A Busy Day
A Busy Day is a 1914 short film starring Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain.
| A Busy Day | |
|---|---|
 film scene | |
| Directed by | Mack Sennett |
| Produced by | Mack Sennett |
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin |
| Cinematography | Frank D. Williams |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Mutual Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
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
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.
Review
A reviewer from Bioscope noted, "[Chaplin] gives an amazing exhibition of acrobatic humor."
Cast
- Charles Chaplin as Wife
- Mack Swain as Husband
- Phyllis Allen as The Other Woman
- Mack Sennett as Film director
- Billy Gilbert as Police officer
- Ted Edwards as Police officer
External links
- A Busy Day on YouTube
- A Busy Day at IMDb
- A Busy Day at AllMovie
- A Busy Day is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive