February 2nd 1914,
exactly one hundred years ago today saw the launch of one of the most
successful Hollywood careers in history. On
this day a century ago, a twenty-four year old Englishman called Charles
Spencer Chaplin made his screen debut in a one reel Keystone comedy called Making a Living. Eighteen months later
he would arguably become the most famous entertainer on the planet and by his
late twenties he was the richest. Being a man for whom Chaplin has a special
place in my heart, not to mention a permanent inked place on my arm, today is
something special for me and to celebrate I decided to watch his first film
exactly a century after its initial release.
Although I’ve reviewed over forty
of Chaplin’s films in the past two years on this blog, Making a Living was one that I had never seen. In a way I’m glad
that today was the first time I’d seen the short film as there’s something
interesting about seeing it for the very first time exactly a hundred years
after it was first exhibited. Chaplin plays a charming swindler called Edgar
English having not adopted his iconic Tramp costume and persona until his
second film, Kid Auto Races at Venice.
During the thirteen minute runtime, English has frequent run-ins with Henry
Lehrman’s reporter and eventually falls foul of the Keystone Kops, leading to a
chaotic and slightly confusing conclusion.
