Charlie Chaplin Short Films

Do you know that one of the biggest characters in film history got his break through short films? Most of you short film directors, writers and producers probably know who Charlie Chaplin is, and if you don’t know, then you are in the wrong line of work!

Chaplin first showcased the Tramp in the film The Kid Auto Races at Venice, which was followed in 1914 with a drunken Chaplin chasing a woman named Mabel, after she locks herself out of her hotel room. The convoluted tale of embarrassment and sexual irony didn't amount to one of Chaplin's most popular films, but the slapstick humor such as him falling down stairs and manic brawls with the hotel's waiters, proved he was eagerly learning his craft. The short film entitled Mabel's Strange Predicament hence became a stepping-stone for Chaplin's career to blossom. 

Charlie Chaplin is a legend; his short films are classic and will never grow old. He not only acted in, but also directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own short films. As most of you know, Chaplin was of course also one of the most creative and influential personalities in the silent-film era. His working life in entertainment spanned over 65 years, from the Victorian stage and music hall in the United Kingdom as a child performer almost until his death at the age of eighty-eight.

Chaplin's high-profile public and private life encompassed highs and lows with both adulation and controversy – much has been thought and said about him. But what did this great character himself say about his short films that helped lift him to his place in film history? Chaplin actually never spoke more than cursorily about his short film making methods, claiming such a thing would be tantamount to a magician spoiling his own illusion. Lucky for us, he was quite the magician, and as with any good films – you don’t care how they are done, as long as they entertain you.