... or so the opening title card stated. I didn't quite know how to take that because he didn't look that old in the picture to begin with. In 1914, Chaplin was a mere lad of twenty five, so if one wanted to be literal, he'd have to be a child of five for the math to work. So obviously, that was not the intention.
My copy of the film short was very grainy and fuzzy, and though I could make out what was going on, it didn't appear all that entertaining or instructive for me. Chaplin, in his guise as the Little Tramp, or The Film Johnnie for the purpose of this post, managed to disrupt a movie set which catches fire and brings out the Keystone Fire Department to squelch the smoke and fire. The picture is not much more than a series of pratfalls, fighting among characters and a water hose trained on our Johnnie in a moment of rebuke for his interference in the production of a movie. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, moving pictures were still in their relative infancy, and everyone has to get their start somewhere, but this seven minute short (the version I watched) didn't show a lot of promise, but as we all know, you can't go by first impressions.
Catch this as a historical benchmark in the career of Charles Chaplin, who would go on to develop his craft to become one of the prime movers and innovators of early cinema.
My copy of the film short was very grainy and fuzzy, and though I could make out what was going on, it didn't appear all that entertaining or instructive for me. Chaplin, in his guise as the Little Tramp, or The Film Johnnie for the purpose of this post, managed to disrupt a movie set which catches fire and brings out the Keystone Fire Department to squelch the smoke and fire. The picture is not much more than a series of pratfalls, fighting among characters and a water hose trained on our Johnnie in a moment of rebuke for his interference in the production of a movie. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, moving pictures were still in their relative infancy, and everyone has to get their start somewhere, but this seven minute short (the version I watched) didn't show a lot of promise, but as we all know, you can't go by first impressions.
Catch this as a historical benchmark in the career of Charles Chaplin, who would go on to develop his craft to become one of the prime movers and innovators of early cinema.