Henry Lehrman
2 credits on HibingeTV
Austrian-born American film actor, director, and producer (1886-1946) who directed Charlie Chaplin's first two films, Making a Living (1914) and Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), at Keystone Studios. Lehrman was a protégé of Mack Sennett and directed many early Keystone comedies. He was also involved in the early career of Fatty Arbuckle and was engaged to actress Virginia Rappe at the time of her death.
Directed
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
Kid Auto Races at Venice
1914 - Comedy
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
Making a Living
1914 - Comedy