The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm

In Short

When the Comet Film Company decamps from New York to shoot rural photo-dramas on a New Jersey farm, teenage silent-screen actresses Ruth and Alice DeVere find that country life is far from peaceful. Between run-in accidents with bees, kicking mules, and improvised water-hose comedy, the sisters try to help their host, young Sandy Apgar, stave off the foreclosure of his family’s homestead. Suspicious sightings of a limping stranger around an old cabin lead to a secret hiding place, a restored inheritance, and a narrow escape from financial ruin, offering a gentle period window into early filmmaking techniques.

The Story

The DeVere family—retired legitimate actor Hosmer DeVere and his teenage daughters, Ruth and Alice—travel from New York City to Oak Farm near Beatonville, New Jersey. Accompanied by the director Mr. Pertell, camera operator Russ Dalwood, and a colorful troupe of fellow actors, they intend to board at the homestead of the elderly Apgars and use the grounds as a backdrop for a series of moving-picture dramas.

Upon arrival, the city players discover that the farm is under severe financial strain. Sandy Apgar, who runs the property for his aging parents, explains that unless he can raise four thousand dollars by autumn, the mortgage will be foreclosed. Years earlier, Sandy's father had lent his savings to his brother, Uncle Isaac, who went mad and died without returning the money or revealing where it was kept.

While the sisters grow fond of rural life, production proceeds with a series of minor disasters and accidental comedy. Wellington Bunn, an actor who wears a tall silk hat and laments his lost dignity, is doused by a garden hose turned on him by his German castmate, Switzer, and is later thrown into a grassy bank by a runaway mule stung by an insect. Ruth and Alice perform in scenes involving corn hoeing, old-fashioned barn dances, and a local schoolhouse that is suddenly disrupted by a swarm of stinging bees. During an unscripted moment at the river, Alice is knocked into the current by a floating log; actor Paul Morris plunges in to save her while Russ enthusiastically films the authentic rescue from the bank.

Throughout their stay, the troupe is unsettled by sightings of a mysterious limping man prowling around the property and a nearby abandoned cabin. When a sudden thunderstorm forces Ruth and Alice to seek shelter in the lonely cabin, they encounter the stranger, who flees when Russ and Paul arrive to escort the girls home. Later, Sandy chases the fugitive's automobile on horseback, corners him after a ditch crash, and detains him on suspicion of trespassing.

The mystery resolves during the climactic filming of a staged barn fire. As the carpenter cuts into the roof to prepare the structure for the scene, he uncovers a hidden room with a sliding panel door concealed within the old building. Inside, Sandy discovers Uncle Isaac’s locked box containing cash, bonds, and securities worth over five thousand dollars. The recovered funds pay off the mortgage, securing the farm for the elderly couple. With their work finished and the farm saved, the DeVere sisters pack their trunks to prepare for their next cinematic adventure in the winter woods.

How It Unfolds

Off to the country A troupe of theatrical actors leaves the hot streets of Manhattan by train to film rural photo-dramas in New Jersey. They arrive at Oak Farm, where the worn, hardworking Apgar family welcomes them with a traditional chicken dinner.

The shadow of foreclosure Sandy Apgar confides to the film manager that his family faces eviction by autumn unless they can pay off a four-thousand-dollar mortgage. He reveals that his father lent their savings to his late brother Isaac, who lost his sanity before disclosing where he hid his money.

Camera tricks and real splashes Production begins in the fields and barns, punctuated by unscripted mishaps that director Mr. Pertell eagerly captures on film. Wellington Bunn suffers a thorough dousing from a garden hose, falls into a horse trough for the camera, and is later bucked off a insect-stung mule into a grassy bank.

A perilous rescue While outdoors, Alice falls into a river and is struck on the head by a drifting log. Paul Morris dives in to rescue her, while camera operator Russ Dalwood stands on the bank grinding his camera crank, believing the life-threatening incident is merely a well-rehearsed scene.

The limping stranger The sisters notice a suspicious man with a distinct limp lurking around the old barn and an abandoned cabin in the woods. After a sudden rainstorm traps the girls in the cabin with the stranger, Sandy chases the fleeing man in a horse-and-buggy pursuit, eventually detaining him when the man's car crashes in a ditch.

Secret of the old barn During the preparations to shoot a staged barn fire, workers cut into the roof and uncover a secret room hidden behind a sliding panel door. Inside, Sandy finds Uncle Isaac's long-lost iron box packed with currency and valuable papers, saving the homestead from foreclosure just as the troupe prepares for their next assignment.

The People

• Ruth DeVere: The seventeen-year-old elder sister, thoughtful and slightly romantic. She seeks to support her father after his voice fails on stage, adapting cheerfully to silent film work while worrying about the unexpected hazards of farm life.
• Alice DeVere: The fifteen-year-old younger sister, high-spirited, fearless, and quick to see the humor in mishaps. She embraces moving picture acting, survives a near-drowning, and takes the lead in investigating the suspicious events on the property.
• Sandy Apgar: The hardworking young farmer managing Oak Farm for his elderly parents. He wants above all to prevent the foreclosure of his family's home, remaining steadfast despite the loss of his uncle's money until the hidden box is recovered.
• Wellington Bunn: An overly formal veteran stage actor who wears a battered silk hat and laments his transition to moving pictures. He suffers a series of comic indignities—from hose dousings to runaway mules—while remaining a well-liked member of the troupe.
• Mr. Pertell: The pragmatic film director of the Comet Film Company. He seeks authentic rural backgrounds for his moving pictures and continuously turns real-life accidents and mishaps into footage for his comic reels.

In Its Own Voice

"He used to farm it, but he gave that up, and went into other schemes. I never knew rightly what they were, but he used to make money--at least he must have got it somehow, for he didn't work."

Sandy Apgar explains the enigmatic career of his late Uncle Isaac to the film manager, laying out the origin of the missing family money.

"That's it! Come right over here! I'm getting a dandy film! That's it, Paul, a little more to the left! That's the finest rescue scene I ever got! It's great acting!"

Russ Dalwood shouts instructions from the riverbank while cranking his camera, mistakenly believing Paul's genuine rescue of the drowning Alice is a rehearsed performance.

"I used to think a country life was calm and peaceful, but things happen here just as in a city."

Ruth reflects to her sister on the endless stream of runaways, strange men, and filming accidents that disturb the quiet routine of Oak Farm.

What It's Really About

Beneath its lightweight plot, the story explores the collision between early twentieth-century modern technology and traditional agrarian life. The novel contrasts the artificial, highly constructed world of silent filmmaking with the quiet, physically demanding reality of generational farming. Film director Mr. Pertell continually converts real hardship—a wet actor, a near-drowning, a runaway animal—into commercial visual narrative, treating life as raw material for the camera lens. At the same time, the plot relies on classic melodramatic conventions: the threatened farm mortgage, the eccentric relative's missing fortune, and the hidden architectural secret. It captures a moment in American history when the emerging moving-picture industry began taking root in rural landscapes, reshaping how ordinary work and play were depicted for urban audiences.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers a clear window into the commercial juvenile series fiction of the early 1910s, specifically the famous Stratemeyer Syndicate factory style published under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. Readers interested in media history will enjoy its functional descriptions of early silent film production—hand-cranked cameras, spliced negatives, staged stunt substitutes, and the simple visual gags that defined early film comedy.

The narrative moves at a rapid pace, relying on brief chapters, active dialogue, and clear-cut stock characters. Modern readers will easily recognize the formulaic structure typical of period series books, including predictable plot contrivances, simple character motivations, and brief episodic cliffhangers. The prose is straightforward and accessible, free of heavy dialect, making it a light, effortless read. For those curious about early pop culture depictions of cinema or the origins of American youth series literature, The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm stands as a gentle, uncomplicated artifact of its era.

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