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The Star Boarder—Charlie Chaplin, originally released April 4, 1914

In The Star Boarder, Charlie Chaplin‘s little tramp character is staying at a boardinghouse, where he is clearly his landlady’s favorite—much to her husband’s displeasure.  Barely able to prevent attacking Charlie outright, the husband’s anger only increases when the landlady tries to teach Charlie how to play tennis—one of the funnier bits in the short film.  Looking for a lost tennis ball almost turns into a kiss, which the landlady’s son captures on a camera-like device (does anybody else still remember Magic Lanterns?), and even though they are interrupted by the jealous husband, the son’s magic lantern show reveals what almost happened—as well as a similar picture between the husband and another woman—leading into an altercation between Charlie and the husband, cutting to similar shots of the landlady spanking her son.

A cute film, but not that funny—more interesting from a historical perspective.

Courtesy of YouTube, you can view a clip of
Charlie Chaplin in The Tramp Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com