A Thief Catcher

'A Thief Catcher' was considered the lost movie of Charles Chaplin. Film historian Paul E. Gierucki found a copy of it in 2010. The restored movie is incomplete. Although called a Charles Chaplin movie, this is, in reality, more of a Ford Sterling and Keystone Kops picture. Charles Chaplin has only a brief appearance as one of the Keystone Kops. The film itself is usual silly slapstick that has its moments, but nothing particularly memorable.

Ford Sterling plays the police chief who witnesses the crime (it seems to be a murder). The two thugs start chasing him. He hides into the hut without knowing this is the hideout of the same two criminals. Some basic slapstick follows. Then Charles Chaplin arrives, few more blows are exchanged.

The film is basic slapstick stuff. Nothing inventive in here and the main reason to watch this movie is only for Charles Chaplin's brief role. Or of course, if you are a Ford Sterling fan.

I was fortunate enough to be at Slapsticon 2010 where this unknown Chaplin picture -- removed from his filmography by BFI edict in 1938 -- was re-premiered. I would like to tell you of Chaplin's brilliance, but really, it is a fine Ford Sterling piece as the chief Keystone Kop in civvies, this time, takes his dog out for a run and gets waylaid by baddies Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. It's fine stuff if you enjoy Ford Sterling in snarling mode. I do.

Charlie is present as a cop on the beat who runs into the bad guys and is quickly driven off and he is unmistakable -- until his half-brother Syd showed up the following year, no one at Keystone moved like him and as the third film in which he had a role and the fourth released, there was no Chaplin mania and no imitators yet.

As a previously lost Chaplin it's an important film, but if you enjoy it, it won't be for Chaplin. But it's a good one nonetheless.

"A Thief Catcher" is nowadays best known as one of Charlie Chaplin's early movies. It was thought lost for many years until a copy got found at a Michigan antique sale in 2010. The movie itself is OK, not great. Chaplin has a small role as a cop in the midst of a theft. He doesn't have the bowler hat and notched cane, so he might not be that easy to spot. Also starring is Mack Swain, who later played Big Jim in "The Gold Rush". As expected, there's no shortage of physical humor; the early one-reelers always knew how to make great use of that. These relics of early cinema are, more than anything, a look at how people had to figure out how to act without words (it was still over a decade before they figured out how to align sound with film). People's faces have to do a lot of the acting. It's a fun way to spend seven minutes.

About 15-20 years ago, I made it a point to see very Charlie Chaplin film...both shorts and full-length. I completed this, but a few of Chaplin's shorts were lost and I had no chance to see them. Fortunately, over the last couple decades, the internet has made it easier to find and restore supposedly lost films...and "A Thief Catcher" was found about a decade ago. It's currently on YouTube and I saw it today.

The film is not a Chaplin starring vehicle, as in early 1914, he was a bit player for Keystone films. Amazingly, by the end of the year, he was their top star! In "A Thief Catcher", Chaplin is almost unrecognizable and just plays one of several Keystone Kops against leading man Ford Sterling.

"A Thief Catcher" is, as you'd expect for 1914, a slapstick film...consisting of a lot of slapping, chasing, kicking and wildly shooting off pistols for laughs. There isn't much in the way of plot, just two thugs (one is Mack Swain) chasing poor Ford, who is a sheriff. They eventually capture him and before they can do him in, the Kops arrive and foil their plans. Charlie plays the leader of these Kops.

The way I see this one is that while the film is VERY dated and unfunny by today's standards, it's still an important film as it was only Chaplin's third screen appearance and he had to start somewhere to learn his craft. And, because of this, it's a must-see for die-hard Chaplin fans...but isn't one I'd recommend to the casual viewer. My score of 5 is relative to other comedy shorts of the day.

I am not in favour of giving a rating out of ten to old short films. I would rather prefer a quick review. There were no big production houses then, a group of few people with limited access to equipment were exprimenting in movies. Keystones has made a lot of such films in a short period of time. No need to mention, most of them don't look good in 21st century. Add A Thief Catcher to this list.

It just stinks. I don't need to say any further. It's just 8 minutes long and is available on YouTube, most probably under public domain.