The Old Swimmin' Hole

This is an odd film with strong points and other points that many will dislike. It is the first film that I know of that has no titles ("The Last Laugh", which usually gets credit for this was made several years later in 1924). That sets it apart as an innovative film. The story is also unusual. It is a group of loosely related typical incidents in the daily life of a country boy of around 1900. The incidents are well chosen for their universality and I am sure that they brought back memories for the audience that viewed the film in 1921. However, there is no real plot and the thing that makes the film move forward is discovering the character of the boy and recognizing times in your own life that are similar.

On the down side, however, the film shows a world that most people would find distant, strange and very old fashioned. I watched part of this with a my 21 year old son and had to explain many of the things that would have been instantly recognizable to the audience in the past. For example, the reason the boy was so uncomfortable when he put on shoes is he had gone barefoot most of the summer and shoes get uncomfortable when you do that. My son's remark was that kids don't go barefoot even in the country because there are too many broken beer bottles.

However, if you allow yourself to get past the normal resistance to watching something "old fashioned", you begin to get drawn into the character of the boy. Maybe you didn't attend a one room school house as he did, but you probably can remember being infatuated and rejected by a pretty girl, or how some innocent distraction caused you to become embarrassed in front of the whole class when you were called upon by the teacher. The boy (very well played by Charles Ray - a major actor in his day) is charming and full of energy, but he avoids being cute and saccharine. He is never a brat, because he understand how a boy can be can end up doing mischievous things without ever intending to do them. When he gets caught and punished, he takes it without any moral lesson and without being a rebel. He has no agenda - he is just a kid trying to get along while being driven by a body that is full of life and energy. He tussles with his friend, and then they are buddies again - until they get into another fight. He is not above the temptation of stealing a watermelon and sharing it with his friends. Occasionally he gets away with something as most kids do. You get the feeling by the end of the picture that he is far from perfect, but is probably someone you would like to know.

Old fashioned, not relevant to today, characters that may seem too "wholesome", no real plot, a silent film - these are all things that could turn a modern audience off, so the movie is not for everyone, and probably not for most. But, if you are willing to give it a chance you will find it is charming, refreshing, evocative and funny, and it will leave you with the pleasant feeling of having just lived through a sunny summer's day.

Ezra Hull and his classmates get into some mischief in school, hang out at the "old swimmin' hole," and go on a school picnic.

This was a mixed bag for me. There is no plot, which is not necessarily a weakness. One comes to expect the same formula from a Charles Ray film; the country boy who makes good and wins the girl. Here, he is a country boy, but he never goes anywhere, and does not win the girl. He teases the girl sitting in from of him (Laura La Plante) while the girl he really likes (Marjorie Prevost) strings him along. In fact, his love interest dumps him for another guy.

Some of the schoolhouse scenes are mildly amusing, like when Ezra lets a mouse loose. This causes the schoolmaster to toss him out.

His fight with another classmate is funny; the two swing wildly at each other without ever landing a punch, yet they seem to agree they had a good fight.

The film runs around an hour, and moves at a leisurely pace. It's never boring, but if you're expecting any action or thrills, forget it.

An unusual aspect of the film is that there are no title cards. At least two trade journals claimed that the director's name, as well as the cast of characters, was shown on a schoolboy's slate. However, I never saw this, so it was either missing from the print, or the articles were in error. How then can one determine the names of the characters? Well, the schoolmaster, who signs his name as Professor Payne, writes a letter to Mr. Hull about his son Ezra. And Ezra writes "Myrtle" on the side of his rowboat when he invites his girl onboard. Despite the lack of titles, it is generally easy to follow the flow of events, such as they are.