Keystone Studios

Charlie Chaplin plays a waiter at a cheap cabaret who passes himself off to a society girl as a foreign dignitary, then has to juggle both lives when her wealthy family invites him to a garden party. The imposture collapses in a brawl back at the cabaret, with Mabel Normand's character watching her two worlds collide. Made at Keystone in Chaplin's first year on screen, the film was directed by Normand, his co-star, though Chaplin later claimed he had taken over direction himself. Whoever called the shots, it is an early showcase for the Tramp's gift for turning class resentment into slapstick. A 1914 release, it is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

A silent Keystone comedy starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, directed by George Nichols. After Fatty rescues the police commissioner's daughter from drowning, he is rewarded with a position on the police force. His enthusiasm far exceeds his competence, and his attempts to enforce the law result in chaos. The film showcases Arbuckle's remarkable physical agility—his size belied a cat-like grace that made him one of silent comedy's most gifted performers. Made during Arbuckle's early Keystone period under Mack Sennett, the film features the kind of rough-and-tumble slapstick that defined the studio's output. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

The film that introduced the world to Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character. Chaplin plays a spectator at a children's soapbox derby in Venice, California, who keeps wandering into the frame of a newsreel camera, annoying the filmmaker and the crowd. The Tramp's costume—bowler hat, tight jacket, baggy pants, cane, and mustache—appears here for the first time, though the character's personality was still rough and improvisational. The film was shot in a single day at an actual soapbox derby, with Chaplin improvising his gags amid real crowds who didn't know they were watching cinema history. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

Charlie Chaplin's very first film, directed by Henry Lehrman for Keystone Studios. Chaplin plays a smooth-talking swindler who competes with another man for the affections of a woman, then fakes his own death to get a newspaper story published. The character is not yet the Tramp—Chaplin wears a top hat, frock coat, and monocle, and his performance is broad and stagey, still rooted in the music hall tradition. Chaplin was reportedly unhappy with Lehrman's direction and editing, and the experience motivated him to demand creative control over his subsequent films, leading to the revolution in screen comedy that followed. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

A Keystone comedy directed by Mack Sennett, featuring Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle together on screen. Set in a dance hall, the film features Chaplin as a troublemaker who disrupts the dancing, while Arbuckle appears as a large, clumsy tango enthusiast. The film is a rough, raw example of the Keystone style—fast, chaotic, and full of physical mayhem—made before Chaplin developed the Tramp character that would make him world-famous. Seeing Chaplin and Arbuckle together is a rare treat; both would go on to become two of the most important figures in silent comedy. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

A Keystone one-reeler from Charlie Chaplin's first year in pictures, set behind the scenes at a movie studio — a sly bit of self-reference from Mack Sennett's comedy factory. Chaplin plays a film actor who keeps ruining takes until the director fires him; he returns in drag as a strikingly elegant actress and turns the set upside down before being unmasked. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Chester Conklin play fellow actors, and the studio door glimpsed in the film is Keystone's own. Written and directed by Chaplin in 1914, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Comedy · Silent

One of the Keystone one-reelers Charlie Chaplin directed as well as starred in during his astonishing first year in pictures, Those Love Pangs — released in some markets as The Rival Mashers — casts Chaplin and Chester Conklin as competing mashers who chase the same girls through a park and into a movie theater, where the brawl that erupts in front of the screen mirrors the slapstick playing on it. Chaplin was still refining the Tramp here, but the short already shows his gift for building gags on top of gags. Made for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios in 1914, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Comedy · Silent

Tillie's Punctured Romance is a 1914 silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios, distributed by Mutual Film. The first feature-length comedy ever made, it stars Charlie Chaplin (in his first feature role), Marie Dressler, and Mabel Normand. Chaplin plays a city con man who seduces a farmer's daughter (Dressler) for her money, only to abandon her when he discovers she's been disinherited. The film was based on Dressler's stage success Tillie's Nightmare and was a massive hit, helping establish Chaplin as a major star. As a 1914 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy

Charlie Chaplin plays a waiter at a cheap cabaret who passes himself off to a society girl as a foreign dignitary, then has to juggle both lives when her wealthy family invites him to a garden party. The imposture collapses in a brawl back at the cabaret, with Mabel Normand's character watching her two worlds collide. Made at Keystone in Chaplin's first year on screen, the film was directed by Normand, his co-star, though Chaplin later claimed he had taken over direction himself. Whoever called the shots, it is an early showcase for the Tramp's gift for turning class resentment into slapstick. A 1914 release, it is in the public domain.

Comedy · Silent

A Keystone one-reeler from Charlie Chaplin's first year in pictures, set behind the scenes at a movie studio — a sly bit of self-reference from Mack Sennett's comedy factory. Chaplin plays a film actor who keeps ruining takes until the director fires him; he returns in drag as a strikingly elegant actress and turns the set upside down before being unmasked. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Chester Conklin play fellow actors, and the studio door glimpsed in the film is Keystone's own. Written and directed by Chaplin in 1914, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Comedy · Silent

One of the Keystone one-reelers Charlie Chaplin directed as well as starred in during his astonishing first year in pictures, Those Love Pangs — released in some markets as The Rival Mashers — casts Chaplin and Chester Conklin as competing mashers who chase the same girls through a park and into a movie theater, where the brawl that erupts in front of the screen mirrors the slapstick playing on it. Chaplin was still refining the Tramp here, but the short already shows his gift for building gags on top of gags. Made for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios in 1914, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Comedy · Silent