While Mabel Normand is considered the finest of the silent screen comediennes, Louise Fazenda must be acknowledged to hold the second position. In fact, when Mack Sennett was experiencing his usual problems with Ms. Normand, he would say, "I'll send for Fazenda." "Down on the Farm" shows why Ms. Fazenda was right at home in acting in silent comedies. She may not have been as pretty as Ms. Normand, but her awkward and eccentric antics are a howl.
"Down on the Farm" is one of those rural comedies so popular in early 20th century America. It is a five-reel silent, unusually long for the time (50 minutes). The feature begins with unforgettably funny farm animal scenes that include: (1) farmer, while milking cow, squirting milk into Teddy the dog's mouth, (2) Teddy, a hard-working farm dog, delivering grain pail to pig sty, (3) Teddy twice filling a pail from water trough and bringing to cow, (4) geese following Louise (Ms. Fazenda), the farmer's daughter, who is sowing; she does not know that the animals are eating her seeds, and (5) a gaggle of geese (what a gargantuan gaggle!) chasing Louise.
After these opening scenes, we move into melodrama. A rustic sweetheart (the hired hand) loves Louise, but her father, Roach, will have none of it. Meanwhile the pompous village banker-landlord (James Finlayson), a vile sort, is making his rounds collecting due monies. At a particular property, he tries to obtain a sexual favor with a faithful wife (Marie Prevost) to forestall eviction. After several funny scenes, the banker-landlord is forced to leave after getting clobbered by the returning diminutive husband (Ben Turpin) and heads for the Roach farm. He gets a ticket from an aged cop on a bicycle for riding his horse too fast! At the farm farmer Roach cannot pay the due mortgage. But the landlord notices and kisses Louise, tells her father that he will marry her (as he needs a cook) for the due mortgage payment that Roach cannot afford to pay. But Louise, still in love with the rustic sweetheart, discourages the landlord-suitor. Her plan is to write an incriminating letter from a non-existent lover, stating that their love affair ("fake marriage") is all over. She cuts out a picture of a man in a shirt-collar ad to pass as her "ex-lover." She shows both the letter and picture to the landlord.
The trick does work, but it has consequences. Roach finds out about the letter and tries to beat Louise for her supposed pre-marital sexual activity. Supposedly a man may not want to marry her (after all, this is 1920). That is the reason we later see the title card by the frustrated father: "Doesn't anybody want her?" There is a funny chase scene. The farmhand, not knowing about the letter, still wants her. But now the evil landlord wants to evict Louise's father for not paying the overdue mortgage.
Now we are back to funny animal scenes. We see a turkey chase a young boy. Teddy the dog, still working hard, loads sleigh. He notices child's predicament and takes off after the turkey. Meanwhile the child gets into more mischief, and walks a plank over a waterfall. Teddy, as usual, comes to the rescue.
Back to melodrama: The wedding day has arrived for Louise with the farmhand sweetheart. Meanwhile a letter is delivered to Roach, but the landlord shiftily takes and reads, and discovers that Louise has inherited $100,000 from an uncle. Naturally the sleaze wants her back, but only for her new wealth. He produces the incriminating love letter and presents to farmhand, who becomes angry with Louise. Landlord wants to take farmhand's place at wedding, which is now totally disrupted, and the nearby general store gets wrecked. Then a stranger (who coincidentally looks like the man in the clothing ad!) arrives to get his missing child, the one who was chased by the turkey. We are not really sure about the toddler's circumstances of being "missing," but anyway, folks think that he must be Louise's child. She must have had a baby out of wedlock! It all develops into a funny chase scene involving two automobiles and a motorcycle. The bad guy gets his comeuppance, while Louise explains the phony "Dear Jane" letter to all. Finally the wedding continues for those who had wanted to be together in the first place. The last scene ("six years later") is amusing; Louise is quite fertile.
Title cards are many but cute. One example: "The hired man, after the daughter's hand, fears father's foot." This delightful film is recommended. TIP: If you have a wide screen TV, shrink to a normal view format (for these earlier films), and people will appear slimmer, as they really were.
"Down on the Farm" is one of those rural comedies so popular in early 20th century America. It is a five-reel silent, unusually long for the time (50 minutes). The feature begins with unforgettably funny farm animal scenes that include: (1) farmer, while milking cow, squirting milk into Teddy the dog's mouth, (2) Teddy, a hard-working farm dog, delivering grain pail to pig sty, (3) Teddy twice filling a pail from water trough and bringing to cow, (4) geese following Louise (Ms. Fazenda), the farmer's daughter, who is sowing; she does not know that the animals are eating her seeds, and (5) a gaggle of geese (what a gargantuan gaggle!) chasing Louise.
After these opening scenes, we move into melodrama. A rustic sweetheart (the hired hand) loves Louise, but her father, Roach, will have none of it. Meanwhile the pompous village banker-landlord (James Finlayson), a vile sort, is making his rounds collecting due monies. At a particular property, he tries to obtain a sexual favor with a faithful wife (Marie Prevost) to forestall eviction. After several funny scenes, the banker-landlord is forced to leave after getting clobbered by the returning diminutive husband (Ben Turpin) and heads for the Roach farm. He gets a ticket from an aged cop on a bicycle for riding his horse too fast! At the farm farmer Roach cannot pay the due mortgage. But the landlord notices and kisses Louise, tells her father that he will marry her (as he needs a cook) for the due mortgage payment that Roach cannot afford to pay. But Louise, still in love with the rustic sweetheart, discourages the landlord-suitor. Her plan is to write an incriminating letter from a non-existent lover, stating that their love affair ("fake marriage") is all over. She cuts out a picture of a man in a shirt-collar ad to pass as her "ex-lover." She shows both the letter and picture to the landlord.
The trick does work, but it has consequences. Roach finds out about the letter and tries to beat Louise for her supposed pre-marital sexual activity. Supposedly a man may not want to marry her (after all, this is 1920). That is the reason we later see the title card by the frustrated father: "Doesn't anybody want her?" There is a funny chase scene. The farmhand, not knowing about the letter, still wants her. But now the evil landlord wants to evict Louise's father for not paying the overdue mortgage.
Now we are back to funny animal scenes. We see a turkey chase a young boy. Teddy the dog, still working hard, loads sleigh. He notices child's predicament and takes off after the turkey. Meanwhile the child gets into more mischief, and walks a plank over a waterfall. Teddy, as usual, comes to the rescue.
Back to melodrama: The wedding day has arrived for Louise with the farmhand sweetheart. Meanwhile a letter is delivered to Roach, but the landlord shiftily takes and reads, and discovers that Louise has inherited $100,000 from an uncle. Naturally the sleaze wants her back, but only for her new wealth. He produces the incriminating love letter and presents to farmhand, who becomes angry with Louise. Landlord wants to take farmhand's place at wedding, which is now totally disrupted, and the nearby general store gets wrecked. Then a stranger (who coincidentally looks like the man in the clothing ad!) arrives to get his missing child, the one who was chased by the turkey. We are not really sure about the toddler's circumstances of being "missing," but anyway, folks think that he must be Louise's child. She must have had a baby out of wedlock! It all develops into a funny chase scene involving two automobiles and a motorcycle. The bad guy gets his comeuppance, while Louise explains the phony "Dear Jane" letter to all. Finally the wedding continues for those who had wanted to be together in the first place. The last scene ("six years later") is amusing; Louise is quite fertile.
Title cards are many but cute. One example: "The hired man, after the daughter's hand, fears father's foot." This delightful film is recommended. TIP: If you have a wide screen TV, shrink to a normal view format (for these earlier films), and people will appear slimmer, as they really were.