes him. But he is finally able to convince his daughter, Meenie (Daisy Robinson) of his identity. Perhaps the biggest problem with this picture was its location -- the hills of Southern California were a poor imitation of the Catskills, and the Hudson River was nowhere to be found.