''A Busy Day'' is a 1914 short film starring

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

and

Mack Swain Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain; February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was an early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major fea ...

Plot

In ''A Busy Day'', a wife (played by an energetic

) 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 Alice Davenport (née Shepphard; February 29, 1864 – June 24, 1936) was an American film actress. She appeared in 140 films between 1911 and 1930. She was born Alice Shepphard in New York City, and died in Los Angeles, California. She mad ...

. It was typical for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

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 San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located w ...

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, " haplingives an amazing exhibition of acrobatic humor."

Cast

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

as Wife *

as Husband *

Phyllis Allen Phyllis Allen (November 25, 1861 – March 26, 1938) was an American vaudeville and silent screen comedian. She worked with Charles Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Mack Sennett during a film career spanning 74 movies in the ...

as The Other Woman *

as Film director *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...

as Police officer * Ted Edwards as Police officer

External links

* * * * 1914 films American black-and-white films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin 1914 comedy films American silent short films Silent American comedy films Keystone Studios films Films produced by Mack Sennett 1914 short films Articles containing video clips American comedy short films Mutual Film films 1910s English-language films 1910s American films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub