Ted Edwards

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 vaudeville impersonator is hired by a mad scientist to assist in his experiments, then kills him and takes his place, slowly losing his own mind as he poses as the doctor. Dwain Esper's lurid 1934 exploitation film splices in medical footage and cribbed text from a psychiatry textbook. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Horror