Making a Living (1914)

Director:

Henry Lehrman

Writer:

Reed Heustis (writer)

Release Date:

2 February 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

An out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a...

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Keystone Kops | Public Domain

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Swindler
Virginia Kirtley	...	Daughter
Alice Davenport	...	Mother
Henry Lehrman	...	Reporter
Minta Durfee	...	Woman
Chester Conklin	...	Policeman / Bum

Also Known As:

A Busted Johnny
Doing His Best
Take My Picture (USA) (alternative title)
Troubles

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

Keystone Film Company

Trivia:

Chaplin's character is named Edgar English, but most of the characters he played (usually in the persona of the Tramp) would be either nameless, or would informally be given the name Charlie.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)

Chaplin's debut

It was in this, his first film, that Chaplin was called "a comedian of the first water" by an early, unidentified film critic. Actually, this film was considered bad at the time of its release, but Chaplin stood out in this unimaginative short as a first-class performer. Here, he appears in a silk hat and frock-coat, wearing a monocle. It is interesting to note that while American audiences would interpret this characterization as a traditional stage villain, but in England music-hall this characterization represents a man down-on-his-luck, a sort of forerunner of the Little Tramp (which Chaplin would develop in his following film). The plot, such as it is, involves Chaplin and Lehrman as rival reporters, and when Lehrman gets a photo of a car wreck, Chaplin steals it and tries to sell it to the paper as his own.