Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914 Film)
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''Tillie's Punctured Romance'' is a 1914 American silent
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...
and starring
Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...
, Mabel Normand,
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 ...
, and the Keystone Cops. The picture is the first feature-length comedy and was the only feature-length comedy made by the Keystone Film Company. At the time of production Marie Dressler was a major stage star, and in this film Chaplin and Normand support her as leads within Keystone's stock company of actors. The film, based on Dressler's stage play ''Tillie's Nightmare'' by A. Baldwin Sloane and Edgar Smith, is the first feature-length
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
comedy in all of cinema. This was the last time Charlie Chaplin acted in a film that he neither wrote nor directed. He plays a slightly different role from his
Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...
character, which was relatively new at the time. However, he retains a moustache (here a pencil-thin "dude" type rather than his usual "toothbrush"), thin cane and distinctive walk. ''Tillie'' provides an early example of film within a film, when the couple go to the cinema to watch ''A Thief's Fate'', large sections of which are seen.


Plot

Charles 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 ...
portrays a womanizing city man who meets Tillie (
Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...
) in the country after a fight with his girlfriend ( Mabel Normand). When he sees that Tillie's father ( Mack Swain) has a very large bankroll for his workers, he persuades her to elope with him. In the city, he meets the woman he was seeing already, and tries to work around the complication to steal Tillie's money. He gets Tillie drunk in a restaurant and asks her to let him hold the pocketbook. Since she is drunk, she agrees, and he escapes with his old girlfriend and the money. Later that day, they see a Keystone film in a
nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
entitled "A Thief's Fate" (which is, ironically, a melodrama, a type of film Keystone did ''not'' produce) which illustrates their thievery in the form of a
morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
. They both feel guilty and leave the theater. While sitting on a park bench, a paperboy ( Gordon Griffith) asks him to buy a
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
. He does so, and reads the story about Tillie's Uncle Banks ( Charles Bennett), a millionaire who died while on a mountain-climbing expedition. Tillie is named sole heir and inherits three million dollars. The man leaves his girlfriend on the park bench and runs to the restaurant, where Tillie is now forced to work to support herself as she is too embarrassed to go home. He begs her to take him back and although she is skeptical at first, she believes that he truly loves her and they marry. They move into the uncle's
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
and throw a big party, which ends horribly when Tillie finds her husband with his old girlfriend, smuggled into the house and working as one of their maids. The uncle is found on a mountaintop, alive after all. He goes back to his mansion, in disarray after Tillie instigated a gunfight (a direct result of the husband smuggling the old girlfriend into the house) which, luckily, did not harm anyone. Uncle Banks insists that Tillie be arrested for the damage she has caused to his house. The three run from the cops all the way to a dock, where a car "bumps" Tillie into the water. She flails about, hoping to be rescued. She is eventually pulled to safety, and both Tillie and the man's girlfriend realize that they are too good for him. He leaves, and the two girls become friends.


Cast

*
Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...
as Tillie Banks, Country Girl * Mabel Normand as Mabel, Charlie's Girl Friend *
Charles 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 ...
as Charlie, City Slicker * Mack Swain as John Banks, Tillie's Father * Charles Bennett as Uncle Banks, Tillie's Millionaire Uncle Uncredited * Dan Albert as Party Guest / Cop *
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 th ...
as Prison Matron / Restaurant Patron * Billie Bennett as Maid / Party Guest * Joe Bordeaux as Policeman (appearance is not verified) *
Glen Cavender Glen W. Cavender (September 19, 1883 – February 9, 1962) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1949. Biography Glen Cavender was born in Tucson, Arizona, and died in Hollywood, California. He sta ...
as First Pianist In Restaurant *
Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...
as Detective In Movie Theater * Dixie Chene as Guest *
Nick Cogley Nickolas P. J. Cogley (May 4, 1869 – May 20, 1936) was an American actor, director and writer of the silent films. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1909 and 1934. Biography Cogley was born in New York, New York. He attended St. ...
as Keystone Cop Desk Sergeant *
Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...
as Mr. Whoozis / Singing Waitor *
Alice Davenport Alice Davenport (née Shepphard; February 29, 1864 – June 24, 1936) was an American film actress. She appeared in 140 films from 1911 to 1930. She was born Alice Shepphard in New York City, and died in Los Angeles. She made her stage debu ...
as Guest *
Hampton Del Ruth Hampton Del Ruth (September 7, 1879 – May 15, 1958) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Among other work, he wrote the intertitles for the final American studio-made silent film '' Legong: Dance of the Vir ...
as Bank's Tall Secretary Searching For Tillie * Frankie Dolan as Movie Spectator / Party Guest *
Minta Durfee Araminta Estelle "Minta" Durfee (October 1, 1889 – September 9, 1975) was an American silent film actress from Los Angeles, California, possibly best known for her role in '' Mickey'' (1918). Biography She met Roscoe Arbuckle when he was att ...
as Maid * Ted Edwards as Waiter * Edwin Frazee as Movie Spectator / Guest / Cop *
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 Policeman * Gordon Griffith as Newsboy *
William Hauber William Carl HauberWalker, Brent (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'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 512 ...
as Servant / Cop *
Fred Fishback Fred C. Fishback (born Moscu Fischback; January 18, 1894January 6, 1925) was a film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer of the silent era. Following the 1921 scandal surrounding Roscoe Arbuckle, in which he was involved, Fishback worked ...
as Servant * Alice Howell as Guest *
Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...
as Restaurant Owner / Butler * Grover Ligon as Keystone Cop *
Wallace MacDonald Wallace Archibald MacDonald (5 May 1891 – 30 October 1978) was a Canadian silent film actor and film producer. Biography MacDonald was born in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia, Canada, and attended school in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He started as a mes ...
as Keystone Cop *
Hank Mann Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman; May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian-born, American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops, and appeared as a supporting player in many of Charlie Chaplin's ...
as Keystone Cop *
Harry McCoy Harry McCoy (December 10, 1893 – September 1, 1937) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1912 and 1935. Early years McCoy was born on December 10, 1893, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ...
as Second Pianist In Restaurant / Pianist In Theater / Servant * Rube Miller as Tillie's Visitor * Charles Murray as Detective In "A Thief's Fate" * Eva Nelson as Disgusted Guest In 2nd Restaurant * Edward Nolan as Restaurant Dancer / Policeman / Mountain Innkeeper / Party Guest * Frank Opperman as Reverend D. Simpson * Hugh Saxon as Bank's Shorter Secretary Searching For Tillie *
Fritz Schade Fritz Schade (January 19, 1880 – June 17, 1926) was a German-born American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 41 films between 1913 and 1918, including six films with Charlie Chaplin. His wife was the silent film actress Betty S ...
as Waiter / Diner * Al St. John as Keystone Cop *
Slim Summerville Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946) was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother died w ...
as Keystone Cop * Josef Swickard as Movie Spectator *
Morgan Wallace Morgan Wallace (born Maier Weill, July 26, 1881 – December 12, 1953) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1946, including W.C. Fields' ''It's a Gift'' (1934) Introduction by Arthur Knight where he p ...
as Thief In "A Thief's Fate"


Production

Mack Sennett, whilst working with a degree of autonomy, was working for the larger company of Kessel and Baumann. When
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
impresario
Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...
proposed to adapt the 1910 Broadway comedy ''Tillie's Nightmare'' to the screen in 1914, he enlisted the immensely successful star of the stage production, the then 45-year-old Marie Dressler, to play the guileless ingenue, Tillie Banks. Dressler was paid a huge fee of £2500 per week and was also meant to have a share of the profits of Kessler and Baumann but they passed the distribution contract to Alco, voiding Dressler's contract with K & B and forcing Dressler to sue them. The situation was further complicated by Alco going bust, mainly due to overpaying for the distribution rights: £100,000. Chaplin's salary was far less than Dressler, certainly under $1000 a week, as he demanded an increase to $1000 a week early in 1915. Comedian Charles Chaplin, who had been with Sennett's studio since December 1913, was selected to play opposite Dressler as Charlie, an unscrupulous playboy and bounder. Though Chaplin's signature "
The Tramp The Tramp (''Charlot'' in several languages), also known as the Little Tramp, was English actor Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character and an icon in world cinema during the era of silent film. ''The Tramp (film), The Tramp'' i ...
" character was already well-developed in other Sennett one- and two-reel films (he had already appeared in more than 30 shorts as the Tramp by the time), here he abandons the sweet-natured hobo to play a villain. The contrast between the diminutive, "bow-legged" Chaplin and the bovine and "bulky" Dressler, adds to the absurdity of their pairing. Sennett's augmentation of the film length from two reels to six reels provided him with sufficient scope to showcase his ensemble of talented players in numerous venues: The film, which costs roughly $50,000 ($1.2 million in 2015) to make, was based on the Broadway play ''Tillie's Nightmare'', which Dressler had great success in, on Broadway, and on tour in the United States, from 1910 to 1912. Dressler would revive the play with her own touring company.
Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...
always claimed that he played the five-year-old paperboy in the film. but the role was actually portrayed by Gordon Griffith. This is one of only two films (the other is ''
Making a Living ''Making a Living'' (also known as ''Doing His Best'', ''A Busted Johnny'', ''Troubles'', and ''Take My Picture'') is the first film starring Charlie Chaplin. A one-reel comedy short, it was completed in three days at Keystone Studios in Los ...
'', his first film, where he also plays a "dude" non-Tramp character) in which both Chaplin and the Keystone Cops appear.


Reception

Following its December 21, 1914 premiere at the Los Angeles Republic Theatre, the film was a tremendous success. As the
Mutual Film Corporation Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures. Founding Mutual' ...
, distributors of all Keystone shorts, was not equipped to handle features from them, ''Tillie'' became the only Keystone production to be distributed by the newly formed (and short-lived) Alco Film Corporation. It remained in theatrical release for years, being continually re-edited and shortened, and much later having optical soundtracks added featuring music, sound effects and narration.


Home media

For decades the film was only available in poor quality, truncated prints, but eventually David Shepard of Film Preservation Associates released his restoration on LaserDisc (1997) and DVD (1999) via
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
. It was coupled with '' Mabel's Married Life'' (1914), another Keystone film featuring Normand, Chaplin and Swain. In 2003 a second restoration, a collaboration between
UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...
and the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, used more complete, higher quality materials and saw ''Tillie'' returned almost to its original length. This version has been released in the fully restored ''Chaplin at Keystone'' 4-DVD box set (2010) by various labels worldwide.


Sequels

Dressler appeared as Tillie in three more films, ''
Tillie's Tomato Surprise ''Tillie's Tomato Surprise'' is a 1915 screen sequel to the previous year's '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' again starring Marie Dressler as Tillie. The film was produced by the Lubin Manufacturing Company, directed by Howell Hansel and written ...
'' (1915), ''
Tillie Wakes Up ''Tillie Wakes Up'', also known as ''Meal Ticket'' (Working title: ''Tillie's Night Out''), is a 1917 American slapstick comedy film, and a quasi-sequel to '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1914) and '' Tillie's Tomato Surprise'' (1915) starring Ma ...
'' (1917), and ''
The Scrub Lady ''The Scrub Lady'', also known as ''Tillie the Scrub Lady'', is a 1917 American silent comedy short film produced by and starring Marie Dressler and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. The picture is preserved in the Library of Congress.''Catalog of ...
'' (1917), aka ''Tillie the Scrub Lady''. In ''Tillie Wakes Up'', the Tillie character is married and so has a different surname.


The 1928 film

Another comedy called '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' was released in 1928 starring
W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a ...
as a circus ringmaster. Although often erroneously cited as a
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
, the later film actually bears no resemblance to the 1914 film aside from the shared title and that
Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...
and Mack Swain appear in both films.


In popular culture

In ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode '' American History X-cellent'', one of Mr. Burns' belongings includes a ticket stub for ''Tillie's Punctured Romance''.


See also

*
List of United States comedy films This is a list of American comedy films. Comedy films are separated into two categories: short films and feature films. Any film over 40 minutes long is considered to be of feature-length (although most feature films produced since 1950 are co ...
*
Charlie Chaplin filmography Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) was an English internationally renowned Academy Award-winning comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who was best known for his career in Hollywood motion pictures from his debut in 1914 until 1952, he however subseq ...


Footnotes


Sources

* * * * Pendleton, David. 2004. ''Tillie's Punctured Romance, 1914.'' UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Festival guest handbook.


External links

*
''Tillie's Punctured Romance''
public domain versions at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{Mack Sennett 1914 films 1914 romantic comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American slapstick comedy films Keystone Studios films Films directed by Mack Sennett Films produced by Mack Sennett Articles containing video clips English-language romantic comedy films 1910s American films Silent American romantic comedy films 1910s English-language films