A Busy Day is a 1914 short film starring Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain.[1]

A Busy Day
film scene
Directed byCharlie Chaplin
Produced byMack Sennett
StarringCharlie Chaplin
CinematographyFrank D. Williams
Production
company
Distributed byMutual Film
Release date
  • May 7, 1914 (1914-05-07)
Running time
6 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
A Busy Day

Plot

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In A Busy Day, a wife (played by an energetic Charlie Chaplin) becomes jealous of her husband's interest in another woman during a military parade. On her way to attack the couple, the wife interrupts the set of a film, knocking over a film director and a police officer. Finally, the husband pushes the wife off a pier and she falls into the harbor.

Notes

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According to the 1965 book The Films of Charlie Chaplin, A Busy Day is the first of three films in which Chaplin plays a woman. The other two were The Masquerader (1914) and A Woman (1915). Chaplin used the wardrobe of fellow Keystone player Alice Davenport.

It was typical for Mack Sennett to shoot Keystone comedies using real events—such as a parade—as the background for comic mayhem. This short film (about half a reel) was shot near San Pedro Harbor in less than two hours. In it, one can see interesting glimpses of First World War-era American naval ships in the background. The other part of the reel is an educational short titled The Morning Papers.

Reception

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A reviewer from Bioscope noted, "[Chaplin] gives an amazing exhibition of acrobatic humor."

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Walker, Brent E. (2010). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland Inc. p. 294. ISBN 9780786457076. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
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