The Star Boarder (II) (1914)

A brat's magic lantern show exposes an indiscreet moment between a landlady and her star boarder.

Director:

George Nichols

Writer:

Craig Hutchinson

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Minta Durfee, Edgar Kennedy

Cast

Cast overview:
Charles Chaplin	...	The Star Boarder
Minta Durfee	...	Landlady
Edgar Kennedy	...	Landlady's Husband
Gordon Griffith	...	The Son
Alice Davenport	...	Landlady's Friend

Storyline

Charlie stays at a boarding-house, where he is the landlady's favorite. Her husband grows jealous when observing this. Their little son has a camera. He happens to take some photos of his mother and Charlie in situations which are innocent but look indecent. He also takes a photo of his father and a female boarding-guest in a similar situation. In the evening the boy arranges a slide show in the boarding-house. Suddenly also the equivocal photos of his parents appear on the screen. His jealous father gets furious and starts chasing Charlie. Soon all the boarding-guests are involved in the fight.

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Plot Keywords:

landlady | slide show | boarding house | boy | magic lantern | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1914 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fatal Lantern

Company Credits

Production Co:

Keystone Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Early Chaplin

Star Boarder, The (1914)

** (out of 4)

Lower Keystone short features Charles Chaplin playing the landlady's pet, which doesn't sit too well with the other tenants and it certainly doesn't go over well with the woman's jealous husband. While this film doesn't really work it at least features a couple funny sequences with Chaplin doing his magic. Even though we still don't see the Chaplin the world would end up loving, these early shorts at least show him growing as an artist. One of the better scenes in the film is when Chaplin is trying to learn how to play tennis. The facial expressions of anger are quite funny as is another scene where Chaplin notices the woman's husband is standing behind him yet he tries to play dumb as if he didn't see the husband. The rest of the film is pretty weak without too many laughs, although the ending is a pretty nice kicker.