Rolling Home

It's such a thrill when a "lost" silent film is discovered, restored, and shown to new audiences. "Rolling Home" was long unavailable in any format and perhaps had not been seen since its initial 1926 release, until the June 10, 2025 screening at the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto, California.

An eagle-eyed fan spotted a home version of this film in 16mm on eBay and purchased it. The Packard Foundation restored it and screened it at their theater (The Stanford) with live organ accompaniment.

The film itself is not as exciting as its rediscovery. Forgotten comedy star Reginald Denny plays a WWI veteran returning home to his small town after portraying himself as wildly successful in letters to his mother. To uphold the lie, he arrives in a Rolls Royce provided by his Army buddy, who is a chauffeur.

Thus begins a tangled web of attempted business deals, which sounds about as funny as it is. So perhaps it is for the best that 15 minutes of footage is missing from this restored version, replaced with a title card that explains the plot points of the absent footage. Frankly, I was relieved to have something move the film along. The resulting running time of the restored version is 55 minutes and feels much longer.

There are few laughs and not much else to keep things interesting. The cast is unknown and the filming locations of no special interest.

David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard) spoke before and after the screening and said he hopes to make this film available to wider audiences. And if he doesn't, no great loss. There are much better silent comedies that are easily available.