A couple decades ago, I made it a point to see every available Charlie Chaplin short....and "Chaplin Meets Harry Lauder" was not among them. I assume like so many other silents that this one was only recently discovered or restored.
Before I started this short, I had to look up who Harry Lauder was, as I'd never heard of him. He apparently was a successful Scottish music hall performer and comic. Folks in 1918 probably would have known who he was...though today he's pretty much forgotten.
As for the film, it's really NOT a Chaplin comedy short...but more filming how the two comics meet and exchange pleasantries. They both dress up and act like each other and Chaplin shows him around his studio. They also act a bit for the camera...chasing each other about the property and laughing up a storm. I'd consider it more a documentary than a comedy...and is a film more suited for die-hard Chaplin fans than anyone else.
