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On the Quiet

1918 film by Chester Withey

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ7091465 ↗
Source-derived summary

On the Quiet is a lost 1918 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Chester Withey and starred John Barrymore. The film, based on an original 1901 play, was written by Augustus Thomas and served as a popular hit for William Collier Sr.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Robert Ridgway is in love with Agnes Colt, but her brother who is the guardian of her estate objects to Robert's wild escapades. They are married on the quiet. Robert goes back to college and promises to be good. Agnes's sister is jealous of her husband, a Duke, and to test their love the Duke holds a party in Robert's room. Agnes visits Robert while the party is in progress, and when her brother discovers her absence he goes to hunt her up. Robert and Agnes escape to a life saving station, don diving helmets, and hide at the bottom of the sea. Meanwhile, McGeachy, who was a witness at the wedding, explains everything.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “On the Quiet” as 1918 film by Chester Withey. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Quiet, film and Chester.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1918, 1901—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1918-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Quiet, film and Chester providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “On the Quiet”, the useful work is to connect “1918 film by Chester Withey” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7091465. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918 and 1901.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “On the Quiet”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow On the Quiet primary sources, On the Quiet archive and Quiet research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “On the Quiet”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “On the Quiet” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.