''A Busy Day'' is a 1914 short film starring

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (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 considered o ...

and

Mack Swain Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain; February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was a prolific early United States, American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also ...

Plot

In ''A Busy Day'', a wife (played by an energetic

) becomes jealous of her husband's interest in another woman during a military parade. On her way to attack the couple, the wife interrupts the set of a film, knocking over a film director and a police officer. Finally, the husband pushes the wife off a pier and she falls into the harbor.

Notes

According to the 1965 book ''The Films of Charlie Chaplin'', ''A Busy Day'' is the first of three films in which Chaplin plays a woman. The other two were '' The Masquerader'' (1914) and '' A Woman'' (1915). Chaplin used the wardrobe of fellow Keystone player Alice Davenport. It was typical for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

to shoot Keystone comedies using real events—such as a parade—as the background for comic mayhem. This short film (about half a reel) was shot near San Pedro Harbor in less than two hours. In it, one can see interesting glimpses of First World War-era American naval ships in the background. The other part of the reel is an educational short titled ''The Morning Papers''.

Reception

A reviewer from ''Bioscope'' noted, " haplingives an amazing exhibition of acrobatic humor."

Cast

as Wife *

as Husband *

Phyllis Allen Phyllis Allen (November 25, 1861 – March 26, 1938) was an American vaudeville and silent screen comedian. She worked with Charles Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Mack Sennett during a film career spanning 74 movies in th ...

as The Other Woman *

as Film director *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...

as Police officer * Ted Edwards as Police officer

References

External links

* * * * 1914 films American black-and-white films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin 1914 comedy films Silent American comedy short films Keystone Studios films Films produced by Mack Sennett 1914 short films Articles containing video clips Mutual Film films 1910s English-language films 1910s American films English-language comedy short films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub