The Farmer's Daughters (1913) watch online HD

This is a nicely set up comedy: a farmer is having trouble getting farmhands, so he advertises that any farmhands will be permitted to court his daughters. Of course the girls and their mother are put out at this attitude by their father, so when a couple of college boys come looking for a bit of cash and a chance at more, some amusing byplay occurs.

Most people, when they think of silent comedy, think of slapstick movies, but there were quite a few genteel comedies. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew (Mr. Drew was an uncle of John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore) had quite a long series of such comedies, enlivened by Mr. Drew's adeptness at stage business.

In this movie there is neither slapstick nor much in the way of stage business, but the overall effect is quite amusing.

Notice that the interior sets of the farmhouse seem to be from more upper-class drawing room comedies.

One of the brightest and most original comedies shown by this company in some time. The daughters of the farmer did some very good character work in fooling the young college graduates, who were bent on matrimony. A neat, well-acted and clearly-photographed film story. - The Moving Picture World, October 11, 1913