''A Jitney Elopement'' was Charlie Chaplin's fifth film for Essanay Films. It starred Chaplin and

Edna Purviance Olga Edna Purviance (; October 21, 1895 – January 13, 1958) was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the leading lady in many of Charlie Chaplin's early films and in a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with hi ...

as lovers, with Purviance wanting Chaplin to take her away from an arranged marriage her father (played by Fred Goodwins) had planned for her. Chaplin does take her away in a jitney, a type of

share taxi Share may refer to: * Share, to make joint use of a resource (such as food, money, or space); see Sharing * Share (finance), a stock or other financial security (such as a mutual fund) * Share, Kwara, a town and LGA in Kwara State, Nigeria Share ...

popular in the US between 1914 and 1916. Most of the film was made in San Francisco and includes scenes of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

's Golden Gate Park and the large

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

s still on the park's west side.

Synopsis

Edna's father greedily wants her to marry wealthy Count Chloride de Lime whom neither she nor he has ever met. Unknown to Edna's father, his daughter already has a true love: Charlie. Edna drops a note to her Charlie explaining her plight and asking him be her knight and save her. Charlie agrees. He arrives at Edna's home and impersonates the Count at dinner. Charlie humorously consumes beans with a knife, but still manages to keep up the facade of being a count. However, the true Count de Lime arrives and Charlie is roughly escorted away as an impostor. The count takes Edna to a nearby park to woo her, but Charlie is close by, as is Edna's father. Charlie interrupts the Count's romantic plans and begins a fight with the Count, Edna's father and three park policemen. An automobile chase featuring Edna and Charlie in one car (a two-seater roadster) and the pursuers in another (a four-seater) ends with a few timely and accurate brick tosses by Charlie and the pursuing vehicle being bumped off a pier. The movie ends with Edna and Charlie shyly kissing in their vehicle. Curiously Edna's name is given as Edna in an early title card and Edena mid-way. When she throws a note out of her window to Charlie, it is signed Iona Lott (I own a lot).

Review

A reviewer for Motion Picture World wrote, "There is a vein of romance throughout the story which, combined with Chaplin's inimitable comedy, gives the picture a general appeal."

Cast

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

as Suitor, the Fake Count *

as Edna/Edena/Iona Lott * Ernest Van Pelt as Edna's father *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1882 – September 20, 1948), Leo Weiss, was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany, White grew up in England where ...

as Count Chloride de Lime, Edna's Suitor * Lloyd Bacon as Young Butler / Cop (uncredited) * Paddy McGuire as Old Butler/Cop *

Bud Jamison William Edward "Bud" Jamison (February 15, 1894 – September 30, 1944)Okuda, Ted, and Edward Watz. 1999. The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-reel Hollywood Film Comedies 1933–1958'. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. . was an American film actor. ...

as Cop with Baton *

Carl Stockdale Carl Stockdale also known as Carlton Stockdale (February 19, 1874 – March 15, 1953) was one of the longest-working Hollywood veteran actors, with a career dating from the early 1910s. He also made the difficult transition from silent fi ...

as Cop *

Fred Goodwins Fred Goodwins (26 February 1891 – April 1923) was an English actor, film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He appeared in 24 films between 1915 and 1921.He most notably worked with Charlie Chaplin during Chaplin's mutual per ...

as Car owner

External links

* *
''A Jitney Elopement''
on

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Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin American silent short films 1915 films American black-and-white films 1915 comedy films Essanay Studios films Silent American comedy films Articles containing video clips 1915 short films American comedy short films 1910s American films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub