''Pay Day'' (1922) is an American short film made by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

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 ...

wrote, directed, and starred in the film. It is Chaplin's final two-reel short film.

Plot

Chaplin plays a laborer on a house construction site. When he gets paid, his wife wants all the money, but he manages to keep enough of it to go out drinking. He returns home just in time to pretend he has just woken up to go to work.

Cast

as Laborer *

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 Laborer's Wife *

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 ...

as Foreman *

Edna Purviance Olga Edna Purviance (; October 21, 1895 – January 13, 1958) was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the leading lady in many of Charlie Chaplin's early films and in a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with hi ...

as Foreman's Daughter *

Syd Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and director Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager in later life. Through their mother Hannah, they were o ...

as Mustachioed Workman / Laborer's Friend / Lunch Cart Owner * John Rand as Workman *

Loyal Underwood Loyal Underwood (August 6, 1893 - September 30, 1966) was an American stock actor for Charlie Chaplin's film studio. Biography Born in 1893 in Rockford, Illinois, Underwood's movie debut was in '' The Count'', a 1916 Chaplin short film created ...

as Bearded Workman *

Henry Bergman Henry Bergman (February 23, 1868 – October 22, 1946) was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin. Biography Born in San Francisco, California, Bergman acted in live theatre, appearing in ''Hen ...

as Fat Workman *

Al Ernest Garcia Allan Ernest Garcia (11 March 1887 – 4 September 1938) was an American actor and casting director, best known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin. Life and career Al Ernest Garcia appeared in over 120 films between 1911 and 1938, mos ...

as Tall Workman / Policeman

Reception

According to Chaplin biographer

Jeffrey Vance Jeffrey Vance (born May 21, 1970) is an American film historian and author who has published books on movie stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Career While working as an archivist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists he met E ...

, "''Pay Day'', is a delightful, polished work that was Chaplin’s last two-reel comedy." He notes that

Monta Bell Louis Monta Bell (February 5, 1891 – February 4, 1958) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Biography Monta Bell first appeared in theatrical venues with Washington D.C. stock companies and then took up journalism an ...

, a future director and producer, was engaged as a general assistant and helped Chaplin develop the film's scenario on paper prior to production. This made it possible for Chaplin to make ''Pay Day'' in 31 production days (a sharp contrast to the five months required to complete his previous two-reel comedy, ''

The Idle Class ''The Idle Class'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin for First National Pictures. Plot summary The "Little Tramp" (Charlie Chaplin) heads to a resort for warm weather and golf. At the golf course, ...

'').Vance, Jeffrey (2003), ''Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema New York'': Harry N. Abrams, p. 125. ISBN 0-8109-4532-0

References

External links

* * 1922 films 1922 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin First National Pictures films 1922 short films American comedy short films 1920s American films {{short-silent-comedy-film-stub