''A Day's Pleasure'' (1919) is

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (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 considered o ...

's fourth film for First National Films. It was created at the Chaplin Studio. It was a quickly made two-reeler to help fill a gap while working on his first feature '' The Kid''. It is about a day outing with his wife and the kids and things do not go smoothly. Edna Purviance plays Chaplin's wife and

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

one of the kids. The first scene shows the Chaplin Studio corner office in the background while Chaplin tries to get his car started.

Plot summary

After an initial scene featuring a Ford which is extremely reluctant to start, most of the action takes place on an

excursion An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

. Gags revolve around seasickness, which Charlie, a fat couple, and even the boat's all-black

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

band succumb to, deckchairs, and Charlie's comic pugnacity. This is followed by a scene of the family returning home, and encountering trouble at an intersection, which involves a traffic cop, and hot tar.

Cast

as Father * Edna Purviance as Mother * Marion Feducha as Small Boy (''uncredited'') * Bob Kelly as Small Boy (''uncredited'') *

as Smallest Boy (''uncredited'') * Tom Wilson as Large Husband (''uncredited'') * Babe London as His Seasick Wife (''uncredited'') * Henry Bergman as Captain, Man in Car and Heavy Policeman (''uncredited'') * Loyal Underwood as Angry Little Man in Street (''uncredited'')

Reception

''A Day's Pleasure'' is almost universally regarded as Chaplin's least impressive First National film. Even contemporary critics were muted in their enthusiasm, as evidenced by this mixed review from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of December 8, 1919 :

"Charlie Chaplin is screamingly funny in his latest picture, ''A Day's Pleasure'', at the Strand, when he tries in vain to solve the mysteries of a collapsible deck chair. He is also funny in many little bits of
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
and
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
, in which he is inimitable. But most of the time he depends for comedy upon seasickness, a Ford car, and biff-bang slap-stick, with which he is little, if any, funnier than many other screen comedians."''The New York Times'' review
/ref>

References

External links

* * 1919 films American black-and-white films 1919 comedy films Silent American comedy short films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin 1919 short films First National Pictures films Surviving American silent films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films English-language comedy short films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub