A Dog's Life (1918)

The Little Tramp and his dog companion struggle to survive in the inner city.

Director:

Charles Chaplin (uncredited)

Writer:

Charles Chaplin

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Dave Anderson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Tramp

Storyline

Poor Charlie lives in a vacant lot. He tries to get a job but when he gets to the head of the employment line the jobs are gone. Back "home" he rescues Scraps, a bitch being attacked by other strays. Together they manage to steal some sausages from a lunch wagon. They enter a dance hall where Edna is a singer and unwilling companion to the clientele. He is thrown out when he can't pay. Back "home" Scraps digs up a money-filled wallet buried by crooks. They return to the dance hall to find Edna fired. The wallet goes back and forth between Charlie and the crooks. Charlie, Edna and Scraps end up very happily.

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Plot Keywords:

wallet | dog | dance hall | tramp | police | 

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Taglines:

Charlie Chaplin In his First Million Dollar Picture

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 1918 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Dog's Life

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

33 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (1959 re-issue) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dog in this film, Scraps (real name Mut), became so attached to Charles Chaplin during filming that when Chaplin went on a Liberty Bond tour immediately after production, the dog died three weeks later of a supposed broken heart.

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Goofs

During the fight at the lunch cart, one of the props holding up the awning gets knocked away. In subsequent shots, the prop is back in place.

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Connections

Referenced in Freaks and Geeks: Discos and Dragons (2000)

User Reviews

The Kid / The Dog

Played as a double feature, A Dog's Life is the short comedy that played with one of Chaplin's famous and most adored comedies The Kid. Set in the same atmosphere of the depressing ghettos of 1918, The Tramp becomes friends with a stray dog. A lost soul much like himself, the Tramp and the tramp become friends and become a team. After finding a stolen loot, the two work together to re-take the money they found. The ending is cute and nothing more. For a short, it does the trick of making the audience laugh. The title indicated that this is the story of the dog, when in fact, the Dog is the Tramp! Both are homeless and without love in their lives. By the end of the movie, they both end up finding true love and end up living a better life, together.