C.O.D. (1914 film)

C.O.D.
advertisement in Moving Picture World, 1915
Directed byTefft Johnson
Written byCharles Brown
Based onC.O.D. (play)
by Frederic Chapin
StarringHarry Davenport
Hughie Mack
Charles Brown
Eulalie Jensen
Mabel Kelly
Edwina Robbins
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Film Company
Release date
  • December 6, 1914 (1914-12-06)
Running time
4 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent
English intertitles

C.O.D. is a 1914 short comedy film directed by Tefft Johnson and based upon Frederic Chapin's 1912 play of the same name.[1]

Plot

C.O. Darlington (Harry Davenport), C.O. Drudge (Hughie Mack) and C.O. Dusenberry (Charles Brown) each feign an illness to their wives and instead go on vacation together. After their train crashes, they are mistaken as convicts and put to work by Farmer Jones (William Shea). However, once their true identities are revealed, they are entertained by Farmer Jones and his daughters.

Meanwhile, the wives (Eulalie Jensen, Mabel Kelly, Edwina Robbins) discover that their husbands went on vacation and decide to take their own vacation together. They meet three other men, who take them to dinner at Farmer Jones' house. The husbands are forced to hide and eventually escape to the barn. The next morning, the husbands and wives concoct explanations before returning to the city.[2]

Cast

  • Harry Davenport as C.O. Darlington
  • Hughie Mack as C.O. Drudge
  • Charles Brown as C.O. Dusenberry
  • Eulalie Jensen as Mrs. Darlington
  • Mabel Kelly as Mrs. Drudge
  • Edwina Robbins as Mrs. Dusenberry
  • Jack Bulger as Willie Willing
  • William R. Dunn as Wallie Walton
  • Stephen Lennon as Wilton Wallford
  • William Shea as Farmer Jones
  • Minnie Storey as Mrs. Jones
  • Ethel Corcoran as Iwilla Jones
  • Mary Anderson as Irva Jones
  • Ruth Edwards as Irma Jones
  • Charles Edwards as Lem

Release

The film premiered in New York at the Vitagraph Theater on December 6, 1914 alongside a one-act play entitled What the Moon Saw, which was written by Vitagraph actor S. Rankin Drew.[2][3]

Reception

C.O.D. was described as "high-class comedy" in a positive review in Moving Picture World.[4] A review in Motion Picture News stated that the film "comes nearer being the acme of comedy productions than any previous screen story."[3]

References

  1. ^ New York, Chalmers Publishing Company (February 13, 1915). Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1915). Media History Digital Library. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company. pp. 952.
  2. ^ a b "C.O.D." catalog.afi.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  3. ^ a b "All Vitagraph Players on Bill at Once". Motion Picture News. Vol. 10, no. 24. December 19, 1914. p. 46. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. ^ ""C.O.D.," A Scream". The Moving Picture World. Vol. 22, no. 12. December 19, 1914. Retrieved January 15, 2019.