A Day's Pleasure (1919)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (written by)

Release Date:

15 December 1919 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Tagline:

His Own fourth Million Dollar Comedy

Plot:

Father takes his family for a drive in their falling-apart Model T Ford, gets in trouble in traffic...

Plot Keywords:

Seasickness | Music Score Composed By Director | Public Domain | Jazz Band | Jazz

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Father (as Charlie Chaplin)
Edna Purviance	...	Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
C. Allen	...	Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Naomi Bailey	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Sallie Barr	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Henry Bergman	...	Captain / Man in Car / Heavy Policeman (uncredited)
True Boardman	...	Man on Boat (uncredited)
James Bryson	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Jackie Coogan	...	Smallest Boy (uncredited)
Dixie Doll	...	Woman on Boat (uncredited)
Charles S. Drew	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Elmer Ellsworth	...	Man in Street Scene (uncredited)
Marion Feducha	...	Small Boy (uncredited)
Leroy Finnegan	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Mrs. Fowler	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Warren Gilbert	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
J.A. Irvin	...	Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Bob Kelly	...	Small Boy (uncredited)
Toraichi Kono	...	Chauffeur in Street Scene (uncredited)
Raymond Lee	...	Man on Boat (uncredited)
Babe London	...	Large Husband's Seasick Wife (uncredited)
Nancy Mix	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Louise Muma	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Dorothy Oliver	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Granville Redmond	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Alfred Reeves	...	Man in Street Scene (uncredited)
Charles Reisner	...	Man in Street Scene (uncredited)
Jean Riley	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Mrs. Roos	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Sylvia Sarto	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Elsie Sindora	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
E. Sorral	...	Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Arthur Thalasso	...	Man in Street Scene (uncredited)
Loyal Underwood	...	Angry Little Man in Street (uncredited)
Jessalyn Van Trump	...	Woman in Street (uncredited)
John Williams	...	Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Large Husband on Boat (uncredited)
Tom Wood	...	Man Used as Gangplank (uncredited)
Elsie Young	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
K. Zimmerman	...	Man on Boat (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin

Writing credits
Charles Chaplin		(written by)

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin		(music composed by: 1973) (as Charlie Chaplin)

Cinematography by
Roland Totheroh		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Charles D. Hall		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Reisner	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
H. Wenger	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Jack Wilson	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mother Vinot	....	seamstress (uncredited)

Music Department
Eric Jones	....	music associate: 1973
Eric Rogers	....	music conductor: 1973
Eric Rogers	....	music orchestrator: 1973

Transportation Department
Toraichi Kono	....	driver: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Other crew
Nellie Bly Baker	....	secretary: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)
Elsie Codd	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Tom Harrington	....	assistant: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures

Distributors

• First National Exhibitors' Circuit (1919) (USA) (theatrical)
• Associated First National Pictures (1922) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Exclusivas Arajol (1952) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Tusisa (1972) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Madacy Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Vision (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Roy Export Company Establishment  music copyright by: 1973

Also Known As:

"A Ford Story" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

25 min | 18 min | USA:17 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

First National Pictures

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:

Miscellaneous: As Charlie struggles with the cantankerous car, a pedestrian walks into view on a sidewalk in the background. Either realizing a film is being shot or waved off by the crew, he hastily turns around and walks away.

Movie Connections:

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

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.