USA: Long lost Charlie Chaplin film to be shown for first time in almost a century

Record ID: 276155

  • Title: USA: Long lost Charlie Chaplin film to be shown for first time in almost a century
  • Date: 17th July 2010
  • Summary: ROSLYN, VIRGINIA UNITED STATES (JULY 16, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL GIERUCKI, FILM HISTORIAN AND PRESERVATIONIST WHO FOUND THE CHAPLIN FILM, SAYING "The eureka moment, my heart stopped, realizing not just that we found a missing film but a very early Chaplin appearance. It's only the third film that he had ever done at Keystone, his third film appearance
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA79RSI2FAUPVFF1FX36ML93F6V
  • Story Text: A long lost film featuring an appearance by Charlie Chaplin will be shown for first time in almost a century at a convention outside of Washington, DC.
    A 1914 film with a cameo appearance by movie pioneer Charlie Chaplin will be shown at a festival in Virginia on Saturday (July 17).
    The movie -- "A Thief Catcher" -- is a 10 minute comedy discovered last fall at an antiques sale by film historian and preservationist Paul Gierucki. Gierucki found the film in an antique steamer trunk and purchased it for 100 U.S. dollars.
    "I opened the can, unspooled it and I immediately recognized the title as an early Keystone. So I bartered with the guy, bought the film, brought it home. It needed some repair. So I put it on a shelf and it sat there since November of last year. I was busy working on another project. I kind of forgot about it," he said.
    Gierucki said he didn't watch the movie until recently.
    "About three o'clock in the morning, I restarted the projector, watched and within two minutes, two Keystone cops come walking out and I actually thought to myself, 'that looks like Chaplin'. Stopped, got up, re-wound the projector, watched it again, watched it again, watched it again and it finally sank in that I had found a completely previously undocumented, unknown Charlie Chaplin film appearance," he said.
    "A thief Catcher" was shot between January 5th and January 26th, 1914 and released on February 14, 1914. It stars Ford Sterling, Mac Swain, Edgar Kennedy and features Chaplin making a three minute cameo as a policeman in the film.
    "It's only the third film that he had ever done at Keystone, his third film appearance in general. It's remarkable. It changes the filmographies, it changes the history of his work and it kind of gives you hope that there may be more material out there that isn't documented because a lot of those films are missing from that era, so it's possible more things may be lurking out there," Gierucki said.
    The movie will be shown before an audience for the first time since its original release in 1914, at the Slapsticon Festival in Roslyn, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. Attendees have come from as far as the UK, Belgium and Italy.
    Gierucki plans to make "A Thief Catcher" available on DVD for a wider audience to enjoy at a later date.
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