A Film Johnnie
About A Film Johnnie
The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) sits in a nickelodeon and falls for an actress on the screen. He follows Roscoe Arbuckle, Ford Sterling, and Mack Sennett through the gate at Keystone. On the lot he ruins a staged argument between Virginia Kirtley and another actor. He also ruins a rescue that is being shot during a real fire.
Cast & crew
More about A Film Johnnie
George Nichols directed. Mack Sennett produced and appears as himself. Craig Hutchinson and Chaplin are credited as writers. Frank D. Williams photographed. Keystone released it on 2 March 1914. It runs 15 minutes. The title uses British slang for a young fellow. It is the first Chaplin short set in a movie studio, and the first for which a scenario was planned in advance. He is without his cane for much of the reel, then finds one on the lot.
Themes
Background
Chaplin was in his first months at Keystone. The short puts the real lot, and Sennett's company, on screen as the place a fan tries to break into.
Making
Chaplin later wrote that Nichols had one gag, grabbing the comedian by the neck and bouncing him into the next scene, and that Nichols would not listen because there was no time. Nichols told Sennett that Chaplin was difficult. Even so, Nichols let him set the walk, the hat tricks, and the misuse of props: a revolver used as a toothpick, an old sock used as a handkerchief.
Reviews
The Bioscope called it another triumph for the old Karno comedian and "knockabout of an extraordinary character." Moving Picture World said that Edgar English's work, meaning Chaplin, would keep the picture amusing. The Cinema called Chaplin the sensation of the year and described this short as the path from admiring a film beauty to a commotion at Keystone.
Look
Frank D. Williams shot it on the Keystone lot, including a real fire that interrupts a staged rescue.
Preservation
The short survives. A copy is on the Internet Archive and on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Mabel Normand appears as herself, with Arbuckle and Sterling.
- Other Keystone names on the cast list are Minta Durfee, Hampton Del Ruth, George Jeske, and Billy Gilbert.
- The Cinema's review spelled the title A Film Johnny and said the crush in the cinema led him to the studio and a job.
Scenes
- The Tramp falls for an actress while sitting in a nickelodeon.
- He walks onto the lot behind Arbuckle, Sterling, and Sennett.
- He breaks up a rescue scene that is being filmed during a real fire.
Also available
- Internet Archive (CC_1914_03_02_FilmJohnny)
- Wikimedia Commons (A Film Johnnie (1914).webm)
