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Wallace Beery (left) and Ben Turpin.
Frame enlargement: Silent Era image collection.
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Sweedie Learns to Swim
(1914) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Wallace Beery
Cast: Wallace Beery [Sweedie], Ben Turpin [the police captain], Leo White [Mr. Rich], Betty Brown [Mrs. Rich]
Essanay Film Manufacturing Company production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Scenario by Joseph Anthony Roach. / Released 12 October 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [From Essanay promotional materials] Sweedie the cook decides it would be nice to learn to swim, so goes to a “dry land” swimming class for instructions. She is thrown out of the class after fighting with several of the members and goes home where she fills the bath tub with water and proceeds to learn to swim. After the water is knee deep in the room, she also practices a little fancy diving. By this time the plaster has begun to fall on the floor below, where a card game is going. The members of the family rush up stairs where they find Sweedie having the time of her life. A riot call is sent in to the police, and when they arrive they find Sweedie holding off the entire family with a club. They all then chase her out of the house and finally capture her in the lake.
Survival status: Prints exist in the UCLA Film and Television Archive film archive, and in private film collections [16mm reduction positives].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 30 January 2023.
References: Film credits, film viewing : Montgomery-Comedy p. ?; Spehr-American pp. 42, 598 : Website-IMDb.
Home video: DVD.
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