''Leap Year'' is an American silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by and starring

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

and

James Cruze James Cruze (born Jens Cruz Bosen;Sadoul, Georges (1972). Dictionary of Films'. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 53. . See also: * Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (1974). Film Directors: A Guide to Their American Fi ...

. Though produced in 1921, the film was not released in the United States due to Arbuckle's involvement in the

Virginia Rappe Zelliene Virginia Rappe (; July 7, 1891 – September 9, 1921) was an American model and silent film actress. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and ...

death scandal; it received its first release in Finland in 1924. The film finally saw an American release of sorts in 1981. Prints are held by the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

and

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Plot summary

Roscoe Arbuckle plays Stanley Piper, heir to his uncle’s millions. He lives at Piper Hall. His valet is Mumford. Inside the house, Jeremiah Piper, Stanley’s uncle, who is gouty, grouchy and a girl-hater, is being looked after by his nurse, Phyllis Brown. He decides to send Stanley on a fishing trip to keep him away from women as he falls in love with every woman he meets. The ‘fool nephew,’ stutters when he’s excited and is relived only by drink (water). Nurse Brown is upset to hear this news. Stanley brings flowers for Nurse Brown only to be told by his uncle that she’s been fired. He catches her as she’s about to leave the house. She tells him what his uncle has said about Stanley falling in love with every woman he meets. Stanley is unable to state is case, his stutter making him momentarily speechless until Mumford gives him water when he tells her it’s a base falsehood and he can prove it. If he can prove it, she decides, they can be together. While he’s trying to prove his love for Nurse Brown, he inadvertently ends up engaged to three different women and must extricate himself from all three engagements by pretending to be seriously ill and suffering from fits. When this doesn’t work, fate intervenes, and the three women find welcome distractions in the form of the other characters.

Cast

* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as Stanley Piper * Mary Thurman as Nurse Phyllis Brown *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Jeremiah Piper * Clarence Geldart as Scott Travis *

Harriet Hammond Harriet Hammond (October 20, 1899 – September 23, 1991) was an American actress of the silent film, silent era. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1918 and 1930. Hammond, who was appearing in prominent roles in the Mack Sennett c ...

as Loris Keene * Allen Durnell as Tommy Blaine *

Gertrude Short Carmen Gertrude Short (April 6, 1902 – July 31, 1968) was an American film actress of the silent and early sound era. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1912 and 1945. Biography Gertrude Short was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the da ...

as Molly Morris * John McKinnon as Mumford, the valet *

Maude Wayne Maude Wayne (born Maude Wehn) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the silent film era. Biography Maude was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, to Louis Wehn and Maria McCathern. She was the youngest of the couple's children ...

as Irene Rutherford *

Winifred Greenwood Winifred Louise Greenwood (January 1, 1885 – November 23, 1961) was an American silent film actress. Early life Born in 1885 in Geneseo, New York, Greenwood studied to be a teacher but left New York Normal School to perform in vaudevil ...

as Mrs. Travis

References

External links

* *
''Leap Year''
available for free download a
Internet Archive
{{James Cruze 1924 films 1924 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Roscoe Arbuckle Films directed by James Cruze Paramount Pictures films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films