The adventures of Old Bill and his friends Bert and Alf in the trenches of the first World War.The adventures of Old Bill and his friends Bert and Alf in the trenches of the first World War.The adventures of Old Bill and his friends Bert and Alf in the trenches of the first World War.
Edgar Kennedy
- Cpl. Austin
- (as Ed. Kennedy)
Charles K. Gerrard
- Maj. Russett
- (as Charles Gerrard)
Arthur Clayton
- The Colonel
- (uncredited)
Doris Hill
- Waitress
- (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten
- German Officer
- (uncredited)
Tom Kennedy
- The Blacksmith
- (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch
- Gaspard
- (uncredited)
Hank Mann
- German Soldier Tying Up Horse
- (uncredited)
Tom McGuire
- English General
- (uncredited)
Kewpie Morgan
- Gen. Stein
- (uncredited)
Al Thompson
- The Daughter in the Skit
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film and the earlier musical comedies are based on a popular cartoon character Old Bill, an Cockney-born British infantryman, drawn by Bruce Bairnsfather.
- Quotes
Alfie 'Little Alf': Let's get out of this damn 'ole!
Pvt. William 'Old Bill' Busby: If you knows of a better 'ole - go for it.
- Crazy creditsSyd Chaplin was credited above the title and his full character name was supplied in an inter-title.
- Alternate versionsThe print of the film in the Turner library, and released on DVD through Warner Archive includes the original 1926 Vitaphone music score, with some sound effects and singing. At one point, Harold Goodwin whispers a word to Sydney Chaplin which is also faintly heard.
- ConnectionsVersion of Carry On (1919)
Featured review
the other Chaplin
In WWI, Bert Chester is in the British Secret Service and working the British lines alongside the lowly soldiers. Pvt. William 'Old Bill' Busby (Syd Chaplin) is the beloved 30 years veteran of the service. He's a comedic everyman who won't be rising up the ranks any time soon.
I don't know anything about Syd Chaplin. Apparently, he's the older half-brother of Charlie Chaplin and had his own movie career during the silent era. The brothers were very close. One can certainly see similar mannerisms. Syd is a chunkier and older version of his famous brother. That works comedically. I'm actually surprised that he didn't get more play as the Tramp's friend or family. He would fit very nicely as a carnival mirror image of the iconic character. Maybe he's a little too close for comedic purposes. They would step on each other comedically. In this movie, he's a rougher version of the Tramp. I really like this character. He's fun. As for the movie, it runs a bit longer than I expected. It's full-length like a modern film. It runs out of steam. The horse bit goes on too long. I like my silent films a lot shorter unless they are involved stories. I'm not that involved with this story.
I don't know anything about Syd Chaplin. Apparently, he's the older half-brother of Charlie Chaplin and had his own movie career during the silent era. The brothers were very close. One can certainly see similar mannerisms. Syd is a chunkier and older version of his famous brother. That works comedically. I'm actually surprised that he didn't get more play as the Tramp's friend or family. He would fit very nicely as a carnival mirror image of the iconic character. Maybe he's a little too close for comedic purposes. They would step on each other comedically. In this movie, he's a rougher version of the Tramp. I really like this character. He's fun. As for the movie, it runs a bit longer than I expected. It's full-length like a modern film. It runs out of steam. The horse bit goes on too long. I like my silent films a lot shorter unless they are involved stories. I'm not that involved with this story.
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- SnoopyStyle
- Sep 26, 2022
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $449,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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