A Day's Pleasure (1919)

Father takes his family for a drive in their falling-apart Model T Ford, gets in trouble in traffic, and spends the day on an excursion boat. As the boat is about to leave Charlie rushes ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, C. Allen

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Father (as Charlie Chaplin)
Edna Purviance	...	Mother

Storyline

Father takes his family for a drive in their falling-apart Model T Ford, gets in trouble in traffic, and spends the day on an excursion boat. As the boat is about to leave Charlie rushes ashore for cigarettes. As he returns the boat is leaving, but a fat lady has fallen forward with feet on the dock and hands on the deck so Charlie is able rush aboard across her back.

---

Plot Keywords:

harpoon | moving van | ship | tar | jazz | 

---

Taglines:

His Very Latest-Made by his Own Company

---

Genres:

Short | Comedy

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Ford Story

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min 24 min 18 min 17 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (re-issue) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Charles Chaplin is having trouble with the automobile at the beginning, a man across the street in the background walks by and stops, then walks back. This man was most probably a studio employee.

---

Goofs

At one point while Charlie Chaplin is stuck in the tar, he has lost his hat. He's still without a hat when the second policeman gets stuck in the tar, but after Chaplin steps out of his shoe and climbs over the two policemen, his hat has returned to the top of his head.

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

Good Short Comedy, With a Slightly Different Feel For Chaplin

This is a good short comedy, and it has a bit of a different feel to it than most of Chaplin's shorts. Instead of his familiar tramp character or some other underdog, this time Charlie is a family man taking everyone out for a day of fun, along with some misadventures on the way there and back. There isn't much of Chaplin's usual social commentary, as it focuses instead on trying to get as much mileage as possible out of a few basic gags. Most of the time this works pretty well, although it bogs down a bit in the middle when a couple of the gags start to wear rather thin. Among other things, it's interesting in that the approach this time - the story line, and especially the milking each gag for all it is worth - is what you would expect from Laurel and Hardy, rather than from Chaplin. Overall, it's amusing and interesting, and worth a look.