Making a Living (1914)

An out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a rival reporter's camera and races to the newspaper office to enter the photo as his own. ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Lehrman (uncredited)

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Emma Clifton, Chester Conklin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Swindler

Storyline

An out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a rival reporter's camera and races to the newspaper office to enter the photo as his own. His rival is delayed when he gets caught in a woman's bedroom by her jealous husband. The swindler follows the distribution of the paper containing his 'scoop' around town where he is once again chased by the rival reporter. Both end up on the cow-catcher of a streetcar.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | keystone kops | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 1914 (USA)

Also Known As:

Take My Picture

Company Credits

Production Co:

Keystone Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: The Funny Men: Part 1 (1963)

User Reviews

First film with Charlie Chaplin, inspired by Max Linder

For his first film, Charlie Chaplin does not yet wear his tramp costume but is dressed as a dandy, a character clearly inspired by Max Linder.

This is a good example of the one- or two-reel slapstick comedies which constituted a large part of American film production at the time. While there is a story which keeps the viewer's interest, it is mainly an opportunity to accumulate as many visual gags as possible. Only four inter-titles are used in the film and they are not even really necessary. Although the filming consists mostly of wide shots and three quarter shots, always with a static camera, the editing gives a very dynamic progression of the action, with a systematic use of cross- cutting. The fact that it is mostly filmed on location in the streets of Los Angeles and in the office of the L.A. Times gives it authenticity and adds now a historical interest with views of the city and of different parts of a newspaper office in 1914, notably shots of a Linotype used for the composition of the newspaper.

http://a-cinema-history.blogspot.be/2013/09/