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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1274

It's the Old Army Game

192677 minUnited States
Comedy

Synopsis

Small-town shopkeeper Elmer Prettywillie struggles with demanding customers, disrupted sleep and a disastrous family picnic. When a property salesman sets up business in his store, the promise of easy money brings him a fresh set of angry neighbours.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
75:23
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Paramount Pictures · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsA. Edward Sutherland

Inspirations

The film draws on the revue The Comic Supplement and W. C. Fields's stage routines. Its title refers to a confidence game, matching the story's interest in bargains that are not what they seem.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • W. C. Fields — Harry Warnecke / Lee Jennings Elkins · CC0
  • Louise Brooks — Unknown author Unknown author; https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000315/mediaviewer/rm1371521025/?ref_=nmmi_mi_all_100 · Public domain

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