The Old Swimmin' Hole (1921)

Genres - Comedy, Romance  |  
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

With the onslaught of the Roaring Twenties, there was a backlash instigated by people who were nostalgic for simpler times. This attitude could very well be summed up in the James Whitcomb Riley poem on which this Charles Ray vehicle was based. There isn't a title card to be had in the whole picture -- but none are needed, since there's really no plot. It's all just Ray doing what he did best -- acting the part of a bare-footed Indiana boy. Ezra (Ray) is the prototypical rural youth -- he's frequently late for school and would just as soon skip it altogether in favor of fishing at the "old swimmin' hole" with his pals. He proves his manliness by puffing on a pipe filled with corn silk -- and gets ill for his efforts. Ezra and a fat boy named Skinny (Lincoln Stedman) are rivals for Myrtle (Laura LaPlante, in one of her first notable roles). Myrtle favors Skinny, which results in various battles between the two boys. When the farmers' picnic comes around, Ezra gets Myrtle to accompany him in a boat ride, but she dumps him in the water and goes off with Skinny. Ezra, however, still manages to find romance with the kindly Esther (Marjorie Prevost), who has loved him from afar.

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Keywords

love, problems, rurality